Hidden Hollows: Busy Weekend

It didn't go quite as planned on Saturday. It ended up that Scott and the girls went in and spent the afternoon with the missionaries. The missionaries were running a bit late and the boys were asleep by the time they arrived. I really wasn't feeling well and the girls had a really good time playing with the missionary's children. Kiersten was exhausted when she got home because they'd played in the park for close to 3 hours! After a good night's sleep we were all ready to go to church together. I really enjoyed getting to know Mrs. Loewen and the rest of the family. We had 6 in S.S. and our kids really enjoyed having others to interact with. There were a lot more prayer requests and things they were thankful for. Everyone was quick to raise their hand to answer questions from the stories. During the main service 4 of the Loewen kids played instruments and the whole family sang. It's been a long time since we've heard that and a first here in Kindersley. In two weeks we'll have another missionary family and they will also play instruments. They're all teenagers though. I've (almost)always loved it when missionaries came to our church growing up. I say almost because I remember times growing up when it was hard to give up my room for people to stay in. By the end of the visit I was usually glad that I did. It was so neat to hear of the different places they were going to. The slides, the food, the culture, etc.... To see people who were willing to give up all that they had in the world to go far away and serve the Lord. Sometimes we get a "loner" complex. Like we're the only ones left that feel such a great burden to be faithful to what the Lord has asked of us in His Word. The truth is that the devil wants us to feel that way, to discourage us and keep us in a place where we can't fully serve the Lord. The missionaries have a way of coming through and reminding us of how blessed we are to be serving the Lord. They are also a reminder of how some missionaries gave their life trying to win others to the Lord. They may have only seen one or two saved during their life,but they sowed the seed. There were others who came after that watered and reaped the harvest. We may be the ones sowing the seed. I pray that we can see the harvest, but it is the Lord that decides that.
After the evening service I took the kids over to play at a new park. I think it was finished about the time school started, but we haven't played there before. They were having a lot of fun when I noticed what I thought was a broken bottle. Upon further inspection I found that it was a broken pickle jar. I know the wind is strong around here, but it looked like someone had broken the jar and spread the pieces out across half the park on purpose. I had the kids put their shoes back on and got a bag from the car to put the pieces in. They played on the equipment while I picked up every little piece of glass that I could find. This is Kiersten's first season to really play and run around at the park. She is a fearless climber and actually has a lot better sense of balance than Caleb. Caleb loves to climb, but falls and gets hurt more often than not. She delightedly squeals "wheeee" as she goes down the slide and loves to feel the wind in her face. We didn't stay that long, but it was nice to see the kids having fun.
Last night the kids asked me to help them pack away most of their toys. We've been having discussions about what brings true joy and happiness and I think they're discovering that lots of toys only mean more to protect and worry about. Not quite sure what's going through their thoughts. They want to pick a few favorites and put the rest downstairs. They also agreed that it's best not to watch any movies or play computer games until the end of summer. I have a feeling that we're going to have some very brown children by the end of summer, if the mosquitoes don't scare them inside.
Scott took Caleb into town this morning to pick up a rototiller that we're renting to work up the garden. We had one that we took in for repairs, but they found that the motor was shot after completing the rest of the repair work and we figured that for now it would be better to rent one and get the job done.
Oh, we also had some 3 yr old trees delivered and planted on Sat night. They still seem to small and weak compared to those that provide shelter, but they're 2 years ahead of the others that Scott planted. Part of me thinks that we won't see them grow to any real maturity because the Lord will return before then. A big part of me really hopes for that, but then I think, what if He decided to tarry. Those trees can help to keep our yard from filling full of snow someday. So, they're planted and the kids think it's neat to have trees that are about the same height that they're at right now:)
I suppose I should be off to chip away at the to do list while I have a bit of extra energy. I'll leave you with a couple pictures, courtesy of Miss Elyssia: