Spring Newsletter 2012

Catching up:   A lot of things have been happening since our last newsletter that we’re excited to share with you! This last year for Christmas, we decided to save what money we would spend on gifts and go on a late Christmas vacation. We went camping at a state park on a small island in the Gulf of Mexico off of Florida called Cayo Costa.  It was nice to get away from the freezing cold weather and instead be wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt getting toasted on a beach. Also, as a Valentine’s gift to each other, we bought tickets to Discovery Cove which included admissions to Sea World. One attraction that Discovery Cove has is the dolphins that we were allowed swim with. Discovery Cove required us to pay up front for everything before even entering, so that while we were there, the food, dessert, snacks, towels, swimming gear, and fun were all basically free. To be honest, this was quite a strange feeling for us, being able to ask for an ice-cream cone without handing over any money. We felt like a king and queen for a day, although the dolphins we swam with were the most amazing part of the whole experience! While we were down in Orlando FL, we visited and stayed with our Walsworth grandparents in Bushnell, who topped off our vacation better than any 5 star hotel by simply being the wonderful grandparents they are. On the way back, our car began to throb and jolt, but even after quick inspections, it became worse the farther we went. We stopped 3 hours away from home and Megan’s mother came and towed our poor car the rest of the trip home. After getting it home and inspecting it thoroughly, we realized our previously damaged bearing could bear no more and needed a retirement plan. Since our car has taken a break, Megan’s little truck has done a good job at getting us where we need to go.

Home:  Here at our humble abode the grass has begun growing again and perhaps faster than usual, thanks to Buddy. Before we were married and moved, Megan’s family had 5 pets, but since she’s moved and left her pets with her parents, she’s been lonely and looking for new friends. Megan’s dad was offered a puppy for free and through the chain of contacts, we decided to share our home with Buddy, and have since Christmas. Buddy will soon be 8 months old, and 60 lbs last time we weighed him and growing! We feel proud to have a protective outdoor dog, rather than a little indoor toy dog. Although having Buddy does add to our responsibilities, the joy he brings to us usually outweighs them.

Most of you are already aware that we are taking the Liberty Home Bible Institute Correspondence Course for our Internship at Bancroft Gospel Ministries which we will earn a Bible Certificate. Through the Bible Course, we’ve dusted off “Adam”, life-guarded “Noah”, renamed “Abram”, walked circles with “Moses”, led battles with “Joshua”, played hide ’n’ seek with “David & Saul”, been out-smarted by “Solomon” and have been justified by “Judges”. The next stage we will study is the Chaotic Kingdom stage, and if we keep up the pace we should be done before the summer of 2013 rolls around. We’ve also been doing our best to keep things looking spiffy around the house such as: keeping the grass cut, foreign objects taken care of, filling in mole holes, and also putting down new rock border around our mower shed. In everything we do here at home we try to bring honor and glory to God, and to please Him in all things, just as Paul wrote to the Church of Corinth. I Corinthians 10:31

Camp:   In our progress to becoming full-time staff at Bancroft Bible Camp, we have helped in successfully turning apartments 4 and 5 into a kitchenette which Megan has been using as the meeting place for her new young ladies Bible study on Tuesday nights. She has started this for the young teen girls in the area and is having a good turnout considering it is just beginning. The chapel’s new remodeling is getting us excited about having chapel services in it this summer. We’ve also made head way to the human foosball by pouring a section of concrete and have plans to finish it with a work group before summer camp. With plans on having more of the climbing tower done by this summer with the new 6 foot fence around its perimeter Buddy will have a large area to patrol this summer. Our main focus right now is to help finish remodeling the chapel, and to learn as much as possible along the way. Our excitement bubbles over with the talk of a remodeled chapel, a new zip-line, the human foosball, a soccer field, and more exciting things the Lord has in store for Bancroft!

Work: Lately we’ve had the mindset of slowly decreasing our hours at Jersey Mike’s, so that the Lord may provide for us in the way He sees fit while we try to put in more hours at Bancroft. Through the weeks of striving to be “Super Sub Makers”, we have become closing shift leaders and also have been trained to open the store in mornings. We both agree that we enjoy getting up earlier in mornings and having to open more than having to get home later after closing. We know that God has provided Jersey Mike’s for us until He has provided our support. Each step brings us closer to Bancroft as we “Walk Onward”, following the path the Lord sets before us, being sure to give our best while keeping our eyes set on Jesus, as in Hebrews 12:1-2

Praises:

Ø  Praise God for the speed we’ve been getting our schooling done.

Ø  Praise God for the wonderful vacation to Florida.

Prayer Requests:

Ø  Pray that we can finish the Correspondence Course before next year.

Ø  Pray that the Holy Spirit will give us strength and wisdom for this summer at camp.

Ø  Pray that we will be patient as the Lord prepares us to be the best staff that we can be for His glory.

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