Pitka’s Point

This week has been a busy one to say the least. I thoroughly enjoyed Monday and Tuesday at the office, passing time learning new software, learner management systems, and meeting with new colleagues in the district office. Evenings were spent opening packages and ordering new ones on amazon.com…

I am an optimist, but I must say how surprised I am to find the neighbors I have here. I have spent hours next door at a friend and colleague’s home watching movies and television, cooking, and visiting. His home is the one with a functional bathroom and running water, but there is more to it than comforts of the physical variety.  This past weekend I was invited to a teacher’s home where I was welcomed with open arms of (almost) the entire staff of the Mountain Village School. The food was superb and the discussions divine. Sunday was just as wonderful as I attended the local church led by the principal’s husband and attended by many of my new friends. The service was challenging and well attended. I look forward to plugging in and meeting more often with this local body of believers.

I needed a bit of prayer today, too, as I finally picked up my snow machine. Driving was certainly cheaper than shipping it over, but...

Josh and I flew to Pitka’s Point to restore network services and to network with the teachers and instructional leader (principal) there. Though a small school (only 8 or 9 students), Pitka’s is in need of a great deal of attention and resources from the district office. I look up to the two teachers there immensely and wonder if I could do their job. They are talented teachers possessing more than the average jack-of-all-trades mentality present in your typical elementary teacher. Their day demands so much energy and effort… it is beyond me how they stay sane, much less teach their students. My hat is off to them for both their classroom management and toughness. The discomfort of water and sewer issues is common to them too, I am sure, and on this particular day they’ve been out electricity and Internet for 24 hours. Cold dark winters are bad enough without these maladies, I assure you.

I can truly say that I am happy beyond words, though.  I am treated well, respected, and have everything a man could need. I am lucky, no, blessed, to be here in Mountain Village, AK!