Sunday, November 24, 2013



Fourteen and a half years ago John Snell was hired as the youth pastor at Harper Church.  Bjorn was in junior high.  Over the many years that John and Sugar served at our church, they have greatly influenced the spiritual lives of hundreds of young people.  Our sons are no exception.  Each one of our boys were closely connected to the youth group and spent a lot of time with John and Sugar: worshipping, praying, learning, gaming, and traveling.  Esther and I are eternally grateful for God's work in our sons' lives through the ministry of John and Sugar.  Esther and I also became friends with John and Sugar and enjoyed many hours with them.  Today, Harper said goodbye to this beloved family.  John will become the senior pastor of a church in Kent, Washington.  We are very excited for them.  We will miss them, but we wish them the best in their new home.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Arizona transplants

The Peak's new home by Southworth Sailor
The Peak's new home, a photo by Southworth Sailor on Flickr.

For twenty-seven years we have lived on the Kitsap Peninsula as kinship loners, having no relatives nearby. All of that changed this month when Doug and Nancy Peak moved from Arizona to join us on the peninsula. Nancy is Esther's second cousin; and after living in Mexico and Arizona for the past twenty-five years, Doug accepted a job as a GED teacher at the Washington Correction Center for Women in Purdy. He has been working in corrections for the past ten years in Arizona. While feeling a little chilled, they are excited to be in the Northwest, close to both of their families. Doug and Nancy have been living with Esther and I for the past two and half weeks as they looked for a home to rent. Tonight they spent their first night in their new home in uptown Gig Harbor. It is a convenient location for Doug's commute, and Nancy hopes to get a job in Tacoma which is a quick trip across the bridge. Welcome to Kitsap Doug and Nancy.