Autumn 2016

Hello All!

It is now autumn, almost winter again. Where did the summer go? The leaves are all on the ground, the frost has ruined the garden and the chicks have grown up and will soon be laying eggs.

Right after graduating in May, Aerin moved to Fairbanks. She is attending University of Alaska, Fairbanks this fall. She is doing a great job out on her own and we couldn’t be prouder. The little kids moved upstairs to Aerin’s old room. Ethan worked at the tree farm again this summer. He is doing great in homeschool. He is growing a bunch, as is now almost an inch taller than me. Emily started Kindergarten at the public school this fall. She loves it. After school, she is taking ballet classes. Will goes to Head Start. He is friendly and smart. He can identify all the parts of a vehicle.

We did some travelling this summer. We attended the Village Missions conference in Cannon Beach, OR in June. After the conference ended, we flew back to Anchorage and drove to Homer. We stayed for a week in a wonderful missionary retreat house, up in the hills overlooking the bay. We just returned from the Missionary Family Retreat put on by Arctic Barnabas at Victory Bible Camp. We also spent a few days in Glennallen connecting with friends from years ago.

Bill is still part of the volunteer fire dept/ems. He will be attending some classes for his continuing education this winter. He has been preaching through the book of Psalms. In a few weeks, Bill and the elders will be meeting to prepare for the fall business meeting for Nenana Community Church. His back has been hurting some, so I bought him a new office chair.

I am on the Policy Council for Head Start. I will be attending a two day meeting in Fairbanks in November. We help set policy, budgets, and curriculum for the Tanana Chiefs Conference area. I have been knitting socks like crazy. I will also be involved in the kindergarten class when they need help.

April 2016

Winter is slowly melting away.  The roads are snow free.  The yard, not so much.  There is still some ice hiding where the sun can’t find it.  The river ice has yet to go out.  But the sun feels so warm when the wind isn’t blowing.  Winter coats have given way to lighter jackets.  The babies have new bikes and new helmets.  Walking around town is much more pleasant.

Other than winter giving way to spring, the family focus is on wrapping up the school year.  Aerin is soon to graduate and is eager to spread her wings and fly away to college.  Rebecca and I are so proud of her (and the other three too), but we feel the bittersweet success of seeing our first child leave the nest.  I remind myself that other parents have survived and so have their adult children.  But I can’t help but see my little girl when looking at the young woman in front of me.

We have a new supporting church.  Many thanks to the pastor, his family and the family of believers at Kenny Lake Chapel for their prayers and financial support!

Sometimes I forget which pictures and stories we have shared.  If there are any duplicates, it’s because I love showing pics of my beautiful bride and kiddos.

On to some individual updates:

March 2016

Greetings family and family of supporters!

Things have warmed up in Nenana.  We had a week of temperatures above freezing.  Shorts and t-shirts are not quite our norm yet.  Winter still has a bit of cold left for us.  But we can see ground under the snow in some places.

The winter has been a bit busy.  There are always things to do or things that need to be done.  All the kids are busy with school.  Aerin is busy getting her college application completed.  I wonder though, if it’s this busy in the winter, how crazy is summer going to be?

It’s been awhile since our last update.  So some of the updates may go back to January.

Some individual updates:

January 2016

I intended to post an update last week.  Unfortunately, a family, the fire department, and the entire community entered a period of grief and the update was postponed.

Monday January 11th, 2016, a believer was promoted into heaven.  He was a young man and a fellow firefighter and medic.  He was saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  He comes from a family of believers.  The Christian community has experienced hope and joy even in a time of sorrow knowing that we will see this young man again.

Please be in prayer for the Nolywaika family in their season of grief.  Also, pray for the fire department.  We lost a friend and colleague.  We also were the first responders to the motor vehicle collision that resulted in his death.  I was one of the medics that had the privilege of providing care for him on the scene.

The funeral was a declaration of his personal faith and an invitation to all present to find comfort in Christ.  For believers, we were reminded of our blessed hope and comfort in Christ.  The unbelievers were presented with the Gospel and the hope for all sinners who come to know Christ as Savior.

Now that I have shared our grief and comfort, a few updates from the family:

December 2015

Merry Christmas!

I just got to be Santa for a Christmas bazaar in Nenana.  The beard is real, but not the gray.  I tried to use spray on dye to whiten it, but gray was as good as it got.  Maybe two cans next year.

Merry Christmas!  We are looking at a white Christmas.  Growing up in Iowa, a white Christmas was never guaranteed.  But with lots of snow and -20 to -30, Nenana gets a white Christmas every year.

The Troxels have a busy December, as most of you do too.  Among other things we will: have two teens perform at a Christmas concert; a Christmas dinner hosted by the Nenana Ice Classic; village wide caroling; and a Christmas Eve party complete with a reading of the Christmas story.

Now for a few updates: