Camp Awana

On Saturday I had the opportunity to visit a very special place called Camp Awana. Camp Awana is a Christian camp where I spent quite a bit of time when I was a teenager first as a camper, then a worker, and then a leader. ( All of our children have at one time been a camper and several of them a worker. This past week our son Caleb had the opportunity to be a leader at the teen camp. ) Camp Awana was a place where I was challenged in my spiritual life to grow closer to the Lord, to reach out to the unsaved, and to serve the Lord. I am so thankful for those people who have invested in my life, and for those who are now investing in children's lives to introduce them to the Savior and to encourage them to have a close walk with the Lord!

Pray For Our Little Sickie

For those of your who have been reading my posts you will already know how Ruth has been battling with Strep Throat. Yesterday her throat started with that painful soreness again. We took her to the doctor this afternoon and from all indications it looks like the strep throat is back. This is the third time in six weeks Ruth is being treated for this. Pleas PRAY that this next treatment will kick the strep throat once and for all. Thanks!

Road Trip

Yesterday afternoon we made a road trip to Chicago. We will be spending a week here with family and friends. We didn't leave until later afternoon since Ruth worked. However, we made very good time arriving at 12:51 a.m. EST or 11:51p.m. MST Hopefully we'll be connecting with some of you this week!

A Much Needed Break

It was so nice in the middle of some VERY busy days to be invited out to supper. We all enjoyed a wonderful meal. It was such a treat and very yummy! Even Cuddles enjoyed getting out of the house.

From My Hide Away

If you have been waiting for a letter or an email from me you will hopefully be hearing from me soon. For the past couple of days I have been hiding away by my computer catching up on correspondence. The kids are being very helpful in making meals, cleaning up the kitchen, and making it possible for me to spend this time connecting with people again. It has been so good to sit down and write with so many dear people. We value the great friendships we have. There are so many people who are such an encouragement to us as a family and in our ministry. Thank-you Lord for family and friends!

Going to the Chapel

What comes to mind when you think of a chapel? This is a chapel that we have passed many times but have never stopped to see it. So the other day we stopped to look inside. There were actually eight little pews. Now that makes for a small congregation!

Fun in the Sun

With our month in jungle camp and the three kids working different shifts we have not had a day that someone wasn't working. The other day all three kids were off so we spent the day together. We had a nice breakfast of waffles topped with strawberries and ice cream and then we headed to the beach. The water was quite cold so Vern, Titus, and I were the only ones to actually get in the water. A couple of us did come away with a sun burn even though we put sun screen on.

Roll Kuchen

For anyone who is not from a Mennonite background you might wonder what on earth is Roll Kuchen. Well, Roll Kuchen is this doughy thing that is somewhat like a Long John but not sweet like one. Roll Kuchen is something that a person eats with watermelon. You take a bit of watermelon and then of Roll Kuchen. It is a nice summer supper meal. Vern coming from Mennonite heritage grew up eating Roll Kuchen. I enjoy them but I have my own twist to the meal. I like to melt some chocolate and dip the Roll Kuchen in chocolate and then eat them. (Sounds good, right!) Any true Mennonite would raise their eye brows to perverting Roll Kuchen in this way. Vern doesn't care how I eat them as long as I treat the family by making them a couple of times a year. (smile)

Did Someone Mention the Word "Passport"?

Shortly after I took off with Zachary and Ruth, Vern and Seth were in the car and heading off to get Seth a Canadian passport. And "NO" we did not lose his passport. He has never had one as he has never needed to carry one. But with the new rules that will be coming into place in the new year he was in need of a Canadian Passport. Seth also had worked all night so it was a sleepy ride for him as well. The place they needed to go was only about 1 hour and 20 minutes away so it wasn't quite as long of a day for Seth. It is nice to have that paperwork behind us.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Have you ever wanted to "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"? I always thought the Yellow Brick Road was in Kansas. But today I found the Yellow Brick Road. It is right here in Ontario.

Doing the Unthinkable

That's right I have done the unthinkable! As a missionary who has traveled a lot one thing you know you NEVER EVER would do is to lose or misplace your passport. We have searched high and low and we could not find Zachary's passport. We know we had it when Zachary and I were traveling up here for Zachary's summer break. But after countless hours, and due to the fact that Zachary will be returning to Bible school in a month it was time to apply for another passport. Zachary arrived home from work around 6:20 a.m. this morning and so shortly after that we took off for Toronto. I brought along my trusty GPS. ( AKA - Ruth Emily Dyck) Since Zachary had worked through the night I knew he would be feeling pretty sleepy by the time we pulled into Toronto. So Ruth was the navigator. She could not go inside the embassy with us so she sat in a little fast food restaurant and read a book while she waited for us. We were only inside the embassy for about 35 minutes so she didn't have to wait too long. Everything went well and Zachary should be getting his new passport before he leaves for school. Hopefully we will never "Do the Unthinkable" again.

Reclaiming Our House

Our family was separated during jungle camp with Seth and Zachary living down at our house and the rest of us living up in the bush. Although we did make it to our home to run a few errands there was no time to do any housekeeping. Therefore we have been involved in "reclaiming our house" from dust and clutter. The first thing I was kept busy with was getting all of our jungle camp supplies cleaned up and packed away. Then we have been giving the house a good cleaning, sorting through all the mail, and things like that. So "DUST BEWARE"

From the Sidelines

Zachary has been playing soccer on an adult soccer league during the summer. But with our time in jungle camp we have not been able to make it to any of his games. That changed a couple of days ago when we attended one of his games. It was a cloudy day and we wondered if the game would even happen. But in the end, the rain stayed away and it was a it turned out to be a beautiful sunny evening. The two teams playing were pretty evenly matched. But, despite us cheering his team on, they lost 1 - 0.

Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom! We sure wish we could pop over to your place to help you celebrate. You are an awesome Mom and we thank-you for your love and support. Know that we are thinking of you. Have a wonderful day!

Better Late Then Never

It is our family tradition for our kids to pick their birthday meals. But since we were in jungle camp it didn't work out this year on their birthdays. So Friday night Zachary had his belated birthday meal. Then last night Seth had his belated birthday meal. Zachary had a more traditional meat and potato meal while Seth had a favorite Mennonite meal.

The End Of Jungle Camp 2007

To finish off our jungle camp experience our coworkers Peter and Kathy Baker had a hot meal waiting for all of us when we came down the hill after tearing down. What a welcome sight! It was a wonderful meal and GREATLY appreciated by all.
Well, I tried to keep you updated with life in the bush and even though I made MANY posts, it somehow still feels to me like there are a lot of holes. So much happened up there. And besides the outward things you see and fun activities, God was working and continuing to grow and mature us individually and as a group. THANK-YOU for your prayers for all of us during JUNGLE CAMP 2007!

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

Yesterday morning was the day all the houses were being taken down and our students were moving back down to the lower camp.






Although a good time was had by all it was a much anticipated day. The students were looking forward to nice warm showers, being able to use the phone, check email, and fun things like that.


Also many of our students are going to be moving into student apartments with indoor plumbing.







Therefore, there was a lot of motivation to get the jungle camp houses torn down as quickly as possible. It also was a cloudy day and it threatened to rain throughout the morning. All the houses were torn down and our students moved down by 1:30 p.m. We are thankful that there were no major accidents. Now the campus will have a lot more life for the next week until our students take off for their much needed summer break.