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July 2007
Greetings Everyone,
I know many of you are curious
about the weather here, so
here's the report: Currently,
it's 59 degrees outside, the sky
is clear, and the wind is coming
from the northeast at 13 mph.
We're expecting a high today
somewhere around 77 degrees.
Fantastic!
First, I want to thank all of
you for your faithful support.
I am truly overwhelmed every
month when I get our statement,
and see what the Lord is doing
through you. I know that many
of you are giving very
sacrificially. We appreciate
that more than we can say.
Our evangelistic meetings with
David Young and Jason Coombs
this May went very well. Four
people (two adults and two
children) accepted Christ as
their Savior, and many folks
made decisions regarding their
walk with the Lord. It was a
great week. Please pray that
those who trusted the Lord will
continue to come to the
services, and that they will
begin to grow.
Ruth Peterson, one our senior
ladies, went home to be with the
Lord two weeks ago. Ruth had
attended our church, Arctic
Circle Baptist, for the past
several years, so the family
asked me to conduct the
service. Since most of Ruth's
family attends the Episcopal
church, however, they wanted the
service to be held there. I was
really uncomfortable preaching
there, but the place was
packed-- every pew was filled,
and people were standing in the
back. I'm sure there were at
least 200 people in
attendance. I preached the
Gospel, of course, but I
stressed that Ruth was in
heaven, not
because she was
religious, and not
because she was a
good person, but because she had
a personal relationship with the
Lord. Please pray that the
Scriptures will continue to work
in the hearts of those unsaved
who heard the Gospel. We're
also praying that this will be
another significant step toward
being accepted in the
community. We knew when we came
that it would be a slow process,
but the Lord has clearly been
working, and we're confident
that He will continue to do so.
We are continuing to have
opportunities to minister to
families outside of the church.
A family in the village lost a
son in a boating accident this
past week. Actually, their son,
Travis, had been missing for
almost a month, and his body was
finally recovered Saturday. At
any rate, they called and asked
us to come and pray with them.
I was really surprised.
I had only met the family a
couple of times, and really
didn't know them at all. Travis
was only 18 years old. He was
one of the four hunters that
"rescued" me and my family last
September when the boat motor
quit. We're praying that the
Lord will use this tragedy to
open the door with these folks.
We finally got the new boat
motor up here. It arrived
at Earl Malpass' house in North
Pole several weeks ago, but it
took some time to figure out how
to get it the rest of the way up
here. Anyway, it's here, and
it's installed on the boat. As
soon as I get the boat trailer
fixed, we'll be in business
again. This is an enormous
praise, and thank you once again
to the anonymous motor donor--
you're wonderful!
Our radio station was down for a
few weeks as well. We were
having trouble with the
transmitter, so I replaced it.
I then found out that our
antenna was incompatible with
the new transmitter, so I had to
order a new antenna and cable.
The antenna was on back-order,
and we had to wait a few weeks
for it to arrive. Andrew and I
put it together and installed it
last week. It works very well.
The signal is noticeably clearer
(and in stereo!). We're also
getting about twice the range
that we were getting before. We
still need to do something about
the antenna pole (it's not a
very sturdy arrangement-- the
new antenna is much heavier than
the original; I'm afraid that a
good stiff wind might bring it
down), but for now, we're back
on the air. The radio station
has turned out to be a much more
effective tool than I originally
thought. I've been amazed at
how many people outside of the
church family have told me that
they are listening.
We are just getting into the
busiest time of the year up
here. We have around fifty
people coming up this summer to
help with work projects, VBS,
Neighborhood Bible Time, etc.
Heidi is running around looking
a little wild in the eyes. I
just give her plenty of room,
and agree with everything she
says. So far, she hasn't
seriously injured anyone.
Please pray for her as she works
to keep things organized.
Please pray for the kids.
Andrew is heading for Pensacola
Christian College this
September. He's not yet sure
what the Lord wants to do with
him, but he's open to His
leading. Rachael and Stephen
are still working on finishing
up their school work for this
year. I'm sure I've mentioned
it before, but in case you've
forgotten, we got behind while
we were doing so much traveling,
raising out support, and the
kids have been on a different
schedule from the other kids
around here ever since. It's
tough for them to stay inside
and do their school work while
the other kids are enjoying
summer vacation.
We're planning on visiting a few
of our supporting churches when
we drop Andrew off in Florida.
I haven't tried to schedule any
"official" meetings, but we're
going to try to stop in to say,
"hello," at Pine Forest Estates
Baptist in Pensacola, FL,
Calvary Baptist in Brazil, IN,
Berean Baptist in Bunker Hill,
IL, and Calvary Baptist in
Quincy, IL. If you're in one of
those churches, we'll be seeing
you soon if all goes according
to plan. Please pray for safety
for us while we're on the road.
I have another really big bit of
news. A few weeks back, I
received a phone call from a
business man and his wife that
attend one of our supporting
churches. They told us that
they believed that the Lord was
leading them to donate the
proceeds from a project that
they were working on to help pay
for the camp property. They
said that it would probably be
at least $25,000. We received
the first installment from them
a couple of weeks ago-- a check
for $5,390. When the rest of
this come in, we will have
received a total of $36,500 (not
counting what has been pledged
by others, but has yet to
arrive). We're still short
$43,500 of paying off the
property, but we're definitely
moving in the right direction.
I've also been told that the
paperwork transferring ownership
of the property to the camp has
almost made its way through the
system. Please pray that we'll
be able to get things well
enough organized to have kids
come for a couple of weeks of
camp next summer.
I bought a rubber raft. I
named her "Blondie." Why?
Because she's a little dinghy.
I know, I know . . . that's
really bad.
Anyway, three weeks ago, I had
Gerald drop off Andrew, the
raft, and me in Circle, a small
village about 75 miles up the
Yukon. We thought it would be
nice to drift back down the
river to Fort Yukon. Without
the noise of a boat motor, we
thought we would have a
wonderful opportunity to see
some bears, moose, etc. We
figured on taking two or three
days to make the trip, camping
along the way. It
sounded like a
good idea at the time. We made
a few discoveries. 1) When one
takes the sloughs instead of the
main channel (to have a better
chance of spotting wildlife),
one increases the distance of
the trip significantly. 2)
When one takes the sloughs
instead of the main channel,
one's speed decreases
significantly, since the current
in many of the sloughs is
practically nonexistent. What
one thought was going to be a 15
hour trip (15 hours @ 5 mph = 75
miles) can suddenly turn into a
75 hour trip (75 hours @ 1 mph =
75 miles) 3) After one decides
to stay out of the sloughs, and
to stick to the main channel,
one is often carried into the
sloughs by the current against
one's will. 4) It's impossible
to paddle a raft against a 5 mph
current. 5) The little oars
that are often supplied with
rubber rafts are not intended to
be used. They are merely for
decoration. If one wishes to
actually influence the direction
of a rubber raft in a 5 mph
current, one needs a small
outboard motor. 6) One does
not actually "drift" down the
Yukon River. One paddles like
crazy the whole way in a
futile attempt to stay out of
the sloughs. 7) 99% of the
mosquito population in the state
of Alaska cruises the sloughs--
presumably to have a better
chance of spotting wildlife.
8) Even though the sun never
actually sets this time of year,
the temperature still drops
about thirty degrees at night.
It's amazing how cold 55 degrees
can feel when one is sunburned.
9) 99% of the horsefly
population in the state of
Alaska cruises the sloughs--
presumably to have a better
chance of spotting wildlife.
10) Spotting a bull moose while
one is too near the river bank
can make one nervous--
especially if one decides to try
to call the bull moose like one
has seen Gerald do, and the
moose comes to the call--
grunting back. I said to
Andrew, "I don't know if he
thinks we're another bull, or a
cow, but paddle faster!" 11)
It's possible to paddle for
twenty-two hours without
stopping, if one is properly
motivated by mosquitoes and
horseflies. 12) There are
many, many different levels of
muscle cramps. 13) It is
possible to actually bruise the
palms of one's hands while using
a short decorative "oar" as a
paddle.
Stephen and Rachael both still
want their turn.
I'm currently taking
applications for "Substitute
Dad." If anyone's interested,
you know where to find me.
Keep praying for that airplane.
We love you bunches.
Yours in the Lord,
The Craigs in Alaska
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