Day of Prayer

Yesterday was a day we call "Day of Prayer". Once a month we set aside a day in which we pray for all the countries that the Mission works with. We also hear a couple of field reports on what God is doing in different countries. Yesterday morning we heard a report on the country of Mozambique and then one on the Philippines. The two groups that worked on the reports did a good job giving us an over view on the country they were presenting and also on the needs in that country.

A Taste of Home

One thing that we really enjoy eating is empanadas. It is something you can buy from street vendors in Venezuela. The outside is made of a white cornmeal mixture and in the inside there is either chicken, beef, pork, or fish. I bought the white cornmeal back with me so that we could enjoy a few empanada meals. So this evening Ruth and I made a bunch of empanadas for supper. They turned out very well and we all enjoyed eating our "taste of home".

Flashlight Night

Last night at Cubbies was another special evening we had Flashlight Night. It is probably one of the "special event evenings" that our Cubbies enjoy the most. I like to buy glow necklaces for the kids to add to the fun of the evening. During our Bible story the kids have to put their flashlights under their chairs otherwise we plan on using up the batteries in the flashlights. The favorite song for the evening is "This Little Light of Mine". Our game time was a lot of fun as I had hid a bunch of stuff animals and we went on a safari and tried to "catch" as many animals as possible. We played several games with our flashlight but then we sat around in a circle and went on a scary "Bear Hunt". The kids had a great time with that and wanted to go on a lion hunt so we did that as well. Then we ended our game time playing "I Spy With My Little Eye".

Academy Program

This afternoon the academy had their annual academy program. The different classes recited poems, sang songs, or did skits and several of the students played piano solos. There were also different displays set up around the room showing off art projects and other class work the children have worked on. All the children did very well and it was an enjoyable program. Titus' French class did a skit in French of "David and Goliath". Titus did very well and doesn't seem to mind getting up in front of people and hamming it up. Titus also did a couple of songs with the violin class. Ruth participated in a skit that her Spanish class did. She had originally planned on doing some live chemistry demonstrations since she is taking chemistry this year. But that was before she got sick and it would have taken more energy then she had. (It is day four of Ruth being back to school and she is feeling VERY tired.) Thank-you academy students for presenting a great program.

Under Pressure

There is plenty of snow on the ground but in three months our students will be in the middle of building their jungle camp houses and almost ready to move up into the bush. Therefore it was time to do our class on pressure canning meats. As you will remember there is no electricity in our bush homes so pressure caning meat is the only safe way to store meat. Pressure canning was a total foreign concept to this city girl. But 24 years ago Vern and I worked together on pressure canning our meat for jungle camp. It was a positive experience and my grandmother bought me my own pressure canner to bring overseas. Many missionaries do not have to use this method overseas but there are still some who do. So this is a valuable skill to learn in case you are one of those people who do use pressure canning overseas. Although I didn't do a lot of pressure canning I did pressure can a whole cow on the field. I also canned other smaller things as well. Yesterday we went through the steps and all the procedures to pressure canning meat. In the next months now before jungle camp all our students will have the opportunity to pressure can their meat. If you have never tried pressure canned meat it really is quite tasty.

The Road to Better Health

The Road to Better Health does not have a speed limit on it, although most travel it very slowly to get to their final destination which is Enjoying Better Health. We are trying all sorts of things to help our daughter build up her immune system and enjoy better health. Beside the carrot juice and eating lots of fruits and vegetables here are the supplements we have added to her diet. There is Barely Green, Ester C, Florafood, Proancynol 2000, Flax Seed, a multi- vitamin, calcium, carrot powder, and beet powder. Some need to be taken on a empty stomach and other with food so it is quite something to be able to take all these supplements at the right times during the day. We are hoping that in the next few weeks we can start to see a difference and that Ruth will start to feel better. Although we know the thing that will help her the most is prayer, so please continue to pray for her. THANKS!

Got Carrot Juice?

We are trying several different things to help our daughter on the road to better health. After talking to a couple of people who have been physically very low one thing that has helped several of them is drinking fresh carrot juice. One of our students has been very gracious in letting us use his juicer for a few weeks until we can work some thing else out. Therefore, a few days ago Ruth started drinking a glass of carrot juice every day. At first she wasn't too excited about the idea, but after drinking a couple of glasses of it, she says it really doesn't taste bad. Hopefully Ruth can be one of those success stories and say that "Carrot Juice" is what made the difference.

Back to the Books

Today was Ruth's first day of school after a three week absence. She was exhausted when she came home from school this afternoon. She is still not feeling well so we would appreciate your prayers for her that her body will continue to heal. We are exploring all sorts of vitamins and natural ways of boosting her immune system.

The Georgian Bay Symphony

Last night Ruth and I went to hear the Georgian Bay Symphony. One of our students who plays the violin joined the symphony this year and so we thought we would go and attend one of his concerts. Ruth had never been to a symphony and I had only been once. All the musicians are very talented. Most of them give of their time each week just for the joy of music. There are some professional musicians that also play with the symphony and the director is paid. The evening did not disappoint us it was a wonderful concert. It just so happened that there was a featured harp player who was amazing. Great Job Jacob!

Let the Games Begin

Last night the training center had a social. We got together and played Bunco. It is a fun game where everyone is paired up at tables of four people. After every round the winning pair moves to another table. You are always switching partners and tables so it is a way to interact with a lot of people in a short amount of time. Although, it is a fast moving game and there isn't a lot of time for talking. It was another cold winter evening over here so it was a nice way to get out and spend a fun evening together.