Dear Friends:

Winter Delights

Well, according to that veritable whizz-kid of a meteorologist, Punxutawney Phil (the ground hog), spring is just around the corner. The foot or so of fresh snow we have gotten the past few days may be evidence to the contrary...but, we shall see. The other day I was driving home from the church at about noon and had the road to myself except for a moose that was poised alongside the road getting the courage to make a dash for the other side. So, I slowed down to a crawl and sure enough, he went for it. His feet were going every which way on the icy road but when he made it to the shoulder on the other side he made a leap up and over a berm where the snowplows had piled the snow. When he hit the soft snow on the other side of the berm, he sank up to his chest in the fluffy stuff and went end over tea kettle and out of sight for a second or so. But, then, in a flurry of squirming and flying legs and moose hair, he righted himself and bounded up to the top of a knoll before he turned around and gave me a very unfriendly stare as if to say…”If you laugh at me or tell others about my ungraceful performance, I’ll come back and stomp your pickup flat.” Ah, the stuff we do in Alaska to amuse ourselves during these long dark winter days! Anyway, Happy Groundhog Day!

Wedding On the Ice

Just before the end of 2012, I performed a wedding for a terrific young couple out on a frozen lake just north of the church in Nikiski. They had gone to a lot of work to prepare an area for the ceremony by creating an ice wall four or five feet high made of clear chunks of lake ice and then had several brightly lit Christmas trees behind the wall backlighting the area with a really surreal glow. There were about 200 or so hardy Alaskans gathered on the ice waiting for the bride to make her entrance when all of a sudden there was a loud “craaack” as the ice cracked and actually settled a bit where some folks were standing. Some yelled and hightailed it for shore thinking the ice would fracture and swallow us all up. Well, it held(it was about 30”thick) and the bride and groom arrived and a very abbreviated marriage ceremony began. Somewhere during the repeating of their vows…”kerpow!” The ice cracked again causing even a few more anxious souls to head or at least lean toward shore. The crowd seemed relieved when they got to the “kiss the bride” part and they could gather around a huge bonfire and enjoy the reception of roast weenies and marshmallows! I hitched a ride back to the shore on a snowmobile. Marveen was worried about this boot I am still wearing as a leftover reminder of my summer foot issue and the open toe caused her to be concerned that my toes might get frostbit. So, she discussed it with some of the church folks and one of them loaned me their stocking cap to go over the end of that miserable thing. Can’t say it made much of a fashion statement but it did keep my foot warm. I was happy that this turned out to only be a wedding and not a mass baptism. As I often say…”only in Alaska!!!”

CFM

I continue to keep busy at my counseling office in Kenai as folks have no shortage of issues…some intensified by the long winter nights and cold that keeps them inside. While some folks are fortunate enough to spend part of the winter in warm tropical places, others stay and endure the elements. As usual, many cannot pay for counseling so it is the contributions of others that keeps the rent paid and lights and phone operational. Thank you so much for your support over all these years.

Book Stuff

Last month I mentioned that I was beginning to lay aside money to go toward getting the sequel to my book published and was blessed to receive one check to get that fund going in the right direction. Thank you so much.

You Never Know What a Day Will Bring

This past week I had a very surprise phone call that came as a result of my book. A television production person from Los Angeles (Hollywood) called saying that they were working on a project where they wanted to do a sort of documentary/reality show about an Alaskan wilderness preacher. In her research, she came across my Adventures of an Alaskan Preacher book and called wanting to chat with me. We talked for quite awhile during which time she asked if I was still doing those wild and crazy things like being in plane crashes, encountering bears or almost getting myself shot? I told her that my life was a bit more calm and less risky (in some ways) than it was when I was a younger man so she asked if I had an intern or two that I was passing that adventurous Alaskan spirit to? When I answered, “No, not really, not on purpose anyway,” she asked if maybe I was the last of a dying breed? I assured her that there were indeed still some folks who minister the gospel out in the remote areas of Alaskan wilderness where those things I wrote about are still a part of their daily life and ministries. I shared with her that while Nikiski is a rural area, it can be reached by road and therefore is perhaps less wild and wooly than the remote parts of the state where folks have to travel by boat, plane or snowmobile to get to church or other villages. She said they were looking for sort of an “Indiana Jones” type. An interesting conversation to say the least! And, her comment about being the “last of a dying breed “ has been churning around in my head and heart ever since. My mind went to one of my favorite Bible characters, Caleb, who at 85 was still “going for it” and was willing, ready and able to “take that enemy infested hill country” that was his inheritance when they entered the promised land! Great role model don’t you think? Anyway, who knows where that TV thing will go, but the call and our conversation has sure impacted my life!! You really never know what a day or phone call will bring your way.

God bless you…and I’d love to hear what is going on in your lives.

Wayne Coggins