I boarded a plane in the wee morning hours to fly home. I was mindful of the fact that I would be losing time as I flew east, and I was already a little uneasy about how fast time seemed to be flying on its own. At the Anchorage airport I discovered there would be a route change, giving me a brief layover in Portland, Oregon. I immediately looked up a college friend who was attending seminary in Oregon and he said he was on his way. I waited at the gate until the flight crew

Mount Spurr is the closest volcano to Anchorage. It is roughly 11,000 feet tall. While I was engaged with Phil, fifth graders, and two other missionary friends – Jen (Native American) and Camilla (Chinese) – the earth across from and under Cook Inlet was heating up.  Geologists say that the crater lake at the top was swollen one day; the water temperature was 122 fahrenheit, and a few days later the lake was gone. Tremors were happening underground such that the government an

A week of at least partial solitude sounded fantastic. It ended up to be more phantasmic. Maybe. I’ll never be sure. Regardless, I never want to see it again. I had been studying angels ever since Mrs. Seale and I talked. (Alaska III) To do so, I learned to take advantage of the resources at the University of Alaska – Anchorage, when I could get there. I had no transportation that summer, except for a pair of Vasque Sundowners and sometimes a borrowed mountain bike.  I soon d

The first thing I remember Mr. Hale telling us was that we would be dealing with several children who had “fetal alcohol syndrome” at the Native church. He explained that FAS was common among native Alaskan children, as alcoholism was common among the parents. I learned that FAS caused hyperactivity, poor impulse control, lack of judgment, and delayed development, plus some mild physical problems. At this point I was about halfway through my summer as a missionary, and on one

On December 7, 1941, the U.S. was forced into war with the attack on Pearl Harbor. U.S. military leaders knew that if Hawaii was a first target, Alaska might be a second.  The tiny area now called Whittier was a prime spot for storage of supplies and movement of troops, due to its remote location coupled with almost constant cloud coverage. The army began construction on two tunnels for efficient transportation from newly built Elmendorf Army Air base to Whittier, and built a

“Anyone who doesn’t want to go to Hell, come down to the front of the church!” This tactic was just as appalling to me then as it is now. Sure, it will often get people to “make a decision” and maybe get baptized, but it ignores the need for relationship with the Creator.  This was a quote from the last night at the previous church, from a guest preacher. After this I waited for a Mr. Miller, who I hadn’t yet met, to transport me to my home for the next two weeks. He was a pl

My first experience flying was over the Atlantic and into London and wartime. My second experience flying was over the Rocky Mountains to Salt Lake City and from there, above Mt. St. Helen’s – still barren from the eruption 12 years earlier – over the Chugach range in Alaska, and touching down in Anchorage, Alaska.  I was officially a missionary now and I somehow ended up seated beside a nun on the flight.  As people heard us chatting, several comments were made about how saf