No Water!

The year was 1951. The place was Juneau, Alaska. I was five years old. My  parents, Bob and AnnaMae (Personeus) Cousart, had been operating the Bethel Beach Children's Home for two years. Here is my mother's account of what happened that bitterly cold January day:

"Mommy, there's no water!" AnnaLee said as she exited the bathroom.

"Oh, no!" I gasped. I whirled from the stove to the kitchen sink and turned on the faucet. Two tiny drops slowly fell into the sink, then nothing.

Frantically, I raced down the stairs to the basement laundry room and turned on the faucet in the big, square sink there. A tiny trickle, then nothing.

"Oh, dear Lord! What am I going to do now!" I groaned and sagged against the laundry tub.

Behind me, sorted into piles, lay the laundry that needed to be washed in the wringer washing machine that morning. Beside me, diapers soaked in a bucket. There were no disposable diapers nor laundromats in those days, and I had seven preschool-aged children to do laundry for, including three under two years of age. Upstairs, the breakfast dishes waited to be washed.

I hated to disturb my husband at his job at Alaska Coastal Airlines, but this was an emergency. "Honey, our water pipes must be frozen. Would you please bring us some water on your lunch hour?"

Our water supply came from a mountain stream diverted by a partial dam into our private six-foot square reservoir about 300 feet up the mountain across Glacier Highway from the Bethel Beach Children's Home. A buried pipe carried the water from the reservoir to the house.

My husband arrived home about half past noon. He unloaded two 10-gallon milk cans full of water. "I called someone to thaw out the pipes, but with this extreme cold spell, they are all booked up until tonight," he told me. "One of the fellows at work suggested that I stop by the dairy co-op to get water."

"Well, at least I can make more milk," I said. "At breakfast, the children finished up the pitcher of powered milk I mixed up last night."

After Bob went back to work, I put all the children down for naps. Then, I washed up the dishes. Next, I hand-washed the diapers and other essential items and hung them up to dry on the rack over the floor furnace grate. I saved all the used water to flush the toilet as needed.

That evening after dinner, the men finally arrived to thaw the pipes. Dragging in two heavy-duty electric cables attached to a generator on their pickup, they clamped the ends to the pipes on either side of the section that might be frozen. Then, they sent a strong electric current through the pipes. Hopefully, the heat would warm the pipes and melt the ice.

They waited for the ice to melt and the water to start flowing into the faucets, but nothing happened.

"Let's try up by the highway," one of the men suggested.

They moved the equipment up to the end of the 200-foot driveway and dug through the snow and frozen ground with a pick and shovel to expose the pipe. When the cables were attached, they again ran the generator. While they waited, the men came back to the house for hot coffee.

My husband imagined the dollar signs rolling. How would he pay the bill?

I encouraged the kids to pray. Surely God would answer our prayers.

Still no water--even after they again moved the equipment across the highway to another section of pipe.

Way after midnight, they finally decided the trouble must be at the reservoir. It was too dark and the climb too treacherous to attempt before daylight. Bob had to work all week, and it was dark when he arrived home in the evenings, so we had to make-do for five days without running water with a house full of young children before he could investigate.

Have you ever had an experience when God doesn't answer your prayers right away?

To be continued!

God Is Never Too Late Conclusion

Last week, I posted Part One of a testimony written by my mother about an occurrence while I was in high school. Here is the dramatic conclusion:

Since our arrival in Seward in February, 1960, we too had been living by faith. Our church was small and unable to support us financially. We had only $30.00 in promised support each month. The cost of living was very high in Alaska. We had four teenagers to feed and clothe. Our two oldest girls were buying a lot of their own clothes with babysitting money, which helped, but they all had healthy appetites and were growing. Sometimes we didn't know where the next meal was coming from, but God was never too late.

The Cousart Family & the Personeuses in front of the Seward,Alaska, church

"Lord, You won't let us down this time either," I breathed as I finished packing our lunches.

"Hey, Mom!" Our 6-feet 1-inch, 13-year-old son, Robert Paul, stood in the doorway. "The kids are wondering what's holding you up. They want to get going."

"Mother, we're all ready and waiting," AnnaLee, our 14-year-old daughter, declared, as she squeezed past her brother and entered the kitchen. "We'll be late if we don't leave soon."

"I know, dear," I answered, giving the already clean counter a final swipe and hanging the dish cloth on the rod. "Honey," I sighed and turned to my husband, "I guess we'd better tell them our problem."

"Yeah, I guess so. Come on." And he led the way to the living room, where the young people were sitting around laughing and talking. They sobered quickly when they saw our grave expressions.

"Young people," my husband began, "I don't know what we're going to do. We've been praying for gas money, but so far, it hasn't arrived. We know you don't have enough money either, so let's pray again, right now." We gathered in a circle, and he led in prayer.

Our living quarters occupied the back of the church building. A boardwalk led along the side of the building to the parsonage door. Just as Bob finished praying, we heard loud footsteps, someone running up the boardwalk.

The doorbell rang vigorously. Before anyone could get there, the door burst open. In came a young man who had recently moved to Seward from Cordova and was now attending our church.

"At work a few minutes ago," he exclaimed, breathlessly, "the Lord impressed on me not to wait until Sunday to pay my tithes but to bring them over to you right away. I asked my boss if I could take my coffee break early. I don't know what this is all about, and I don't have time to find out." He laid some money on the table. "Gotta run! Bye!" And he rushed out the door.

"Praise the Lord!" We all burst out in praises to God.

Quickly, we gathered our things and hurried to the car. Not only was there enough money to buy the gas, but we discovered enough extra to buy a can of pop for each teen to drink with the sack lunches.

God is never too late, and sometimes He even adds an extra treat!

Has God ever given you more than you asked for? I'd love to hear about it.

God Is Never Too Late

This is a "nugget of faith" story my mother, AnnaMae Personeus Cousart, told often. Although I remember the incident, I am writing it from her point of view.

"What should we do?" my husband, Bob, asked softly as he entered the kitchen where I was wiping the counter top after packing sack lunches for our family. "The young people are all here now, and we still don't have the money for gas. I guess I have to tell them we can't go."

Bob & AnnaMae Cousart & family with the Personeuses in Seward, Alaska

It was Friday afternoon in 1960. We were missionaries in Seward, Alaska. A youth rally was to be held that evening in Anchorage, 130 driving miles north of us. Our small group of teens needed the fellowship of other Christian young people, so we had promised to drive them to the rally in our nine-passenger station wagon.


The young people had received permission for an early dismissal from school, and now stood in our living room, sack lunches in hand to eat on the way.

But we didn't have the money for gas, neither did our small church. We had no credit cards either, but we felt confident that God would supply the money. Each day Bob had gone to the post office expecting to find a "blessed letter," as the students from his Bible school had called them. Yet, not a penny had arrived. We kept praying and believing, but nothing had come in the mail all week.

While making our egg salad sandwiches, my thoughts had drifted back to my childhood. I had a rich heritage of living by faith. My parents, Charles and Florence Personeus, were the first missionaries of their denomination to Alaska. [Read their story in my book, Frontiers of Faith. (Available at www.annaleeconti.com.)

In 1917, they had traveled by train and steamer from New York State to Juneau, Alaska, arriving one cold, wet November evening. Certain they were called to this ministry, their only promise of support was Philippians 4:19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus," and Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." They had fulfilled their end of the bargain, and God had always fulfilled His, maybe not as quickly as they may have wished, but God was never too late.

It seemed that God was really cutting it close to the line this time!

When have you felt like this?

To be continued...

Encounter with Bears

In my first novel in my Alaskan Waters series, Till the Storm Passes By, the protagonist, Evie, encounters bears. Both black and brown bears are plentiful in Alaska. My worst nightmares growing up there involved fleeing from bears, probably because a boy my age was mauled by a bear and blinded for life.

Or, maybe it was because when I was four years old, my mother told me to play with a bear! Don't get me wrong. She was a good, loving mother. But strange things could happen in Alaska, especially in 1950.

We lived about a quarter of a mile outside the city limits of Juneau, Alaska's capital city. That morning I was standing at the railing on our open porch that ran along the front of the house to the entry door at the second floor. The house faced a steep bank in front. The back of the house rose three stories straight up from the beach. A long flight of wooden stairs at one end connected with the porch from the highway above and continued down the steep bank along the side of the house to the beach below.

Black bear  courtesy ursainternational.com

When a huge, black animal lumbered up from the beach and out from under the porch, I was petrified. I'd always been afraid of big dogs, but this was the biggest "dog" I'd ever seen. Wide-eyed, rooted in place, my heart pounding, I watched as its gigantic head swiveled over its shoulder. With stained fangs bared, it glared up at me with bloodshot eyes, A menacing growl rumbled from its throat.

Petrified, unable to move, I followed it with my eyes as it turned and climbed the hill to the road where it finally disappeared into the woods beyond. Only then could I run screaming into the kitchen. "Mommy! Mommy! There's a big, black dog out there without any tail, and it growled at me!"

She was doing dishes. Glancing at me over her shoulder, she said, "Oh, go on out and play with it. It won't hurt you."

Just then, two teenagers from the nearest house burst in carrying rifles. Breathless, they asked, "Did you see the bear in your yard?"

"Oh, no! I just told AnnaLee to go out and play with it!"

That was one time my mother was happy I disobeyed!

Bible Alphabet Verses

Last week I shared how my mother taught me Bible verses for each letter of the alphabet when I was a child. I learned verses from the King James version. Today, I am sharing that list of verses from the New King James Version. You can develop a list of your own using other translations if you prefer.

As you teach, be sure to explain any difficult words. An ordinary English dictionary is all you need to do this. And try to apply the verses whenever you are in a situation where they might apply. For example, if you catch your child trying to cover up a wrongdoing, quote Numbers 32:23, "Be sure your sins will find you out." Tell him the about the person who said the words and the story that is the setting for the verse. In these ways you are reinforcing the learning experience, and he learns that the Bible applies to his everyday life. You are training up your child "in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

Here is my family's list of Bible Alphabet verses:

A--Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7.

B--Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. Ephesians 4:32.

C--Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5:7.

D--Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4.

E--Even a child is known by his deeds, by whether what he does is pure and right. Proverbs 20:11.

F--For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16.

G--Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15.

H--Honor your father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise. Ephesians 6:2.

I--I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13.

J--Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6.

K--Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3.

L--Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14.

M--My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19.

N--No man can serve two masters...You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24.

O--Owe no man anything except to love one another: for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8.

P--Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:11.

Q--Quench not the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19.*

R--Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth. Ecclesiastes 12:1.

S--Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33.

T--Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5, 6.

U--Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. Psalm 127:1.

V--Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. John 6:47.*

W--Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you. Psalm 56:3.

X--Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3.*

Y--You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8.

Z--Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house. Luke 19:5.

*To keep the beginning letter, these verses are from the King James Version.

Bible Alphabet

"A," said my mother.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened unto you. Matthew 7:7," I responded.

"B," said my mother.

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7," I answered.

I was four years old, and my mother was teaching me something even more lasting than the alphabet--the Word of God.

She made it a game we played while doing the dishes or riding in the car. Her mother, noticing how easily her three-year-olds learned nursery rhymes, had taught them these Bible alphabet verses. Now my mother was teaching them to me. What better heritage could she pass on?

I didn't always completely understand the meaning of the verses I was learning, although she explained them simply. But I was learning to enjoy memorizing God's Word. And she would recite them to us in appropriate situations. As I grew older, the understanding came.

How thankful I have been for that early training. Of all the Bible verses I have memorized, the ones I learned in early childhood have stuck with me the best.

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would bring all things to our remembrance (John 14:26), but we must first store His Word in our memories. Over the years, as I have preached, taught Bible classes, written church school curriculum, or spoken to someone about the Lord, these Scriptures have come to my mind at just the right time, just as Jesus promised.

I have read several accounts of Americans held as prisoners of war in Vietnam. Many of them told how they kept their sanity during those endless hours in solitary confinement by recalling all the Scripture verses they had memorized. They even rigged up a system of coded communication so they could share those verses with others. Together, they compiled large portions of the Scriptures.

In America, Bibles are so readily available that we often take them for granted. I often wonder if persecution came, how much of the Bible could we reconstruct by what we have memorized?

The trend in education has been away from memorization, but I think Christian parents and Sunday school teachers need to reconsider. The Psalmist wrote, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11). He recognized the value of memorizing Scripture.

In Deuteronomy 6:5-7, God commanded His people to hold His words in their hearts and to teach them diligently to their children and grandchildren as they went about their everyday activities. We can select verses that are age-appropriate to our children's particular stage of spiritual development, or ones that deal with the problems they are facing in their life at the time.

Above all, learning verses should be an enjoyable experience, one we share with our children. We can make simple puzzles or invent games to help their memorization. Attitudes learned in early childhood will stay with them all through their lives. What better attitude can we develop in them than a love for God's Word and a desire to hide it in their hearts?

Next week, I will give you a list of the verses I learned to the alphabet as a child.

The Easter I Learned about Sharing

Portions of Till the Storm Passes By, Book One in my Alaskan Waters trilogy, were inspired by my years growing up in a children's home.

 Shortly after my sister was born and I was four years old, my parents were asked to take over the operation of the Bethel Beach Children's Home in Juneau, Alaska, when the matron retired. My dad worked for Alaska Coastal Airlines as boss of cargo to support our family and the home. My mother cared for as many as thirteen children, nine of them under five. Two were babies in cribs. Often, she had no help.

Our family & the children at the Bethel Beach Home c. 1951

On the positive side, we never lacked for playmates. We loved to play in the sandbox in the huge yard surrounded by woods on three sides and the beach on the other. Dressed in bathrobes, old clothes, and mop tops, we organized silly parades down the curved gravel driveway. In the winter, we snuggled into our snowsuits and made snow angels, built snow forts, and had snowball fights.

Whenever I wanted to play school, I had a ready group to instruct. I was usually the teacher. I'd set up my mother's Sunday school flannel board and recite the Bible stories using her flannel-graph figures.

And many hands made light work where chores were concerned. Every morning before going to school, we children made our own beds and dust mopped the floors of that big old house while Mother made breakfast.

Growing up in a children's home, though, was often a challenge to me as a young child. My parents were the houseparents. One-on-one time with them was scarce. I was old enough to remember when I didn't have to share them with so many. I missed it. One time, I asked Mother to set my hair so it would look extra special for school photographs the next day, but she didn't have time. I learned to set and style my own hair very young.

Somehow my parents were able to feed us well, but candy and desserts were rare and strictly rationed. We looked forward to special occasions when we received treats: trick or treating at Halloween, the Christmas program at church where we each received a stocking-shaped net bag containing an orange (fresh fruit was a treat in Alaska in the early fifties), a few chocolates, some hard candy, and an assortment of nuts, and my favorite, Easter baskets full of dyed hard-boiled eggs, candy eggs, jelly beans, and chocolate bunnies. Each of us had our own basket of candy to eat as quickly or as slowly as we chose. That was heaven to my sweet tooth.

One Easter Sunday afternoon, a new child came to live in the home unexpectedly. There was no basket prepared for that child. All the candy had been precisely divided among us children. Back then, stores were closed on Sundays.

So, Mother gathered us children around her and explained the situation. She asked each of us to give up a few pieces of our candy to the new child. "I'm not forcing you to do it," she said. "The decision is yours. I want you do to it because you want to."

Without hesitation, my little sister quickly offered up some of her candy. So did the others. But I struggled within myself. I wanted to make the child happy, but I didn't want to give up any of my candy. I also felt ashamed of myself. I knew the words of Jesus: "to give is better than to receive." Finally, I added some of my candy to the pile.

That week, an unexpected package arrived from my Philadelphia grandparents. They had sent us several one-pound fruit and creme chocolate covered eggs--special Easter eggs for which Philadelphia was noted. That Easter I learned that you can't out give God.