How We Got To Alaska

As we start this blog, we want to bring you up to speed on what brought us to Alaska in the first place.

Over the past few years, Alaska has worked its way into our hearts. After Liz’s close friend Megan (from Alaska) was killed in the 2002 Bali terrorist bombing, Liz went to Alaska to visit with Megan's family. In 2006, we went there together, and fell in love with the state. In 2007, we went with Brent’s family to Alaska. Then in 2008, through the generosity of a mentor/friend, Brent went on an Alaska cruise. It was during this trip that Brent started thinking about the possibility of spending a summer in Alaska.

We made the decision and then started exploring possibilities. We connected with a couple in Girdwood, Alaska, who were planning to adopt a child in Kazakhstan, and needed someone to care for their two dogs. At the beginning of April, they got word from the Kazakh orphanage that there was a child waiting for them. Things happened fast. Within 3 days of getting their call, Brent packed his bags and left for Alaska. That Sunday at church, Liz got a kick out of answering the “Where's Brent?” question, “Oh, he's in Alaska!” It was rough on Brent not getting to say goodbye to friends and family, but we both sensed that God was in this, and we loved the idea of helping a couple adopt a child. Liz finished out the semester of teaching and joined Brent in the middle of May.

After working for almost 10 years at Alliance Theological Seminary, Brent transitioned out of this role and was looking forward to working (at least for a season) with his hands. Liz thoroughly enjoyed teaching, and was planning to use the summer to prepare for the classes she was scheduled to teach in the fall. She even brought (or had shipped) several dozen books to help her with class prep. After arriving in Alaska, doors to teach in NY started closing. Eventually 2/3 of her classes were canceled for one reason or another. At the same time as this, Brent found a job with Diversified Maintenance where he had lots of opportunities to work with his hands and learn new skills. After seeking wise counsel from a number of close family and friends, and desiring a more balanced life, we made a big decision on our 10th Anniversary (7/10/09)... to stay in Alaska for at least the next year.

So now we're in Alaska! We've had many adventures here, which we will write about in future (shorter) posts.