Brooks Range Bible Camp 2011

            We made it safely back from the Brooks Range where we directed Bible Camp the last two and a half weeks.  Autumn & I came home Sunday night worn out physically, emotionally and spiritually, but thankful to be used by God. Thank you all for your prayers!

            When we arrived at Kingdom Air Corps in Chickaloon, AK to prepare for camp, jumped into a whirlwind of activity.  We had four days to finish getting ten small airplanes ready for the long flight north, finish orientation with camp staff, and get to know the staff that we would be serving with over the next two and a half weeks.  With the Lord’s help we took off only 20 minutes behind schedule on Monday morning, July 11th! 

            The flight north was uneventful and we made it into Paradise Valley, the gold mine where camp is held, in one day!  We spent that evening getting the grounds ready for campers who would arrive the next day.

            Tuesday morning we awoke to low clouds that prevented us from taking off early to pick up kids, however, by midnight all 30 kids had landed at camp!  The staff settled in with the 8 to 12 year old campers and geared up for four great days of camp.  Autumn & I really enjoyed playing games and swimming with the kids!  They love to swim, even in the ice-cold stream on a cold and rainy day!  Chapel was held twice a day where we memorized the armor of God passage in Ephesians 6:10-19 together & Mike Roub, pastor of Chickaloon Bible Church, spoke each night.  Most of the kids seemed to enjoy their time at Brooks Range Bible Camp.  There was some tension between the kids of different villages, but by the end of camp most of the kids were getting along very well.

            Sunday morning eight airplanes took off for the village of Anaktuvuk Pass.  They were filled with 15 campers and 10-15 camp staff.  The campers were heading home, and the staff was excited to attend church in their small village!  Autumn shared with the church elders what was done at camp that week and thanked them for sending their kids. Meanwhile, the pilots continued to shuttle youth campers out of Paradise Valley and teen campers in.  The staff had no rest between camps and it was only by the Lord’s strength we were able to handle this!  By Sunday night we had completely converted to Teen Camp. 

It was a real treat for Autumn & I to see familiar camper faces from past years.  They remembered us and we were excited to see how they had matured over the years.  In the past, Teen Camp had been very difficult due to hard hearts, but this year most teens had been to BRBC as youth campers, and were hungry for God’s Word!  As we worked to memorize Ephesians 6:10-19 campers were so eager that they worked ahead to memorize the next chapel’s verse.  It was very encouraging to see how the Lord continues to work even after camp is done. 

We had twenty three teen campers, eight more than we expected.  Due to some rule breaking we had to send 5 of the campers home.  This was very difficult for us as directors, and it broke our hearts to send them home, but the Lord worked through even this.  In sending some of the young men home, they began to understand that their actions do have consequences.  When we sat down with the two girls going home, we boldly shared Jesus’ gift of salvation and one came to know the Lord as her Savior, while the other was encouraged in her walk with Jesus.

We returned the campers to Anaktuvuk Pass, Wiseman, & Allakaket Friday morning, cleaned up all the cabins and trails that afternoon, and took off for home by five o’clock that evening!  Everyone was exhausted.  After landing in Fairbanks we realized there wasn’t enough daylight to get back to Kingdom Air Corps, so we stayed the night with friends in Fairbanks, and continued our journey the following day.  All the old airplanes made it safely to camp and back, which was a miracle in itself.

Autumn & I are back home in Port Alsworth now, and thankful for a slow week at work which allows us to catch up and regain strength.  Thank you all for your prayers and support!  We couldn’t have done this without many praying for us as we went to battle for the souls of these precious children of Alaska. Please continue to pray for the kid’s spiritual growth & that we would have an opportunity to visit & encourage them this fall.

1 Comment
 
 
5 Comments
 
 

We have been doing a lot of cross country skiing this winter.  It is Autumn's first season on Skis and she is getting the hang of it.  Yesterday she asked me if I wanted to try the Falls Trail, which is quite steep in the beginning.  I was very excited because I knew that coming down would be lots of fun!  So we gave it a good old college try and made it up two of the big hills before the sun set... then we enjoyed a fast ski home!

Picture
3 Comments
 
 
Picture
Carlon's Salmon and Alaskan Ulu knife
Picture
Carlon teaching me how to fillet the fish!
     As I was inspecting the Starter/Generator on the Beech 99 yesterday at work, my coworker told me to grab a plastic bag and head out front because someone was handing out free salmon!  I quickly grabbed a garbage bag and went to the front of the hangar… but he had already left.  I was told that he hadn’t gone far, so I took off running and hollering!  Eventually the man heard me and stopped his four-wheeler.  As I caught my wind, I managed to ask ‘can I have a Salmon?’  He was more than happy to hand one over.  So I grabbed a smaller one for Autumn and me.

     Since I was already half way home, I continued on my way and burst through the doors to show Autumn my new catch!  She was ecstatic, but she promptly reminded me that I did not know how to fillet a salmon, nor did she know how to cook one.  I said ‘google it!’

     Lucky for me (and her), I ran into a friend on the way back to the hangar who invited us over to learn how to fillet salmon and how to cook them on the grill!  So after work, Autumn and I went to the Voran’s house to learn some basic Alaskan skills.  Fresh salmon on the grill with lemon pepper is something wonderful!  We enjoyed the salmon so much, that tonight Autumn decided to take a stab at cooking one herself.  This is the result…

Picture
Autumn's wonderful Salmon Feast on Tuesday night!
3 Comments
 
 
Picture
We left Whitehorse, Yukon yesterday morning after a good breakfast at Tim Horton's doughnut shop. The weather started off cloudy but it was not long before the sun popped out & we had a beautiful day. The final 200 miles or so in Canada were very bumpy & we had stuff all over the camper by the end of the day. We saw a lot of doll sheep in the morning & a moose. For lunch we stopped at Pick Handle Lake while Teco trotted around the shoreline - it was beautiful!
Just after lunch we saw a BIG grizzly bear just off the side of the road. It wasn't long after we crossed into our new home state of Alaska! We rolled into Tok, Alaska & had dinner at Fast Eddy's with Paul & his wife. We went to Paul's daughter's new cabin & Dwayne showed us the first house he ever built.
After dinner, we drove South to Glennallen. We got a guided tour of Dwayne's old stomping ground via the hand radio. We stopped at John & Cathy King's house & played with their kids, Jeremiah & Canyon. Cathy served us Moose dogs & we enjoyed great fellowship with them Tuesday evening.
Picture
Caroline & Dwayne at Pick Handle Lake
2 Comments
 
 
Picture
Signpost Forrest - Watson Lake, Yukon
We had a late start today from Liard Hot Springs & it was snowing big flakes when we woke up. Autumn felt horrible. We went through rain & snow all morning We saw buffalo, caribou, & a red fox. We passed Muncho Lake & it was beautiful!
For lunch we pulled over & made sandwiches in the RV. Not long after we got back on the road Dwayne radioed us saying he needed a nap. We took a "quick" power nap (about 1 hour). I got bored so I walked Teco around & then jumped in the RV to grap a Pepsi. Before I knew it, the RV was moving, so I quickly jumped out & shut the door & we all started laughing!
We stopped in Teslin to see a SEND couple (Derick & Jenny Baker) & had fellowship with them for about two hours. Jenny felt sorry for Autumn & gave her a new box of Kleenex for the road. It was great, but it put us behind a bit. We made it just shy of Whitehorse & decided to call it a night.
Picture
Add Comment
 
 

    It’s Tuesday night and I am sitting at home while Autumn is out grocery shopping.  She is such a great wife.  I have my Orals and Practicals coming up on Friday, and she knows I am a little stressed out. 
    Orals and Practicals, or O’s and P’s as they are known for short, are 12 to 18 hours of questions and practical assignments given to me from an FAA Examiner who is judging whether or not I know what I am doing as a mechanic.  It is the first step to take in the final process of obtaining my Airframe and Powerplant certificate upon graduation.  After passing these, and my final exams at the end of the semester, I will take ‘the writtens’ which consist of 3 written tests over three different maintenance subjects.  On top of that, Autumn and I are still not sure what we are doing after graduation… so I am a little stressed out.
    The good news is that we have received our application to Africa Inland Mission and once I catch my breath we’ll begin to start that process!  Even better news is that we have been accepted to attend the AIM Candidacy Week in the beginning of June!  God is bringing all that together, and it is fun to watch Him direct our steps!  If everything goes well at Candidacy Week we will be official AIM Missionaries, then we can continue the AIM Air application and training.  Autumn and I are so thankful for all the prayers we have received in this department and we are certain that God is listening! 
    Now… time to get back to the books and relieve some of this stress.

Add Comment
 
 

     Autumn picked up a bad habit when she worked at Premiere Aviation as an A&P mechanic.  Her buddy, Jimmy, got her hooked on the energy drink Monster (especially the green ones).  Anyway, I have since become addicted to them as well, but I am starting to reconsider. 
     After my last monster was finished, I threw the can to the side of the garage like any red blooded American man would do.  Autumn can't stand this, but she let it slide for a couple of days just waiting to see if I would pick it up.  Of course  I didn't pick it up, and one day when Autumn got home from work she had had enough!  So with a 'good grief' sigh and a rolling of the eyes, she bent over to pick up my monster can and... this is what she found!  The poor lizard never had a chance.
     Maybe we should consider the side effects of Monsters a little more carefully!

Add Comment
 
 

CJ and Autumn enjoying the snow after walking out of Brooklyn's Finest... If this movie makes it big we don't recommend it.

Playing a great game of Euchre and killing time at the wait list line for the midnight showing of "Big River Man"

Autumn and Pam spotted some stars!!  If you look real close you can see that the man between the two women is James Bond himself!  Also known as Pierce Brosnan.

One can only watch so many movies.  Luke, CJ, and Mike headed to the Backcountry for a day of snowboarding!

Add Comment
 
Christmas 2008 12/30/2008
 

Teco cuddling up with Paul on the couch... It didn't take long before She was taking both Pual and Connie for walks!  What a great pup!

Christmas 2008

    This was my first Christmas away from my family… ever!  It was difficult to know that they were all together celebrating the birth of Christ and enjoying great fellowship without Autumn and me.  However, God has truly blessed me with wonderful in-laws who have taken me in as part of their family (if you can’t believe that!).
    We spent Christmas in Birmingham, AL with the Schweigert crew.  Autumn's sister, Christy, recently returned from a six-month adventure in Romania with Heifer International where she lived in a village and worked with sheep farmers.  She had all sorts of exciting stories to tell us.  
We also took Teco with us.  I was a little worried because the Schweigerts are definitely cat people.  But Teco didn’t let me down.  She jumped right up on the couch with Paul and gave him some TLC that he couldn’t resist.  After that she had Paul wrapped around her finger.  Paul and Connie even dog sat for us one night and took her on walks and everything.  I’m sure Teco enjoyed all the extra attention she received!
     Christy returned to Texas with us to spend a week in Longview before she hitches a ride with a friend back to Wheaton for her final semester.  It’s a joy to have her here.  Autumn has to work all day, so Christy is left in my care and she puts up with me fine.  She even went flying with me today.  Unfortunately she has a little trouble flying and she got a little sick.  But she is trooper and I will quote her as saying, ‘it’s great fun right up until I get sick!’  She even said she’d go up again with me tomorrow so she can ‘kick this bad habit (of getting sick).’
     That’s what’s happening down in Texas.  We are still in the process of applying to AIM Air.  Nothing exciting to report, except a bunch of paper work… We will keep you posted though.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

CJ

Add Comment
 
Miller Family Adventures