The Jungle Camp Buzz

There are all sorts of indications that jungle camp is soon upon us. Monday is the official first day of building jungle camp houses in the bush. There is a lot of prep work that is done before move up day on June 16th. Vern and two of our workers have been running around working on several things. One big thing they were doing was working on the water truck. Yes, that silver van is how we get our water supply in the bush. We do have a stream running through jungle camp but it is not safe to drink out of. Therefore we do truck water from the lower camp up to our jungle site.


In this next picture two or our students are working on their jungle camp stoves.




















This is a very exciting construction site in the bush. We are getting new outhouses this year! YEA! They are designed in such a way that they are not supposed to smell. We are all looking forward to the upgrade. (smile)















This is the end product from all my canning. These jars of meat will be very important to us up in the bush as I prepare meals for the family.

No More School, No More Books

Yesterday was Titus' last day of school and today was Ruth's. Ruth has actually been taking an extra class on her own so she has one final she will take for that and then the 2006-2007 school year is finished for the kids. What will they be keeping busy with this summer? Well, jungle camp will take up a month. Ruth will continue to work in the deli and she is still hoping and praying that she can make it to Mozambique later in the summer to visit her VERY good friends. Titus might also be having one of his cousins come for a week. Ruth and Titus have also greatly been enjoying hanging with their older brothers. So the kids will not get bored and will VERY much enjoy a break from the studies!

Home Sweet Home

Seth pulled in this morning at 4:00 a.m. As you can see his car was loaded down. He found a job and is starting tomorrow morning at 6:30 a.m. Praise the Lord how things worked out so nicely for the boys to find summer jobs! And yes, he did bring his bass home.

Family Bonding

This weekend Caleb was in for a wedding. We sure enjoyed connecting and hanging together. As many of our neighbors can testify to, our kids love "jamming" together. Caleb spent a lot of time on the drums as Zachary, Ruth, and Vern took turns on the electric guitar. (We missed Seth playing his bass.) We also spent some time practicing a song we are going to do at my parents 50th which is just around the corner. And then there was of course time for Vern and Caleb to go for a ride on the motorcycle.

Having a Ball....... A Paintball

We have been enjoying having Brett and Mariah here for the weekend. Last night Zachary and Brett spent a lot of time talking about paintball guns. Therefore it wasn't any surprise that they were itching to get out there and enjoy some good "messy" fun. It has been awhile since Zachary has had his gun out and things didn't shoot as smoothly as planned but the kids all came back having had a great time together. I think they have a few welts on them but no major injuries to report. (smile)

Doing the CAN CAN!

As the time draws closer to "Jungle Camp" we find ourselves busily planning for our time in the bush. The past couple of nights the kitchen has been a busy place as meat is being pressure canned. It sure heats things up! Canned meat might sound unappetizing but it actually is quite tasty. The other night Sherry & Erin, two of our student ladies, came up to use our kitchen to do their canning. They have one of our older apartments that doesn't have running water. (It is so much nicer to have running water when you are canning.) Since we are back to being a family of six "healthy" eaters (smile) and we will also have in a lot of company, I will be doing quite a bit of canning in the next couple of days. So far everything has sealed properly. YEA!

Is there a difference?

This is picture number one






















This is picture number two.















Is there a difference? In the first picture Zachary is an unemployed college student. And in the second picture he is an employed college student. YEA!! Thanks for your prayers! Zachary goes in for orientation tomorrow. (One down, one to go. ) Seth will be coming home in a few days and then he will hit the pavement looking for a summer job.

Class Update

We have had the privilege of having Ernest Jones here for several weeks. He just finished up a two week class with our first year students and is now teaching a week long class to our second year students. The classes are called : Tech Tips 1 and Tech Tips 2. "Time is a non-renewable resource" is one of the themes of these classes and the idea is to give our students valuable ways to help them use their time to see churches established in remote areas that don't have modern conveniences. During the "Tech Tips Class" the students learn about things like DC electricity, solar panels and how to set up a solar system, and there are many more very practical things having to do with alternative energy sources. There are different labs that the students do to get some hands on experience which again is a great help in seeing them prepared for future ministry in remote locations.

Victoria Day

For those of you in the States we don't have "Memorial Day" here we have "Victoria Day". It is always celebrated the third Monday of May. And for all the gardeners out there, here in Ontario this is the weekend that many gardeners put their flowers in the ground. Although we can still get some frost the risk of frost is not as great if you can wait until about this time in May. So our family spent several hours in the yard today getting in our plants and flowers. We have been trying to put in as many perennials as possible so that we don't have to invest in flowers every year. The day started off a bit cool but it sure warmed up nicely. It was so nice to spend some time outside in the sunshine. And after all our hard work Ruth treated us to a little date at "Coffee Culture" a new coffee shop that is about 20 minutes away. It was such a TREAT after all our hard work.

Field Day 2007

This past Thursday was the NTMC Academy Field Day. I was very disappointed to miss it as I love to be able to cheer my kids on in the events they are participating in. Vern says he cheered loud enough for both of us. The day was a bit chilly but there was no rain. (The Field Day was actually planned for Wednesday but due to bad weather it was rescheduled for Thursday. ) For the track events there was the: 50 meter, 100 meter, 200 meter, 400 meter and 800 meter. The field events were : standing broad jump, long jump, Discus, Shot Put, Javelin, triple jump, softball throw and the high jump. Here are a few snap shots of the day.

Belated Mother's Day Breakfast

I was not here last Sunday for Mother's Day so Ruth and Vern planned a Mother's Day breakfast for me this morning. Zachary and I got home at around nine last night and we were pretty beat. It was such a nice surprise to wake up this morning to a hot delicious breakfast. Vern made crepes with blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream. Ruth made some home made blueberry muffins (I love blueberries!) and sausages. It was so nice of them to surprise me with this special belated breakfast.

Homeward Bound

On Friday afternoon I made my way up to Waukesha to pick up Zachary to bring him home for the summer. Seth will be coming in about a week. I didn't think the van would be that full but in the end it was a pretty tight fit. I had Zachary's and part of Seth's things. Vern had already taken the back seat out which really helped. If anyone looked inside they probably would have thought I was moving a band as there were two guitars, a bass, and an amp all aboard. Zachary and I arrived home safely last night. We are looking forward to some good times of connecting with the boys. Please be praying that they can find summer jobs! Thanks!

New Tribes Bible Institute Graduation 2007

This past Friday night I attended New Tribes Bible Institute graduation in Waukesha, WI. This is the school Vern and I attended many years ago. Many things have changed but the heart of the Bible school is still the same. They are all about training and equipping people for tribal missions. Although many students don't go on with New Tribes Mission they spend two years being rooted and grounded in the Word of God.

As an ending to the graduation the graduating class came up and sang together. It was very moving.




Seth's worship team played for the graduation. Several of the people on the worship team were graduating so it was the last time they were going to play together.



This is Lisa Robinson (one of the graduates) and her parents Lew and Deb. They were all here a couple of years ago as they went through the missionary training here in Canada. It was SOOO good to connect with them again and to hear how things were going for them in Brazil. Congratulations Lisa! Keep pressing on!


It is always great to connect with Seth and Zachary. It was nice to meet some of their friends. Some of whom they might not see again as the graduates will of course not be returning again in the fall.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Vern, Ruth, and I have been enjoying working in our yard the last couple spring and summers. We never got into planting flowers in Venezuela as we would get no rain for months in our dry season. It always seemed like so much work to keep things alive. In the fall a friend helped me plant a bunch of tulips. It has been so much fun to see them start to grow and then bloom. It has added a lot of color to our yard.