Final Week in Acutan

Well, the end of week two just blew by without me even taking notice, and we're into our final week here in Akita. It's been a busy time, with one day melting into another, each filled with sewing and good fellowship.

Our big excitement was when two more boxes of our quilting fabrics arrived midweek. After more days than I could remember.....Carol says it was 12...of clouds, wind and rain, the ceiling finally lifted enough for the plane to get in. The first time it arrived in late morning, we all put on our shoes, grabbed out coats and ran for the door, getting to the plane just as they had begun unloading the back. Box after huge box came out of the tail of the plane, filling first one tractor drawn cart which immediately headed for the Post Office with its load of mail. In minutes it was back and once again filled with all kinds of boxes and large yellow sacks of packages and mail. Then the pilot climbed along the plane to the front, and opened another hatch, and began pulling all the boxes and bags from there. This plane had come in with no passengers, just filled with the mail back-up. Soon it was headed out again, down the ramp into the water for a short taxi until it lifted out of the bay into the sky. We had not seen any of our boxes, but were told the plane would come in again that day, so we still had
hope. A couple of hours later the plane returned, and again we ran out to meet it. This time a friend of ours, Sonya, was also going out on the Goose, and we wanted to see her off. Again we watched the unloading of the stacks of packages and mail that had been held for over a week in Dutch Harbor because of the bad weather....but still no fabric boxes. I had really begun to worry about having enough fabric for the folks to finish their quilts. Already, some had to use brown fabric instead
of green in the rail fence blocks, because the choices were so limited in the greens, and they couldn't find their "light, medium and dark" for the rail fence. But we were still sewing, and the pilot assured us that he would make one more flight in, and would double check in Dutch Harbor for our boxes. The last plane in landed about 4pm. We watched from the church window, but didn't bother go meet it. About 5:30p we got a call from the Post Office. Kay told us she had some packages and mail for us, but since she was closing up, we asked her to set it outside the door, and Gary would pick it up with the van as soon as they returned from dinner. I can't tell you how happy we all were when we saw those boxes addressed to
Margo, in our hand writing!!! Thank you again, Penni, for all the fabric you shipped me from your stash in CA. They were just what we needed, and the women are enjoy adding them to the quilts.

So it's been "full steam ahead" in the sanctuary. Bernie, Margo, Bea, Marina, Maria and Dawn have all laid out their blocks. Margo is completely done with hers, Bernie has only the border left to do, and Bea will be ready to start on her border today. Three more women from the village began the quilt this week, and Margo will help them keep going on it once Carol and I
leave. There has been fish all week at Trident, so the workers have been kept busy with their shifts, and not had as much time to work on their quilts. But if they keep coming when they can, they too will complete the quilt. Since there are several who are almost finished, they can help the others.

We have also been working with the kids this week. Carol got them all started on knitting, and they are enjoying that. I was amazed to see how quickly some of them picked it up, but Carol is a good and patient teacher, and the kids loved how funny she is. They would all blow into the church like little wild things, and soon she would have them all sitting on the pew, with their needles clicking away. Two of the older girls decided they like sewing better, and I kept them busy with small projects that they could make quickly. Sometimes they would work on something for two sessions, but mostly they liked something
they could complete in one day. Yesterday the kids presented Carol and me with a HUGE patchwork thank you card they had made. Each child had made a drawing and they were all hung together on a large piece of poster board. I was so touched by their thoughtfulness. Carol and I will bring it home so all our quilting sisters in Friday Harbor can share it with us.

Gary and Margo's new van arrived by barge, and everyone is enjoying the ride to and from Trident, especially on cold,
dark, windy and rainy nights. They are so good to go and pick up people for church or sewing, and then taking them back again. It's not a long distance, but when the weather is soggy, it sure makes it nice.

We have had 4 more of the village ladies join in the sewing fun with the Trident workers which is so encouraging for Gary and Margo to see all parts of the community working together. Foreign languages, laughter, story telling, and sharing of family histories and culture. God has brought us into a beautiful and stunning microcosm of his world. Hallelujah! (Carol wrote this)

We are entering into our last week here and leaving our travel schedule in God's hands as weather permits. Pray for safe travels at the end of the week.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. We couldn't do this without you!

Love and big hugs,
Kitty and Carol

Akutan...Week 2

We have already been in Akutan over a week, and the time has just flown......but the planes haven't, so we're still waiting on boxes of fabric to arrive. We have lost count of how many students we have started, but we have 16 plastic bags (thank you dear Patsi!) of started projects sitting along one of the pews in the church, so we know it's at least that many. People are coming and going all day long, from 10:30 or 11 in the morning, until after 10 at night. We are working with them as they come, and at whatever stage of the quilt they are at. With the Trident work schedule, we are catching them before or after their shifts, at all hours. Trident operates 24/7, so it is not possible for us to have a set class time. Francisca came last night after working an 11hr shift. Her husband, Raul, came in the early afternoon to do some cutting for his on his way to the gym to work out. Now you know why they say, "Quilters always make it work!"

This afternoon we will have the school kids again. They are having so much fun using the machines and just trying different things with the strips and pieces left over from the adult classes. It is exciting to see them get so pleased with themselves over their creations.

The weather had been rainy and windy since the day after we arrived. They have told us that the ONLY two days of sun have been the day our plane got in and the next. We are enjoying the coziness of quilting with the rain driving against the windows, and seeing the surf crash onto the rocky beach. Who could ask for better!

I hope you have been able to see the pictures we've posted on FB. I think they tell the story even better than words.


Thanks again for all your prayers and good thoughts.

Love,
Kitty and Carol

Kitty & Carol Arrive in Acutan

We have now arrived in Akutan.....actually, we got here on Wednesday late afternoon. The flight in was incredible! The Grumman Goose took off from Dutch Harbor and took about 20min to fly across the islands that separate it from Akutan. The uninhabited islands were green and lush below us, and we could see the rocky cliffs that descended into the ocean below. Our pilot took us in a wide circle over the island of Akutan before he brought us in skimming over the water toward Safe Harbor Church, where Margo and Gary awaited our arrival. How good it was to see them! Our luggage had not made the flight in from Anchorage..........a pump had broken on one of the islands, and all luggage was low priority while they got the parts sent out on planes. However, it did arrive the next day, so we were in good shape.

After catching up with Margo and Gary, Carol and I joined them for the walk to the Trident plant where we will eat many of our meals. Of course we had to meet many of the people who worked there and many are friends of Margo and Gary.......it seems they know everyone! The plant is very impressive, and is the largest fish processing plant in the country. There are dorms there where the worker live and they seem really well cared for. They are provided uniforms and these are laundered for them and so is all their personal laundry!! We ate our dinner in the dining room with the workers, and the food was good and plentiful with lots of variety, and choices.

After walking home from dinner, Carol and I decided our day had been long enough.......we had a 2:30AM wake up call at our hotel in Seattle....and begged off Bible Study to go to bed.

Thursday morning we got to sleep in and then have a leisurely breakfast....around 10:30......my kind of morning! In the afternoon, Margo, Carol and I walked into the village, to meet more of Margo's friends, check at the post office for our "lost" boxes of fabric, and visit the school, tribal council, clinic and church. The school was really impressive, with bright, large classrooms, and a big gym. There are only 8 students this year in grades K-12, so even the pre-schoolers were in the large building. There is a married couple, Art and Dawn, who "run" the school, and do a great job with the kids. We will be working with the children on several small sewing projects, starting next week. They will come here to the church to sew, so we don't have to drag sewing machines back and forth.

After returning from the village, we made preparations for the Patchwork Tea Margo had planned for the women of the village and also those at Trident. We had 25 women come for tea and desserts, and had a lovely evening talking about quilting. Carol shared her story, and many women were blessed with hearing it. I think Carol's ministry here will be very important. She is so good at sharing herself and making women feel comfortable and at ease. I feel so blessed to have her with me on this trip. She is great at "going with the flow" and being flexible is very necessary here.....beside which, she's so much fun!

It was decided because of the crazy work schedule everyone has here, we would try running a "round the clock" quilting class. We would offer to teach anyone, whenever it was they were free to come. They only needed to show up at the church, and we would get them started quilting, The women from Trident wanted to start right away, but many of the women from the village wanted to begin after this weekend, when they had the big Akutan Holiday celebration. Two women wanted to start Friday morning, so we set up a 11am quilting time. Well, no one showed up, and when we ran into one of the ladies at lunch time, she said she had overslept. However, we talked with one man at lunch, and he said he'd like to make a quilt, so we ended up after lunch, starting our quilting class with two MEN! By the time we quit sewing two hours later, three women had joined our class. We quilted until about 4, when word came that fish had come in and everyone was called back to work. We're expecting maybe a few more women will come after they get off work tonight, but time will tell.

Thank you all for your messages, and all your prayers and thoughts. The support is wonderful for us, and we are so happy you "are there". Please continue to pray that our fabric arrives. We have shipped over a dozen boxes up here over the last two months, but less than half have arrived yet. There was no plane in today, so there probably won't be any more mail here until Monday, and we may be out of fabric by then!! Our batting did arrive (Thanks, Elsie Campbell!) so we're thankful for that. We had them send a "tracer" on the boxes yesterday at the Post Office, so maybe they will arrive next week.

Until next time.......

Kitty and Carol

A Final Gathering

Becce and I would like to invite you to another gathering. We will meet at noon, on Thursday, September 2nd in the library at Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church. Bring your own brown bag lunch.

Pastor Joe Bettridge has offered to administer the Briggs-Meyers Personality test just before our gathering. If you wish to find out your personality type and how it impacts your calling, please arrive at 11:30 a.m.

Thanks! I can't wait to see you all again!

Chapter 10 The Ordered Life

Here is where the rubber really meets the road for me! I long to live an "ordered life." One filled with space to be, and space to grow. One of the quotes that has been important to me this summer from my time at Regent is, "In trying to spread myself around I am never truly present."

Smith talks about the "freedom" of order, and how this freedom comes not so much from "time management" as it does from "managing ourselves." He talks about Sabbath, and community and solitude. He writes, "Therefore, we must reslove before God that we willl not take on more work or responsiblity than we can fulfill with a calm and serene heart, free of hurry and rushed busyness" (pg 188).

I have to admit I am like a dog lapping up water for dear life when I read this sentence. Is it possible to live like that? Is he just pulling our leg? Is he a hypocrit? How does he live?

**Gordon Smith is going to be teaching a class called Spiritual Discerment the week of May 23-27, 2010 at Regent College. Maybe some of us can go together and take it.

My "call" for the year is to see if (as an extrovert who loves people, places, and things) this sentence can be lived out. I long to know. This chapter is going to be my devotional reading all year, and the paragraph on pg. 196 under Courage and Calling, will drive me to my knees as I seek God's way. I'll let you know how it goes.

What about you? What are you taking away from this summer's study? Share with our Blog friends and we will be talking about this in our time together.

Thanks for a great summer and the joy of searching out life together.

Becce

Chapter 9 - Working with and within Organizations

Hey, we are almost done. Next week is our last week and then we can plan another Face-to-Face to finish up the summer study.

This chapter will be more or less important to you depending upon your job history and current work. Those of you who have worked with or within organizations know the trials and tribulations of working with other people. But you also know the joys of working well with other people to accomplish great things.

Smith begins the chapter by saying, "We fulfill our vocation in partnership with others" (pg 163). And that "mature character includes both the humility and courage to live by our own conscience and the ability to live and work with others with grace, patience, and kindness" (pg 165). Then he goes on to list distinctive character traits we can nurture in order to be effective in our partnerships with others.

Question: Where are you primary skills, capacities, and strengths? Where and in what ways do you have need of others?

Discribe the best partnership (of people and skills) you ever experieinced. What was it like? How did it feel to be part of this group of folks working together?

Chapter 8 - Problems

Chapter 8 is about being emotionally healthy enough (in our real lives) to not screw up our lives so that we can even think about seeking a vocation. I have a great deal of this chapter marked and underlined. Things like "First, we should not be surprised by difficulty" (pg 143). And, "...life is not fair" (pg 143). Or how about, "...it is clear (to who?) that we need to make sense of difficulty and to see what significance it has for our capacity to fulfill a vocation. As we shall see, there is hardly anything more critical to personal and vocational development than the nature of our response to difficulty, setbacks, rejection, disappointment or suffering. The evidence that we are responded effectively is that we develop emotional maturity and resilience" (pg144).

Personally I know this is true. I know that my greatest growth is coming out of great pain...but I hate it! At least...I did hate it. But more recently...as the sharpness of the pain is less intense, I am beginning to be grateful for the grow that has resulted from the pain. I still am not thankful for the pain. That may never happen...but for the growth, I am grateful.

How would you describe your relationship with that pain that is forcing you (or has forced you) to grow?

We will be studying the book of Romans this year in Community Women's Bible study. This chapter looks at Romans 5 and 8. "...suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" (Romans 5:3-4).