How quickly these last weeks have gone by… The last VBS for the team this summer was held at Freedom Baptist Church in Eagle River, Pastor Rod Julian. The hospitality of the Julian family was such a blessings to us. They provided an amazing meal EVERY NIGHT! Marshall couldn’t even button his collar today as a result of their generosity (and his lack of self control when it comes to delicious food). On Monday, we had a whole turkey dinner complete with dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, earthquake cake, and strawberry cheesecake. I almost forgot corn and peas. On Tuesday, we had a spiral glazed ham with mashed potatoes, rolls (also present on Monday), I don’t remember what all. There was so much so I’ll skip to the end here and just cover a few more highlights. Ok, here goes: BBQ ribs, egg rolls, halibut, salmon, chicken, several desserts, fruit and cheese appetizers, and on and on and on. Amazingly, the whole family is skinny as beanpoles! I think they must not eat unless they have company or something. They remind me of my family that way (yes we do eat when there’s no company too).

The Julians are quite a family. They have seven kids that were quite helpful and sweet. Daniel was an especially good help for me. I had a much smaller group than the first few weeks but they made up for it by being more rowdy than average (I teach the pre-primaries). VBS was only 2 hours long instead of the usual three this week. If any of you are ever in Eagle River, be sure and visit the Julian’s church--Freedom Baptist. A few of my kids went forward for salvation. Marshall and Josh talked to them but neither of them seemed to understand. Please pray for Jace and Austin. I had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with these precious kids and they also heard it from Marshall and Josh. Some plant, some water, but God gives the increase. That truth is one Mr. B has been mentioning quite often this summer. The Gospel has been planted in these three boys!

This week was the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship Meetings. There were two services Monday and Tuesday evenings. We were blessed to have many wonderful men and woman of God attend the conference. As a matter of fact, between all the speakers, there was a minimum of 275 years of full time ministry experience represented by the speakers. The team provided most of the special music. Marshall played piano for much of the conference. Elizabeth played violin, I (Valerie) played piano for a couple of the specials, and sang. Josh played the guitar. Actually, we all sang! Mrs. Ellis is an incredible pianist she blessed us with some great playing. While it was great to do the music, the highlight of the conference was the preaching. One of the team members asked me if I had a favorite and I honestly could not pick one. Dr. Ed Nelson was pretty incredible with his testimony and how he has been faithfully serving the Lord since he was 17. He is now 85 but he is still preaching the Word! May God grant me the grace to be so faithful to Him!
Tomorrow we head out to the Kenai Peninsula to do some sight seeing of Alaska! I hope to get some more pictures! On Saturday we are going on a three-hour tour… Wait, I mean a 5-hour cruise. Sorry mom, I didn’t mean to scare you there. It’ll the first time I’ve ever been on a boat (besides that time I was in a canoe when I was 13 and also a paddle boat once). I really want to see a beluga whale! A picture would be nice too. I’ll be sure and post it on Facebook when I get back. If you want to see more pics, I’ll be sure to add them when I have more time!
It’s been an amazing summer! I have been encouraged to meet people in the churches that we have visited here in AK and see people that are serving the Lord. The Barnetts are such a faithful example of servants of God. I have been so blessed to be on the team this year and I’m praying that, Lord willing, I will be able to come back next year.

By His amazing grace,

Valerie Stauss