Due a trip to the lower 48 and the timing of airplane maintenance that discovered damage that needed to be repaired, we had not visited the Grayling house for 5 months. During that time, the winter had been extremely cold, hanging out around -50* for stretches. As we normally do, we had left the house winterized and ready to freeze.
With each trip out and/or in, there is usually some adventure attached. This trip’s adventures included packing up and leaving home within 18 hours of hearing the plane was done (then hanging out in town while the test flight was made – and included an initial call of “no go” because of a failure), and then finding what the effects of the house sitting so long at such temps would be.
Thankful for a family that was game to exercise faith and action, as well as the joy in a constant house full of visitors with whom we got to share Christ’s love and the Word.
Waiting for “go/no go” as the plane is test flown
And it was a go! Nap time.
We landed about 6:30p, were met at the airport and snow machined in, and found that friends had cleared snow down to our front steps. Inside was also a winter wonderland. Thick frost coated most ceilings and walls.
Stairwell down into the basement; walls and steps frost covered.
The area by the Toyo stove had been heated with a space heater to be warm enough for the Toyo to start.
Christa surveys a bedroom
Such beauty!
The room above the Toyo started to melt, and drops from the ceiling quickly covered the bed.
Rather than let it all melt all over the beds, we decided it needed to get it out while the getting was good. The dust mop frame made a fine scraper.
Beds were moved to the driest locations possible.
As the frost was scraped from the floors and ceilings, the crew moved in to sweep…
wipe the remaining drips off…
…and haul out the accumulation. In total, about 12 gallons of frost were removed from the bedrooms.
Hard workers had fun racing the melting effect as the house was warming up.
And then they crashed in the driest places they could find.
The next day, attention was turned outside. A fellow fairly new to the village came to help James, and it made for good conversation time.
Love a counter of dirty dishes because it means we’ve had opportunity to share Christ with a bunch of kids
An evening gospel sing gave a rare picture of Grayling Bible Church being lit up
Enjoying more of God’s creativity on the windows.
Thankful for a good, full week, and an uneventful flight that brought us back to the eastern part of our world.
Millers in Alaska 