Back in the Greatland



"Seek ye first the kingdom of God"

We worshipped at St. John, Palmer, and were certain we could hear our Funny River congregation singing along with us as we sang this hymn.

After church we headed out the Knik Road to the starting point of the Iditarod Trail Invitational.  Our son-in-law, Joe, is riding this race as a tribute to his grandfather who passed away last year from complications associated with Alzheimer's disease.  He "teamed up" with the Alzheimer's Disease Resource Agency of Alaska for this event as an effort to raise awareness and funds for ADRAA.  Joe's whole family was there to cheer him on and wish him well;  his sister, Becky, even came up from Oregon.  So, a great family gathering to remember grandpa, enjoy each other in this setting and support and encourage Joe.  And we (Rakos side) were three generations of extended family as Grandma came with us when we came home the other day and she came with us to church and to the race start.



All ready to ride!



There were others............

You can follow the race on http://www.alaskaultrasport.com/



It's not ALWAYS sunny!

This photo was taken on February 16th on our way back to Rumsey from Cloverdale.  No, Cloverdale is not near Tahoe!

On Sunday, the 20th, we went to church in Woodland and then drove on to San Francisco.  Just the two of us went as we thought the trip would be a little too strenuous for Grandma.  Lots of walking!

National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, established June 1849 as St. Francis of Assisi Church

View of the Oakland Bay Bridge     Carolyn's dad worked on the bridge when it was being built.  He worked down in the caissons where the foundational supports for the bridge were constructed.

Lots of people to celebrate Chinese New Year

The Transamerica Building provoked much controversy prior to, during and after its construction... many felt it would 'ruin' San Francisco's skyline.  Now it is a prominent landmark!   

We had walked from our hotel to Fisherman's Wharf......we rode the cable car back!

The Castle Inn   
A very nice little hotel!

Not much traffic..... lots of pedestrians on the right side walkway, bicycles on the left

Bay Bridge from the Vista Point at the north end of the Golden Gate

Began with snow.....and now ending with California poppies already blooming!

oops! this was supposed to be at the top with the other photo

Country livin'.......

We are still here in Rumsey at Grandma's house.  We drove to Woodland this morning to attend church at St. Paul and then enjoyed a beautiful 'back roads' drive back home. (some might consider the main road here a back road)  We thought you would enjoy some of the scenery around these parts............

Almond blossoms

Great blue heron in the neighbor's field

Sheep right next door to St. Paul in town

Clover church 1870

A pickup for Joe

An investment opportunity in Esparto

You'd need a lot of yellow ribbon to tie around this one!

More almond blossoms

hello

Beginnings...........



The church where Carolyn was confirmed.  1954, the first confirmation in the new church.



And, where we were married in 1963.

The beginning of my career.  Teacher and then principal, 1962-67.

Zion Lutheran Church and School
     Zion Lutheran Church in Oakland, founded in 1882, was the second LCMS church west of the Rockies, with the mission work being done by Pastor Jacob Buehler (see history of St. Paulus, SF, below).  Zion's first pastor and teacher were brothers, J. H. and J. G. Theiss, who together spread not only the precious Gospel, but also the Theiss name.  My dear Carolyn is one of those Theiss people.
     The photos above are of the current Zion of Piedmont (Oakland) built in 1954.  The church was pastored by my uncle, Arnold Levenhagen, and designed by a Theiss relative-by-marriage, Bob Fink.  I was privileged to serve there as teacher and principal from 1962-1967.  This may sound like a stretcher, but Zion, founded in 1882, was being served at that time by its third pastor!  Pastor John Henry Theiss served from 1882 to 1916, Pastor George Mieger served 1916 to 1946 and my Uncle Arnold served from 1946 to 1976.

The home Carolyn grew up in in Oakland

Our first apartment

And,

The home where Grandma grew up in Berkeley

We had quite a day!!

This picture of Zion, Piedmont, reminds me of the summer of 1964.  Coach Don Bielke, who was at California Concordia College, and I painted the church and school as part of our summer duties.  The tower was my job!  (I was younger and Coach B said "no way")

St. Paulus Lutheran Church History

The flock gathered by the Holy Spirit, and the missionary efforts of Pastor Jacob Buehler, became St. Paulus Lutheran Church of San Francisco, California.  The first LCMS church west of the Rockies was pastored by a missionary among missionaries.  Hand-picked by C. F. W. Walther himself, Buehler, by the power of the Holy Spirit, brought Lutheranism to every corner of California.

This is St. Paulus as dedicated in 1893.  It is a replica (towers reversed) of the great Chartres Cathedral of France.  Two notable differences; 1) It was constructed of 100% redwood, in fact the largest redwood church in the world, and 2) it was LCMS to the core.  The church could, and did, seat 2,000 people for worship.  The great fire and earthquake of 1906 came close to ingesting St. Paulus; it came within two blocks of the church on two sides.  It was saved by one of the only working fire hydrants in that part of the city.  Fifteen square miles of San Francisco were destroyed.

It was a homeless man's fire in the entrance to St. Paulus on the eve of November 5, 1995, that burned this San Francisco gothic to the ground.

Austin by day...and night

Trinity Lutheran where Taby's parents attend

Trinity's original building, 1938, adjacent to their new building

James McMurtry

Our daughter, Karen, said "Dad, you just can't be in the Music Capital of the World and not go hear some music!"  So, we took her advice and went to hear James McMurtry (son of Larry McMurtry who wrote Lonesome Dove)  We really enjoyed our evening out!

February 2nd  Our last day here in Austin.  It was a great week and very successful in that we were able to see all of the Wendish churches on our list, and then some.  Did we get to do everything we had hoped?  No.  We had hoped to see Taby's folks, to see Al and Lois in Georgetown and to drive to McAllen to see Bob and Roxy, but one week is not enough time to 'do it all'.  I guess now that we have had a little taste of Texas we just may come back for more some time.
We are thankful for "Nunap John" (as our girls have already nicknamed him) with whom we were able to spend time on Monday and again this evening, and for the time we spent on Sunday (the whole day actually) with he and his wife, Luan.

Beside being a former principal of Faith Lutheran School in Juneau and principal of Nunapitchuk School, John is also a Green Bay Packer fan as you can see!  Sunday's the big day!!