July 2000 Update - L.A.F.M.

Our biggest change is in our destination after Tonya's graduation.  We got word that the AK Senate has passed legislation concerning public school funding. The state apparently wants to try and force the smaller school districts to consolidate. To that end they have cut funding to the smaller districts and increased it for larger ones. There are many faults with this but for right now this means that Tonya will not have a job waiting to be filled when she graduates. Tonya will now apply to be admitted into the Teacher Education program in the fall and her classes will be changed a little bit. She will still be getting a BS in Social Science but she now must have a minor. She wants to minor in Spanish but won't know if it is approved by the state until perhaps the fall so she will also minor in Sociology. By adding another year to her schooling she has decided to take a semester and study spanish in Cuernavaca, Mexico. After receiving her degree she must then do her student teaching for 2 full semesters to be certified in the state of Michigan. It is too bad that she can't use her 2 years subbing in Alaska for this. All in all we are very disappointed. Tonya has worked long and hard taking nearly 20 credits per semester in order to graduate in one year and return to Metlakatla. Lee is also very disappointed as he has spent the past year planning and looking forward to his return to the pulpit in Metlakatla and his return home to our new family in Metlakatla. We refuse to give up on Metlakatla. If we are truly never supposed to return then God will have to take this desire from our hearts. We long to return but it looks like we will be stuck in Michigan for an extra 2 years now.

Lee is still in a holding pattern where the Butterfly House in the Caribbean is concerned. His boss is hoping to have it constructed this summer so that he can open in the fall. His boss is very happy to hear that Lee will be here staying on for a few more summers and if the southern house opens he knows that Lee is almost locked in for a couple of years year round employment. The Butterfly House purchased a house across the street to be used as an apartment for us upstairs, the owner downstairs and by eventually adding a wing all the employees for the house and for Professor Harry's and the Wildlife Co. will live there. We are currently looking for an efficiency for Tonya to move into and in October we will put all our stuff here in the apartment on the island. LAFM will officially be based on Mackinac Island for a while.