I'm back, Ya'll!!

Ah, back to the familiar comforts of sweet tea, livermush, moonpies and Cheerwine; the heavily scented air filled with the delightful fragrance of magnolias and roses; the yards overflowing with azaleas, tiger lilies, hydrangeas and towering old oaks. Ahhhh, this is the old South. I breathe it in and try to ignore the cars whizzing by and the newest skyscraper going up just a few minutes down the street. I live in one of the trendiest neighborhoods in this big banking town; born and raised in the same house. I remember the cops cruising the streets for prostitutes, knowing in which houses the drug dealers lived, and only being allowed to ride my bike around two blocks for safety reasons.

And now this neighborhood is trendy and expensive. The average car being driven around here is considered a luxury vehicle by most people's standards. The old buildings on Central Avenue leading into uptown have been turned into funky little high-end shops and restaurants. Within a 5-10 minute walk you can reach most anything you need: grocery store; library; spa and hair salon; boutiques; bakery and coffee shop; 13 restaurants of varying nationalities, styles and price ranges; tattoo parlours; club; home furnishing store; barber; post office; bank; mechanic; fish store and book store. And all of this is reached by driving or walking down oak lined streets, past houses built with great character in the 1920's and 30's. My grandfather bought this house from the first owner, my grandmother bought it from him and my father bought it from her. I always thought I would be the next in line to own this great house and now, I am not so sure. Aside from the fact that I couldn't begin to afford this house, I'm leaving in six weeks. Leaving not only this house, my family, friends, church, city, state and heritage that lies within, but my country.

Have you ever given any thought to the pride and identity that comes wrapped not only under the guise of your citizenship, but which part of the country you're from, etc.? I'm a Southerner, from North Carolina, Charlotte, Plaza Midwood, Grace Bible Church, the Hunsucker family. My identity is about to change. Most people overseas don't understand what Southern pride is, let alone know what the difference between a Northerner and a Southerner is. We're all just Americans to them. So, as I anticipate losing the identity I was born with, I take great comfort in going over to meet and live with my extended family. My immediate family and identity can be taken from me, but no one can take away my identity as being part of the family of God. And that family is so much bigger and greater and all-encompassing than the one I'll be leaving behind.

But no worries, I'll always be a Southerner at heart..........ya'll.

Last days

Today was my final day at Kootenai Valley Christian School. I've been teaching there two days a week since the first week of February. It has been such a blessing to me to be back in the classroom, sharing music with children. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the kids and am so grateful that I had the chance to serve there this semester. Goodbyes were sad, but very sweet. I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a painting with notes from all of the kids on the back. It was such a sweet surprise and fun to see how excited the kids were to give it to me.The kids have been petitioning me for a couple of weeks to stay here in Libby to teach them, rather than going to Ukraine. They are convinced that I should stay and teach them as my ministry. =-)

Me with my students at Kootenai Valley Christian School

Ross Creek Cedars

Laura, Sandra, Annette, Simona, Anna

Glacier National Park........

....or "Glacier Mountain," as Sandra and I were calling it, until we were corrected. Sandra and I once again ventured out today, taking a day trip this time- about 2 1/2 hours northeast of Libby to the West entrance of Glacier National Park. We knew that much of the park would be closed, due to the passes still being covered in snow, but had no idea that the vast majority of it still wouldn't be drivable. Once we got there, we found out that only sixteen miles was open on the western side and the eastern side was too far away for us to do both in one day. So, sixteen miles it was. I was really disappointed at first, but thoroughly enjoyed what we were able to see. Even though it was only sixteen miles, by the time we got out at all of the scenic overlooks, we had been there for almost three hours. The weather was absolutely fabulous again(two days in a row with sunny, warmer temperatures and no rain!) and we had such a wonderful, peaceful time wandering around. And to top the day off, on the way back we stopped to get a true Montana treat.....a Huckleberry Milkshake. yum. (click on the title to see the rest of the album)

Kootenai Falls- part 2

The morning clouds and drizzle turned into a beautiful sunny afternoon, the first in quite a while. I've been wanting to go back to the Kootenai Falls one more time before I leave and today turned out to be the perfect day! Sandra hadn't been yet, so she went along with me to enjoy one of only many of the incredible displays of nature that surround us here. The water was far more powerful and the falls much larger than when we went a month ago. It was an absolutely incredible thing to see. Click on the title to see the album. Some of the photos are gorgeous!

River Walk video

I thought you all might enjoy seeing the video I
put together for morning devotions a couple
of weeks ago. There is no sound, only pictures
and text. Enjoy!

Everybody dance now.....

"If hope is the ability to hear the music of the future, then faith is dancing to it. In other words, faith results in taking action on what you know to be true, even when others aren't aware of the truth." Ben Patterson



"There was once a fiddler who played so beautifully that everybody danced.A deaf man who could not hear the music considered them all insane. Those who are with Jesus in suffering hear this music to which other people are deaf. They dance and do not care if they are considered insane."
Richard Wurmbrand, Victorious Faith

Happy Mother's Day!!

I have had a lovely day, thus far. I drove the pass over to the Yaak church this morning(it takes an hour to get there, but is a lovely drive around the mountain). I took the longer but easier route home, in order to stop by Yaak Falls, which was amazing. I wish I could show you in pictures the sheer volume and force of water that was coming down that river. I tried to post a video, but it didn't load. The photos don't really do it justice. We all had lunch up at the Sharp's house(the directors of the training center) and then Annette and I went for a hike with Deb(and Sadie & Diamond-they're dogs, not people). As I was sitting here just moments ago downloading pictures from the day, I looked up because I thought there was a cat at the door. But a cat it was not. Instead, it was a very curious turkey, with her face pressed up to the door, checking out everything inside here. I grabbed my camera and tried to sneak up on her, but she saw me and all I have is a photo of her running away. sigh. Her curiosity was very amusing to me.

No, that's not snow. It's very wild water.

Yaak Falls-not very big, but very powerful.

Hiking-the town of Libby is at the very base of the mountains you can see.

Heading back to the training center

Ps. 111:2-4

As I watched the deer meander across the road very early this morning:


"The works of the Lord are great,
Studied by all who have pleasure in them.
His work is honorable and glorious,
And His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion."

Thought of the day

I have wanted to do this for a while, but haven't, because it takes diligence to do it every day. I keep a journal that I write in during my morning devotions and have done so for the last several years. I write very few of my own thoughts in it. Instead, I copy down the verses that are meaningful to me, quotes from books that I'm reading and occasionally song lyrics. Every now and then I write comments, but more often than not, I draw in little illustrations. Over the years, these journals have become very precious to me and I love to go back and read through them, being able to see:

*"special" verses that come up over and over
*what I was going through just by the verses I chose to write down
*reminders of the wonders of God
*admonitions
*areas in which I've grown/I still need to grow

So, I can't really call this a thought of the day from Anna, but rather, Anna's Favorite Thought of the Day from the Scripture. I can't promise that I will do this every day, but it is something I'd like to do on a recurring basis. Today's thought comes from Psalm 107:

vs. 8-9- "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness."

vs. 21-22- "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare His works with rejoicing."

A Montana field trip

Yesterday Annette and I were invited to lunch by one of the couples from our church here. While there, we found out that the husband is a taxidermist and we asked to see his shop. We found out that he's quite a well known taxidermist and does all of Bass Pro Shop's display animals for their stores. We also found out that he was mounting a deer head this afternoon and we invited ourselves back. =-) In spite of my general dislike of hunting, it was absolutely fascinating. We were there several hours and learned a lot. We didn't get to see the finished product, because he quit for the day, but it was pretty amazing to see him work. Click on the title of this post to see all of the pictures and to read a little bit about the process. =-)

To the Yaak & back

Yaak Falls

"In the far northwest corner of Montana, there is a scattered settlement of fewer than 150 families living in the woods of the Yaak Valley, often without electricity or plumbing. Their private parcels of land make up only 2 to 3 percent of what is otherwise a vast national forest: 500,000 acres of federal land where large-scale logging has occupied the area for generations."(from an online resource)

The Yaak is a remote area about 45 minutes from the training center, that previously was only accessible via the mountain pass. It now has a state highway linking it to "civilization", so that the Yaakers can get into town in winter, if necessary. Before the highway, the families were snowed in during the winter and could only get into town with ski-dos or snowmobile type equipment. The people prefer to live off the land, far away from all people and rules of the people, ie. government. One famous Yaak dweller was the Uni-bomber.

There is a one room schoolhouse with seven students, a one room log cabin church, a saloon, a one pump gas station and a mercantile. The "post office" is called the Federal Building. It is a little tiny log cabin(perhaps 8x8) with a shelf on the back wall, filled with personal mailboxes. It has a hitching post outside for horses.

Friday afternoon, Sandra, Maggie(our cook) and I went to the Yaak, with our own personal tourguide, one of my 8th grade students, Patrick. His family used to live in the Yaak and now live at the base of the Yaak, technically in Troy. He was a fabulous tour guide, giving us lots of information about all of the trees and the differing elevations where they grow, showing us some lovely waterfalls, the little church where he goes(complete with outhouses) and answering all of our questions. We had a little excitement after driving 4 and 3/4 miles up a one lane switchback mountain to look at a panoramic view. We were almost to the top when the road turned from being clear to being covered in snow and ice. We started fishtailing, even though we were in 4-wheel drive and going very slow, so I made the decision to stop. The only problem was that it was a one lane road going up a steep mountain with very tight curves(remember, we were almost 5 miles up). So, I started backing down, sliding a bit and crunching over a small tree in the process. I drove backwards for about 100 feet and around the first curve before finding a place we thought I could possibly turn around. My fabulous navigators got out and guided me through a little off-roading on the side of the mountain and we got ourselves turned around. Thankfully, everyone stayed calm and we really had no problems. =-) There's not really much to do in the Yaak, but it's a neat place to see after hearing so many people talk about it. And how many 14 yr. old boys would volunteer to spend their day(five hours) with their teacher and two grandmas? Patrick was a gem and we really enjoyed our trip to the Yaak.

Patrick inside the "Federal Building"

Maggie, Sandra & Patrick looking at the map
of the Yaak, outside of the Federal Building