Official Birth Story - Asher Uriah Radosti

Shortly after writing my last post, in fact, it was that very night that I started to feel the contractions coming on! Rob had planned to take me on a date night while we could still go and even though the contractions were a bit different than they had been throughout the pregnancy (very draining...and somewhat regular), we decided to head out on a date to Taco Bell. Our good friends Josh and Jenna volunteered to watch Titus for us. We were like two young lovers, out without any children on a date and we had the time of our lives sharing a quesadilla and we stayed up all night talking like we used to years ago. Of all the nights to pick to have such a time, we had no idea what we would be in for the next day. 

Walking & talking in early labor

Rob and I laid down around 6:00 AM to get some rest before Titus would routinely wake near 10. When my head hit the pillow, before I dozed off, I decided to time the contractions...and sure enough they were about 6 to 8 minutes apart. Rob and I looked at each other, exhausted as we were, and I said "I think this is it hunny!" I hadn't thought about the dangers of staying up all night ahead of time... my due date was still a week away. 

Tub labor. Our love got me through.

We rolled out of bed and decided to keep more consistent track of the contractions and sure enough...they were coming at same minute intervals. I felt like something was different in my body. I knew that the contractions didn't feel like practice ones. They were draining my energy and I had this "feeling" that I was in labor. In just a few hours we decided it was time to call my doula. In no time she was over my house with coffee for my husband and snacks for the family. When she arrived, she knew I was in labor too so altogether we decided we should call the midwives right away. Originally with this labor I had decided from the beginning I was going to do as much labor on my own that I could before calling the midwives in for the "active labor" part. Unfortunately during the pregnancy, I tested positive for "Group B Strep" which is very controllable with antibiotics during the labor. It was a tough decision to make to have to get an IV with antibiotics during the labor, but being that infection from Group B Strep has killed infants in the past, I just wasn't willing to take any chances no matter how "natural" I am. If a needle in my arm could prevent my baby from possible harm, I'd administer it myself if I had to. 

After about an hour the midwife showed up and ran the antibiotics right away. She did so every 4 hours until I birthed. For many hours I walked around, drank water and talked with my friends who were over our house. I had wondered in my head if it was going to be as hard as the first time around but I knew my job this time. I had done my research and I was ready to face whatever labor was going to throw at me! When the contractions got more intense I called Rob in to be with me. I could feel it getting more and more intense until transition and trust me, by that time - everyone knew I was in labor. ;) 

Titus' first time meeting Asher

Even though the contractions at some points felt like I could not take them any longer... my body took it in strides and gave me a lot of rest time in between them, unlike my first labor. When I knew transition was close, we filled up the bathtub as I was certain I wanted a water birth however while laboring in the tub I felt so uncomfortable that my body would not let me stay in it. As soon as I left the tub, my water broke on Rob's foot as he was helping me back to the bedroom. (Most of you know this from facebook!) The rest of the labor took place in our bedroom, and there our beautiful son Asher Uriah was born. It was very tiring but at the same time so empowering and such a thrill to bring him into the world. I could tell that I definitely had those love hormones running through me from the moment I saw him! I just wanted to hold and cuddle him and I never wanted that moment to end. 

On July 11, 2012 at 9:08 PM our little Asher Uriah was born a healthy 8 lbs 2 oz and 19.5 in. 

Thank you to all who were praying for us during this pregnancy and labor. It was an absolutely incredible experience! Adjusting to life as a family of 4 has been so much fun and a lot of work! We are so thankful to have your prayers and support!

Full Album of Asher's birth: CLICK HERE

A Birth Story and a Half... Moments before the birth.

It seems like we are in the waiting game at this point... finishing up week 39 of pregnancy and moving on to week 40! When one is going to have a baby, they are faced with so many decisions! What kind of pregnancy diet will you choose? Will you find out if it's a boy or girl ahead of time? Will you go with a midwife or a doctor? Will you give birth in a hospital, birth center or at home? Will you get pain medications in labor or go completely natural? The options for how you want to bring your little life into the world are innumerable.

With Titus, my first son, I had no idea what to expect with pregnancy/labor and postpartum. The person who greatly influenced my pregnancy with him was my mother in law Margaret. She is pretty much a guru when it comes to health, organics, herbs and natural living. She, herself had a completely natural birth 3 times to 3 healthy baby boys with a midwife. On my husbands side of the family it was pretty much second nature to go along with these life processes as naturally as possible and through them my world was opened up to options that I didn't know possible in pregnancy and labor. Our insurance covered our midwife and home birth with Titus all except the supplies.

The birth of Titus was an amazing, beautiful experience! I would, however, like to be transparent concerning it, as some of you reading this may have found yourselves in this situation. I was believing for a pain free child birth. I was believing so much for it that I felt if I looked into any "pain reduction methods" for labor that  I would be taking a step backwards faith-wise. I read all the books on pin-free childbirth and memorized the scriptures for it. The moment the pain came during my labor, I began to have a complete crisis of belief.

"Why? Why is there pain?" is what I thought. The shocking part wasn't even that pain came, it was that pain stayed and continually got worse until I was in agony. This hurt my heart so much as I really felt like somehow, something I did or didn't do hindered my faith for pain free child birth.

Titus came into the world so beautifully in the water and was caught by his daddy Rob. He imprinted our hearts and minds with one of the greatest memories we would ever have!

Album of Titus' birth: Click here! (Graphic!)

When Titus was turning about a year old, Rob and I started talking about another baby since it was one of our greatest desires to have two children close in age so that they could have each other. We prayed...and after some other things we got the positive pregnancy test!

We were so excited as we started planning. I immediately knew I wanted to have a midwife again so I called and made the appointment at the midwifery center in town.

Halfway through the pregnancy we found out that we would be moving 7 hours north of where we were currently living in Alaska. This would change the whole birth plan depending on what was offered in Fairbanks, where we were moving to. When we arrived, we made an appointment at the first midwifery center we could find. Upon meeting the midwife, we found out that there were different types of midwives that serviced the area. The one we were currently seeing was a hospital midwife. This would mean that we would be going to the hospital to birth our baby. It wasn't long before we were told that birthing in the hospital would mean not having a water birth because it is against their protocol. It would also mean there was a possible limit on who I could have in the room, etc. I was pretty desperate to receive care since we were traveling so much and had so little time to make our decisions so I decided to go with it and set up a tour at the hospital to get a mental picture of what this birth might be like.

Rob and I walked up to the hospital with baby Titus, and took the elevator to the "Labor and Delivery". When we arrived, the front desk told us that the lady we made an appointment with to have a tour of the facility was not there. Then, they told us that we missed it, got the date wrong and that our tour was supposed to be the day before. After this we were led to a waiting room until they could get someone to give us the tour.

Time ticked away for about a half hour and Titus was hungry and started getting really fidgety, so we decided we would go back to the front desk to see what was going on. When Rob approached the front desk they told us that they had forgotten, were really understaffed and couldn't help us.

Thoughts raced through my head. "What if this happens when I'm in labor? What if they are understaffed or the rooms are too full or they just forget about us?" I was very unhappy with how we were treated and started searching other options.

We remembered that there was another birth center in the area that was run by midwives and would allow me to do a birth center birth or a home birth - also if I was a low risk pregnancy, a water birth! Rob made the call and set up a tour there.

The day we showed up to the birth center, the midwives were very attentive to our arrival and gave us a tour of the beautiful little birth center. It was nice to feel cared about and get my questions answered so without a second thought we knew that we were going to opt for a birth center birth.

The pregnancy went on and it seemed like I would get some of the same pains that I would get during my pregnancy with Titus but the midwives without fail would suggest something herbal or supplemental that really worked for me!

Because of how extreme my labor was with Titus, I had decided that this time around investing into getting a doula for my labor was of highest importance. We looked into our options and interviewed a doula whose personality and faiths matched perfectly, not to mention she had extremely reasonable pricing rates! I was excited to know I'd have even more support and guidance for this labor!

Sometime last week I was working my way through my 39th week and getting many Braxton Hicks waves (or contractions as they are more commonly known as) and something clicked inside of me.
"I know my home is small, but all I feel comfortable with when thinking about labor is home. I don't want to travel a half hour away to get to the birth center. While there, it will be harder not having food, toys or any way to let Titus nap or sleep (if the labor was at night)" I thought.

No matter how many times we packed and repacked for the birth center, I couldn't get out of my mind how nice it was when I was in labor with Titus that if I wanted to wear a certain shirt, I could just go get it. If I wanted food, I could just go to my kitchen. Maybe I wouldn't have a big tub for this water birth like I had with Titus', but I have a bathtub and that would be good enough!

I contacted my doula and midwife right away and found that it was possible to change  my mind even at this far along - and we pretty much set it in concrete that all going well, we would be having baby Asher at our home!

So amidst all the mind changes, I am more thrilled about my labor now then I have been about it yet and most of it is my decision to have another home/water birth! Right now, we're waiting for baby Asher, and just today finished the set up for his room! He and Titus will share a room even though they probably won't sleep in the same room for quite a while. For a sneak peak into their mini man cave, see pics below!

No one will have to be concerned about knowing when Asher will be arriving - as we are very open on our facebooks and twitters so if you have befriended, subscribed or followed us, you will be well informed digitally if you are faithful to check your updates! Until then, thank you everyone for your prayers, support and gifts to the ministry and the birth of baby Asher!

To those who have given, your "Thank you cards" will be sent soon! ;)
I haven't forgotten about you!

A special thank you to: Doula Vernita Salinas of http://mamabeardoulacare.net, and https://www.facebook.com/MamabearDoulaCare of Fairbanks, AK.

and to:

Alaska Family Health & Birth Center

We are looking forward to this amazing experience bringing our baby boy into the world peacefully!

To see our original post of Baby Titus' birth, click here:

http://radostiroads.blogspot.com/2011/07/bundle-of-joy.html 

Sneak peak of mini-man cave:

Expanding our borders: Villages, Cities and New Babies!

We have been having so much fun these last few weeks traveling that I have decided that it would be too much to put into words so I carefully documented our time in the village of Selawik through video clips and Rob and I put together this video to take you on the journey with us first hand! So for your personal enjoyment, we present to you "Selawik: A candid journey".

Us with all the children of Selawik Village

Shortly after our trip to Selawik we had our suitcases repacked for our trip to Anchorage and Wasilla. We hadn't been back to these cities for ministry since God had called us to Fairbanks 3 months ago. We had an amazing time at the first event Kingdom Dwellers hosted in Anchorage as the last stop on the Addicted to the Gospel Tour 2012 and then were off to Wasilla the next day where we ministered at a house meeting which was incredible. (Special thank you to Scott and Jenn Kendrick, James Bower and Jennifer Christensen, Ruben and Bonnie Reyes, and John and Shiree Seeds for all your work and sacrifice to make these events happen!) If you would like to see a clip from it, you can view it here: http://youtu.be/v-gwa5XuAM0. I was surprised when we got to our good friends house that Rob and everyone had been planning a surprise baby shower for baby Asher! We had so much fun together and we received so many gifts that we now have all the basic necessities for baby Asher as we wait for his arrival!

As far as my part in this, now that we are home I am taking care of Titus and waiting these last few weeks for Asher to come. Rob will be working with the Village Voice radio station and ministering here in Fairbanks until our next bundle of joy arrives. Traveling has come to a halt but we love being here in the Golden Heart City to fellowship and bless our beloved Native community! Thank you for all of your loving support, we couldn't do this without you all.

Rob speaking at our "Addicted to the Gospel Anchorage" Gathering!

Happy Father's Day 2012!

The Radosti Clan is very happy to honor Rob Radosti, Husband and Father in the Radosti family on this Father's Day 2012! In honor of him, we've made this video, "What it means to be a Father". I hope you can enjoy as we celebrate this Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day love the Radosti Family!

Addicted to the Gospel: Growth in Acceleration

It seems like just yesterday we were boarding the plane headed to the lower 48 for our last tour and here we were boarding the plane again. This time leaving from Fairbanks it would take us a full 24 hours including air travel time, stop overs and the hours driving from Atlanta, Georgia to arrive in South Carolina where we would be staying for a couple of events. It was a very quick tour with a lot to do in a short time being that I was already 31 weeks pregnant upon arrival, we knew we could not stay for long. It doesn't take a long tour or a whole lot of time for God to move in a region. He is always moving - and when we come we just love to stir people up with remembrance of what He is already doing! It's amazing to see how free people can get when they are renewed by preaching on how free they are. Oh the testimonies that flooded our inboxes and conversations after the meetings! So much freedom broke out as we celebrated together with the people what Jesus has done!

We moved quickly from meeting to meeting, state to state and for me personally on tours when I'm pregnant the days can fly by in a blur. Our stops on this tour were as follows: High Point, NC; Charlotte, NC; Haverhill, MA; Tolland, CT; Seattle, WA; Mt. Vernon, WA and Anchorage AK to come! Before I knew it, it was Mother's Day and I was very surprised when I asked Rob where we were driving to next and he says "Somewhere special". Before I knew it, we were pulling into the parking lot of a hotel that looked more like a castle with limousines parked in front! Rob checked us in and lead me to a huge room with one of the most comfortable king size beds and a jacuzzi! I teared up! I was so thankful that I got to spend Mother's day in such a special way with my family! We visited a Hard Rock Cafe (one of our favorites) and enjoyed the night together. It was amazing and it's just so nice to have these mini-honeymoons to refresh us!

One thing I have come to realize about being an Alaskan is that I'm not sure if I will ever be comfortable with the temperatures in the lower 48 states again. From the outside weather to the thermostats in peoples homes not to mention being at the end of a pregnancy Rob, Titus and I found ourselves constantly sweating. What a relief when we get into a hotel room of our own! One of the first things we do is set the temperature in the 60's. However, when we are stuck in 91 degree weather and the people we are staying with realize that their air conditioner is broken - the way we can make the best of a situation like that is by taking Titus out for his first visit to the Ice Cream truck! How fun it is when you see your son enjoying the things that excited you as a child!

We have a very fun filled, adventure packed few weeks ministering and loving on people and we are so excited that we would not be ending the tour with a trip back to Alaska alone. This time we would be returning with some good friends of ours who felt the call to move to Alaska with us and together impact the region! Josh and Jenna Wallace are a powerful young couple who have been traveling in ministry in the lower 48 states and assisting us when we would come seasonally. We immediately took a liking to them as we could see how they are as crazy and radical in the Lord as we are! It only took the Lord to tell them to "go" and they started to sell all of their things and bought tickets! So much favor came as people generously sowed into the vision and within a few days of them being in Alaska God provided a car for them! It's amazing to see this stuff right before your eyes. I've met people all over the world that dream of things like this happening - but once in a while we meet people that are crazy enough to believe Him when He (Jesus) speaks! We are thrilled to what the Lord is going to do in the coming months!

Life on the home front: We now only have a couple of days between the time when our flight landed returning from the lower 48 until the next flight boards to leave for our next Alaskan Village, Selawik! We are thrilled to be with the beloved Native people again! Whenever we leave them, we feel like we are leaving our blood family! (And I suppose since our adoption into the Athabascans, we are!) So I have a few days to get the family back into the Alaskan time zone (learn how to sleep in non-stop sunlight, nearly 24 hours of it), unpack and clean up our things from the tour and repack to get to the next village, and of course whatever office work and errands the ministry and family may need! We even were able to squeeze in making an appointment with my midwife! So life is a little hurriedly at the moment but this will probably be our last plane flight trip we will take before our little Asher Uriah makes his entrance into the world! Thank you to all who have generously sowed and prayed for us as we could not do this with out you! We continue to ask for your prayers and support as we dedicate our lives to the going in the Gospel! We love you all!

For your enjoyment! Candid life on the road with the Radostis!

Radical Faith at the Top of the World!

We didn't have much time to rest upon our return from the tour, and to pack everything and be moved

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

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

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.

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,

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

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

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.

Titus and Dada coloring eggs for Easter!

Our Return: Controversy, Persecution and Adoption

It had been two months since we were home in Alaska, and we felt right at home as soon as we touched down. Feeling the cold temperatures put smiles on our faces as we prepared for what God would have for us next! We had about 2 weeks to get settled from the trip, get used to the time zone again and prepare to leave for our next scheduled events in North Pole.

After a beautiful, snowy 6 hour drive from Wasilla we arrived at the hotel where our first event would be held. We were invited there by a Pastor in North Pole that seemed very excited about all the things God was doing in our ministry! God did amazing things that night as Rob preached powerfully as he usually does. We received some testimonies from people personally on what God had done for them through our ministry and we were super blessed. Unfortunately, Rob was called in for a meeting the next day in which they shut him down and made many types of false accusations against him. For their sakes I cannot go into details, but we knew that where there was much coming against us God was about to do something big - and we were right! It wasn't hard to seek the Lord on the situation. We are the kind of people that are often loved or hated and after a few years in a ministry as bold as ours, well let's just say we've learned how to deal with religious spirits by now.

The invitation to stay and minister the following Sunday morning was extended to us by a good Pastor friend of ours also from North Pole, and after some time in prayer we decided to give it another go. We were not about to give up that easy. When the persecution arose, Paul stayed. Before we knew it, Sunday morning was here and we got to return to Golden Heart Church in Fairbanks where we have been a number of times before. Pastor Marvin Carrol has run together with us in this vision to reach the Native people since we arrived (and even before we arrived)! They blessed us many times by taking us into some of the villages and opening doors for us to reach the lost. We were very excited to be back. Before Rob even had a chance to grab the microphone that Sunday, Pastor Marvin politely interrupted the service to call a few people up to the front of the church along with us. He said they had a presentation for us which took us by complete surprise! One of the ladies standing before us was the sister of the beloved Chief David Salmon and another was his Granddaughter. Also present was a Chief from the village of Minto, and Rita our soon to be adopted Aunt as well as some others. In front of the church, they presented us with gifts and told us we were being adopted into the Athabascan Tribe as Natives! Tears welled up in my eyes as I could not believe that these precious, beautiful and holy people were honoring us! They presented me with 2 necklaces, one of which that was a native necklace and the other from New Zealand representing their close ties to the Mauri peoples, and a gorgeous pair of pomegranate earrings. To Rob they presented a beautiful moose skin Native knife holder symbolically representing the name they gave him "Shree Genin" (Sharp Knife in English), and later a beautiful Native necklace. To Titus they gave an adorable toddler Native moose skin vest. As they told us how we were a blessing to them they finished with "Welcome to the family". I could not believe what had just happened! We felt so incredibly honored that Rob got choked up before even getting to preach! It was an incredible service and afterwards we all ate together as they always prepare a meal for the homeless on Sundays and the church enjoys the day together.

The meetings were so powerful that Pastor Marvin and Rob had to agree that there is a deep awakening happening among the Natives and so they decided as the doors opened to continue that they would hold meetings for the next 2 days and then continued for the rest of the week whether we held a meeting or there was a local Bible study in the area, or another minister to come and preach but the hunger for the knowledge of the Lord and the eagerness to reach the lost in the villages had definitely intensified. We were just flabbergasted by what the Holy Spirit was doing there!

As the week flew past us, God was giving me and Rob constant dreams, visions or words about the land, and there was no amount of interpretation that could explain it other than that God was firmly calling us to work on a continual basis in the interior Fairbanks region. Back in November Rob had had a dream in which he saw a triple rainbow over the cities of Fairbanks and North Pole, Alaska, and then following that in his dream we were given a home in the region. It very well is the gate to many, if not all of the Native Alaskan tribes by plane (as He has given us a passion to see the villages come to the knowledge of the Lord), river and some by road - whether paved or unpaved! Although we are sometimes pig headed and God needs to give us several confirmations, we heeded this one as soon as we figured it out! "Okay Lord, if you want us here, all we need is a place to live!" What do you think happens next?

A couple of days later, Rob woke up with the impression that he needed to have a meeting with a couple of ministry leaders in the region. After the meeting, he returned and said, "They told me the door is open!" We cheered, squealed and jumped around (but not too loud as Titus was taking a nap) as we sat in awe of what God was doing and that He is so faithful to confirm His words to us! The Lord had provided a home for our family - a beautiful 3 bedroom log cabin newly remodeled, and it was ready for move in whenever we were! Regardless of the expenses, we knew that the Lord would provide.

As time drew closer to Friday we knew that we would have to leave as we were scheduled to speak at a huge outreach in Anchorage on Sunday. We spent Friday night celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary a day early. We had a wonderful night as we reflected the years and all God has done and the places He brought us! Titus ate a hamburger and fries by himself and drank his own sprite out of a to go cup with a straw for the first time! Of course, I cannot forget to mention that he counted to 5 by himself for the first time at 18 months old! It was a splendid evening and the next day, Saturday we packed our things to head back to Wasilla to present the things God has told and confirmed to us to the church. Thankfully our Pastor there already knew as God covered all his bases and told him as well!We were excited, and were commissioned in front of the church the following morning.

Before we left the area we were contacted by the Pastor who previously invited us to speak in North Pole and we were able to see restoration from the recent incident at the North Pole meetings. God had made peace in the relationship. We are thankful for this as the scripture says "Blessed are the peacemakers"!

And so that pretty much brings us up to date - as we are looking forward to what God is doing! I cannot wait to post pictures of the new house as well as give report and updates as God is constantly moving and has faithfully called and provided for us. Thank you to everyone who has believed and supported our call!

I reserve the right to free speech as I was honest in this post about the chain of events and was in no way intending to bring shame or dishonor to anyone by being factual. I apologize for those who this offends as that was not the purpose. We are praying for the leaders who came against us so harshly and pray also God would work on their heart, that they would come to full knowledge of truth and not be held back by this encounter.

                                              Rob preaching awakening meetings in Fairbanks, AK