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.

Wednesday Night

Wednesday night Jack took Andrew to an AWANA Hallelujah Night event. Andrew went as a farmer and won a costume award. Jack attended Wednesday service and enjoyed the preaching about Moses.
Cody, Justin, and I had been asked to present information about Venturing to the church that sponsors our crew. So, the guys and I sported new uniforms. Justin's shirt was found on ebay. The shorts were bought at Goody's for around $6 each--$30+ dollars less than the BSA price for similar shorts.

Our presentation went well, answering many of their questions. As a result of the meeting, we'll be helping with a food basket drive the Monday before Thanksgiving. Afterwards, Cody and Justin participated in an impromptu game of basketball with members of their youth group (prospective Venturing Crew members). Then, the boys met up with their friends at church and went to Village Coffee for some fellowship.

Camping

We were back at Ft. Toulouse for a campout with other homeschool families.

I had taken some fireside photos, but the heat and smoke made everyone look as if they had contracted some kind of skin disease. So, I'm posting a picture of one of the weekend's many fires.

These last two photos are of some scout friends who happened to be camping the same weekend with their pack.

Saturday events

Homeschool carwash--Cody is far left and Andrew is far right.

Justin won his soccer game.

These photos are from "The Lady and the Tramp" youth event:

Boys dressed down and ate with their hands out of a dog bowl.

Girls dressed up and ate from "fancy" plates.

Cody loves the meatballs!

Jesse and Justin are about to play "fetch."

Cody's checking his phone again--that's one way to get out of playing those doggie games!

Happy Birthday, Cody!

Cody turned 18 today! After opening his birthday cards this morning, we went to the post office to get information on signing him up for the selective service and to the probate office to register him to vote. We found out that some of this we could have done online. Oh, well, it was a great excuse to get out of the house for awhile!

Cody and the boys still had school work to do today. However, we had time to watch a movie about WWII in the afternoon. Cody and Andrew were quite taken in by the story. In fact, Andrew openly sobbed at the end. He has never shown any emotion for a film, so it must have really touched him.

For lunch, we ate BLTs, and in the evening, we ate chicken and rice, green beans, and, of course, cake and ice cream. Cody seemed to appreciate the day as it was. Nothing fancy and yet, he was thoroughly content.

We're so happy to have Cody as our son. He has the gifts of helps and, I believe, mercy. He is a good, loyal friend to several young men at church. Also, he is a hard worker who seldom complains about menial tasks. Cody isn't perfect, but in his struggles, he is diligent. He is a wonderful example of a spiritually growing, Christian man. We pray that his adult years will be filled with joy and God's love and protection.

1Peter 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Monday Activities Photos

Another treasure found in the Venturing cabin--a homemade chariot!

JV basketball practice