Dear Friends:

I hope your new year is off to a good start and the blizzards, floods, and all those things sweeping the country don’t impact your life too much. It has been several months since my last newsletter so here we go.

Late 2016
We had a loss here in Nikiski as Emma McCune went to be with the Lord. She had been church secretary for the most of the past 12 years that I have been pastor here at North Kenai Chapel. She was, indeed, a true servant of the Lord and we miss her steadfast ministry to the folks on many levels. One of our elder’s wives, Linda Piccini, has stepped up and is doing an excellent job in that role.

2017 is a big year for me personally
It was 1967 when I began my first assignment as a pastor. While attending college nearby, I was the youth pastor and part-time worship leader at Redmond Assembly of God under pastor Richard Strum and, except for a few gaps in there, I have been pastoring folks in one way or another ever since. I am sincerely grateful to the Lord for his sustaining grace and mercy in allowing me to serve Him in that capacity for these 50 years. 50 Years! My, but it seems like those years just flew by! Probably at some point in this year we’ll have a party and celebrate God’s faithfulness to me/us for all those years. I am so thankful for all the friends and co-workers that I have been able to serve beside and that includes many of you who receive this newsletter. FYI, I have also been ministering through CFM since 1985 so that ministry has been going for 32 years. I want to personally thank each of you for your friendship, prayers and financial support. There are actually a few people who have been supporters for all that time!!

MORE Adventures of an Alaskan Preacher
Another special event coming up soon will be the release of the sequel to my last book, Adventures of an Alaskan Preacher. Guess what the title is? MORE Adventures of an Alaskan Preacher. The editing process is finally finished and our new publisher, Raven Publications, is sending the book off to the printer within a few days.

Once that is complete, I will get a shipment of the book (1,000 copies) sent to me so I can sign and sell them myself. The E-version is actually available already on Kindle and Smashwords. Our plan is to re-print some copies of the first book and market them as a set for those who don’t already have the first book. The new book will sell for $14.00. As before, I think it will cost about $3.00 for the shipping envelopes and postage for single copies. For folks that order larger quantities, I can ship those in flat rate priority boxes and save quite a bit on the shipping costs. If you want me to personalize the book to specific people, it is helpful if you give me a bit of info besides their name so I can include appropriate comments when I sign them. For instance, if someone has always wanted to visit Alaska but never has, I can give them an encouraging word to “come on north!” I will attach a photo of the front and back covers to this email. I am so grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to put the stories of His faithfulness to me and others into print. There were almost 10,000 copies of the first book that have been “afloat in the sea of books” and I have been so blessed to get letters and calls from all over, expressing various ways that the book had a positive impact on their lives.

Weather and economics pressuring Alaskans
Like many parts of the USA, we are having a doozie of a winter up here. Weeks of zero or below temperatures and now large quantities of snow are piling up. All of that, combined with the darkness of winter and the uncertainties economically due to the low oil prices and cutbacks on jobs in our area, have made the stress levels folks are experiencing more pronounced. Bottom line, counseling visits are up but a lot of folks just can’t afford to pay anything. So, your support to CFM to keep the rent paid and lights on is vital and greatly appreciated.

Have a great new year and enjoy the Super Bowl.

Your friends,

Wayne and Marveen