Emergency in Remote Alaska

Our skin is a pretty remarkable organ.  I just read that we have 19 yards of blood vessels, 95 oil glands, 650 sweat glands, and over 19,000 sensory cells in ONE INCH OF SKIN!  Wow.  Did you know that the average adult's skin covers an area of 22 square feet?  Now that is a serious amount of vessels, glands, and cells!  And did you know that our skin renews itself every 28 days?  Our skin is like a really cool suit of armor that's tailor-made just for us.  It keeps all our insides in and an army of harmful stuff out, and when it's damaged it heals.

So a few weeks ago when Steve nicked his finger on a fish tooth (does it count that it was the tooth of a really big, beautiful, and tasty silver salmon? :-) ) he didn't think much about it.  48 hours later his finger looked like a polish dog from Costco, a fever had taken up residency in his body, bright red streaks were lighting up his arm like fireworks on the fourth of July, and he was in excruciating pain (not a good combination when one lives in remote Alaska!).  Steve needed to get to a hospital immediately but the howling wind had grounded all the planes, and the swirling seas would have turned any skiff into a coffin.

Nearing a state of panic I called the experienced village health aide who took one look at Steve's swollen digit and diagnosed him with "Fish Handler's Disease" (you'd think an avid fisherman would know about such diseases!).  She kicked into high gear, calling ER doctors from Homer to Anchorage, looking for approval to dispense a much needed antibiotic.  Two hours and more than a few ibuprofen later, our angel in scrubs handed Steve the miracle in a bottle.  I've never been so happy to see an antibiotic in my whole life!  It got us through the night (and bad weather), and the next morning Steve was on a flight to Homer for a trip to the ER.

Fast forward sixteen days, two rounds of antibiotics, and $5,000 later (I'll spare you all the gory details of a giant blister, oozing puss, and blackened skin), and Steve's finger is still attached to his hand and looking...well, almost normal.  Thank you, Jesus.

In this adventure with Steve's giant sausage finger, I learned that without the proper care, the tiniest little nick on our skin makes us vulnerable to extremely painful, ridiculously expensive, and even deadly infections.  Funny how the same lesson holds true in our spiritual lives as well.  If sin nicks our spiritual armor, it sends infection into our system.  Left unattended, it will be exceedingly painful, horribly expensive, and eventually it will be deadly.  Don't let the trials of this world penetrate your spiritual armor.  Read God's word daily, know what it says, and follow it without compromise.  There's no better antibiotic for the infection of sin than that.

P.S. - A special thanks for all the prayers (and help) during this incident--I believe they kept Steve's infection at bay, and I know they kept me from being admitted to the loony bin  :-)

Without Excuse

Sometimes in life God chooses to remove us from our comfort zones in order to get our attention.  Moving to remote Alaska has definitely taken us out of our comfort zone, and away from the noise of life. In the quiet stillness of Port Graham, nature shouts of God's glory and majesty.  As you step for a moment into our little corner of the world, may the Apostle Paul's words resonate for you as they have for us: "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky.  Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse for not knowing God."  Romans 1:20





Trust in the Lord forever,

for in God the Lord,

we have an everlasting Rock. 

Isaiah 26:4

Those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

He leads me beside still waters,

He restores my soul....

Psalm 23:1-3a






The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the Word of the Lord stands forever.

Isaiah 40:8

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Psalm 19:1

He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.  Jeremiah 51:15

Special thanks to our daughter Maddie, for providing the beautiful photos for this post!

Update From Port Graham

A view from our church.  Amazing!

Hello from the remote village of Port Graham, Alaska!

Remember us, the Ristows?!  Contrary to the rumors, we have not been eaten by bears, carried off by giant Alaskan mosquitos (although they have tried!), nor have we fallen off the face of the earth.  Thanks be to God, we are safely settled in the beautiful village of Port Graham.  We miss all of you dearly and have been so appreciative of your letters, packages, phone calls, support and prayers. 

We apologize for not updating you sooner, but we are fully experiencing what it means to be unplugged.  For example, we ordered internet service on June 4^th and our installation date was July 12^th (last Monday) and still we have yet to be hooked up (we’re borrowing a friend’s internet service for this update).  Our cell phones (as many of you know) are spotty at best and only work when we lift our left leg, point to the SE and hold a fork in our right hand.  Amazon Prime (our new remote village “shopping mall”) touts of a fast 2-day delivery, however in remote AK it means a one- to four-week delivery, and that’s only if they agree to send it in the first place!   All to say, we are learning to be patient and are fully thankful for any modern services at all.  Thank you for being patient with us!
It seems to all of us that we’re living in a bit of a time warp.  So much has happened, so many people met, so many lessons learned.  Last July we asked God to radically change our lives...today, exactly one year later, we’re living in a church, people are calling us the “Preacher Family”, our girls are regularly catching giant halibut, picking wild chives and driving the ATV, and our world consists of living together with 150 native Alaskans!  We thank God every day for the blessing of serving Him. 

So what’s been going on the last two months?  In a nutshell, lots of training, meeting people, moving, deep cleaning, painting, preaching, fishing, swatting mosquitos, and slowing waaaaaay down.  The villagers attending the church are eager to grow in their relationship with Jesus and have kindly embraced our living among them.  God continues to give us little treasures here and there in the forms of friends, kind words, and gifts of fish and food.  Although beauty surrounds us, the spiritual warfare here is alive and well.  There is not a day we don’t feel the eternal battle for this village.  Thanks be to God for His armor, His Holy Spirit, His giving us the courage to stand for Him, and our ultimate victory through His son, Jesus Christ.

We have so many stories to tell you and look forward to when we have internet to keep you better updated.  Again, thank you so much for your patience, your support, friendship and prayers…they mean the world to us.  We too are praying for you and your families.
May God bless you and keep you!

Warmly in Christ,

The Ristow Family
 

Here’s a few pictures to give you a snapshot of our new life:

Meet Wallace, our friend and fishing
buddy.  He’s lived in Port Graham all his life,
and knows everything there is to know
about the village, fishing, and history of
the Alutiiq people. 

Fishing is the lifeblood of Port Graham, especially in the summer
months when the salmon are running.  Since freezer space is limited,
nearly all the homes in the village have a smoke house to preserve
fish for the winter months.  At this time of year, there is a
distinct “smoked fish” smell wafting through the village.

 

Inside a smoke house. Preserving fish is a time-consuming and tedious job. The villagers check their nets several times a day, and process the fish as they catch them. The process includes cleaning and filleting the fish, cutting them into strips, and then individually tying the strips to “rafters” in the smoke house.  The smoke must be maintained or the villagers run the risk of the fish rotting before it is completely dry.  There are many factors that play into the amount of drying time (weather, humidity, size of smoke house, etc.), but most of the fish take anywhere from three days to a week to dry.

 

Klaira shopping in the “Down Store”.  The store is
well-stocked but it comes with a hefty price tag. 
We regularly spend $150-$250 for a small (kid-sized)
shopping cart of food.

 

Main Street, Port Graham…at rush hour!

 

Our local gas “station”.  They just recently installed the
“pay by credit card” pump so we don’t have to prepay
for our gas at the store.

 

Our local dock.  Many villagers have “skiffs” (fishing boats),
in order to bring in enough fish to feed their families
through the long winter months.

Port Graham airport.

 

Fishing at 11:00 pm.  It doesn’t get dark here until
12:30 or 1:00 in the morning!

Port Graham’s Chief, Pat, throwing an arrow, Aleutiiq-style
at the village’s “Celebration of Life” event – their
version of 4^TH of July.

A typical Sunday Service with our fellow believers in Christ!

  

 

Bison, Moose and Bears, OH MY!

We made it!  After months of planning, weeks of packing, and days of driving, we arrived in Alaska last week.  The drive was nothing short of amazing.  Perfect weather, very little traffic, incredible scenery, and the wildest of wildlife.  Here are some highlights we experienced along the way...

One of many great stops along the road.  Speaking of roads, this 22-mile gravel section was full of deep potholes, washboards, and broken pavement.  We still had all of our teeth by the end of it, but we were minus a few brake lights and plastic car parts!

Bison were plentiful--this newborn was just hours old and still wobbly on his feet.  Along the way, we knew we were in Bison territory by the thousands of bison "presents" along the road.



One of the numerous streams we saw along the way. If Audrey hadn't packed Steve's fishing poles in the middle of the trailer, we might still be in Canada!



Klaira & Maddie attending to Riley (the only one of us detained, thank you God!) at the Canadian Border crossing.

 

 One of the 12 bears (7 grizzly and 5 black bears) we saw alongside the road.  This one was our favorite...he even stood on his hind feet for us.  What a ham!

 

Remnants of old mining villages scattered the highway.  Here was an old chapel in the middle of nowhere, Canada.

On the road in Canada, hundreds of tourists have made their mark alongside the road.  We like to say the Ristow(s) Rock :)

These gentle giants are prolific in Homer.  Yesterday, I was pumping gas in town and out popped a moose about 20 feet from me

Enjoying a reindeer hot dog in Anchorage (Riley our dog was impressed!)

 

Home(r) at last!

Yummmmm!

In a valiant effort to prepare for unusual Alaskan cuisine, Klaira and Maddie go on a treasure hunt for the famed Geoduck (gooey-duck) clams.  Great success -- Carpaccio for dinner!  We actually enjoyed this raw, thinly sliced delicatessen. God, we are so grateful for your abundant provision!

"Everything that lives and moves will be food for you.  Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."  Genesis 9:3

Do Life BIG!

 

Let’s face it—someday we’ll all be standing before the Big Man upstairs.  And on that day, as you and He look back over your earthly resume, what will your conversation with Him be like?

“Congratulations, you lived a safe life.” Or “Wow, eighty years and you did what?”  Or worse yet, “Looks like a you spent a lifetime chasing everything except Me.”

Like it or not we’ll all have an exit interview with God.  Compared to eternity, your appointment with the Boss is relatively soon.  Are you preparing for the most important conversation of your life?

As for me, the day I kick the bucket and sit on my Father’s lap as we’re DVR-ing my life, I’d love to be able to give Him a fist bump and say with Him, “Wow, what a ride!”

Honestly, I feel like somewhat of a hypocrite in writing this post.  Would I describe my entire life as one marked by adventure?  Well, not exactly.  You see, I love comfort, stability, and being king of the remote control.  In fact, up until last summer, I had a beautiful home, I was the founder and director of a successful Christian ministry for 18 years, I was surrounded by loving family and friends--together with my beautiful wife and amazing kids we were living the quintessential American Dream.

Then I did it.  After a summer of studying the book of Revelation with my wife, I had a renewed perspective on my final exit interview with God.  I started praying a simple prayer. “God, please change my life so I can radically glorify and experience you.”  

I’m not sure what I expected, but one week later and as clear as day, God responded.  “Resign from your job.”  

What?!  God, are you sure you didn’t dial the wrong number?  No further instructions?  What’s your strategic plan?  

His response, “One step at a time.”

Two days later I tendered my resignation with my Board of Directors.  No plan, no fall back, no safety net.  

Fast forward eight months.  All of my family’s worldly possessions fit into a small trailer and shed, we are homeless, and my family and I are embarking on a 2,800 mile road trip to a remote village in Alaska to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to a village of 150 Aluetiiq Indians.   

Radical life change?   I think so.  Uncomfortable?  Absolutely.  Uncertain of the future?  Every day.

Experiencing God?  Beyond what I thought possible.  Feeling alive in Christ?  On fire.  Has He provided everything my family and I need?  Abundantly.

Don't get me wrong, it is not an easy road! The worldly cost for following Jesus is high.  I have given up my "kingdom", lost relationships with close friends, experienced ridicule, and let go of my pursuit for worldly success.

But when I weigh all the costs versus the benefits, would I go back to my “old” life?  Never again.  As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

God has given each one of us the choice, resources, and time to write the materials for our exit interview.  Like Jesus’ time on Earth, God has called all of us into a relationship with Him that is radical, uncomfortable, and life-changing.  He’s built in all of us a deep desire to live a life that is marked by excitement, passion, and risk—we are all wired to do life BIG for Him.

Dads, husbands, and men—are you living your life radically for Him?  Are you leading by example, specifically in regards to your wife and kids?  You play one the most important roles in the spiritual development of your family.  You have the ability to influence your wife and children’s exit interviews with God.  Are you willing to radically follow Jesus and teach your family to do the same?  

If this is your heart's desire, I strongly encourage you to pray the simple prayer of radical transformation.  “God, please change my life so that I can radically glorify and experience you.”  Trust me, He will hear your prayer and send you on the adventure of your life. 

And on that special day, when you stand before God enjoying the reruns of your life, you will confidently say with Him, “Wow, what a ride!”

Choose wisely.

Steve

Alaska or Bust!

After 8 long months of preparation, we're officially on our way to Alaska--Praise God!  With 2,700 miles between Oregon and the remote Alaskan village of Port Graham, we're all set for the long road trip to our new home. Thank you to everyone who helped with our endless hours of packing and preparation, for the many warm good-byes, the gifts, and the prayers.  We feel so loved and will treasure our time and memories with all of you.