BAPTISM AND BEAUTY

When we were moving from Ravinia and the mission there, Ray and I were discussing what we would have done differently in retrospect. The one regret that we had was that we had not spent more family time away from the mission. We questioned if we put our family first as we should have. This conversation was revisited ten years later (this past week) when Esther told us that she wanted to be baptized at Spring Creek Camp this year. We were happy for her desire, and deemed it a priority in our lives. Ray and Esther went to Lower Brule on Saturday and visited the church people and the Sunday School children and explained that Esther was going to be baptized on Sunday. It was impossible for us to have church Sunday morning and get to the camp in time for the baptism; so we cancelled service. They offered to pick up the people on Sunday morning early and bring them out to camp, but the people opted not to come. Everyone was fine with it, as most of our people understand the significance of religious sacraments.

Ray and Esther drove out to Spring Creek Camp Saturday evening and arrived in time to take in the evening service. I drove out Sunday morning, as I worked late Saturday evening; and I arrived in time for lunch :). Right after lunch I took a walk, as it is important to me that I walk every day when I am at Spring Creek. The quietness of the area soothes my soul,and the beauty stimulates the joy in my heart. Some friends invited us to stay at their house Sunday evening; and so we had a comfortable stay. Our family went down to Valentine on Monday and visited the park and Smith Falls. It was gorgeous scenery. We would love to return and canoe and kayak sometime soon. We were just too tired Monday. Esther has stayed behind to be a counselor in one of the cabins at Spring Creek Youth Camp. I'm sure she will thoroughly enjoy it. She considered it a privilege to be invited. Hopefully, I can get her to do the next blog and tell you about her experiences.

Thank you for your interest.

STORMS AND SORROW

Today was a rainy, heavy, gloomy morning; but the scenery on the way to and from Lower Brule is often enhanced by the stormy colors. The blues of the river and the sky become a warmer hue, and the greens of the grass and trees are mellowed in the light. Esther was beginning to wonder if she would ever get home when I kept asking her to stop by the roadside so I could take pictures. I just have a weakness for beautiful scenery, as it often stills my spirit. This week was the wake and funeral of the mother who passed away last week; and we attended both. Ray spoke at the wake on Tuesday night, and several expressed their thanks to him. The funeral was very well attended, and the gym was filled with friends and relatives. Please pray for the children of this lady, as their motherless lives stretch ahead of them.

Water is everywhere this morning, even near the interstate, and there is evidence that it has been over the interstate in spots. We found water in the basement of the church and a leak that we did not know existed in the roof. Funny, the leak was above the pulpit desk, just missing Ray's head. Ha! (Sorry, I have a weird sense of humor)
Surprisingly, we had the highest number of kids that we have had since we started the Sunday School today. It is growing quickly, and others are promising to come. Water on the floor does not daunt them-they play in it, jump in it, run through it, and dance in it. I couldn't share their joy. The dehumidifier is humming away, and we hope that it is better next week.

This week will be a very busy one for us, as Esther is having her senior recital on Friday night. Since she is homeschooled, this is instead of a graduation ceremony. She has been done with her schoolwork for several months, and she and several others have been working hard on this event. Twelve players will be in concert, and there will be a harp and a pianist to help. We have set aside this week to prepare and execute this concert. We hope to get to Lower Brule the next week on the weekend and get more work done there. Esther and I are also planning a VBS in July.

Thank you for your interest in the work in Lower Brule.

We will try to catch you up on the last two weeks. I wanted to report last week, but my camera decided to be temperamental; and I had no pictures to show you. We left on Saturday for Fort Thompson where our camper is stored at some friends' house. We had brought camping supplies and had plans to mow up the church yard and trim it nicely, as it had gotten away from us. Upon arriving, we discovered that the people had had a little work bee and mowed, raked, and trimmed before we got there. They were all so glowingly happy when they came in for the morning service, as they felt a sense of ownership. When we found the work done, we went out to the dam and grilled our supper. We found it a bit challenging as the wind had come up and kept trying to blow out our cooking fire. When we returned to the camper parked in the Lower Brule campground, a storm was setting in. We settled in for a quiet evening, and it was a quiet and comfortable time. The blue of the sky faded almost perfectly into the bluegray of the choppy water in the river as the storm moved in. We woke up refreshed on Sunday morning, and we enjoyed a very nice morning service. We took a good afternoon nap in the trailer and had the privilege of stopping in for the evening service at Fort Thompson. We returned home feeling like we had a refreshing working mini-vacation.

This Sunday was a beautiful drive out to Lower Brule. The river was blue and sparkling in the sunlight, and the rolling hills contrasted greens and browns all the way along the river. We were very happy when our friend Harry told us that he had been to Sioux Falls to visit his doctor who gave him a good report. Harry has been through a grueling surgery and a slow recovery. He gave a clear testimony to us when we visited him in the hospital soon after his surgery.

While we were getting ready to start the service, we had a couple of visitors who visit us frequently, and I thought it would be fun to show you how patiently they wait to greet the people. :)


Esther and I took the van out to pick up the kids, and we always enjoy our time with them. They are lively, imaginative children. :)It was a somber morning, as a young lady had been accidently killed early this morning. She was the niece of one of our men, and she was also a close friend of the mother of some of our children. They were all very shaken and talking much about her death. She left four little children. Please pray for our people and the people of Lower Brule this week. The men promised to keep Ray informed of the wake and funeral services because they want him to attend.