Yup'ik Midwife and Healer

[arisbe]

When she died in November, it was already deep winter in Kwethluk. The river was frozen but not solidly enough for snowmobiles to cross safely. Many people had wanted to come to her funeral from many of the outlying villages but could not get there. The weather suddenly changed and a warm south wind began to blow. The river thawed and the people came. The earth unfroze. The men who had gone out with pick axes to dig her grave found the earth was already soft and ready to receive her. A flock of summer birds, normally long gone, followed her body from all the way from the new church to the old burial ground. After her funeral feast was over and the people safely gone, the wind blew cold again and the summer birds disappeared. Winter returned and the temperatures fell to far below zero again as was normal for that time of year.

More on Matushka Olga

Thanks to davemac, who sent the link by email.

Comments

Olga

[seraphimsigrist.livejournal.com]

It is pleasant that she is a person in
the pew, if they had pews in Kwethluk of
course, but it sounds better than a person
on the floor or something... not too many
--indeed not enough--have been held up
as examples of what we are aiming for
in life.
I think by the way there are other sites
(one quite fancy one which may be defunct
but also a fine article by fr michael Oleska
on her life. I will make a quick search now
and report back if anything)

further link

[seraphimsigrist.livejournal.com]

This one is good
http://rejoyse.com/BlsdOlgaHome.html
I did an address on her at a conference in
Moscow themed to forgotten holiness of 20th
century...I do not remember what I said but
that is perhaps appropriate.