Tuesdays Release Time went well. It seems that the kids know us quite well now and so they can get a bit rowdy at times. But we can usually keep it to a low roar :-) .....really they do very well for us and we have no complaints.
We have been discussing Bible Study materials with the new Pastor of Lakeview church.....he has been very helpful. We hope to go to the JDC with a different format for a time. We hope to help them in their knowledge of the Bible and then they will also come to know God more.
I also talked with a local Minister who is Native American. David is a firm believer in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. To make our conversation short ---- "we need to fast and pray". He reminded me that we cannot make anything happen....only the Holy Spirit can change hearts and lives. And so we need to give this over to prayer and fasting. I'm afraid that I personally haven't gotten into fasting......but I DO know that prayer is of utmost importance. Hopefully God will forgive me for not fasting.
And so I continue to ask for your prayers ....for our ministry.....for these young lives.....for guidance for us to have the right words.....and now especially for Nicole (steeped in the old traditional ways)......for Cheyenne (for her alcohol abuse)....for Robert (for his anger and fighting) ....and for the many other young people at the JDC. Most of them have very little knowledge of God and His Word.
Thank you!!! Please if you have any thoughts that perhaps you don't want to share "publically" on our blog. Contact us at our email address. petersgb@juno.com
Gary and Barb
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Sunday January 4 ---- at the JDC
We went once again this afternoon to visit with the kids at the JDC. We first met with the ones who on Thursday had indicated they wanted to pray to receive Christ. Two of the boys said they wanted to think about it more -- we gave them a Bible and encouraged them to read it..... But the other six - 4 boys and 2 girls did ask Christ to live in them and help them to change into the person He wants them to be. Some understand more than others but we pray that the seeds we are planting will be grow and they will desire to know God better.
Then after they had supper at 4:00 we continued visiting with the ones that we have been meeting with. We read part of the first chapter of Joshua where God promises to be with Joshua as He was with Moses. And also the part where God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous....to keep all the words of the law on his heart....to meditate on them day and night. And then we talked about the importance of reading the Bible and doing what it says......to be strong and courageous through those tough times they are going through as teens......to ask God to help them make good decisions.....and that God is always there for them if they will but trust him.
And from that we would ask you to pray for Nicole. She is struggling! She asked "is it true that if I pray hard enough I'll get what I want?" She has been praying for a safe place to live since 2007. She doesn't feel safe with her dad and wants to live at her boyfriends dads place. "They don't drink there and I feel safe." She has grown up knowing only "the Lakota way". She goes to "sweats" and "ceremonies" and "sun dance". She explained that "sweats are for cleansing". We didn't want to say that these things were bad ........but we did want to impress upon her that she know and understand that Jesus paid the price for her cleansing and she now could put her trust in that. Well she said "the sweats also relieve stress". She seems to be searching......she has been reading "emails from God". Says she doesn't like reading the Bible because she just gets so confused.
We also had to discuss that we don't ALWAYS get what we pray for......but that a safe place to live WAS important. Also -- as a mom I felt that I had to put in about living (sleeping) with her boyfriend wasn't what God would want.....(I don't know that she is and I told her she didn't have to tell me anything - but that God wouldn't want her to do that either).
Please pray for Nicole!! We promised her that you would --- because we know you :-) GARY & BARB
Then after they had supper at 4:00 we continued visiting with the ones that we have been meeting with. We read part of the first chapter of Joshua where God promises to be with Joshua as He was with Moses. And also the part where God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous....to keep all the words of the law on his heart....to meditate on them day and night. And then we talked about the importance of reading the Bible and doing what it says......to be strong and courageous through those tough times they are going through as teens......to ask God to help them make good decisions.....and that God is always there for them if they will but trust him.
And from that we would ask you to pray for Nicole. She is struggling! She asked "is it true that if I pray hard enough I'll get what I want?" She has been praying for a safe place to live since 2007. She doesn't feel safe with her dad and wants to live at her boyfriends dads place. "They don't drink there and I feel safe." She has grown up knowing only "the Lakota way". She goes to "sweats" and "ceremonies" and "sun dance". She explained that "sweats are for cleansing". We didn't want to say that these things were bad ........but we did want to impress upon her that she know and understand that Jesus paid the price for her cleansing and she now could put her trust in that. Well she said "the sweats also relieve stress". She seems to be searching......she has been reading "emails from God". Says she doesn't like reading the Bible because she just gets so confused.
We also had to discuss that we don't ALWAYS get what we pray for......but that a safe place to live WAS important. Also -- as a mom I felt that I had to put in about living (sleeping) with her boyfriend wasn't what God would want.....(I don't know that she is and I told her she didn't have to tell me anything - but that God wouldn't want her to do that either).
Please pray for Nicole!! We promised her that you would --- because we know you :-) GARY & BARB
Friday, January 2, 2009
OVERWHELMED ..........SUCH AN AWESOME RESPONSE!!
Once again we went out to the JDC (Detention Center) for our Thursday night meeting. We had decided to show the "Jesus" film (for children). Some of the girls groaned when they were told that we were going to watch a movie tonight ...."oohh! we've watched movies all day!!!" But once it started all eyes remained on the movie....(attention would drop if the guard stepped out for a moment...). At the end of the movie there is an invitation to accept Christ as your Savior. We asked that if they had prayed that prayer....would they please remain in the room afterwards. NO ONE LEFT! When we asked for them to sign their name so that we could know who they were some of the boys didn't sign...... but 6 boys did give us their name and 2 new girls. (So there is some question about the ones who didn't sign....but we leave that in God's hands.)
WELL, we were overwhelmed by the numbers and time was marching on....the movie had taken more than the hour that we are given and it's so hard to make it personal with a large group and so we promised the kids that we would have Bibles for them on Sunday.
On Sundays we have been able to meet with 8 kids in the 2 hours of visitation time. Now we have 16 possible kids to meet with. ???How do we do it???
So we made a call to Director Petite.........told him our problem. What an awesome conversation we had with him!!!! He is also a believer!! PRAISE GOD!!
He told us that the kids have to eat their supper at 4:00 on Sundays and there are rules that it has to be consumed while it is at a certain temperature....but after that we can stay for as long as we want. He was so grateful for our involvement with the kids. Most of them never get any visits from family and they crave that love.
I then mentioned the "Book of Hope".....a book put out by the Native American Fellowship --"by the natives....for the natives". We had used this book in the past at PLYC and feel that it is very well put together --- it has "lives changed" stories, the Plan of Salvation, and the 4 Gospels put together into one continous story of Jesus. I said to Director Petite....."is there any way we could make that required reading?? YES! We sure could. ...........
Can you imagine our excitement! He said they had some funds for education material and anything we wanted they would order for us.
We don't have words for how we feel about this.....
Your prayers are so very important.....
THANK YOU!!!
Gary & Barb
WELL, we were overwhelmed by the numbers and time was marching on....the movie had taken more than the hour that we are given and it's so hard to make it personal with a large group and so we promised the kids that we would have Bibles for them on Sunday.
On Sundays we have been able to meet with 8 kids in the 2 hours of visitation time. Now we have 16 possible kids to meet with. ???How do we do it???
So we made a call to Director Petite.........told him our problem. What an awesome conversation we had with him!!!! He is also a believer!! PRAISE GOD!!
He told us that the kids have to eat their supper at 4:00 on Sundays and there are rules that it has to be consumed while it is at a certain temperature....but after that we can stay for as long as we want. He was so grateful for our involvement with the kids. Most of them never get any visits from family and they crave that love.
I then mentioned the "Book of Hope".....a book put out by the Native American Fellowship --"by the natives....for the natives". We had used this book in the past at PLYC and feel that it is very well put together --- it has "lives changed" stories, the Plan of Salvation, and the 4 Gospels put together into one continous story of Jesus. I said to Director Petite....."is there any way we could make that required reading?? YES! We sure could. ...........
Can you imagine our excitement! He said they had some funds for education material and anything we wanted they would order for us.
We don't have words for how we feel about this.....
Your prayers are so very important.....
THANK YOU!!!
Gary & Barb
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Back --- and the dust is flying!!!!
Marti and Tim....
Sawyer and his "puppy"....
Holly....looks happy with her new slipper sox!!
Came with lots of snow to play in.....
and left with flood warnings!!
Brennan, Colton and Trenton opening gifts.....
Sawyer and his "puppy"....
Holly....looks happy with her new slipper sox!!
Came with lots of snow to play in.....
and left with flood warnings!!
Brennan, Colton and Trenton opening gifts.....
We had a good trip back from Michigan. Quite uneventful and that is good!! It was great to see everyone again and to be able to enjoy our grandkids and family at Christmas. The weather was really something. From coming in with a "blizzard" right behind us and dumping a pile of snow to leaving with all the snow completely gone and flood warnings out. But that's Michigan.....it was said that they had more sunshine the afternoon of the 4th of July than they had had all the month of December.
Gary came to the house this morning and said --- "you better come and see what's going on --- you don't want to miss it". Well they are trimming the angus bulls for the sale in February. They get a hair cut that really beats all!! We'll have to tell you all about it some time.
Last night we awoke to the sound of the wind......and it's been blowing the dust all day. I was reminded of the dust storms during the Depression. We have dust seeping in by the windows right now and this house is pretty solidly put together...... I can see how terrible it must have been back then --- how badly the dust must have been in the houses back then. I'm told that the walls were full of dirt --- not insulation --- but dirt. I can believe it!!!!
The sun is shining nicely and it's really not too cold out but I just heard on the radio that we have wind gusts of up to 65 mph. No wonder it's coming in the house. The snow (that is left) is black with dirt! We've decided that a trip to town for some caulking is in order!!
We are preparing for our next visit to the JDC..... we hope to show them the "Jesus" film. We will be contacting the Director concerning this film. Pray that everything will work out and also pray that hearts will be touched by this special film.
Thanks again for all your support and prayers.
Gary and Barb
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Never know where to begin......
We haven't updated this for a while so there is so much to tell......
The Christmas party was very chaotic ---- we had approximately 42 kids working at the tables.....making their gift jars and decorating their bag to take all the goodies home in. But we had great help and even though panic struck a couple of times...."oh no! we don't have enough oatmeal.." it all turned out good in the end, and we are pretty sure the kids had a good time. It's possible that some heard the Christmas Story of Christs birth for the first time that day.
Our grandsons are still having a great time. They do admit to being homesick "a little bit at night". They had a blast playing in Dwights big round hay bales. Going in and through where they weren't stacked tight and so on. However, when they came in from the cold they weren't so happy. Those hay bales are full of "cheek grass" and the seed heads stick to everything they come in contact with. So their hunting suits and stocking hats are FULL and it takes hand picking to get them off!!! Not exactly their idea of fun.
We visited the JDC on Sunday and met with 7 kids. One gal, Winter, was hurting inside because her favorite uncle had just passed away from lung cancer and no one in her family told her --- the funeral was over and she didn't get to go. Another gal, Gina, will be moving to Oklahoma and going to an Indian boarding school in January. She said she was glad to go because she would get away from all the trouble on the reservation. Another gal, Jalynn, had been released a week or so ago but was back in. She had sassed ?? a judge (probably more to it than that) and ended up back in the center. We told her about the passage in the Bible that says we are to obey those in authority over us. We tried to do this instruction in a "fun" sort of a way but assured her that it was something she needed to do. Another gal admitted to alcohol abuse...... We also heard that one of the boys was told he "had to leave". (The guards have told us that some kids don't want to leave.) He had been there for 200 days. He was one of the boys who knew the answers on our review time and also one that we had so much fun with.....he also loved our snacks and always asked for more. We are very concerned for him.....where is he now --- are things OK wherever he is...... We can only leave him in God's hands....but we do hope that as we drive through St. Francis that we might spot him and be able to make contact with him.
????? Is there more you should be told about. Time goes by so fast ....what have we forgotten.....
Oh Yes! School in Todd County was canceled for Monday and Tuesday of this week because of the bitter cold (the buses wouldn't start).....so that meant we didn't have Release Time this week. We feel bad because we had a special little gift for the K-4 kids and now they won't get it until after Christmas. Plus our lesson was about the Wise Men.... Those are disappointments that the kids also share because we know they love to come to "Promised Land".
We hope to leave here for Michigan on Friday morning. Gary has been watching the weather reports and it looks like a storm will be going in front of us. So please keep our travels in your prayers.
Thanks!!!!! Gary and Barb & Trenton and Austin
The Christmas party was very chaotic ---- we had approximately 42 kids working at the tables.....making their gift jars and decorating their bag to take all the goodies home in. But we had great help and even though panic struck a couple of times...."oh no! we don't have enough oatmeal.." it all turned out good in the end, and we are pretty sure the kids had a good time. It's possible that some heard the Christmas Story of Christs birth for the first time that day.
Our grandsons are still having a great time. They do admit to being homesick "a little bit at night". They had a blast playing in Dwights big round hay bales. Going in and through where they weren't stacked tight and so on. However, when they came in from the cold they weren't so happy. Those hay bales are full of "cheek grass" and the seed heads stick to everything they come in contact with. So their hunting suits and stocking hats are FULL and it takes hand picking to get them off!!! Not exactly their idea of fun.
We visited the JDC on Sunday and met with 7 kids. One gal, Winter, was hurting inside because her favorite uncle had just passed away from lung cancer and no one in her family told her --- the funeral was over and she didn't get to go. Another gal, Gina, will be moving to Oklahoma and going to an Indian boarding school in January. She said she was glad to go because she would get away from all the trouble on the reservation. Another gal, Jalynn, had been released a week or so ago but was back in. She had sassed ?? a judge (probably more to it than that) and ended up back in the center. We told her about the passage in the Bible that says we are to obey those in authority over us. We tried to do this instruction in a "fun" sort of a way but assured her that it was something she needed to do. Another gal admitted to alcohol abuse...... We also heard that one of the boys was told he "had to leave". (The guards have told us that some kids don't want to leave.) He had been there for 200 days. He was one of the boys who knew the answers on our review time and also one that we had so much fun with.....he also loved our snacks and always asked for more. We are very concerned for him.....where is he now --- are things OK wherever he is...... We can only leave him in God's hands....but we do hope that as we drive through St. Francis that we might spot him and be able to make contact with him.
????? Is there more you should be told about. Time goes by so fast ....what have we forgotten.....
Oh Yes! School in Todd County was canceled for Monday and Tuesday of this week because of the bitter cold (the buses wouldn't start).....so that meant we didn't have Release Time this week. We feel bad because we had a special little gift for the K-4 kids and now they won't get it until after Christmas. Plus our lesson was about the Wise Men.... Those are disappointments that the kids also share because we know they love to come to "Promised Land".
We hope to leave here for Michigan on Friday morning. Gary has been watching the weather reports and it looks like a storm will be going in front of us. So please keep our travels in your prayers.
Thanks!!!!! Gary and Barb & Trenton and Austin
Thursday, December 11, 2008
So much to share!!!!
We took our two grandsons - Trenton and Austin - back with us from Michigan and we have been busy ever since!!! They have totally taken to hunting everything that flys or hops.....pheasants, turkey, grouse and jackrabbits. Grandpa is having as much fun as they are!!! And I stay busy cooking ---- we have eaten wild game every night for a week now!! NO!!! not the rabbits! I draw the line there.....plus it's reported that some have a disease.
Release time has gone well....everyone has enjoyed an Ice Cream Sundae for good behavior.......topping of choice, whipped cream and a cherry for good measure. We will be having a Christmas Party for the older kids that we are involved with this coming Saturday - the 13th. We have a lot of help for this and it should go good. The kids will be putting together a "soup in a jar" and "cookies in a jar" for their familes and receiving some type of family fun game.....along with the donated blankets and slippers, and could be more that I'm not even aware of. So many people are sharing the love of Christ with the kids. :-)
Saving the best news for last....... We went to the JDC tonight. The lesson was on Noah and it is a powerful lesson ---- maybe you'd like to hear it sometime :-)
We had about 17 kids tonight - 6 girls and the rest boys. All 6 girls stayed to ask Christ into their hearts. Cheyenne had already prayed the week before and she remembered but it's good to have her stay --- reinforces it for the other girls. It is so awesome to see their smiles knowing they are now a child of God. It is ALWAYS a joy to go to the JDC --- we have a lot of fun with the kids.....many have been there from the beginning of our time there. We always get handshakes from the boys. The guard who prayed to receive Christ has been there for the past few lessons. He said some of the guards don't want to be there but he enjoys it.
As we left tonight for the JDC the sky looked VERY threatening!!!! And as we got just north of St. Francis it started to snow. The roads became terrible!! But it was a short storm and by the time we got to the JDC it was done...but had left 2 inches of snow behind. The trip home was on VERY icy roads......no salt trucks out here. They do put down some sand on the steep hills near town. We got behind a couple of cars going 5 miles an hour. Gary couldn't stand it!!
We ask you to pray for the girls. We never know how long they will be there -- but we talked about the fact that God knows their hearts (and they nodded in agreement)... and we leave them in the hands of a loving heavenly Father.
Gary and Barb
Release time has gone well....everyone has enjoyed an Ice Cream Sundae for good behavior.......topping of choice, whipped cream and a cherry for good measure. We will be having a Christmas Party for the older kids that we are involved with this coming Saturday - the 13th. We have a lot of help for this and it should go good. The kids will be putting together a "soup in a jar" and "cookies in a jar" for their familes and receiving some type of family fun game.....along with the donated blankets and slippers, and could be more that I'm not even aware of. So many people are sharing the love of Christ with the kids. :-)
Saving the best news for last....... We went to the JDC tonight. The lesson was on Noah and it is a powerful lesson ---- maybe you'd like to hear it sometime :-)
We had about 17 kids tonight - 6 girls and the rest boys. All 6 girls stayed to ask Christ into their hearts. Cheyenne had already prayed the week before and she remembered but it's good to have her stay --- reinforces it for the other girls. It is so awesome to see their smiles knowing they are now a child of God. It is ALWAYS a joy to go to the JDC --- we have a lot of fun with the kids.....many have been there from the beginning of our time there. We always get handshakes from the boys. The guard who prayed to receive Christ has been there for the past few lessons. He said some of the guards don't want to be there but he enjoys it.
As we left tonight for the JDC the sky looked VERY threatening!!!! And as we got just north of St. Francis it started to snow. The roads became terrible!! But it was a short storm and by the time we got to the JDC it was done...but had left 2 inches of snow behind. The trip home was on VERY icy roads......no salt trucks out here. They do put down some sand on the steep hills near town. We got behind a couple of cars going 5 miles an hour. Gary couldn't stand it!!
We ask you to pray for the girls. We never know how long they will be there -- but we talked about the fact that God knows their hearts (and they nodded in agreement)... and we leave them in the hands of a loving heavenly Father.
Gary and Barb
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)