Monday, July 27, 2009
New Pics!
OK, it only took me two years, but I've finally got new Africa pictures up. Check out the slideshows on the blog home page.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Id-Ra-Ha-Je
Ashley loved IdRaHaJe. Mostly, she loved the Sweet Shop and Rockie, her trail "ride"! She really wanted to stay another week. Too bad. Mom wouldn't have lasted another week without her!!
Some kids' parents don't let them go to church even if they want to. (Tepee mate came to camp only because she was staying with grandma and grandpa.) Interesting note here: This little gal accepted Christ at camp.
Hiking gets easier the more you do it.
"Everyone always tells the same old Bible stories", i.e. Noah, Moses, David & Golliath. Hmmm...maybe we should change that. It's not like we don't have a zillion to pick from!
How to ride a horse.
What pretend rabbit tastes like -- popcorn! (It was really chicken....you know how kids are...)
Huge thanks to everyone who made it possible for her to go!!!
Some pictures:
Things she learned
If you lay on the ground at night and hold your thumb up to the sky, it will cover up 10,000 galaxies. (And yet, the creator of all that knows who I am and cares about me.)Some kids' parents don't let them go to church even if they want to. (Tepee mate came to camp only because she was staying with grandma and grandpa.) Interesting note here: This little gal accepted Christ at camp.
Hiking gets easier the more you do it.
"Everyone always tells the same old Bible stories", i.e. Noah, Moses, David & Golliath. Hmmm...maybe we should change that. It's not like we don't have a zillion to pick from!
How to ride a horse.
What pretend rabbit tastes like -- popcorn! (It was really chicken....you know how kids are...)
Huge thanks to everyone who made it possible for her to go!!!
Some pictures:
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Led By a Child
Serving where you are
The last day of our VBS was an all girls night. As we put together bags for the homeless we practiced our verse, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do." (Eph. 2:10) We talked about how we might not have money to give to the person on the street corner, but we could give them what we had, just like Peter and Andrew had done for the lame man at the temple. (Assuming we didn't have the gift of healing that they did, we made sure to include a first aid kit!)
When the night was finished, I have to admit a bit shamefully, that I was relieved. VBS didn't work smoothly into my plans this summer and had gotten postponed once already. I truly wrestled with cancelling it completely, but it had been pretty well publicized at church already and I am supposed to be a missionary after all, right? But now, now that it was over, I could get on with summer!
A day or two later, I got an email from one of the girls who'd helped put the bags together. It read..
Oh yeah...it's not my plans that matter, but Yours, Lord! Thank you, Marah, for reminding me that the Lord will always use me where I am, and for learning your lesson so well that you taught it back to me.
The last day of our VBS was an all girls night. As we put together bags for the homeless we practiced our verse, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do." (Eph. 2:10) We talked about how we might not have money to give to the person on the street corner, but we could give them what we had, just like Peter and Andrew had done for the lame man at the temple. (Assuming we didn't have the gift of healing that they did, we made sure to include a first aid kit!)
When the night was finished, I have to admit a bit shamefully, that I was relieved. VBS didn't work smoothly into my plans this summer and had gotten postponed once already. I truly wrestled with cancelling it completely, but it had been pretty well publicized at church already and I am supposed to be a missionary after all, right? But now, now that it was over, I could get on with summer!
A day or two later, I got an email from one of the girls who'd helped put the bags together. It read..
hay!!!!!! thank you sooooo much for letting me come!! god had this
planed out for you.GOD BLESS YOU!!
love marah
Oh yeah...it's not my plans that matter, but Yours, Lord! Thank you, Marah, for reminding me that the Lord will always use me where I am, and for learning your lesson so well that you taught it back to me.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Freedom is never free
I borrowed this from a friend:
Freedom Is Never Free
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners. Men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
So, take a few minutes and silently thank these patriots. What a price they paid!
Remember: freedom is never free!
Freedom Is Never Free
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners. Men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
So, take a few minutes and silently thank these patriots. What a price they paid!
Remember: freedom is never free!