We feel like smiling when we think of this morning's endeavor, because it was encouraging. We missed some of our children because they were 'sleeping in.' We were met with parents who were loath to wake their children, even at 10:00 AM. These children just finished school this week, and they have gone into summer vacation mode.
One of our faithful men has been bringing his wife to church the last couple of weeks. She is a very nice lady, and she loves the Lord. This gives us another reason to smile.
She likes to retell the story {with a few modifications :) }
After they are finished with their lesson, they like to play a little.We smile about our friends who allow us to leave our camper and van at their house during the week. Today we had a nice chat with them when we brought the van back. He has been very sick and has undergone surgery, but he is doing a little better; though he is still on strong pain medication. He came outside and talked with his wife and us while we ate a little watermelon. We have had occasion to work with these people when we were at Ravinia in Wagner, and they are very special to us. Ray helped with the funerals of three family members when he was the pastor at Ravinia.
Mercy got a prize for coming four weeks
We can smile because God smiles on what we do, and the sunshine of that smile is warmer than the sun today.
Sunday was cloudy and gloomy, and I wondered how many children would get themselves up to come. We had a few who ventured out. Esther was taking part in her last concert with the Huron Symphony, and so the Sunday School was my adventure. A couple of the children were in keeping with the weather (cloudy and gloomy), and they made my morning challenging. One of the girls insisted that she would like to pound on the piano upstairs instead of coming downstairs. I persuaded her to come downstairs, but she stood in the corner and pouted and cried. We ignored her and went on with the story, and I was amused to notice that she had moved to sit crosslegged under a table nearby so she could hear the story. When we moved to another table to color and work our puzzles and do a Mother's Day craft, she moved to a seat where she could keep up in sight and sat quietly. In a little while, she asked if she could do the projects too, which we were happy to encourage. These children are sweet, though they sometimes feel grumpy (aren't we the same?). She was due for a prize for coming for four Sundays, and she went home happy..JPG)
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Ray and I drove over to Huron where we heard Esther and Abraham Kalovsky play in concert. It was very well executed. We enjoyed an evening of fellowship with the Kalovskys afterward, and felt that we had a wonderful and full weekend. 
The children were a little more energetic this morning, though they were not bad. Esther has a few little ones who need special care during the Sunday School hour. It has become apparent that we will need to split the children into the little ones and the ones who are a little older. We appreciate each one who comes, but we have a range from little ones in diapers to ten and eleven years of age. We have some very brilliant children, and some of them are slow learners. This presents a challenge to the teacher. 
Splitting the group will be a challenge to staffing, but God knows all about this. Our policy is to let God speak to the heart of one of His children. If He so wills, we are praying for help. However, if we do not have help, we will continue to do our best. Please pray with us for this need. 
One little girl was 'ambitious' and getting into trouble this morning. When Sunday School was almost over, she came to Esther and gave her a hug and waited for her return hug. These children respond well to love, as do all children.