Swensen Family

In November, Mark was flight following three of our pilots. Weather was not cooperating which can be a source of frustration when it is your job of get groups of people from one place to another for an event that they have been planning on and looking forward to for awhile. I was given permission from Sue to reiterate a portion of their most recent newsletter. It explains very well what went on .

"One weekend, back in November, three MARC pilots using two airplanes provided round trip flights for 81 teens and adults who attended a five day Alaska Moravian Youth Fellowship event in the village of Goodnews Bay. Because of some very difficult weather conditions at Goodnews Bay (frequent snow squalls moved through the area for much of the first two days) several of the flights were delayed and some even had to be cancelled. Our pilots worked hard to get the teens and adults into the village. Occasionally they would land at one of the surrounding villages and wait for the weather to temporarily lift before they would try to land there.

On one particular flight, our King Air flew to within six miles of Good news Bay before snow squalls moved back in over the airstrip. Because It was getting late in the day, the pilots chose to turn around and fly back 100 miles to the airport of origination and wait for better weather the next day. The main speaker, Pastor Clifford Jimmy, was on that flight and the pilots were frustrated with their inability to get him to the event. It wasn't until the following morning that the pilots learned WHY God had not allowed them to land at Goodnews Bay the day before. During the night, Pastor Clifford Jimmy developed heart complications and was Medevaced to Anchorage for medical care. Had he been in the remote village of Goodnews Bay, it is very possible that the medevac flight would not have been able to pick him up because of the poor weather conditions that persisted there.
We are thankful that God is Sovereign and that His plans and purposes are far superior to our own. We are also very thankful for the Lord's care for Pastor Clifford Jimmy and the safety He provide our pilots and their passengers. We have been told that Pastor Clifford Jimmy is home now. Please continue to pray that our staff would make wise decisions with regard to safety as we fly and as we carry on daily maintenance activities."

We don't always get a glimpse of God's purpose when flights do not go the way we plan them. But when we do see the reason why, it is an encouraging reminder that God is in control of ALL aspects of our lives - not us.
When we really think about that fact, it brings a flood of relief to know the truth of it, fore if we were in complete control, what a mess we would make of life.

It is in those times when God's purpose is not revealed to us that our faith and trust in God kicks in over-time. There is peace when we put our trust in God's Sovereignty. When the storm is raging all around, we can either kick and scream and shake our fist at God OR we can trust that He is in control and the out-come will be in our best interest, molding us into the person He desires us to be. He is then able to use us to benefit others.

December has been an interesting month as far as our weather goes. We had several days of ice fog. It was a beautiful display of a winter wonderland, but there was concern about trees breaking. Right before Christmas it warmed up and and we are now left with icy snow on the ground.

We had a strange sighting of a flock of flamingos in town. Here is a picture Jeremiah took of them gathered at McDonalds. Every few days they would show up in a different place.
We enjoyed our Christmas celebration. We were all healthy, which was a great blessing to us. We enjoyed advent using the Jesse Tree readings. One of the kids' Christmas gifts from us was a gingerbread house kit. They had a great time making it and eating it. I was quite impressed with the result.

I received a wonderful unexpected gift. Oh, boy, this gives me a chance to talk about my chickens! A church down the street had a four evening Bethlehem Revisited production. As we were walking into it, Mark told me that he heard that the lady with the chickens was looking for a new home for her chickens once the production was over. So when we saw her I asked her about it and sure enough she had more chickens than she desired to have and was looking for someone to take 9 of her Barred Plymouth Rocks. I eagerly volunteered to take them and she brought them to our house on Christmas Eve. Oh, how exciting it was. They are beautiful birds that lay us large light brown eggs.

Well, since I am already talking about the chickens, I just have to include a picture of some of our grown up babies. They were beautifully roosted on the pallets in the run today in our 25 degree weather.
From left to right we have Margarete (a Deleware), Arrowhead (Black Copper Maran/Ameraucana mix rooster), Rhodie (Rhode Island Red), and Peachie (Black Copper Maran/Ameraucana mix)

We enjoy our fresh eggs immensely. Here is a picture displaying the array of colors of eggs we get from our ladies.

We have enjoyed our Christmas break from school. I am afraid it will be difficult to get back into the swing of school again on Monday. Please pray over this matter with us. It has been a challenging year for Neakita and the challenge continues to loom overhead. Please pray Jeremiah will be motavated by the shear thrill of accomplishment in his work. And pray that I can keep up with Alaina and Katelyn. Pray that in the midst of it all, I find ways to make it fun for the kids.