We didn't have much time to rest upon our return from the tour, and to
pack everything and be moved
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| Off to Fairbanks! |
out of where we were living in Wasilla. God
set us up perfectly as we sketpically scanned Craigslist wondering if
there was any way we could move our things from Wasilla to Fairbanks at a
cheaper rate than what U-haul was offering. We just so happened to come
across a post by a man who was taking his empty 20 ft. trailer up to
Fairbanks and was willing to take anyone's belongings with him only for
the cost of gas. Our first thought was, "Come on, really? This has got
to be a fake post". We decided to call to see if the guy was for real
and sure enough he was! He pulled up with his trailer one week after we
had arrived back to Wasilla from the lower 48 and we had all of our
things packed and ready to load! It didn't take long as we had so much
help from the Master's Commission team based there and some friends in
the area, not to mention that the driver, along with his son and friend
he was
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| Our new bathroom! |
traveling with was a huge help. In one day we had our whole house
moved into. Granted, at first you could not even make it to the
bathroom because things were piled on top of each other in the living
room but with the help of a friend and my brother (who is stationed at
the Army base here in Fairbanks) we had the place pretty much in order
by the morning! I couldn't believe all that had happened in such a short
time! Although I have not posted this blog entry sooner because I
wanted to make sure all my decorating was done first, I realized that I
probably wouldn't be able to do that for quite a while so I figure that
every few blog posts I will show you a new room to introduce the new
home to you. (I'm kind of a perfectionist in that way although here's a
cheater hint: You can see a whole lot of the house already by random
pictures I post on facebook but until I get nice curtains and all, you
will have to wait for the official presentation!)
It wasn't long after we arrived that we were invited to the village
of Noatak, Alaska, a community of about 400 people far above the Arctic
Circle on Alaska's Northwest Coast near Russia. We only had a few weeks
until we would leave so we took some weeks to get our family acquainted
with the new city and to minister in the local area. Rob has had the
chance to preach and minister very much with our Native home church
"Golden Heart Church" held at the David Salmon Tribal Hall in Fairbanks where they hold a beautiful service and feed the whole church which
attracts many of the homeless population in Fairbanks. Rob had the
privilege of ministering to a young homeless man who was suicidal and
who lost his parents while they too were living on the streets. Rob
listened as the young man poured his heart out to him and built a
connection with the man. I remember Rob telling me about him and how he
touched Rob's heart. I would hear Rob praying for him throughout the
week in the house. The week Rob returned to the tribal hall to minister,
he was told that the young homeless man burned to death in a fire. He
did not commit suicide, it was a shear accident, yet a tragic one and
many grieved the loss together at the service. That is the kind of need
here in Fairbanks and we are honored to be the heart of Jesus here to
these desperate people in such a time of need!
Before long our plane was taking off for Noatak and it would take
the whole day to travel there even though it is in the same state! By
the time we reached Kotzebue, Alaska (a village 20 air minutes away from
our destination village) there was a terrible snow storm (in April!)
and they canceled our
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| Standing on Arctic Ocean |
last flight for the day that would bring us to our
destination. (If the smaller planes get caught up in storms or really
heavy winds the possibilities of crashes or accidents are greatly
increased). We spent the rest of the evening in Kotzebue enjoying the
frozen Arctic Ocean and the sights of the village there. First thing in
the morning we had our things repacked and were at the airport waiting
for our flight. Since the flight wasn't leaving for a while we were
found by a Native pastor in the area who took us to his home and paid
for our lunch. I cannot begin to tell you the amount of generosity that
the Natives treat us with - it's so humbling!
By the evening our plane was landing safely in Noatak on one of the
smallest runways I think I have ever seen! The Pastor there was waiting
and ready to take us one person at a time by snow machine to his
parsonage. The air didn't feel so bitter cold until you were on that
snow machine (snowmobile for lower 48'ers)! Since we were held back a
night, we had to be ready to minister the same night we arrived there in
Noatak. We ate Caribou Soup for dinner and headed right to the service.
The church was huge and many people parked their snow machines outside
and filed in. The whole parking lot was filled with snow machines - no
cars! This was a sight for us as I had never seen anything like it! Over
the weekend Rob ministered with another Native Apostle from Kotzebue
and I was able to give my testimony as well! We saw a lot of fruit and
people just kept coming up to us to introduce themselves, tell us how
welcome we are and all the things God was doing in their life and heart
as a result of our ministering there! It was incredible.
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| Snow Machines |
By the second night Titus started to act strange. He seemed
extremely tired and when he coughed it sounded like a seal was barking.
We stayed up with him throughout the night trying different remedies and
made a few phone calls to some friends knowledgeable in the medical
field and came to the conclusion that he had croup. It was scary for me
as a mother because I could hear him suffering,
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| To the Village Medical Clinic |
trying to breath and
sleep and there were minimal efforts I could offer to make him better.
We considered asking to have him Medi-vaced to a place with a hospital
or medical help but with endurance and prayer we made it through the
night. By morning we informed the Pastor of what was going on and he
immediately radioed into the local village nurse and medical clinic in
the area. We took snow machines across the village and were able to
treat him with a nebulizer machine and some medicine and throughout the
day he was doing much better. I kept him out of the service that
afternoon to get some extra rest and the next night went much smoother
even though it was still a struggle.
Easter Sunday came and the village started with a sunrise service!
They had a total of 4 services on that day and hardly breaked for any
but a couple meals and quickly were back in the church totaling
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| Easter Play |
somewhere close to 16 hours of church in one day! The people just loved
worshiping together and celebrating Easter as a unified village! The
children and church members of the village put on an Easter production
that was precious and the meetings didn't come to a close until around
midnight! God was doing so much in the village and I'm really not sure
who gets blessed the most on a trip like this but I felt like the most
blessed person to be able to spend such a precious holiday with such
beautiful and dedicated people! God has such a call on the Natives and
we feel so privileged to be part of them.
Noatak Album on Facebook - click here!
Monday morning we had to say our goodbye's and travel back home to
the Fairbanks area. I hated to leave because the people there are so
easy to love and get attached to! The trip home was easier than the trip
there of course because there was no snow storms and therefore no
cancellations but in the short time we had been gone, we returned to a
very slushy Fairbanks as all the snow from winter is melting and we are
hitting temperatures of near 50 degrees now!
We hadn't had time to do our Easter family traditions while away so
we planned ahead of time to celebrate as a family when we returned. By
the time we got back I had gathered little items from the
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| Celebrating Easter with Colored Eggs! |
store to set
up an Easter egg and basket hunt for Titus though by the time we got to
the store they were out of all the Easter baskets. We gathered all we
could and improvised the basket with a tiny box I had in our home. We
had a great time coloring and decorating eggs and then doing the hunt
for them especially because it was Titus' first time doing it! There is
no greater joy than having family, really. I see why God would have
desired to create us ~ no matter what the cost He knew the secret that
there is no greater joy than family.
The Radosti family wishes you a happy Easter 2012!
Check out our full Easter 2012 Album here.
In
just a few days we will be headed to tour the lower 48 again and upon
returning we have an invitation to the Native Village of Selawik! We
cannot get enough of these villages. Not long after all that we have a
special delivery on his way!
And until then we will be concentrating here in the Fairbanks region -
our heart - the Golden Heart city. Thank you to all who have faithfully
and selflessly supported us in this call. We could not do it without you
and many lives are being changed as a result! God bless you.
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| Titus and Dada coloring eggs for Easter! |
