Watching Sam, the Watchman

Sam had school today :( and a game :)--So, we went out to cheer him and all of the others on!
From Left-- Chuck, Will, Cody, "Cowans," and Justin

Sam is number 10, and he's the youngest member on the varsity team.

Sam, it was great to see you play!

Sam's sister, Jamie, is visiting from Texas. Her husband is in Iraq and should be home by next summer.

Alyssa and Tiffany are a part of a very enthusiastic cheering squad.

Gotcha, Anna!

Taylor made some good moves!

Introducing the classiest concessionaires you'll ever meet . . .

Mr. and Mrs. Coon

Jonathan

Ready, set, go!

Venturing Crew 222

Crew 222 spent some time Sunday afternoon eating, learning first aid basics, playing football, and discussing what it means to have a "vision" or goal. Those not having school this week spent the night after church. The guys held an impromptu wrestling match in the front yard, watched movies, played video games, and ate mass quantities of food. On Monday, they hung around the house until they were needed at the food drive. For lunch, they each cooked a foil pack ("hobo meal") in a fire of coals.

Cody, Jesse, and Justin--Cool Dudes!

Here are some members of Crew 222: Alex, Cody, Jesse, Justin, and Chuck.

The crew arrived at the food drive site around 12:15.

Above--Cody and Justin stack bags of flour.

Below--Alex and Jack take out some pallets.

Below Left--Andrew, Jesse, and Alex are quick to empty the cases.

Caleb was a great help!

Caleb and Andrew kept up with the bigger guys.

I have never seen a group of teenagers work as quickly as these guys did. They came in, got their instructions, and worked as a team.

OK, now let's have some fun tearing down these boxes!

Ready for a karate chop?

Or a hammer fist?

Now, that's using your head!

Time for stompin'!

After doing everything they needed to do, we went to the Scout Office and Shop for a visit and introduction to the staff. Then it was back to the house for a video game contest until music lessons and the Calvary Christian Academy basketball games.

Basketball Schedule

Here's a December basketball schedule for Justin's team:

12/1 The Rock HOME JV/V 6PM
12/2 Hope Christian Academy HOME JV/V 5:30PM
12/5 New Life HOME JV/V 5:30PM
12/8 Mt. Olive HOME JV/V 6PM
12/9 Tabernacle AWAY JV/V 5PM
12/19-20 NORTHSIDE TOURN AWAY V TBA

Harvest Time!

These are trees from our neighbor's yard.

I love autumn, especially the colors, the weather, and the harvest. When I think of "the harvest" I think of Luke 10:2--

Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

I'm so thankful for what the Lord has provided this year. I'm especially grateful for the missionaries who are called to faithfully provide the gospel to people all over the world. We had several missionaries visit our church and homes last week. What an honor to have them! To those who have never met a missionary, you may be surprised. Hollywood's portrayal of missionaries is so off-track. These folks are like family in many ways. They are driven by love and God's faithfulness. They're passionate in truth, yet never condescending in any way. Whenever we have missionaries visit, we are truly blessed, and we do our best to let them know we care.

Below are some photos of the missionaries who visited our church.

Lewis Howell and his wife and girls (not shown) are planning to go to New Zealand through World-Wide New Testament Baptist Missions.




Jon and April Flowers will be heading off to Taiwan in January. Their mission board is Baptist International Missions, Inc.

Joanna and husband Bobby Burdett are in the process of gathering support for an aviation and midwifery ministry to Madagascar.

Mike and Amanda Ball and their four children are finalizing plans to minister to Indian people in Fiji.
Here are some friends who helped out with the many meals and accommodations for our missionaries.

Kalie

Kalie and her mom, Libby

Cody, Alex, and Jesse

More BEAUTIFUL trees!

Last Fall Soccer Game

Justin had his last 2008 soccer game last Saturday. Here are some pictures of him in the game and some spectators. Justin's team was undefeated.