The Christmas blizzard of 2009.....

It all began on the Wednesday before Christmas......our power went off at 6:30 in the morning and of course I had turned the heat down to 60 the night before. So it was a cold start to a long day. We have 270 head of cattle on the place so the generator was needed in several places...trying to keep the cows with water and us with heat was a busy job for Gary. The way the water system is set up meant that not only were the cows without water but so were we.

As cold as it was in our house ...... the beauty outside would warm anyone. We had hoar frost that was absolutely amazing. It stuck to everything. I would sit here and look out the window and couldn't believe the beauty.

Our power came back on Wednesday at noon... but went off again at 8:00 p.m. But it was 70 degrees in the house so we considered ourselves lucky to have a good temperature at the git-go.

On Thursday morning Gary woke up at 4:00 and his nose was cold and he wanted a stocking cap for his head.....47 degrees in the house and very windy outside. Out to the barn to get the generator.....and we had the furnace running by 4:45. The weather still wasn't totally nasty yet so at 1:30 we headed out for the Detention Center. We had wanted to go on Wednesday evening but there was a "no travel" advisory out so we obeyed. There were 12 kids at the JDC who were not allowed a Temporary Release for Christmas so we wanted to share a little bit of Christmas joy with them. We were there for 3 hours.....seeing 2 boys separately because they were in Max. When we got home our house was down to 42 degrees......but just as Gary got the generator up to the back door to hook it up.....the power came on and it hasn't gone out again since. However, many of our neighbors were out for 4 to 5 days....including our Pastor Tom and his wife Judy. We were very concerned for them because Judy's health isn't real good and being cold really gives her more problems than she needs.

We had hoped to have Christmas Dinner with my Cousin Dwight and Marvanne and their family. The pork chops were cooking but the weather was getting more and more nasty so we are still waiting for that meal.

We did end up with frozen water pipes but with a little help from a neighbor we were able to unthaw them.

As of Sunday, we got the two water tanks unthawed and producing water for the cattle. Dwight came last night with hay for them and so now everyone is happy. We still don't have our driveway (which we consider 1/2 mile long) plowed -- wondering if the snow plow has forgotten us.....but we can get out through the corn field if we need to. We did get the car out of the drift....in fact just as I was typing this Gary backed it out --- after a time of both of us shoveling. The other photo is of a drift about 8 feet tall just south of our trailer.

Today (Monday) is a beautiful sunny day and we are enjoying it. Yesterday we took a cross country walk (part of it on our snowshoes) to a neighbor for coffee. So we are doing fine. Seems like we totally missed Christmas -- anyway all the good food and family fun..... but Christ is the reason for the season and we didn't miss that.

May God bless all of you in the coming New Year.

Gary and Barb

November update

I feel like I need to apologize for not keeping this updated often enough. As I read the last update I had to laugh!!!! It seemed that I was complaining that the thermometer read 60 degrees but the wind was so cold. Good grief.........now I don't dare complain about the below 0 temperatures for fear that it might get colder. But winter has arrived ----and it is COLD!! For a couple of days we were afraid we might need our furnace looked at, but.....suddenly it started working right again. :-)

We have been keeping busy. Gary is putting up a workshop -- inside the workshop. Which means he is building a building inside a building. Are you confused now?!?!?! Anyway --he is looking forward to having his tools handy so that he can be more efficient. And it should be a nice cozy place to work as we are putting in a good amount of insulation and a heating system.

While we were home in Michigan over Thanksgiving our Pastor Tom Vander Ziel and Wyonne Walkling took over for us on Tuesday Release Time. That is a blessing to us that we don't have to worry about letting the Release Time kids down.

Last week Release Time did not happen. It was a snowy day with more predicted so the kids were released for home at 1:00. Now this coming week....on Tuesday the school will have their Christmas musical in the evening and the music teacher likes to practice with the kids all day so --- no Release Time. But ---- we are scheduled instead on Wednesday. That will be the last time for the year 2009.

Tonight the Lakeview CRC had worship service at the Detention Center. There were about 20 kids in attendance. Pastor Tom always does a great job. As the kids come in it gets worrisome that they will settle down and listen. But after the talking and visiting with each other has gotten out of their system -- they settle down and listen very well. I wish you could see some of the faces....they ARE hearing God's word. Now our prayer is that they will apply it and that they will put their trust in Him. We had 4 young people stay after tonight for a time of prayer. We are never in a hurry to leave....but give them as long of a visit as we can. We are so thankful that the officers are so open to our being there. And the Lakeview people that go along are so good.....so caring and concerned and prayerful.

Peer pressure is an issue at the JDC too. There always seems to be a ringleader or two. Some of the kids get taken in on that.....others try to avoid it. And of course as the group gets larger (which it has been doing) -- it makes it harder to get close to the kids. But there are several who listen so intently......who are so respectful..... Those are the kids who really make it all worth while. And when I (Barb) get in the "sermon giving mode" that mom's can get into --- they even seem to pay attention.... :-) Hope it sinks in !!!!!!

Now onto the ranch news. We have around 200 head of cattle living on the place with us and so we have the responsibility of checking that they stay in the fences and that they have water and seem to be healthy. If trouble arises -- we make a phone call to "the boss" :-) Yes, we did have some - about 11 - try to escape from the place but they were found out and put back in.....keeps things lively.

Love to all............Gary and Barb

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

What a beautiful day - finally!!!! The sun has shone all day - not a cloud in the sky....but the wind has also been blowing ------- so 60 degrees doesn't feel as nice as it sounds because of the wind. But we will take it and say THANK YOU!!! Gary - with the help of Terry and Jack got a start on his work shop today. More on that at a later time........ But then this afternoon we had Release Time with the 6th, 7th and 8th graders. We had been working on a Thanksgiving Wreath with each class The K-5 all did a little bit of cutting the leaves out (I did most of it just because it's always a "time" thing) and then we let the K-2 glue the leaves on the paper plates. They ALL did an awesome job......then the 3-5th grade group put the words "thank you" or "giving thanks" on the plates. Now today we let the 6-8th graders put them up around the community center.

Now we are "taking a break" - until this evening when we go to the PMO - Youth Ranch. We are going to be working out of the Book of Hope tonight -- put out by the Native American Fellowship. We have used this book before and it goes good....the kids seem to enjoy it even though the stories are hard to read. They are true life stories of Native people whose lives were in a shambles --- but turned around when they found Christ.

Thank you once again for your prayers that are lifted up for these young people on the Reservation. Pray that they will grasp how important it is for them to commit to knowing Christ and living their lives as He wants them too.

Gary and Barb

Past time to share once again.........

It's been a while since we updated our blog.....my sister had to email us and ask "are you still there?!?!" So I guess we had better get something on here again because maybe more of you are wondering. Below is a photo of our new home. We have many more trees here.....had none around my Aunt's home. There are pros and cons connected with the trees. They make a good wind break!!!, but they also cut down on the view. Another pro is the animal life......lots of birds - would you believe even a couple of squirrels, and we don't have to go far to view the deer coming out of the corn at dusk. So Gary has his eye on a couple of good sized bucks.We have been blessed with a lot of company this month. Not sure if they come for us or for the birds :-) :-) --- just kidding!!! It has been a LOT of fun. Each weekend this month we have had visitors (and more are on the way.) We thought we might be overwhelmed but that has NOT been the case!! They have really been a blessing.....LOTS of laughter. And even the Bible states that laughter is good for the soul. PLUS the work that was accomplished..... My sister and husband helped get us moved......the Van Malsens helped clean up around our place. Dan moved ?? a couple of acres... Dale and John got to help work with the cattle.....and give us a ton of laughs each day. And those who came for pheasants got to take some home with them.

And even though the view is different we have not been missing some awesome sunrises. The color can just be breathtaking!!

We have been busy with Release Time. We are doing crafts this year and that is going good. This week we worked on some Thanksgiving "wreaths" (on paper plates with colored leaves) and the one little guy who I thought would need "lots of help"...did just awesome. This past Tues. one of the little K-2 girls was concerned about one of the new boys....."he hasn't asked Jesus into his heart yet". That one little comment was enough to keep us going for a long time!!!!

It's so easy for me to get discouraged that we aren't doing enough...........There is such a need for follow-up. We have ideas but almost feel that we can't take anything more on our shoulders. We would appreciate your prayers that this can be worked out for the good of the kids out here and that we can handle it...... Don't know but maybe a prayer would be "send more workers Lord".

We have gotten started with the PMO (stands for Piya Mani Otipi) -- haven't figured out what that means (will try to find out and let you know).....so we call it the "Youth Ranch". We have had one young man pray to receive Christ. We know some of the kids from the JDC but lots of new faces. It's always a time before they feel comfortable with us. We haven't gotten into singing with them yet but one is asking....so next week the guitar will probably go along. We had tried to go on the same night that we go to the JDC.....trying to save on gas. However, we have had several RUSHED times and that DOES NOT feel good. Kids at the JDC want to stay after and pray with us. We can't let that stop!!! So we are now going to the PMO group on Tues. evenings and the JDC on Thurs. as usual. The travel distance is less now that we have moved so that is a good thing.

We have a weather watch for the next couple of days. We could be in for a good amount of snow. We are on a dead end road so we could be the last one to get plowed out. Yes! winter could be very interesting!! Good thing we have an adventurous spirit in us.

Ranchers are busy bringing in their herds and we have been part of that too. This past Monday we got into some really fantastic country. Some places were too steep for our quads but the views were wonderful. There were 2 on horseback to get into the places that we couldn't go. Believe we got the whole herd into the next pasture --- 400 pairs (cows with calves). Now next week the calves will be weaned and the whole herd trucked out. It's neat to be able to help out our neighbors.

Thank for again for your interest and your prayers!!!

Gary and Barb

Moved!!

Yes, our move has been accomplished. We are getting settled in and each day is better than the day before. Today, we unscrewed the kitchen faucet.......the pressure was "sad" to say the least..... But we now have really good water pressure at the kitchen sink. There is a sand problem that will have to be kept in check. Tomorrow I hope Gar will look at the washing machine.....cold water has a problem on that too.

My sister Linda and her husband, Dave, came for a couple of days and brought some of our belongings to make this feel more like home. Things like our couch, coffee table, pictures and so on. I will try to get a photo of our new place so that you have a visual.

Release Time continues to go good. We have larger numbers this year with the younger groups. And each time we have new kids. Which is great!! Our numbers will soon finalize as kids get their permission slips brought in. This week we will again have the K-2 and 3,4,5 groups. Our lesson will be on when The Wise Men Followed the Star.

We have been able to keep our lessons organized with Release Time and JDC and the PMO (at the Youth Ranch)....... Every other week at the JDC, Julie L. takes charge of the lesson and it has been going really good. The kids seem to enjoy a change of pace. We read a passage in the Gospel of Luke.....break into small groups and discuss the passage.

The other exciting thing is that we have been having between 3 to 5 kids stay after each week for prayer requests. Tonight the Lakeview Church had a worship service at the JDC and 3 girls stayed to pray- it was their idea --- they asked if we would pray with them. One of the 3 prayed outloud with the group. Numbers have stayed down at the JDC.....only 10 there this week. ????Is that a good sign -- don't know that for sure.

Winter has arrived here. We are hoping for a warm up this week. However, as of right now we are both saying "i'm COLD"!!.....and there is snow on the ground --- has been off and on ever since Friday evening. That also means that the furnace has been running a lot.....seems way too early for that!

God Bless! Gary and Barb

Prayers from the teens at JDC!!!

First of all -- we should say that we started at the "Youth Ranch" this past Tuesday. We came away thinking --- "that could have been better". But it is started. We really don't know any of the 4 kids well at all.....and so the relationships need to build. Pray for that, please.

Another side note is that our move to a new place is a process....that is moving along slowly at times. We need some septic work done before we can move in, in addition to a few other repairs. Some of the workings in a Mobile home can be puzzling to say the least.....so pray that things can get figured out and then fixed properly.......

What a wonderful night at the JDC tonight.

It's been a smaller group of kids that are "incarcerated" at the JDC..... and so that really makes for closer relationships. We have been teaching the story of Jesus and, of course, that begins with his birth....so we are talking about Christmas in September. Tonight Jesus was born and the Shepherds shared the wonderful news with those around them.

We sang a bunch of songs tonight. Amazing Grace, When I am Afraid, Victory for Me, I am a C, and finally to end it all -- the Banana Song......oh yeah---we even tried "Praise Ye the Lord, Hallelujah"....need to work on that one!!! That one was done without preparation....so......

Then after our snack we said that if anyone would like to stay afterwards -- for a time of prayer or to receive Christ --- they could. One boy and 4 girls stayed. They all stayed because they had prayer requests.

"Pray for my Grandpa, my Grandma -- he's/she's having surgery, pray that my mom can complete treatment, pray that my family can stay strong and safe, pray for the family of the Officer we just lost (Officer Earl Horse Looking of the JDC passed away this week - the victim of a car accident), pray for my cousin who had a heart attack and had a procedure done and now needs to exercise, pray for the rest of the kids that didn't stay, I pray for myself that I can stay strong and complete treatment"......and on it went. Tears were shed as we ALL lifted a prayer up to God. YES --- each one of these kids prayed as we did a circle prayer.

What a joy to have witnessed this. We praise God for the awesome thing HE is doing with these young people. Keep them in your prayers please......Jeremy, Kendra, Miki, Autumn, Kathy and all the others "who didn't stay".

Thank you for your awesome support.
Gary and Barb
ps. The house is shaking from the wind outside!!!!!

One just never knows.............

This past Sunday as we visited at the JDC..... we were blessed once again in a special way. We had visited with all the kids who wanted a visitor....and it was 3:40.....still 20 minutes til 4:00 (when they usually send us out). The guard that had been attending to the cubicles seemed (to both of us --- we discussed this on the way home).....not real appreciative of us being there.....just a look in her eye. WELL, she asked other visitor (a teacher) if he would wait "right there" for a while. She then came in to our little cubicle and asked for prayers for herself. She said that she so appreciated us coming there and that as we prayed with each young person -- she prayed along with us. She has personal problems (that I won't share here but they mean that she has to move with her 2 little girls)....and just needed prayers to keep her head straight. We went home in awe of the fact that -- 1. we had so misjudged her..... 2. that God put us together at that time. Please keep this officer in your prayers......God will know what she needs and He will know who you are praying for.



Last night we were again with the JDC kids and what a blessing they are. There were only 9 --- 3 boys and 6 girls......but they are so attentive and LOVE to sing. We read a passage out of Luke --- Jesus' birth announced to Mary---- and then broke into small groups and answered questions. Gary had the 3 boys and was done way before the rest of us .........girls talk more than boys..... :-) .....so he wondered what was going on. Well my girls got to talking about how hard it is to forgive someone...... We had taken a globe along to show the kids just where all of this took place....let them know that it WAS a real place. And so it was a good night.

We just received an encouraging note from the Director of the JDC......thanking us for the impact we are having with the youth. Good things are happening there-----others are volunteering-----one man brought in 4 horses for the young people to ride and he also gave them God's Gospel message.....another gal is interested in helping out with their Library. We do feel that this is the place where we are to be. We see God at work. I did a Bible Study one time ...?Blackabee...?? And he said something like...."if you see God at work....go there. That's your invitation to work alongside Him".

We do have a big prayer request. We are in the process of moving to a different place. We are struggling with it, but as Gary says "we will make it." However, we would appreciate your prayers concerning it.

Thank you -- without your prayers where would we be!?!?!?!
Gary and Barb