Class Update

Barry Challinor is presently teaching a class entitled “New Testament Church Principles”. In this class he addresses topics that pertain to Biblical foundations for planting a church. Qualifications for Elders and Deacons and leadership principles are just some of the topics looked at in this module.

In the "Foundations for Living Class" Vern just finished presenting a module on "Parenting". We went through many topics such as : being consistent, being an aware parent with constant concern, teaching your child respect: for authority, for the feelings of others, for the property of others, and for the rights of others. Being a parent is one of the greatest joys we have have experienced. But along with that comes a lot of responsibility. God has entrusted us with our dear children and it is a life long job to disciple and encourage our children to grow up to love the Lord and to walk with Him. If you think of Vern and I, we would appreciate your prayers as we parent our dear children.

Return to Reality

It was so nice having Zachary home for his spring break. I think he had a relaxing time sleeping in and just hanging here with the family. But it was time for him to Return to Reality. Yesterday we took him and his friend Jon to the Buffalo airport to head back to Bible school. All went well with their flight and their suitcases arrived with them! YEA! It will only be about five weeks and he will be home for the summer. If you think of him you could pray that things work out for him to find a job for the summer.

Extreme Makeover

One thing we love about our dog Cuddles is that she does not shed. But because of that, her hair grows pretty long. We have done different things in the past like used a normal hair cutting buzzers or just taking out a pair of scissors and start cutting. The problem with using a normal hair cutting buzzers is that her hair is so thick the buzzers will always clog up and it also seems to hurt her as it pulls at her hair. When using a pair of scissors it is hard to get a consistent cut. So a couple of days ago we took the plunge and bought a dog hair cutting clippers. The one we bought came with a DVD we can watch to get pointers on different methods of cutting a dog's hair. We will enjoy watching it but we were too anxious to try out our new little toy to watch the DVD. Although Cuddles doesn't like to get her hair cut it did seem like this time it was a little less traumatic then usual. So the dog clippers did go through her hair so much nicer then the normal clippers. Cuddles hair was pretty long so Ruth and I worked at it for a little while. She looks like she is half the dog she used to be with all that fluffy fur gone. She is now ready for the warmer weather to hit. So heat wave, we are ready for you!

Flash Light Night

This past Thursday night for Cubbies we decided to make it a special event night so we had "Flashlight Night". We tried to do as much of the evening as possible in the dark so the Cubbies could use their flashlights. I went out to the dollar store and bought glow in the dark necklaces for all the Cubbies and leaders. So as each child came in we gave them a glow in the dark necklace. They really enjoyed singing "This Little Light of Mine" with all the lights turned off and as they shined their flashlights around the room as they sang. I also bought a couple of packages of glow in the dark stars. When Ruth and I got there we hid the glow in the dark stars all over the church. Our Cubbies room is decorated in a jungle theme so there are stuffed animal snakes, gorillas, monkeys and other animals. So for our game time we went on a safari (in the dark of course) looking for animals we could put in our zoo. And we also went star gazing and collected all the stars we could find. Then we ended the night with all the lights off and played a game of "I Spy with My Little Eye". The night was a success and I would not have been surprised if some of the kids went to bed holding their flashlights. (smile)

Checking It Out

On Tuesday we had a group of students from Bible school (the same school Seth and Zachary are attending) come for a visit. They will be leaving tomorrow afternoon. The students have been sitting in on classes and seeing what is involved in our program here. Some of them are seriously interested in being a full time missionary. We were able to have the gang over for supper Tuesday night. One of the guys who came is actually one of Zachary’s room mates. We have enjoyed getting to know them and having them join in our program for a couple of days. Last week we had a different group of Bible school Students from Jackson come and check out our program. It is exciting to see young people wanting to serve the Lord over seas. "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Run Away Bag

At 12:15 a.m. we received the long awaited phone call. Zachary's suitcase had arrived here on the campus! YES! Now, mind you, we weren't too excited that we received this phone call at 12:15 a.m. but the lost had been found. We tried giving the driver of the delivery van directions to our house but after about ten minutes it became apparent that he could not find our house and Vern and Zachary went out to find him. I phoned the baggage claim people countless times in the last couple of days and we were beginning to lose hope after they admitted yesterday morning that they had no idea where the suitcase was. But the lost has been found and Zachary is enjoying wearing his own clothes again.

Fun with Food

Here in Canada the day after Easter is called "Easter Monday". Schools, banks, and things like that are closed. Therefore we did not have any classes. This is a very busy week for us so we figured we would take some extra time yesterday on making some nicer meals. (And due to the fact that Zachary is home and wanting some home cooked meals.) We had a nice waffle brunch yesterday which really hit the spot. And then for supper Ruth and Vern made us a Thai meal. I personally have never made Asian food. Vern and Ruth had been talking about cooking a Thai meal for a few days so yesterday was their chance. Vern and Ruth had a lot of fun looking through recipes and finding just what they wanted to make. (We had to run out and get some things like "ginger root" that I never have around the house. I have never used it and don't know how to cook with it.) The meal turned out great and will definitely be something they will make again. I can't wait for them to get a craving to make a Chinese meal for us. (smile)

Easter

It was our family tradition in the tribe to get up and have a sunrise service every Easter. We would go out to the highest sand dune around. We would make a little camp fire and sit on some blankets. Vern would read the Easter story and we would sing some Easter songs like "Up From the Grave He Arose" and "He Lives". We would drink hot chocolate and eat a few snacks before going home to a normal breakfast. There would be a lot of groans in the fact that we had to get up early but it was always a very ejoyable time. We have done it since we have been here in Canada although we have not always been home on Easter. This year we were planning on doing our sunrise service. (That was before all our snow arrived.) Yes, all us wimps but it just didn't seem too appealing to be sitting on the snow watching the sun rise in cooler then desired temperatures.












It was a special treat to have Zachary home with us for Easter. For lunch we had Wes and Brenda, and Andrew and Amberlynne over for lunch and for the day. Brenda bought a delicious cheese cake. (YUM! YUM!) After we ate we all relaxed, played some games, watched a movie, and just enjoyed kicking back.

























































In the evening us ladies decided to wax our hands. Ruth actually plugged in the waxer in the afternoon but it takes several hours for the wax to melt. After you coat your hands several times with wax you are supposed to put your hands in a plastic bag for about 20 minutes. So we waxed our hands and then watched a movie while our hands were in the bags. It is so nice and soothing.

Egg Me On

One thing that we REALLY enjoy with being here is all the friendships we enjoy with our students. We have such neat students that are so much fun to hang with. On Saturday night we had the Greg, Erika, Bret, and Moriah Stephens over as well as Andrew and Amberlynne Claussen to color eggs. This is something that I grew up doing so I have been doing it for over 40 years. This year when I went to get food coloring I was able to buy this package of neon colors as well as the normal colors. There were lots of neat designs and colors people came up with doing. Thanks Stephens and Andrew and Amberlynne for joining us and making some great memories together!














































































































This is the finished product from our efforts. It is always fun to see the different colors and every one's creativity.



































Of course not only eggs end up getting colored.















Bret couldn't wait to enjoy one of his eggs.



















Vern and Ruth couldn't wait to peel some of the eggs and try to pickle them. We'll see how they turn out.
















After some snacks we enjoyed playing a game of cranium together.

LOST!

Last night Zachary arrived home as he is now on spring break. It will be good to have him home. I don't know how much we will actually see him as he is planning on spending a lot of time sleeping and eating. (Up until two weeks ago he was working full time plus going to school full time so he was not getting much sleep.) I think I will spend my week cooking and baking. It seemed a bit odd when he walked in the door empty handed. Yes, his luggage got lost. It seems like this is happening to a lot of people we know. So I guess it is now our turn. Although he did leave a few clothes items here we will need to make a run to Wal-Mart to pick up a few essentials. We are looking forward to the week ahead and making some fun family memories together.