The Most Amazing Wedding Proposal Ever

Adam Tarwacki has officially caused every other married man on the planet to look like a loser. No wedding proposal stacks up to what Adam pulled off when he asked Jeanna Tripp to marry him.

They both work on our church staff together, so when we sat down to watch a video together as a staff–no one knew what was coming. Well, some people knew, but Jeanna didn’t know. And we captured it on video. Check it out. It’s only 6 minutes. You’ll enjoy it!

What do the Beatles and Christmas have in common?

It is gearing up to be quite the Christmas season at Granger Community Church. If you know anyone who loves Christmas, the Beatles, or a combination of the two–get them tickets to this years’ production of Let it Be Christmas.

On His Way Home

You may have been following the adventures of Mark Beeson and Steve Evans. Here is a summary and my final update…

• They flew to Alaska on November 3rd.
• It required 4 planes to get them there–the final leg was a two-seater taking them from Kodiak City to a lake near their hunting lodge (they landed on the water).
• Mark took some guns (he loves to hunt), but also took his cameras. His photography is a love and has become a growing passion in recent years.
• They were supposed to fly home last Friday, November 11th.
• However, an Alaskan “super storm” hit. Some of the local papers in Alaska called it the “storm of the century.”
• Mark and Steve were safe in their hunting lodge. Many other hunters got stranded in their tents out in the wild.
• As if a blizzard wasn’t enough, an earthquake shook the area a few days ago.
• Mark and Steve were finally picked up by the two-seat airplane yesterday (Thursday) and taken to Kodiak City.
• It’s rumored that they stayed in a hotel last night in Kodiak and got their first showers in 15 days! Oh my!

First Came the Blizzard…Then Came the Earthquake

Perhaps you’ve been following along here or here to read about Mark Beeson’s longer-than-planned stay in Alaska. He was supposed to end his trip last Friday. Then came an extreme blizzard–which is evidently worse than an actual blizzard. They call it a super-storm. So he’s stuck with his friend Steve Evans, safe in a cabin, but they haven’t been able to fly back. And to top it all off, this morning they had an earthquake. Oh the joy. Can’t wait for the stories.

Tuesday Nov 15th evening email from Mark to Sheila:

We’ve had a brief break in the storm. Of course, that doesn’t mean the airbase isn’t getting pounded. I’m sure they’ll fly if they can, and they won’t if they can’t.

We have food. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. And we’ve got deer in the mountains to kill and eat if necessary. No worries. I’m in the wilderness. I’ve got a gun. I’ve got the magic little “fire-starters” we found at the store and I’ve got my camera. How could my situation be any better?  :)    (Only if you were here…. then THAT would be better.)

OK that’s it. Gotta run. I’m going to look out the window and see if a plane is coming.  Wahoo! I’ll be home before you know it….and we’ll tell stories about the days we shared the “Storm of the Century in Alaska!”

Tuesday Nov 15th late evening email from Mark to Sheila:

The last few minutes of light are almost here. Unless the plane lands within the next hour, we’ll be here tonight. It’s gotten quite cold. About 20 degrees. The wind is blowing 40 mph so that makes the chill factor pretty chilly.  :)

You can tell them at Staff Meeting that Kodiak is amazing. All the bears are not hibernating yet. That’s pretty cool. Once they den up for the winter they’re done here at the lower elevations. Some are still out…which is unusual since it is so very cold and the wind has blown with such ferocity for the last 3 weeks. The Outfitters are surprised that we can still track the big bears…and they leave AMAZING tracks in the snow! What a great animal!  They’re incredible.

We got the boat back in the water today. After we got it bailed out, and rescued most of the gear that had floated away, the boat broke the mooring ropes, but we saw it when it happened so we were able to get in the surf and save the boat, thereby averting a small crisis. We pulled it out of the water. Today we put it back in. That doesn’t sound like a big deal unless you’re trying to do it in these weather conditions.  It’s pretty severe here.  All are fine. The boat is in the water and we’re fine.  Wahoo!

I’ve not taken too many pictures today. Everything is white, or some version thereof. Not much color…and the wind is so brutal that the it’s hard to keep snow off the lens. I’m stilly trying though. It’s great fun.

Steve and I are fine.

Wednesday Nov 16th morning email from Sheila to her kids (Amber, Aaron and Angela):   

Hey Kids–Not much news from Dad.  I did get news that the snow and high winds shut everything down on Kodiak.  Dad said the snow was worse, and the winds at 56 mph.  Not the best news.  He says he is good, as of course, he would!!

I was reminded today that a decade ago without the internet I would not know if dad was dead or alive!! I am sooooo thankful there is internet access, however remote!  When he and Steve were dropped in the arctic circle tundra a few years ago, I knew nothing. And there was no communication with anyone until the bush pilots picked them up. Was I a crazy letting him be so adventuresome???  At least we are communicating, and that helps so much.
Keep praying today. I believe in miracles! God is in control…even of the weather in Kodiak.  Safe travel is the next priority so he can get home soon!

Wednesday, Nov 16, afternoon email from Mark to Sheila:

Last night was cold. Winds increased from 50 to 70 mph and the gusts shook the cabin. I wouldn’t have thought much about the shaking (since I’ve grown accustomed to the fierce winds whipping across the Ugak Bay and hitting the cabin) but at 2:15 AM we had an earthquake!  Incredible. Who would have imagined anything else could happen…and then…RUMBLE…and earthquake!  Amazing. There was no damage, but we did wonder whether it was worse elsewhere…so we kept an eye out for the waters of the bay to recede (indicating a tsunami was coming in). That’s how it works; the waters all sweep out from the land…then the wall of water hits.  That didn’t happen (as I figured it wouldn’t) and everything is back to normal here: high winds and snow and cold.  It’s life on Kodiak!   Honestly, I’m loving this experience. I’m HATING being away from you, but I’m loving this opportunity to see these sights, experience these harsh conditions and photograph these remarkable scenes.

I’m sure everyone is helped by a positive attitude. Some of the guys seem a bit negative about the whole thing, but I’m pulling hard for everyone to to “up and to the right” with their attitudes. We’re here. We’re not leaving until the planes can fly. I tell ‘em to enjoy it and make memories they’ll cherish for the decades ahead. So far, so good. Everyone is actually doing fine with it and Steve is positive too. He knows it’s futile to get upset about things you can’t change. I’m glad for his faith.

I’ve fallen in love with the wood stove. It’s not very big, but it is AWESOME! I think I need one. Of course, that means I’ve got to build a little log cabin to put it in, but I think if we sell the house we’d have enough money to buy both: a wood stove and a little cabin to put it in!  :)  Kidding…..

I’m sure some of the guys in tent-camps on Kodiak are in real trouble now. We’re fine, but I’ll not be surprised to learn some of the guys in tents have hypothermia. Once that sets in, it’s very bad. There’s no way they can get warm again. They’re out of food (we’re not), they’re out of fuel for their stoves (we’re not) and they might be out of water (we’re not…though our nearest streams are now frozen solid, but we have a bigger creek some distance away, so we just go there to fill our water buckets).  All in all, I’m in GREAT SHAPE and happy…except for missing you.

If I stay here for another 38 days I’ll be able to apply for my license as an “Apprentice Guide” on Kodiak….not that I’m trying for that goal.  It’s just a fun conversation we’ve been having around here. I tell everyone I’m in training.  I pitch-in and help with all the chores. Steve does too. Apparently, that doesn’t happen very often because the Outfitter and our Guide both seem startled every time we jump up to help. I guess a lot of people expect to be served all the time….even in hunting camp.  Amazing.

The Alaskan Blizzard Update

Many of you have been following the adventures of Mark Beeson and Steve Evans as they sit stranded in a hunting lodge in Kodiak, Alaska. Here are some more updates about their longer-than-planned trip…

Monday, November 14th morning email from Mark to Sheila:

Today we packed everything up. That’s how possible it is that a plane will fly today. We’re packed and ready if one comes in. If not, we’ll unpack and stay another day. But there is a lot of time left for a pilot to get here and get us out, so we want to be ready.  Our window might be small, so we don’t want to waste time loading up for the flight. That way we can unload the guys coming in to the camp, load the plane with our stuff, and get in the air.  Kodiak City isn’t all that far. We just have one mountain pass to navigate and we’ll be there. No worries. No problems.

Monday, November 14th afternoon email from Mark to Sheila:

Good news. We were sitting down to eat (winds were blowing between 40-50 mph) and a plane landed! Incredible. The Outfitter told the pilot, “I told you it was bad.” The pilot replied, “It’s definitely not flying weather!” He unloaded some hunters who’ve been waiting in Kodiak City and we were able to load up the two hunters here who really needed to go. We were glad to get them back to the city and since Steve and I are in good shape here we stayed behind so they could get out. The plane could only take two people out, no more. The plane lifted off fine (easier to do when headed into such a powerful headwind) and they’re on their way. I won’t be surprised if we get another plane out here this afternoon. All we need is for the wind to lay down a bit and we’ll be on our way.

Monday, November 14th evening email from Mark to Sheila: 

Everything here is fine. The wind is howling, but it appears the forecast is for less wind in the morning. If they’re right, that’ll help us get a plane out here so Steve and I can go to Kodiak City. Once there we can re-book our flights and head to Anchorage. The airline has 7 flights scheduled each day… from Kodiak to Anchorage, so if the airport is open and the weather between here and there is OK, we’ll be in Anchorage by tomorrow afternoon.

Tuesday, November 15th morning email from Mark to Sheila:

We have very low wind (5 mph) which makes the flying easy for the pilots. The problem is that we’re in a blizzard and there is zero visibility. They can’t fly if they can’t see. So, I’m praying the snow will let up and the plane can safely make it here. I’m confident we’ll get out today.

I love that Mark is ever the optimist! Keep praying that they can get home soon. Mark is preaching at a wedding in Houston this weekend for a very good friend. He would hate to miss it.

UPDATE 3:20pm TUESDAY from Mark to Sheila

Everything I’m hearing here is that the wind is supposed to crank back up tomorrow. If we don’t get out today, we may not get out until Friday. Not sure. We’re just playing it by ear. There’s been some chatter about Coast Guard rescues, but we certainly don’t require that. Some of the guys who are in “spike camps” (where they hike up the mountain with all their gear…tents, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, food, etc) have run out of food now. A few are at risk…and several have no SAT phones or radios. They’re in it. Cold. Wet. Hungry. If the Coast Guard goes out for folks, it’s for people like that, not people like me.  So if you hear about such things, don’t think they’re coming for us. That would be ridiculous. They’ll just go for the guys who are in danger of dying. We’re not. We’re fine.  No worries.

It’s amazing that I’ve got email access from time to time. I’m soooooooo glad to be able to email you….and to hear back from you! It’s great to be in touch. There are still a few hours today where the plane might show up. It’s only 11:20 AM now, so they could still show up this afternoon. I’ll be expecting that. Like I said, I’m packed and ready to go.  :)

I love my “filtered water bottle.”  It’s awesome. And talk about cold water! Yiiiiiii.  It’s like a brain-freeze with every sip!  I’m still encouraging the group to enjoy these days. I’ve told them “we’re bulding memories.”  I’m not sure they believe me, but it’s true. I’m not just saying it. These are days I’ll probably never forget.  I AM building memories.  :)   No lie.

OK. Enough for now. I’m going to go look out the window and see if the plane is landing on the bay in front of the cabin.

Mark Beeson: Stuck in a Snow Blizzard in Alaska

Many of you know…Mark Beeson loves the outdoors. About 10 days ago he flew with a friend to a remote north of Kodiak in Alaska. He was supposed to come home on Friday. That is, before a “super-storm / snowicane” hit Alaska last week. He has been stranded in harsh blizzard conditions ever since. He is safe, but stuck. So you know how to pray, here are some excerpts of email correspondence between Mark and Sheila (shared with permission)…

Friday, November 11,  Email from Mark to Sheila:

I Wish I Had More Time to Read

I don’t know how many times a week someone says to me, “You’ve got to read this book. It’s unbelievable.” If I read every book that someone said was life-changing, I’d spend my entire life reading. With kids, church activities, and my ministry/job–I don’t get nearly as much reading done as I’d like.

In fact, this picture is the current pile of books on my desk that people have handed or sent me. My assistant asked me what I was going to do about the growing column of books. My best idea was to eliminate the shelf above it so the pile can continue to grow. Bottom line: I CAN’T KEEP UP!

A couple months ago I discovered a group called Leaders Book Summaries. Guess what they do? They summarize books. It was started by Dave Frederick, a pastor who believes in the church and believes in leadership. He understands the dilemma we all face between the tyranny of the urgent and the growth we all want as leaders. So he reviews a couple books every month–and sends subscribers a 10-15 page summary, as well as a 2-page “nutshell.” I’ve read several–and they are spot on! Instead of wading through content to get a few nuggets of great stuff–Dave’s team takes the time to whittle down the content so there is gold in every paragraph.

His team issues thirty (30) summaries of leadership books each year–written by both secular and religious authors. Some recent examples include…

• Integrity by Henry Cloud
• On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
• Margin by Dr. Richard Swenson
• The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni
• How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor by Bennis, Goleman & O’Toole
• Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell
• The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero