Getting ready for the 100th Celebration of Lakeview CRC

Gary was asked by members of our church if he would be interested in making a new sign for church.  The old sign was in really bad shape ---- the wood was pretty rotten.......  Yes - he could do that.  "Draw me a picture".  So they did.  After much cutting --- there are lots of letters in LAKEVIEW Christian Reformed Church --- and some agonizing on the "how to"....he got it done.   It was put in place this past Wednesday.

I suppose I should have taken a photo when the trailer and everyone was gone...but I kind of liked all the chiefs in place too.  :)  You made our blog Jean  :)  :)  The sign got it's final paint job and then we noticed this morning that the birds came in for a close shot of it too.  DRAT!!  Oh well --- the rain this evening hopefully cleaned that off.

Our lawn if finally nice and green but those yellow "flowers" are really sickening!!!  I do NOT like dandelions - at all!  Our garden is planted and this afternoon we were out looking at it -- we do not remember seeing any corn yet........then after the rain Gary went out to put Toby away and he said THE CORN IS UP.....it was NOT showing before the rain.  Makes you wonder what the rain has in it compared to the water from the ground.?!?!?!?

Tomorrow (Monday, May 26) we will be heading west.  Our plan is to drive to Salt Lake City, Utah and pick up an RV - "Cruize America".  And then we want to drive down to Bryce and Zion Canyon and hopefully The Hoover Dam, and whatever else we find to check out.  We hope to do some day hikes in Bryce.    For some reason it never feels right to leave........when we tell the kids at JDC that we won't be coming on Wednesday they say something like "for real"?!  And this time it will be for 2 Wednesdays.  However,  we are ALWAYS so thankful for Julie and Andee ---- we know that the lessons and meetings will go on without us.  The kids are always pretty much OK with it too.....it's just us----we hate to leave.

So if you think of us --- if you would --- say a little prayer for safe travel and vehicles that continue to run good....and etc.  :)  When we return we will have to go full gear on Prairie Light Youth Camp....taking place July 14-18.

I am thinking this will be a trip of MANY photos.....so prepare yourself for a trip into Canyon land. :)  
Gary and Barb

Making progress............

We love it when we make progress with these young people.  So we loved it at JDC tonight.

We have known Ransom for several months now.  Actually, when he was much younger, he came to Prairie Light Youth Camp for several years.  He WAS a handful back then.......but also a very likeable young boy to several.  He was with the "little kids" --- and we do the 7-8th graders at camp so we never did meet Ransom at camp.

Ransom is a good looking young man with a nice smile, and a long braid down his back which tells us he is "traditional".  He has been rather "anti participate" for most of these weeks.  However, we have seen that foot tapping while we are singing.... :) there IS hope. 

We hand out Prayer Request sheets each Wednesday night.  Most kids ask prayers for "family and friends" or "that I get out".  Others have more specific requests.  At the beginning Ransom didn't have anything to write, so we asked that he at least put his name on a sheet so that we could remember to pray for him.   So he did that......then we finally asked if he didn't have anything more to put down.  So we got "I'm pretty bored".  Well, it's a start.........  So that went on for 3 or so weeks.

Tonight, we had a good meeting.  Three of the kids were in Max status --- meaning that they could not attend.  We felt very bad about this fact --- but there is nothing we can do about it.  So we had seven young people and we all sat in desks in a circle.  We read (all the kids but two read for us) out of the  Book of Hope (a book put out by the Native American Fellowship ---- one we have used often)..... a story about how a young man's life was changed when he came to know Christ.  And then the book sends you to a passage out of the Bible to continue.   We talked about how each one of us needs to make that "call"  (that commitment) to Christ. No one else can make that "call" for us.  The Native person in the story called out to God from the bottom of the pit and God heard.  Blind Bartimaeus called out to God because he wanted to see and God healed him because of his faith.   Then we sang LOTS of songs. 

Ah Hah!!!  Ransom's foot was tapping again.    :)  So tonight I said to him, as we handed out the prayer request sheets......"you weren't bored tonight so I want something different this time".   So guess what we got on his request sheet.  "I kinda had fun tonight".   YAHOO!!!   That is called progress!!!!

  Gotta love these kids!!!         Those that were in Max status ---- sad.  They are ones that have been in for so long and we don't understand that they can't figure it out....they know the rules. We also have two that broke out a couple of weeks ago and they are still in hiding.  A couple of doors were left open and they saw it immediately. (AHah! an adventure awaits us).  Makes me want to get ahold of 'em and give 'em a good spanking......which should have happened about 14 years ago.

On another note......Please, if you would, pray for Trey, a good friend of ours.  He is only 19 and has lung cancer.  So far, Trey doesn't want anything to do with the treatments.  We enjoyed taking him along to a Potluck at church this past Sunday evening and also to hear our missionary speak.....Ruth Veltkamp who works amongst Muslims in Nigeria.   He didn't know what a "potluck" was - so Gary told him .......... You have a "pot" of food and then you have "luck".  Luck that not everyone takes the same dish.  We hope to stay in touch frequently with Trey.  

I guess that's it for now.  Gary and I both had the flu this week.....I had it worse because I didn't get the flu shot --- Gary did.  But that is in the past (thank goodness) and we are back to normal (if we ever are normal).   Thanks for the continued prayers and interest.
Gary and Barb