Alaska : Week 1

Willie, Owen, and I finally made it to Alaska!

Seems like we have been dreaming about and planning this trip forever.

It feels good to be here.
We  will be here for 8 weeks for Willie's internship for school.

We almost didn't make it here when we hoped to. We only had 2 flights. The first was delayed due to weather. Which shortened our layover for the second flight to about 15 minutes. But when we landed there wasn't anyone available to drive the jet bridge to the plane so we couldn't get off. Our next flight was the last one of the night to go to Alaska. Thankfully they held the plane for us while we ran through the airport on what ended up being a 4 minute layover. 

I cant remember the last time I ran that hard.
(I thought I was going to barf )

To sweeten the deal, we were both wearing backpacks, holding huge winter coats, and pushing Owen in a stroller.

Icing on the cake??

The moment we landed, I really had to go to the bathroom but I knew we didn't have any time. So I was going to just hold it until we were on our next flight...

but apparently my bladder isn't as strong as I thought. 

When we finally reached the gate (huffing and puffing) and sat down on the plane I realized I had peed my pants when I was running!!!

This is the point in the story where I try to excuse myself by announcing to everyone for the first time on the internet, that in my defense I am 3 months pregnant :)

Anyway, by the time we landed I was pretty much dry and just glad that we made our flight and didn't have to sleep in the airport.

That was one week ago.

We arrived in Anchorage at 1am Tuesday the 8th.
We spent the night at a hotel and left Tuesday afternoon for Kenai.

This is what greeted us at the Anchorage airport


When we got to the airport, the check in process was more  like a buss station than an airport. (except that they weighed EVERYTHING ... including us)

We gave them our bags, and they gave us 2 plastic boarding passes.

That was it.
No security checks or anything.
We waited at a ground floor gate, and then I saw our airplane...

Definitely the smallest airplane I've flown in yet.

Our pilot was our flight attendant. 

After everyone was on (all 5 of us) he pulled the door closed and pointed out where the fire extinguisher was and the emergency exit as he made his way to the front. And that was it. It was the shortest safety debriefing ever. 

And we were off.

The nice thing about the small plane is that it doesn't fly very high,

so we were able to see the pretty scenery below the whole time.

The picture doesn't do it justice.
 In the one above, just past the water it looks like a line of clouds but it's actually a huge ring of mountains, with a really huge one popping up on the far left beside the edge of the window.
(and the window was a little dirty)

This first week (for me) has been spent getting acquainted with the staff at Arctic Barnabas, and getting familiar with the area.

Each day Willie goes into the office and gets to see what their ministry is all about.

This week we will be preparing for a 3 week visit to one of the bush churches Arctic Barnabas supports. This is kind of a big deal, and an adventure I'm looking forward to. We leave this Monday coming up.

The biggest job I have for this week is packing our stuff up again, as well as planning and purchasing all of our food for the whole time we are in Galina. We will have to fly it in with us when we go.


We look forward to sharing more about the internship as it unfolds.


Oh! Wait!! Did I mention I saw a Moose for the first time in my life! They are all over the place out here. I think we're up to 10 since Saturday! I'll have to get a picture :)

Owen's First Birthday

Wow, long time no post.

 Life has been swift. 

Not terribly busy. 

Just flying by very quickly.

Lots has been going on, but something dear to my heart is that my little man 

turned one year old. 

On september 14, 2011 Owen was born. 

Hard to believe that was over a year ago. 

Here is my little man on his big day.

Early in the morning he received his "Birthday Boy" badge 

and we headed to McDonalds

I wanted him to be able to play in the ball pit, but when we got there we found out they didn't have one :(

So we shared a yogurt instead.

He's funny. Every time I took out the camera and said "1,2,3" he threw his head back and gave me that face. 

Then, we went to Walmart and got him his new big boy car seat, 

which he zonked out in right away. 

At home we started the preparations for his birthday party 

and he played with his birthday card.

I love this face :) 

Then we headed to a park down the road from our house 

to meet up with a few friends for his party.

....Owen explored....

(can you find owen in this picture?)

.....Owen ate some dirt....

He LOVES to swing

...He tried to blow the noise maker...

...but he couldn't quite do it...

...so he made the noise with his mouth instead :)

And then there was CAKE 

He ate like we had starved him or something!
    

... He literally had cake coming out of his nose...
(because he shoved it up there while double fisting it into his mouth!)





    

Throwing cake ... rubbing it in his hair...the works...    

Owen got lots of clothes and some shoes! (because he is walking now!)

After the party was over we headed home 

and Owen got a much needed bubble bath.

I hardly got him dressed before he passed out. 

I thought the cake would keep him up all night...

 but apparently it (along with the full day of activity) put him in a coma :)

I'm amazed how much love I have for him. I could never describe it. Only a parent could know what I'm talking about.  My little One year old.

Blessed in order to be a Blessing

Hello J Hope this note finds you well.

Willie and I are in the beginning stages of getting together a core group of supporters as Willie trains to be a missionary pilot for future use in bringing hope to the hard to reach. Our true prayer is that we would be supported by real people we are in relationship with and not from a second party organization that gives financial assistance but lacks encouragement.

Our current financial need for school is $3,200 per month for the first semester. The total cost for school for the next two years will be about $75,000. Willie and I knew about this total going into to the program and we understand it is a big commitment missionary pilots need to make in order to effectively and safely use aviation to serve. We believe the Lord has led us here and that He has been, and will continue to, pave the way. Please be a part of this adventure with us. We know the Lord has great plans of encouragement coming through this to everyone involved.

We don’t have a certain number of people we are looking for, or a suggestion for how much to give. We want to leave it open to see how God leads you to give in quantity and frequency. Any money directly given to Willie and I will be first tithed and then used for our household budget and Flight training (unless otherwise stated in the memo line of the check). Our estimated monthly household budget is $800.

Money given directly to Moody Bible Institute will go straight toward Flight Training and Bible classes. We will not be able to tithe this money because it wont pass through our hands. The money will go straight into our account and be used for school.

As of now there is no way to give a tax deduction for donations given to us, but we are waiting to see if we have been accepted for a ministry called NextGen. This would give a tax deduction for all donations going directly to the School. We should find out in a few weeks if we can use this or not. We will keep you posted and let you know more specifics of how it works if we are accepted.

2 Corinthians 8:12-15 “ For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 

At the present time your plenty will supply what they [we] need, so that in turn their [our] plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality. As it is written: He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not gather to little.”

We share these verses with you because we want you to know we are not looking for a free ride through school. We are at a time of need. We are being obedient to God who has called us to do this work and we want to see the full circle of blessing that comes from joyfully giving to the needs of the body of Christ. School is very intense, and expensive - but well worth it. We can’t do this on our own, we truly do need you. We believe the training is worth the sacrifice. Just know, as you are sacrificing for the Lord we are doing the same!!! It’s an awesome opportunity, and we’d love to do this with you.

If you would like to be a part of this with us please send us:

1. The most recent family picture you can find

2. Everyone’s names in order as they appear in the picture

3. Your current: Address, Phone #, and Email address

You can mail, or email this to us at:

Willie & Haley Nickols

4909 E. Upriver Drive F102

Spokane, WA 99217

Or

willienickols at gmail dot com 

h.rivers07 at gmail dot com

I apologize for the frank nature of this note. There is so much more that I want to share with you regarding this. Honestly, we have been brainstorming how to share what God has been showing us in regard to support raising for some time but our first deadline has snuck up more quickly than we expected and we just had to get the need out in the open. Please call, email, or write us if you have any questions about what we have said. We really do want to hear from you. We have been praying for everyone who will read this, and even if you cannot give or do not desire to give we hope this has somehow encouraged you and caused you to think about God. 

With total sincerity,

Willie, Haley, and Owen Nickols