Welcome, Winter

So, as of late, I am averaging one post a month. Guess I better make this one worth it, eh? :) I'll do my best, but don't hold your breath. I typically prefer things in chronological order... but everything has felt pretty chaotic lately, so I'm sure this will be all over the place.  I went to the lower 48 for a couple weeks at the end of September through the beginning of October.  I've been back in Alaska for the past week, and the picture above is a show of what happened on the 13th- within a couple hours. The Alyeska snow report said, "IT'S DUMPING AT THE BASE" - this is what dumping looks like! My first thought was about the fact that I do not have snow tires, yet. A little unnerving... but it melted away by the 15th and I was feeling pretty good about going to town today to get my snow tires.

Emily sent me a text this morning, asking if I would make it to town okay. I was thinking, of course! What a silly thing to say... and then it occurred to me it might have snowed over night. I opened up my curtains and sure enough... several inches of fresh snow on the ground...car...driveway...road...and it was still coming down. Great. I decided my odds for making to town today were better than tomorrow, so I went for it. It was definitely reassuring that Emily and her truck were a phone call away. (She even offered to follow me into town!) I am happy to report that I have safely parked my car at the tire place and myself at a nearby Starbucks.

It was great to visit friends and family in the lower 48.  I never feel like I have enough time, though! I started out my trip with a visit to a Baptist Collegiate Ministry conference in Mississippi. I met with several quality college students that are interested in coming up next summer to intern with the ministry.  Mississippi has a great interviewing process, and I'm looking forward to see how that pans out. After Mississippi, I spent a few days in Tennessee with my parents, and then about a week in Georgia with my sister. We took the puppies hiking-- great fun! The week went by so fast, and before I knew it, I was back on a plane again heading North.

On the plane from Seattle to Anchorage (pic above), I was seated next to a pastor from Fairbanks. We had a great conversation about ministry here in Alaska, and I felt really lucky to make a new friend. Little things like that make Alaska seem much smaller. Tonight I'll be sharing at the Chugach Baptist Association's annual meeting. I remember shortly after I arrived here a year ago, I went with Scott and Jenn to the 2011 meeting. It's amazing how much has happened in a year. I can only imagine what the next one will hold. As an added bonus, I've been helping my family book several plane tickets to come visit lately... looks like I might have a house guest almost every month this winter. I could not be more excited about that! 

Who's next...? :-)