I still seem to never have my camera when I really want it.  But, I'm doing better!  I'm trying anyhow. 

Here is a picture of each of the boys when we first arrived at their cabins for youth camp!

 

We had a couple days off right before Take-7, so we decided to go to Big Falls as a family.  We'd never been there...it's a river that winds through the woods and has lots of giant rocks in it and along the sides for climbing and wading.  It was fun, and Betty really enjoyed it too!  We hiked around for most of the afternoon.  Here's a picture of the river....isn't it pretty?

You already saw pictures from the Rockford trip to meet my brother.  Next up....4th of July.  We had our usual campfire with marshmallows, lots of watermelon slices, and some mini-fireworks and sparklers!  Then, we sat across the street in the grass by the lake and watched the local big ones!  It was really fun.  We had lots of kids around....our neighbors, some friends from camp, and the Wrights (minus Danny and Matt who were at camp most the evening).  I didn't get many good pictures unfortunately.  But, here are a few:

Leah stuffing down the watermelon with both hands.

Anna with flaming marshmallow.

Some of the Wrights at the campfire

And, Leah with one of her first sparklers!  Fortunately noone got burned....not badly anyway.  It seems like someone froze with a sparkler a little close to their clothing....was it Leah?  Or Charis?  Can't remember.  What other day will parents let their little children run around with flaming sticks?   I was the one responsible for the only really scary moment.  I set off one little firework that I'd never done before....not really knowing what it would do.  It was supposed to go UP and then burst, but I lit it upside down.  Therefore it spun around on the street and exploded lots of little colored, flaming balls in all directions.  I was fortunate that our little audience was sitting up on the grass and that the curb blocked all the flaming balls.  No other close calls, however.  And, I won't make that mistake again! 

And lastly, David caught a nice largemouth bass last week....just at our little dock across the street.  He was very proud.  But, not so proud that he wanted to hold it himself for the picture!  "It has little teeth", he protested.  So Johnny did the deed for him.  And here's the picture for posterity.

That's about all I have for this entry.  It's been a very busy few weeks, and no end in sight.  It's been fun though, just crazy from one thing to the next.  We had fun seeing Danny and Charity and family, although it is hard to have quality conversations while trying to keep only two sets of eyeballs on 8 children 9 and under!   But, I hope there will be many more excursions north for them in the future, assuming that the massive grudge against Wisconsin does not spread any further in their family. 

The kids had VBS the following week, which they really enjoyed.  We've done strawberry picking, pea picking, and lots of freezer jam!  Matt spoke at Junior High, and it went wonderfully!  He really enjoys doing that, as much stress as it is beforehand!  This week he got the coolest comment I think he's ever received!  It made me actually sit up in bed during our late night debriefing session (when I'm usually mostly asleep).  A kid pulled him aside and told him that 4 yrs ago when Matt spoke for the first time at Take-7, he had gotten saved.  Then, he said he went home and told his family everything that Matt had taught them all week.  His dad started reading his Bible and the whole rest of the family got saved!  Now, they are involved in a church and this boy "just wanted you to know that God used you to save my whole family".  Is that not the coolest thing?  You just never know where a seed planted is going to go, and often you may never know.  I thank God that He allowed Matt to get that encouraging glimpse of how He used him.  The Word does not return void.  It's great to see kids wanting to learn more about God, and to see them come back year after year, and often then work on summer staff!  Watching them grow and mature in Christ is one of the neatest things about working at camp, I think.  If you stick around long enough, you see campers grow, marry, and return with their children and the cycle begins anew.  (and we've been around long enough now....yikes)   Family Camp starts on Sunday, and that will be a whole new shift in our focus.  Pray that we will have endurance to keep going through the next 5 weeks, and be able to minister to the families who come.

 

 

Hi there. I'm just doing some blog-surfing and I thought I'd drop by your journal to see what it's about. What an interesting life you lead! I've added you to my blog list for the next update. Have a great weekend!

God is so good - what a cool thing that God used Matt's word 4 years ago, unbeknownst to him, to save a family!!

We had a great time - thanks for the watermelon and fireworks. :)