New Friends and Old

The Lord has blessed us so much these past couple of months. Over the summer months we were able to make several new friends and renew some old acquaintances. Some were missionary families, some were visitors to church and some were a result of outreach.
I will start with the Wonser Family. I have known Victoria since I was a little girl. Our church supported her parents and Rock of Ages Prison Ministry. Now Victoria, her husband Mike, and kids Dixie Mae, Annabelle, and Landon are headed to the Philippines to work as missionaries! What a fun time we had:). It was so fun thinking of ways to surprise them and our kids LOVED playing with them! It was so sad the see them leave to go to the next church and so wonderful to think of the reunion that we will have up in Heaven someday! They were involved in a car accident in B.C. after leaving here. Rolling the van 4 times down a 15 foot embankment, but the Lord was watching out for them and they are all just fine, Praise the Lord!!! Looking forward to seeing them again one of these days.
The second family was the Van De Kamps. They are heading to Malta. I almost feel like I have been there after seeing their slides, my Bro-in-laws pics and also my Brother Luke's pics. We had such a short time with them, but pray that the Lord allows them to get their full support quickly so they can start the work that the Lord has called them to.
The third family is Adam and Hannah. He is a Dr. and she is a nurse:) They were sent here for 2 months and we are thoroughly enjoying getting to know them. They are another couple that we would just like to hold onto and keep as forever friends. Praising the Lord once again that we will have eternity to spend with our brothers and sisters in Christ!
The most recent would be the Ironsides. My husbands pastor growing up was Pastor Gordon Ironside. One of the nicest, gentlest men you could ever meet. He was called up to Glory last year and is greatly missed. Well, recently we were blessed to have one of his brothers, Allan Ironside, come and preach for us! Scott had known him since he was a young lad:), but this was my first time to meet him and he brought his daughters, Karyn and Deborah with him. It is hard to get so attached to all these people we cant keep! We are praising the Lord for new friends though. They were such a blessing. He spoke at the men's breakfast and came to our house for a birthday supper! We LOVE him! The kids were captivated by his stories and beg us to sing his version of Jesus Loves the Little Children almost every day. The next day he preached the morning message and Karyn played the piano. Both were such a blessing and it was one of the few times that I wasn't embarrassed to be crying during a sermon:) My close friends know that I'm not much of a crier, but I sure have changed since becoming a mother and also asking the Lord to soften my heart. It reminds me of Bro. Walley's favorite verse about going forth with weeping. If that's what it takes to see souls saved then I'm willing cry til I can cry no more. There are SO MANY people in Kindersley and around the world that still need to hear the Gospel and know that God died for THEM and that God loves THEM!!! May we never become to busy to stop and show Christs love. I feel like the Lord has given me a little glimpse of Heaven this summer. Meeting so many people that Love the Lord and not wanting to let go. Looking forward to going to Heaven where we can fellowship forever!

Homeschooling

I know I am doing a lot of posts tonight, but its the first time Ive had a chance to catch up in quite awhile! Its quiet and so much has happened that Id like to get most of it written down before I forget:) We started homeschooling about 3 weeks ago. I was a bit nervous and concerned about how I was going to get it all done in a day. 2 homeschooling and two hanging off my skirts:). The Lord has provided though and its going AMAZINGLY well! Were having fun and most days are pretty stress free. Elyssia is doing Rod and Staff math and handwriting. Shes enjoying their second grade reader and the geography and history lessons with Scott. I started Garrison on the ABCs of ACE and he is LOVING it. We've done the Aging Ape, Antelope, Armadillo, and Milton the Mule. There are fun songs, games, stories, Bible stories, character traits and activities for each one. I gave him a poem to memorize and he far surpassed my expectations. He had it memorized and was reciting it in two days, with expression, actions and a bow at the end:) Elyssia also memorized it after hearing me read it to Garrison several times. Caleb keeps busy with puzzles, coloring and snacks! Cant forget the snacks. I think that's the favorite part of their day. I usually try to pack them a lunch and hang it on their desk before school starts. Kiersten crawls around, nurses and takes naps, which is quiet accomodating of her. I wont say that we haven't had our share of fussing, but overall its been quite wonderful. Were loving the routine and I believe that its drawing us closer together as a family. Were also doing a devotional with them at breakfast time and to start off the school day. Their spiritual growth is definitely worth giving up all my free time for. Lest any of you think that there is no music involved, I will include that we sing O Canada and the Alphabet song just about every morning:) The older two have them memorized and Caleb has his own version. Kiersten adds her little voice and I'm praying that some day the Lord will allow it to be a harmonious blending of our voices. For now, its an exuberant rendition of any song we sing:) In case you are wondering why I am not using apostrophes, there is something weird that I cant fix til I ask Scott, so for now I will do the longer form or just let it look funny:))).

Ladies Meeting

So, last night we started up with our first ladies meeting since our break for summer. It was SUCH A BLESSING! There were two ladies that had not come before. One who had never come to our church before. The Lord just seemed to bless every part of it. Opening up discussions about praying for our children and not giving up on them. So hard for so many when they choose rebellion, but so worth is when the Lord gets the victory in their life and they end up loving the Lord with all their heart, soul, strength and mind! I really wasn't feeling well, fighting a cold and sore throat, but the Lord gave me strength, energy and enthusiasm to teach the lesson on Miriam. So many lessons to be learned from her life. She was so courageous and responsible at such a young age when her mother told her to keep an eye on Moses in the basket. To approach the princess and not let on that she was related to the baby. How God blessed Jochabed for trusting the Lord and giving up her son in order to save his life. I was touched by how God allowed her to still have the privilege of nursing him, even after thinking that she might never get to hold him again. Thinking about giving up any of my four and the precious time of nursing them, yes, even those late night feedings:). It was a bit heartwrenching, but the Lord rewarded her obedience and allowed her those extra years to nurse, train and instruct Him in loving the Lord. If not for those years, he would have probably been reared to worship false gods. Anyway, back to Miriam. How she was a leader with the women in praising the Lord in song. How thankful I am that the Lord has given us so many songs and praises to sing. They are the uplift on a discouraging day and often can change the whole attitude of the household! Then he allowed her to help her brother when they were leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Also the lesson on how pride and envy can get the better of us. They, in leadership, were not immune to human feelings. Wanting to be noticed and appreciated more. She went to far as to murmur against Moses and God had to punish her with Leprosy! How Moses pleaded with the Lord to heal her, even after she hurt him. The love of a brother was wonderful to see and made me appreciate my brothers even more. Even though they are really far away I know that they care about me and if I really needed them they would find a way to come. The fact that they will pray for me when I need it is also a big comfort. I just praise the Lord for allowing me the opportunity to study for this lesson and to share it with the ladies. It was a sweet time of fellowship and after talking with some of the ladies I arrived home close to midnight. I think that I had Scott a bit worried at the lateness of the hour, but the Lord just opened up the opportunity to talk and really share love and concern for some of the ladies and what they're going through. Praying that we will have many more meetings like this, only not such late nights:).