My New Rig

Here’s a picture of my new van and me. Five years ago, I would not have imagined myself driving a minivan, but it’s a good vehicle and I need to drive people around sometimes. Thanks to everyone who chipped in and helped me get it! It's amazing to see the generosity of God's people and His provision.

Teams arrived over the weekend and we’ve begun working with them. This first team is from Covenant College and they’re really great. I'm looking forward to Kid's Club starting back up and seeing all the kids in Totus Park.

We are having our first youth group at the new building this Tuesday and we're really excited about it. A couple of folks have been working with Bill to get it ready and it looks awesome. We've had youth group before, but never at the new building, so it's a big step to begin having regular meetings there! I'll post some pictures soon...

Flannel Pillows

This past Tuesday, we did a craft that the kids LOVED. We made twisty pillows out of flannel with cool patterns like: camo, firemen, horses, hearts, puppies, footballs, bumblebees, and flowers. We had about 40 children, and it was a great night. The kids were SO happy and loved hugging their pillows. One boy said, “I’m going to use and sleep on my pillow all day.”

I hadn't seen one of my guys for several months, and he had a great night and read the passage for everyone. We discussed when Jesus was a boy in the Temple and it provided a great opportunity to discuss the Trinity. Several asked how Jesus could be God yet the Temple is His Father’s House and God’s House. I talked about how the Bible says God is one, yet the Bible talks about Jesus, The Father, and The Holy Spirit as God, and there three persons to the one God. Strangely, they all nodded in agreement! It was a neat moment to see them understand the truths of the Bible, even something that can seem confusing and strange.

Game Night

This past Thursday, we had a bunch of the youth together for Game Night, and it was the most fun we’ve had during a youth event. We played “Snort,” “Psychiatrist,” and “Eat It.” I was one of three who tied for the win in Snort, a game where you snort at your neighbor, and they can’t laugh/smile or they’re out. It was so much fun, and everyone was belly laughing and smiling. Psychiatrist was fun, but a bit difficult for everyone to get.

The highlight was Eat It, a game in which individuals have to eat all of the contents of a bag, without knowing beforehand what’s in the bag. Some notable foods were: horseradish, a pound of Velveeta, sardines, a can of whipped cream, picked pigs feet, and a can of cheese wiz. Some food was nasty, but the hardest part was eating lots of food quickly, without water.

The evening was a huge hit and tons of fun, but the best part was seeing so many of the kids having fun, literally rolling on the floor in laughter, smiling, and just loving life. You can see pictures from the night, by clicking here.

Christmas Lessons

On the most recent Tuesday Night Bible Study, we finished up the Christmas lessons and one of the boys was confused about how Jesus could have created everything in the world when He was just a little baby. It was a great opportunity to discuss how Jesus was God even though He was a little boy. I really like that the Christmas story is perplexing and not easily answerable. It was great to see the boys wrestling with the idea of Jesus as God and Man.

We had a ton of snow over the past week, about 14 inches in 2.5 days. Much of it has melted now. I was stranded in the building for 3.5 days until Chris G came and rescued me. It was kinda fun being out there for a while by myself and cut off from most technology, but I think I might have lost it if I was out there too long. I posted a couple of pictures here for you. Also, here’s a shout out to Pete :)

Super Icicles:

The view from my window:

He Is Human Like Us

This fall, our Children’s lessons focused on Jesus’ miracles and it was great to see the kids realize Jesus had amazing powers, because He is God. Several of the young boys talked about Jesus like he was a superhero, with superpowers, like healing blind people, curing leprosy, and raising the dead.

We started the Christmas lessons, and have been emphasizing Jesus’ birth and the fact that He was born a baby, and grew up as a person, just like them. He knew what it was like to fall down and hurt his knee, to have friends who disappointed Him, and to grow up in a poor home. I liked that as we did the lessons, the boys would realize the truth that Jesus is like us. He’s fully human and fully God, and because He’s human, He understands us, knows our pain, and understands our hurts. And because He’s fully God, He can do something about it and does.

It made me happy to see the kids realizing that Jesus was just like them and He knows their hurts and pains.

Firewood

The past two Thursdays, Bill Yarbrough and I got our D-Groups together to take some firewood to an elder. The firewood was cut by some teams in the spring and has been curing over the summer. Last week we loaded the wood in the trailer and this week we delivered the wood, stacking some and putting the rest in a pile. Last week my guys were complaining, and it gave me a chance to explain how it's good to help our elders, especially a single woman who can't chop her own wood. This week, they didn't complain and went with it.

It was a good time with the guys and they had fun working together and competing against Bill's guys. I think they also enjoyed helping the elder and it made me really happy when she shook their hands and thanked them. She asked each who they were and talked about how she knew their grandparents or uncles and so forth.

The Troublemaker

When ‘the troublemaker’ climbed out the van, I immediately thought, “Oh boy. I’ve to keep an eye on him and he’ll be going home soon.” ‘The troublemaker’ doesn’t usually come to Bible Study and when he does, he winds up going home early. He hadn’t been around since April and May when he was sent home three of the four weeks he came. I didn’t expect much from him and kept an eye on him, waiting for him to throw rocks, hit a kid, knock stuff over, or cause mayhem. And, it never happened. He played well, ate supper, colored, sang, and eventually joined my small group.

Throughout the whole time with the children, ‘the troublemaker’ was exemplary. I ask my boys questions from the lesson, and it got to the point where I said, “Ok, this question is for everyone else,” because ‘the troublemaker’ was answering every single one and I didn’t get to hear from the others. As the evening progressed, I asked the kids, “What’s something that we learn about Jesus?” And he pipes up, “He heals us!” When we did the craft, ‘the troublemaker’ painted a big heart on his page, so I asked if he knew what a heart represented and he did. I asked him, “Who do you love?” And he answered, “I love Jesus.”

It’s amazing how God works in the hearts of the children. Even those we don’t see for months. How He convicts us of our lack of faith. How He shows us what He’s doing in the lives of these kids. I don’t know what the future holds for this kid, but when he left he asked me, “Can I be your helper next week?” My heart welled up with tears and I told him: “Yes, you did a great job tonight, and I’m looking forward to next week.”