Almost There

“Jesus said ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

This is one of my favorite verses. It makes me think about school and sports in my past, and how I became a better person for pushing through, leaning on God, and getting stronger for it. I treasure those memories, and I get confidence from those experiences, knowing that God will again be glorified in work I do for Him, and even though it may be hard and the end result is unknown, I’ve learned how to persevere. And when it seems I can’t stand, but only kneel at Christ’s feet, that’s enough for me to be close to Him and know that He never leaves my side. (Analogy learned from Dr. Teel, thank you!)

We had a good Thanksgiving here. Even though my roommate went to Anchorage to visit family, a previous Newtok teacher came and stayed at the house for a couple of days. I was so glad she did, because we became good friends. We met at the inservice in August and talked a short while, but learned that we’re both believers. And the lack of Christian fellowship was getting to me, but God came through for both of us, and we had a good time talking and encouraging each other over Thanksgiving.

We went to another teacher’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. They have one channel on their TV and the Cowboys game was on, so I was pretty excited, but didn’t watch most of it because I went to another teacher’s house for desert. Thanksgiving night we went to an Eskimo Dance and that was lots of fun. I actually did a few dances, but it’s hard when you don’t speak Yupik! Their dances tell stories, and they act out the stories using hand gestures. The elders sing and drum, but it’s fun to follow along, and they appreciate the “gusuks” willingness to try.

The next day I was ready for Christmas! I don’t have many decorations… just a strand of lights and Nutty, but the Christmas movies began early that morning! :-) My roommate ordered a Christmas tree from Anchorage and it should be here any day.

We had our first blizzard a couple of days ago! It didn’t last but a couple of hours but it was intense! We had a community basketball tournament that the student council was working, so I was going back and forth from the gym to home, and it was so windy I could barely walk. I came in the house and the back door had been blown open, but get this: There is the back door, which is boarded up, that leads to the “inside” back door, which was open! I don’t doubt some of the smaller and less sturdy houses were damaged. It wasn’t a white-out blizzard but cold and intense nonetheless! My parka came in a couple days before so that came in handy, but I’m anxious to see some really crazy Alaska weather.

Basketball has started up and I’m coaching the high school girls team. With so much going on after school we only get an hour of practice, but it’s working out pretty good right now. We just have to get in shape before games start up! Our first game is towards the end of January, but it’s never too soon to begin training.

There are 2 more weeks of school before the break. I am oh-so-ready ( :-) ) for a vacation, and I can hardly wait to see yall! Our last day is Dec. 18th and I’ll fly to Bethel after ;-school that day. The next day I’ll start flying to Texas, and will arrive in Dallas the 20th. I simply can’t wait!

So with that exciting news I’ll sign off, and I hope yall have a great week ahead!
Lots of love,
Kim