Monday, July 11, 2011

There and back again...a Kopp's tale

Photo by Shell Kopp
 We're finally home. After 41 days of being away from home it was such a blessing to finally sleep in our own beds again! We had such a great time visiting with so many of you, and wish that we had been able to spend more time with you individually. If we didn't get to see you personally, we're so sorry. Maybe you can come visit us?? Our trip took us through Houston AK, Anchorage AK, Houston TX, Lafayette LA, Baton Rouge LA, Shreveport LA, Pineville LA, Bellville TX, and Fairbanks AK before we finally made it home. That's a lot of miles!!
Ray Johnson, a bush pilot and believer flew out to Galena and picked our family up in his Cessna 180. We covered the cost of the fuel and got an amazing view of the Alaska country side from Galena to Big Lake AK.
3 hrs plane ride makes for sleepy time.



God blessed all our efforts. We added new individual ministry supporters, built crates and shipped our Louisiana belongings to AK, visited with 7 churches, had a little bit of a vacation, and finished the trip off with 12 months of grocery shopping. I was telling a lady on the airplane back to AK that we were going to be shopping for 12 months of groceries. She said, "Yeah it feels like that sometimes doesn't it?" She had a really funny face when I emphasized that it was "really" 12 months of groceries. Many people have asked how that works so here are some photos to try to help explain:
 I found out that Wal-Mart cash registers max out their ability to sell products per transaction at 503 items. So we had to break up our 8 carts into two orders. Wal-Mart was stop number one on our list. We then went to Fred Meyer (grocery store) and picked up what we couldn't get from Wal-Mart. Our last large purchase was from Sam's Club, which is the bulk of the annual purchase.
 We use free shipping crates that the trucking companies discard after use to ship military personnel up to Fairbanks. It's about 3 1/2 feet wide, 7 feet tall and 7 feet deep.

Just our Sam's order filled this crate because we purchased a table and chairs from Sam's. So we actually used two creates this year for our Fairbanks shopping. Once the crate is filled you drive south on the Parks Hwy for an hour to get to Nenana AK where the barge companies are. They offload your crate and weather proof the tops. When they have enough freight they will load the barge and head down river. Once they leave it takes 3 days for them to get to Galena.

What the woodpile looks like finished.

Things you can be praying for this week:
- Pray that our stuff gets to Galena in one piece and without water damage.
- Pray for the Galena Bible Church members who are serving at Kokrine Hills Bible Camp sharing the good news of Christ with kids and teens from all over the Yukon Koyokuk region.
- Pray for the Fox Family. They are a new SEND Missionary family that has moved to Galena to learn about living in a rural village. Pray that God uses them to further His kingdom in Galena, and that God would give them clarity about where they will serve in rural Alaska.
- Pray that support continues to stay consistent through the summer slump.

2 comments:

Debbie and Mike said...

Awesome update and pictures! Prayers will go out for all of these needs and praises. Glad ya'll are safe and sound at home and you can relax just a bit before you stuff starts getting there.

Love,
Mom

Jason & Jessica Dubea said...

WOW, I can't even imagine what kind of shopping adventure that must be!! I'm sorry we missed ya'll when you came through Pineville, but I'm glad you got some vacation and family time. Prayers for your family, your ministry, and the people you are reaching and teaching!