Dear Friends:

Signs are in the air that “summer” 2013 is on the wane. The fireweed is bloomed out over halfway to the top in most areas and the Alaskan rule of thumb is that that when the open blossoms hit the top of the plant, fall is here! The other more welcome sign is that the horrendous mosquito population that we suffered through this summer has finally begun to subside somewhat. And of course the sure sign that fall is here is that the aisles at Wal-Mart are overflowing with “back to school” supplies and bargains.

Music in the air!

There was music in the air at the church this past Sunday as Marshall Ellison was with us and did a “mini-concert” for the folks in the morning meeting. For those of you who remember him from his years as the pianist at Abbott Loop church in Anchorage, I can tell you, he is still as good if not better than ever! For his opening number he had all of the kids in the church who were taking piano lessons (or their moms want them to) gather around the piano as he played a simple one finger version of Jesus Loves Me…then, having one of the kids help him, he showed how mixing practice and developing your musical gift can pay off by improvising all around that melody with some incredible music. The lesson, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Marshall started taking lessons when he was five! Long time friend, Judy (and Joe) Cuddy were also with us that Sunday and Marshall accompanied “Country Jude” as she sang one song. After just celebrating her 70th birthday, I told her seriously that her voice is getting better and better. My sentiments echoed what I heard folks say after Marshall was done…”I could have sat there and listened to him play for hours!”

On Tuesday, Marveen and I took Marshall silver fishing out on the Kenai River. The last time he came up to fish, maybe 4 or 5 years ago, it rained like a monsoon for both days and we fished until we were soggy and never caught one fish. This time, however, the weather was dry and Marshall caught his limit of chrome-bright silvers. Thank you Lord!

Hilmer Kiser 1947-2013

As most of you have probably already heard, my long time friend and fishing partner died on July 25th while at his fishing camp on the Kenai River. We held his memorial service at City Church up in Anchorage on August 3rd. It was quite a day that I hope the Lord allowed Hilmer to sit in and watch and hear as folks remembered his life and legacy. There were 8 different speakers who shared plus a thirty minute video of Hilmer and his family. Most of the pictures had fish in them along with his family! I am going to miss him calling me every Sunday morning to ask what I was preaching and give me a preview of his sermon for the day. Please keep his wife, Maranna, and the rest of the family in your prayers as they adjust to life without Hilmer.

David Mendosa

Our house guest for the past five weeks, David Mendosa, just began his journey back to his home in Boulder, CO. He is quite an interesting man and a very accomplished nature photographer and writer. He used our house as his launching pad for trips all around the region, including the Pribilof Islands. His show and tell of the photos he took was fascinating. He celebrated his 78th birthday while he was here. We got an email from him when he was in Juneau on the Alaska Ferry and he said that he saw my book, Adventures of An Alaskan Preacher, in the gift shop. The cashier said it is their #2 best seller behind another Alaskana book but just ahead of a book on Alaska by famed naturalist, John Muir. Wow. That made me feel great!!

Family Stuff

When we were up in Anchorage for Hilmer’s memorial service, we were able to spend some time at our daughter’s home and say “see you later” to both our grandson, Dean and granddaughter, Jessica, as they both were heading to Portland to attend Portland Bible College this fall. They are two very sharp young folks and I am sure they will go great down there. I am also equally sure that Tracie, Darren and Jordan are going to really miss them around the Anderson house.

Veteran’s Memorial Dedication

This Saturday we will be celebrating the dedication of the Veteran’s Memorial (garden) that is mostly complete on the lawn between our church and the cemetery next door. We will have the VFW color guard there to present the colors and the 21-gun salute. A bugler from the Dept. of Veteran’s Affairs will be driving down to Nikiski from Anchorage to play taps. The US, Alaskan and POW/Mia flags will be individually raised to the National Anthem, Alaska Flag Song, and Amazing Grace (on bagpipes) respectively. Guest speakers will be State Senator Cathy Giessel and Army Captain Ben Carpenter. At the end of the ceremony we will honor Army veteran’s Dan and Goldie Johnson who are celebrating their 68th wedding anniversary that day. Goldie will read a poem she wrote called “I’d do it again” referring to her time in the U. S. Army. It is going to be quite a day. This is the culmination of a lot of work and effort by a work team from Coryell Community Church in Gatesville, TX as well as much labor by some of the folks at North Kenai Chapel. Until now, there has not been a Veteran’s Memorial in Nikiski so this is a gift to our community from our church so that we can observe Memorial Day right here instead of having to drive to Kenai to do so.

I wish you could be here. Eventually, we hope to install a brass plaque honoring veterans both living and dead.

CFM Contributions…………..are most welcome and appreciated.

God bless you and enjoy the remaining days of summer!

Wayne Coggins