BEAUTY

We usually enjoy our car ride out to Lower Brule, maybe even more than the ride back home. Maybe we're more tired, or maybe we're more awake and have more to talk about. Anyway, I ignored the clock and stopped a couple of times on the ride in to take a couple of pictures to share with you. I believe that Chamberlain, Fort Thompson, and Lower Brule are some of the most beautiful spots in South Dakota. Our number of children has been climbing with the nice weather, and today peaked our attendance for the Sunday morning service since we started working at Lower Brule. Esther and I had our hands full. They were bursting with energy, but so precious. We had several new ones that we hadn't had for Sunday School, and these guys seemed interested.

When one of the children comes for four Sundays, he or she gets to choose from a box of special prizes that we have prepared for them. Molly decided on a recorder. She 'tried it out' all the way home, and we were happy to let her out at home. Several hours later, Esther thought about it and said, "I bet Molly's mother hates us right now!" :)

Upstairs, Ray had an extra when a mother of one of the children stopped in for service. She occasionally comes, and we are always happy when she does. Thank you for your interest in Lower Brule.

AN INVITATION

How I love to receive invitations!! Well, usually. :) I like an invitation to come and visit, an invitation to go out to coffee, to dinner. I like an invitation that is offered because someone enjoys spending time with me or my family. I especially like invitations that don't include a list of "ideas" of what to buy and bring with me { :) }--as in, no strings attached--spoken pure and simple, "I just want your companionship." Jesus invited us to "Come unto Me, and learn of Me." He invites us to be His friend, and He invites us to fellowship with Him. We extended this invitation to the community of Lower Brule this morning. It was a beautiful morning with not too much heat, and a little sun. The river reflected the brilliant blue sky as we drove over.

We love when they are ready and impatiently waiting for us!

We took our minivan out to pick up children this morning and just about filled it.

They get all dressed up in their good clothes to come. :)


We feel rewarded when we see the children coming to church with anticipation.

We had an interesting and uninvited visitor in church this morning. When we were ready to start church, I noticed a very large grasshopper seated primly on the unlit candle in front of the pulpit desk. When the music started, I expected him to 'make good his escape,' but he seemed to be absorbed in the goings-on, and he stayed. I thought I heard him add a little talent to the singing once, but maybe it was my imagination. He sat up with his antennae bent toward Ray as he prayed and preached. Part way through the message, he must have felt bored, and he lay down a little while. Soon he sat back up and resumed his diligent attention in the message. After the service, we went to the back to converse with the attendees. After everyone left, we went back up front to dispense with Mr. Grasshopper. He was nowhere in sight, and we did not find him again, though we searched. Wonder if he'll come next week without an invitation?? I got a very poor picture of the fellow.

My apologies to you and to Mr. Grasshopper for the poor photography

Speaking of invitations, one of the church families offered us a piece of property (2 1/2 acres) to use to live on so we can move out to be with the people. We are very touched by the offer. Please pray that we would stay in step with the Great Planner. We have long felt that it is necessary for the survival of the church for the people to have someone who cares enough to live with them.

Thank you for your interest in Lower Brule.

CHANGES-UGHHHHHH..........!!!!

Since work has never been overly enchanting to me, I try to ease my way into it some way. This weekend is my holiday weekend from work, as I worked Monday for the required shift during the 4th of July holiday. My thoughtful supervisor scheduled 4 days off in a row this weekend to offset that day (yes, she is the best!) We decided to spend part of those days camping at the dam at Fort Thompson and working at the church on Saturday.
The basement at Lower Brule had flooded during the big rains and flooding in South Dakota, and we had mold growing as well as a soggy carpet. Spiders had claimed the basement; and we knew that we could not have children down there with conditions as they were. The sign had blown over in a big wind, and scrub trees were growing against the building too close to the foundation. Ray and Esther and I made a work-bee day for ourselves and spent several hours on Saturday fixing the issues. Esther and I thoroughly cleaned and bleached the basement and tore up the carpet. We have ideas to make it much more kid-friendly, and would like to get started with those ideas, but really need to see the basement wall fixed first. We even had enough time left that we did a good job of cleaning the upstairs while we were at it. Ray went outside and cut the 'trees' down that were pushing against the foundation, and worked on the sign. It became oppressive outside as we were working, and the clouds built up into a storm. We finally quit and left the church with the temperature registering at 96 degrees. The storm was breaking as we drove back to Fort Thompson to get the trailer and set up camp, and the temperature dropped to 75 degrees in 15 minutes. The wind was a little wild, but we got everything set up in spite of it. We pulled our 31 foot camper to the campground to stay in one last time. We have owned it for 15 years, and it served us well as we were raising our children. We are negotiating to sell it now, as we are looking to change directions in our lives. We wanted to stay in the trailer one last time before it is sold.
We are making plans to take Esther to school in Hobe Sound, Florida where her sister and brother-in-law live so she can pursue her music. We plan to leave to take her there the first week in August.
With this change, we will be making changes at the mission. Esther has been an invaluable asset to the work with the children, and this change will be felt keenly there. I will try to carry on the work, though we will need help in that effort. Please pray that God will provide the needed help. One of the mothers of our children has volunteered to help, and we are pleased with that offer and plan to have her help. Ray feels he needs my help in the adult service, as I play the piano and help any way that I can. For this reason, we will probably change the time that the children will have Sunday School. We are also feeling that we are not as effective in the work when we live such a distance away. We will probably be actively looking for work and a place to stay over that direction later this fall. Please remember these needs in your prayers. I naturally resist change, though my life has held many huge changes, and Ray seems to adjust more easily to change. Life has a way of marching on, though, and resistance will make things that could be good become bad, and it will stifle progress. So-Life, here I come: go ahead with the change! :) :)

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.

SUNSHINE, SMILES, AND SLEEP

Today is a beautiful sunshiny day in spite of the fact that a vicious storm raged through Lower Brule last night. Thankfully, it looks like no harm was done, and ol' sol is smiling as if trying to atone for the vacation he took the last few days.
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.