A New Calling

Jeff and I recently returned from a couple weeks of vacation in Oregon and Mexico. Before we went, we prayed over our trip for safety and fun, but we also prayed for much more than that. Over the past six months, both of us separately had begun to wonder if God was calling us out of McGrath or if He wanted us to stay. We explored options on the road system and in other areas of the Lower-48, but drew blanks on the where and why of a move. Jeff had even thought of heading somewhere overseas from here, but I was—how do you say?—not as interested in that sort of a venture as he was.

Nonetheless, before leaving on our trip, we prayed that God would give us a clear calling. Whether our calling came on the trip or later, we set a tone that our vacation would be more than just a getaway. As we committed to pray during our trip and planned meetings with many of our fellow believers back in Oregon, we traveled with open hearts, wondering what God’s future held for us.

Weeks earlier, just after Christmas, as our family flew back down to Oregon, leaving us with some quiet time to ourselves, I spoke with the Lord one morning. I told Him I was tired of being so far away from family, especially my sister, who is one of my best friends. But all I heard Him say in His quiet, still voice was, “Monica, I’m preparing you for a time in the future when you will be even farther away from them than you are right now.” I swallowed hard and placed His words in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t ready to truly hear what He meant.

Just days before we left for vacation, I had the strange sense that God was going to give us some clear direction in what we should do with our lives during our trip. I was careful, however, to place that sense, too, in the back of my mind so as to not be searching for some mystical calling around every corner.

On January 11, we got to attend church service at First B. in Eugene. The new pastor, Ben Cross, was preaching on being filled with the Holy Spirit, and I was listening, but in the midst of his sermon, I heard a whole lot more than just his voice. I wrote about it in my prayer journal just days after returning to McGrath.

Heavenly Father,

Before we left, we were praying that You would give us a calling. And I think we received one. Somehow, as I sat in church in Eugene, I heard Your voice. You told me, “Go. Go wherever I tell you with complete willingness. Stop ruling out certain regions of the world, climates, sizes of people groups, etc. It’s time to go where I want you to be.”

For too long, I had been limiting God to sending us only somewhere else in Alaska or the Lower-48. I knew for years Jeff had felt the calling on his life for work overseas, but I had always fought against the idea of long-term missions. Wasn’t it enough that I had spent our first anniversary with him in Egypt, teaching English and working in an orphanage? Sometimes I had even wondered if Jeff realized who he had married. But God knew. And now it’s time for us to follow His call, and we’re asking you to pray for us.

We feel that God is calling us to minister among Muslim people in North Africa or the Middle East. Currently, we are building a relationship with Frontiers, a mission organization that is targeting unreached and unengaged Muslim people groups. Over the next few months, we’ll be selling the majority of what we own, including our house here in McGrath, in preparation for a move down to Oregon in May.

Once in Oregon, we will continue forming a support team of our fellow believers to pray with us and help us make our calling a reality. We’ll also be visiting many churches, seeking sponsorship and more prayer along the way.

At this point, there are two routes we can choose to take: leading a team or joining a team. If we choose to lead a team, we’ll be needing to raise close to $10,000 of support to attend a six-week intensive training in Turkey. If we choose to join a team, we’ll be heading to Arizona for a few weeks instead with a smaller price tag attached. Either way, we ask you to pray that God would reveal His plans for us and provide for us along the way.

Our other largest current prayer need is for God to narrow His calling slightly and show us to which country or people group He would like to send us. Please pray for us that we will hear and heed His voice.

It’s an exciting, joyous, yet difficult time in our lives, and we would love if many of you would commit to pray for us or support us in other ways if you feel led to do so. If you are interested in joining our support team through prayer, please contact us and we will add you to our mailing list.

A verse we are believing in: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.” Philippians 2:13.

Blessings Always,

Jeff and Monica

Mysterious Ways is Published!

My new fiction novel, Mysterious Ways, is now available on Amazon.com. Search for Monica Bauer, and it will be the first result to come up. Check it out, and enjoy!

Book Summary:

“Parental Discretion Advised: May Contain Foul Language and Adult Content.” It’s the warning label found on bad rap music and R-rated movies. But it just as easily could have found its way onto the story of my life. Many times since birth I have wished that such a cautionary notice would have fallen in my lap. Maybe then I would have opted out of life’s offer. Needless to say, I didn’t have the opportunity.

I’m Belinda. From a rocky childhood with a single mother, to the tragic circumstances that took me to “middle of nowhere” Alaska, it took me many years to come to the conclusion that my life had been worth living. Ironically, it was in the snowy darkness that I finally saw the light.

* * *

Having never expected to leave her hometown in Oregon, Belinda Cole fights back when unforeseen circumstances force her into new and uncomfortable surroundings. In the midst of her anger, humor and tragedy bring her to a place of discovery where she finds a new family, new friends, and a new faith.

Visiting a Rural Alaska "Ghost Town"

Welcome to Flat, Alaska. Jeff and I had heard rumors of this place, a little village where no one lives anymore. Supposedly, every building and house had been abandoned, many of them with dishes in the kitchen and sheets in the bed. When my mom and dad visited a few weeks ago, we thought it would be a fun Alaskan adventure to go and explore Flat. So, we piled in two of our friends bush planes. Why two? Because there wasn't room for the four of us to fly in one with the pilot, of course.

Our first ghost sighting, shown below, happened at the beginning of our adventure. Wait, isn't that my dad?

In one of the abandoned homes, Dad and I stopped to warm our hands...

As we walked around town, many of the old homes and cars looked like this:

This is outside of what is called the old moose lodge. Believe it or not, every Fourth of July, fifty or more people gather to celebrate in Flat with games and music here.

Inside the lodge, check out the beautiful hardwood floors, walls, and ceilings. And yes, those are coved corners. Wow!

Flat was a mining town, and dredges such as this one used to turn up the ground in search of gold, leaving mounds of large rock behind. When we talked to a man who lives there over the summer, he said his grandmother refused to move her house, unlike everyone else, when the dredge came through town. She had to pay $10,000 for them to leave her house standing where it was. Everyone else just got used to moving their home whenever the dredge came through.

Inside the dredge...


My dad tries to drive the dredge. Good thing it wasn't in running order!

The front of what we assume may have been an old general store:

Jacks are used throughout the town to hold up old buildings.

Inside a store, many items from the early to mid 1900s are still on the shelves:

An old snow machine. Jeff said he didn't know that Homelite made a snow machine!

An old wood shop.


One of the few houses that isn't overgrown with willows. This house sits on a hill near the old post office and bookstore.

Yes, the books are still on the shelves of the old bookstore/library. Amazing!

A couple that lives in Flat during the summer invited us in to rest our feet and cooked us a most delicious meal of salmon, spaghetti, salad, veggies, juice, and cookies. Such hospitality! John and Mary Miscovich have lived in Flat during the summers for years, and John grew up there as a young boy. It was enlightening visiting with them; it was such a privilege! John shows off his invention, the Intelligiant, below. It's a patented invention that has actually earned him money. I believe he said it is still in use today. It is a water sprayer used in fire fighting. He (or his father, I'm not sure) also invented kind of an automatic washing machine before its time! For more info on the Intelligiant Monitor, check out page 6 of this pdf file: http://www.dggs.dnr.state.ak.us/webpubs/dggs/nl/text/nl1971_010.PDF


All around the Miscovich's house, a "bear proof" fence has been installed. Mary told us of a time that a grizzly got into their house and into their freezer one time while they were gone. That was before this innovative fence.

It's a good thing since these are bear claw marks on the wall of a nearby building:

When we first arrived at their house, Mary told us that John was out clearing up some beaver dams. The beavers have been so active that it is causing flooding up the way that is blocking roads. And yes, those are large rocks below. I'd love to see the beavers that worked so hard to build this dam!

After we ate, John took us by the house where he grew up in Flat as a boy. It needs a little work, but it looks like it was a great house in its time. In the building nearby, a Studebaker sits covered with thick fabric.

After a long day of walking around Flat and as my parents' visit came to a close, we enjoyed a great bonfire on the river back near McGrath. Good times all around!

Jeff Rides in a Helicopter

Jeff just completed his second season working for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources as the carpenter. Needless to say, carpenters do not often get to ride in helicopters. Jeff’s lucky day, however, came, and is with much jealousy that I share these pictures.

The purpose of the flight was to check on forest fires that had been burning in the area overseen by this branch of DNR. Fire season this year was fairly minimal, which to people in the Lower 48 seems like good news. Here, however, fire is a natural cycle of the forest, and the firefighters make money only when the state is on fire. Because of the vastness of Alaska and the extremely low population density, sometimes forest fires are even allowed to just run their course. During an average fire season in our region of Alaska alone, approximately 130,000 acres of forest burn. This year only approximately 6,500 acres burned.

Perching on the hilltop, Jeff and the men he was with retrieved a radio transmitter and enjoyed lunch. Not only was Jeff on the clock for this adventure, but for a small fee he was given a sack lunch unlike any I had heard of. A Thai peanut chicken burrito, a turkey ham salami sandwich, an orange, an apple, chips, celery, carrots, ranch dressing, and a can of juice filled the bag and filled his tummy. He says it was a fourteen pound lunch. It’s a hard job, but I guess someone has to do it.

The Manuscript is in the Mail, and I Bought a Bag of Cherries for $11! Life is Good!

Well, last Wednesday was a long, busy day. I mailed off six copies of my book's manuscript or proposals for it. After completing my first novel, I was extremely excited to release it into the abyss. I also electronically submitted six more! Wow! It was a huge learning experience. Every publisher wanted something slightly different from the one before, even down to the littlest details like how many spaces they want you to have after each period! Yikes! It took me all day to complete the process. Now begins the waiting game. I'm praying for and expecting great things!

The following day, grocery shopping was necessary, and the local store here had fresh cherries by the bag! That's a pretty rare item! Last year, I bought a bag and made Jeff guess how much they had cost me. He began his guessing. "$8?" Nope! "$12?" Uh-uh. "$16?" Keep going! "$20?" Right on the money, Jeff! We ate those cherries as fast as we could to prevent spoiling, but regrettably, we still lost a few.

This year, when I saw cherries, I thought, Well, a cherry once a year is worth it, and I'm not even going to look at the price!

It was a good plan, but as I walked up to the cashier, she said, "Do you know how much these cost?!"

"I was curious..." I replied.

"Let's find out together!" She enthusiastically scanned them.

My jaw dropped, and I laughed as I read $22.00 on the screen!!!

Well, I thought, I decided once a year a splurge on cherries was permissible, so I stuck with my initial decision.

As she checked me out for the rest of my groceries, she commented that I was the first one who had brought up a bag and actually bought it. Most people were taking them back after finding out the price.

I made some comment about how I didn't think she'd be selling many more because the other two bags on the shelf had a little mold in them.

"Oh," she said. "I'll go take 'em off the shelf then!"

I saw my chance to wheel and deal. (You have to do this in bush Alaska sometimes.)

"You wanna sell 'em to me for 1/2 price?" I had to ask. After all, only one cherry was white and fuzzy in the bottom of the bag.

"Yeah, I would do that for you." She replied.

Without any more questions, I switched the bag, she refunded me the difference, and I walked triumphantly out of the store, my $11 bag of cherries in hand!