Saturday, December 24, 2011

December Pictures

Christmas lights on the clinic
Bridger likes to go fast

Case taking a break



Ansley on the sled

Luke going over a jump on the snowboard



A trapper with his furs

A plane on Grizzly Lake, they will be putting skis on the plane soon.

Riding the trapline, they've had over 5 feet of snow

Russ with Dede and Millie, both came as missionary nurses.
Dede, left, has been here 25 years, Millie has been here 40 years.
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Merry Christmas!

Medical
This month, we wanted to tell you about North Country Clinic. Dede Duntze, a nurse practitioner, has been working in the clinic for 10 years. Dede came to Cross Road Medical Center 25 years ago as a missionary nurse, and stayed. She later went back to school to become a nurse practitioner and then moved to North County Clinic. She does a great job in the clinic and works in 2 native villages in the area. Russ has enjoyed working with her and will be at the clinic for 2 days while she is home for Christmas. The clinic is in a 2 room cabin (see the pictures, Dede is in the first one) at Grizzly Lake. Dede sees all kinds of people at the clinic and even provides prenatal care. If you need to given a urine sample, you have to go to the outhouse, even in the winter! Dede has lived in a cabin beside the clinic at Grizzly Lake since she started there. The clinic serves a great need in the area, as people would have to drive 1 and 1/2 hours to get to Cross Road Medical Center from there. Russ has been there once so far and really enjoyed it. Russ also just saw his first snowmobile accident. The patient was snowmobiling down a river and fell into a hole in the ice! He was hurt, but thankfully not severely.

Ministry
We've had some different opportunities to share with people this month. Russ has been caring for some hospice patients lately and had the opportunity to discuss end of life issues. We particularly have been praying for one man who lives alone and does not seem to have any family involved. Russ has been praying with him during house calls and talking about a relationship with Christ. The kids have been attending a youth group at one of the native churches and met a girl named Hailey. Hailey told them that she like coming to church, but that she was an atheist. She said she came from a hard home life with alcoholism in her home. She prayed for things to change but they never did, "So I gave up on God". The kids have been talking with her some and we have been praying for her as well as the many kids here that are in similar situations. Sue, Luke and Ansley went to church at Chistochina last week, a small native church. They didn't have anyone to lead music so Luke played the guitar for them and Ansley sang "Mary Did You Know".

Life
It continues to snow, but has not been as cold overall this month. It has mostly been above zero. We went out and cut a local Christmas tree from the forest. It's a little bit of a Charlie Brown tree, but we got it for free! The kids have been sledding and Luke has been snowboarding on the local sledding hill. We plan to have one or two of the single nurses over for Christmas. Sue's knee continues to heal. She has been released by her orthopedist and her limp is improving. The Copper Basin 300, a local dogsled race, is scheduled for mid January and we hope to at least watch it or maybe even volunteer! When Russ was up at Grizzly Lake, he was able to ride on a snowmobile with a trapper to check his trapline. You can see some of the furs in the pictures. It's been a fun Christmas Eve, it's been snowing all day!

Prayer Requests
- For the hospice patients in the area, for their spiritual and physical needs
-For Hailey, and the many other children in our area that are in difficult home situations and need to know that Jesus loves them even in midst of their situations
-That Sue's knee would continue to heal
-For Dede and her ministry at North Country Clinic
-For AWANA as it resumes in January and reaches out to many children in the area
-For the staff at Cross Road Medical Center, for wisdom and boldness to be a light for Christ in the area
-For nurses and a physical therapist to work at Cross Road Medical Center

Thanks to all for the many calls, packages, and especially the prayers.
Have a great Christmas!
The Meltons
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