Dear Family and Friends,

Happy New Year!!! We were blessed by the various gifts, cards and care packages that came our way this Christmas season. It is so good to know that we are not alone but that we are surrounded by prayer and care. Thank you also for those of you who sent "bait" for Teen Nights and other church functions.

Things have been extremely hectic for us in the last few weeks. Ross has performed 2 funerals already since January 1st. One was for a man in Golovin who struggled forgiving himself and took his life a few days before Christmas. Samuel accompanied Ross down to Golovin by snow machine, the two of them returning that night. The other was here in White Mountain for an elder. Wilson was 94 years old. Ross spent several days in serving behind the scenes from scanning pictures, arranging flights for relatives, working on the program, volunteering to hunt for moose. (Though unsuccessful, he still spent two days looking). There were numerous details that fell on his shoulders. This funeral, however, was different in that this death was of old age and not a tragic one, as most all the others have been.

Over Christmas break, we had a few sleepovers. Then, we ended up taking care of two boys for about 4 days from Dec. 26th-31st. Their situation was that their dad had gone to jail and though they had relatives in the village, they would prefer staying with us. It was a stretch for our family. During that time, the simple things of good meals, playing games with our kids and having a safe place of no alcohol made them feel relaxed and welcomed. There were even a few times of key talks, especially with Ross. These brothers are 14 and 12.

Ross, Samuel and Isaac all went musk ox hunting together on Monday, January 4th. It was a memorable experience in which Samuel got separated from Ross & Isaac, then accidentally rolled the snow machine he was riding, (thankfully he wasn't hurt), then Samuel trudging through the snow for nearly a mile and Ross trudging nearly 2 miles to try to find Samuel; Isaac staying with the 2nd snow-machine so Ross wouldn't lose him. There was a time at the last minute when Ross and Isaac were going to ride to find Samuel, when Isaac "just happened" to spot him. No doubt there was tremendous bonding and none of them will forget that trip. There are many ways to die in "Bush" Alaska. We are grateful for God's protection and that only the snow machine's windshield saw any damage.

They were just about ready to call it quits as a storm was moving in when Ross spotted the herd of musk ox. They lumbered to a high pointbetween two rocky crags with a ten foot drop off on the back side. The wind was funneled through the gap and was so strong that Ross and Samuel, but especially Isaac had to lean hard into the wind to keep from blowing over. Ross estimated the winds to have been in excess of 60 miles an hour. They debated about whether to "take" one of the musk ox, giving consideration to the inhospitable location, "wind chill" and the impending storm. They decided to "go for it" and the decision was made to shoot the one that would have to be dragged the least, as there was no snow to within 30 feet of where they were and there was no way to get a snow machine and sled near where they were. Ross fired a single shot and the musk ox dropped. The others looked at the one that fell then lumbered off. After what seemed like a considerable amount of time, they were able to remove the stomach and intestines, drag the animal part way down, hand carry the basket sled to the animal, lay the sled on it's side, roll the musk ox into the sled, then roll the sled back up, re-hook the sled to the snow machine and pack up to head home. By now the storm had begun to kick up and they could hardly see due to the blowing snow. Once they were able to find the trail and began heading down off the "high country," visibility improved and they managed to stay "just a little" ahead of the storm the rest of the way home -- which included 25 miles of travel across the bay ice, both below and above Golovin. The boys returned home about 4:30, just as it was getting dark. After eating a bite, they spent the next several hours skinning and quartering the musk ox. Percy, one of the guys from church came over and helped, which was greatly appreciated as the guys were all pretty exhausted after an already long day.

For me, I spent hours cutting musk ox and the girls spent time vacuum sealing and labeling the packages. The work involved kept us up until3:00 in the morning and then again the next day until late in the evening. We were able to have plenty of meat for our family and to bless elders as this was Ross' first musk ox. The hide remains for Rachel Joy to card and spin. The under coat of wool is is called quiviot and is seven times warmer than sheep's wool.

On Dec. 31st, Ross broke out into hives and we have no idea the cause of that. His left eye was swollen shut and his legs and arms were covered. He went to the clinic which is only a few hundred yards from our house. They gave him some Benadryl. When he returned home from the clinic, being briefly out in the cold, he began struggling with breathing. He was coughing and felt like he couldn't get air but at least he could talk. So, I called in Samuel and he prayed a very calming prayer. God intervened. Ross got stronger medication from the clinic and he had no more respiratory challenges. I ended up taking the New Years' Eve service and Ross rested.

The two boys' father came back the same day that Ross got hives so that was the end of their stay with us. We spent time as just the six of us and kept the visitors down to minimum so that Ross could rest and we could have some "family time." In the midst of all of these things, the spiritual warfare has been quite intense. (I guess that goes without saying).

Ross regularly spends time helping people with many different sorts of things. One day it might be helping haul oil for someone who doesn't have a snow machine or 4-wheeler or helping try to figure out why an elder's heater unexpectedly cuts off. One guy was swapping his engine into a different snow machine. Ross spent time soldering electrical wiring and repairing harnesses and matching up wires while another guy in the village worked on the carburetors. A couple of days later Ross went out with this fellow and carried another guy with him on his snow machine, (his parts had not arrived to repair his snow machine in time for the hunting trip) to go after musk ox for their families.  

The first Tues. in January was the first night of the new Karate program. There were about 14 people, mainly elementary and junior high kids, with a few adults. We are excited to see the potential and the favor of the village. Ross, Samuel and Clint (one of the school teachers who is a black belt in another style) are the instructors. We thank you for your prayers to see this door open for ministry.

In all the ministry, funerals, relationships, serving, subsistence, etc. that Ross has been doing, he is also diligently studying and taking a college course on the History of the Covenant Church. One book alone is over 700 pages. He will be completing this course during a full week at Denver, Colorado for the Midwinter Pastors Conference. This year I will be going with him. I will be attending seminars, workshops and meeting new people. It will be my first time back in the lower 48 in almost 2 years.

Ross and I will be snow-machining tomorrow morning to Nome (Monday, the 18th), flying to Anchorage on Tues., flying to Denver on Friday and then back to Anchorage on Feb. 1st. After a few days of shopping, we'll fly back to Nome and snow-machine home by the 5th.  During our time in Anchorage, Ross and I both have doctors' appointments. Please be in prayer for our health and for wisdom for the doctors. The children will be here continuing school and life in the village. Rachel Joy is particularly excited about being the "home manager" for that time.

During one of my times of talking with a particular teenage guy, I shared with him that "Jesus doesn't expect us to get all cleaned up before we come to Him." Jesus takes us as we are and as He changes our heart, our habits also change. This young man seemed quite teary as he had never heard that before. A few weeks ago he sold his I-pod and commented to me that he likes his life without the music that he once listened to. He has come faithfully to church for a number of  weeks and it is so special and heart-warming to watch his life change. Thank you for your prayers for him and the other teens in the village.

Ross just took a different young man hunting for musk ox on Saturday. Although they saw "sign" and tracks, they never saw any musk ox. The young man was so very excited that Ross would do this for him. There are so many here who long for some positive interaction and some one who will truly care about them.

Prayer Requests:

Good health on all the children while we are away -- in every aspect

Peace and joy and a time to relax for all of us whether here or in our travels

Safety and grace

Continued favor with the people

Open doors to their hearts

Healing for Ross' body and mine

Praise Reports

Seeing the budding of growth in many people

God's mercy and faithfulness through all the challenges

Friends who keep praying for us (that's you)

Just that we live here and our lives are making a difference

We COVET your prayers. We are uplifted when we hear from you and we are reminded that we are truly not alone---you are praying for us and you love us. Those simple reminders are so childlike but there are many times here that we can only crawl into the Arms of God and let Him hold us for awhile.

 Blessings on each of you,

Ross & Ruth McElwee

Samuel, Rachel Joy, Isaac, Leah