Christmas Break! :)

Hi Everyone!
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!" Well, at least theres been snow out here for over a month now. :)

Please pray for good weather in Kong on the 22nd. If all goes as planned, I'll be in Lancaster on the 23rd!!!

I'll be home from the 23rd to Jan. 6th except for New Year's Weekend (Fri night - mon night) when I'll be in the Mansfield Area.

I'd love to see as many of you as possible, so please, if you want to get together, contact me :)

Here's a few pictures of snow to get you in the Christmas spirit :)

Kersten

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Hope you all had a great time with all your family and friends. We had a thanksgiving feast with the community on wednesday, and then had a staff thanksgiving meal on thursday. The picture is from our dinner (the staff that did not have family in the area).

Less than 4 weeks till I'll be back in PA! It's crazy how fast time goes! Right now it is -15 degrees without wind. I'm looking forward to some warmer weather when I head home.

Miss all of you and hope to see as many of you as possible while I'm home (Dec. 23rd - Jan. 6)

Kersten

Winter Storm

Hello all,
I figured I'd post on here quickly to say that I am fine and Kong has survived the crazy storm that hit the west coast of AK last night and this morning.

Two of the neighboring villages were flooded, and there is some structural damage, otherwise, we are all ok here.

I am sending an e-mail with details about the past few hours and if you do not receive it feel free to email me. Its a really powerful God story.

Have a great day!
Kersten

Walrus and Other Stuff

Wow! Two posts in less than a week! That is a record, and probably wont happen again for some time. However, there are many interesting experiences I figured I'd share.

First, its cold here. Yes, you all got snow back in PA, but here it was -12 and there was no snow (though now we have a few inches). It is pitch-black dark until 10:30ish every morning, and the sun never fully rises (just high enough to shine in my classroom window and drive us all nuts! :) By 8pm is is almost dark, and winter is near.

One of the interesting things about the tundra is that it takes awhile to freeze, but the ground shifts when the  ground freezes. As the ground freezes, our house, which is built on stilts, shifts, causing our house to not only move, but some of our cupboard doors, as well as our bathroom door to not be able to close. We were told to make sure not to sleep with the doors closed because we could be stuck in our bedroom the following morning. Last night when I was trying to sleep the house was cracking as it shifted. Scared me to death! I was afraid that it was going to fall in on me. My kids had a good laugh this morning when I told them about it.

Today was also the first day that I woke up due to the sound of howling wind. I have less than 200 yards to walk to school, but it took almost 10 minutes between the ice and the wind that was so strong it could knock you over. When I asked another teacher about it, she said that this was mild. "Wait till January" was her response. I think I can wait though. :)

Another exciting event from this past week was the killing of 3 walrus.
I've taken the pictures from another teacher, and posted them here if you want to look and "enjoy" some of the festivities.

I was shocked at how LARGE a walrus really is! Also, in the picture of the innards, the black things are the lungs. Yes, a walrus really is THAT BIG!!!! It took 4 four-wheelers, and 10+ people to pull the walrus out of the water!!! I was invited for walrus soup, but then the party was canceled due to illness. I'm sure there will be many other opportunities to eat walrus soon, and I'll make sure to comment on that when I get the chance.

Missing all of you,
Kersten

Let it Snow, Let it Snow -- Oh Wait, thats in PA!

Hi Everyone!
I cant believe its been almost 2 months since my last post. Time is flying by, and I'll be home for Christmas in less than 8 weeks! Crazy!

Quarter 1 is now over, and I'm over 1/4th of the way through the school year. The prep time needed for my classes is becoming a bit less as I get into the swing of teaching math, science, and AK Studies (which is a blast, because I also get to learn!)

Yesterday I taught elementary music!!! It was amazing! I know I'm suppose to be a math teacher, but many times I miss the music part of my life. This was the first time I sung with kids and directed in months. I used many things that I learned from Mrs Fitz and Mr Miller (my two music teachers in school) as well as many other things that I've learned through music at Erbs.

We are planning a Christmas musical that I will be directing with the elementary students. There also is a high chance that I will be teaching choir next semester! :) This girl is ALL smiles about that!!!!

Moose season has come and gone and walrus season is in full force (though they may only go out a few more times). So far there have been 2 walrus killed for the village. A few teachers went to see the hunters bring in the walrus 2 days ago. Apparently they eat the arteries and they call it "Eskimo chewing gum". My students wondered why I wasnt there, but hearing the stories, I know I missed out but would have thrown up if I had been present. They also ate the contents of the walrus stomach as they butchered it (it was full of clams).

We had the Salmon berry festival a few weeks ago, and I have a few pictures that are posted that one of the other teachers took of the festivities. I'm horrible with a camera, but mom is constantly telling me that I'm going to regret not taking more pictures of the seasons, people, ect.

At some point soon I'll try to take some pictures of the frozen tundra, and explain how that works (though it would be a long post).

Thank you for all the prayer support and the cards and gifts I've received! It means a lot to have people care about me even though I'm thousands of miles away, and I miss all of you!

Some of the teachers trying to push the 4-wheeler out of the muddy tundra, and yes, there are usually 5 adults on 1 4-wheeler. We manage. :)

 Pictures from the Salmon Berry Festival. First there was a fish catching contest with the kids. The one that caught the most won a prize as well as the kid that caught the largest fish. Then there were kayak races. Many people from the community gathered along the river to watch. There were different age groups that raced, and it was a rather cold day. (September)

 Kim, one of the other new teachers, with a moose head that had be brought back the day before. Below are some of the birds that are available in Kong. Colin and Dustin (2 of the teachers) enjoy bonding over hunting while us ladies sit inside and play board games (our favorite are clue and monopoly)

Most of the teachers at the beginning of a district - in service day (note: the native teachers werent there yet, yupik time means about 8:10 instead of 8am)

Below is a picture of my classroom. I have many more where this came from, and will try to post them on a later post.

Kong

Below are some pictures of the beautiful village that I live in. There are so many different stories to share, and I've realized I'm HORRIBLE with getting on here and blogging, plus I dont know what would be interesting to all of you.

Check out my facebook for pictures, and if you cannot see them, I can e-mail the pictures to you, just e-mail me and let me know. harnlykm20@mounties.mansfield.edu

Life is good here. I'm back in Bethel for a few days for CHAMPS training. Check it out! Hopefully I can use it along with APL in my classroom.

Ker

God's Direction

Tonight as I was walking home, I caught up with an older lady from the village. As 4-wheelers came past, they stopped to let the lady on, since she is an elder (the oldest in the village). She declined every time saying that she liked the cold air and wanted to walk. I walked along side her, and was blessed by the word that she had to share.

We talked about how God has a plan for each of our lives. The conversation started, because she told me that she strongly believes God has a reason for me to be here. She said she loves hearing my voice during Church, and knows that I will teach the students well. She said that God must have been guiding me, that I was put in Kong of all villages. 

As we continued to talk, she shared about her past, and how, even though times were lonely and rough, God was in control, and HE was the one guiding her along the way.

We both were reminded during the conversation of a song we sang in Church tonight: (and I leave you all with this. oh, and yes, there will be more stories and pictures to come (the one posted was taken after midnight!)

Be not dismayed whate'er betide, 
	God will take care of you; 
	beneath his wings of love abide, 
	God will take care of you.

Refrain:
	God will take care of you, 
	through every day, o'er all the way; 
	he will take care of you, 
	God will take care of you.

Made it to Kong!

Hi Everyone!

Wow! What a week! I left Lancaster, PA on July 31st, and now am in Kongiganak, AK. After spending a few days in Anchorage, I left for Bethel, where I had New Teacher Training till thursday, when we moved here. There are so many stories to share already with each of you, though my time and internet access is rather limited.

This week will consist of more teacher in-service days and learning what my new teaching schedule will be. We will be flying to Bethel tomorrow at 1pm, and will be there until Wednesday at 6pm. After that, I will move into my classroom and start writing lesson plans! :)

I have many different pictures from our adventures thus far, including a walrus head (just for you, Patrick and Matt!) I also have many different stories to tell, and pictures of the land and other things.

I did fall off a 4-wheeler yesterday, and am fine, except for bruising and a headache, but would appreciate your prayers the next time I go on one. They are starting to scare me a bit!

After this next week or two is up, and school has started, I'll start posting pictures and stories.

Look for an e-mail with my contact information.

Missing PA but loving it here!
~Kersten

Hi Everyone!

If you want to subscribe, you can enter your e-mail address. Whenever I post, it will go to your e-mail, so you wont have to check on here. Whatever works best for you! Please feel free to email me at any time as well!

I will be leaving Friday morning, at 10am for the airport, and will arrive in Anchorage at 10:30pm (2:30am our time!)

I will then be in training until Aug 4th, when I fly to Kongiganak. Please pray for safe travels, and I'll start writing stories about my experiences once I have settled.

Thanks!
Kersten

Soon!

Hi Everyone!
I can't believe that three weeks from now I will be starting my training in Bethel, AK! I am posting now, so that everyone can find the blog, and let me know if there are any issues.

On the sidebar, there is a link to receive e-mail updates. I've tested it, and it should work. If you type in your e-mail address, I will approve it, and then you will receive an e-mail whenever I post. The other option is to check whenever.  :)

The next time I post on here I will have started my journey. Please pray that God would use me as He sees fit. I will be flying at least 8 times in the next few weeks, with the bulk of my travel happening July 29th, from 3 - 2:30 am. Prayers will be greatly appreciated!

Kersten