It's no wonder...

...they call it "Big Sky Country"!

Josiah and Abi joined us for the weekend in MT -- such a fun blessing!

Water in the desert

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory,

The victory and the majesty;

For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;

Yours is the kingdom, O LORD,

And You are exalted as head over all.

"Both riches and honor come from You,

And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might;

In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.

Now therefore, our God,

We thank You And praise Your glorious name."

2 Chron 29:11-13

Hannah

Hannah Marlys

“favor” :: “consecrated myrrh”

One who responds to hurts with kindness,
knowing that God will use it for good.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21

Happy 14th Birthday Hannah!

Prairie Bible Camp

Magnifying Jesus Christ

What a rich week of camp! Thank you all for your prayers this past week as we've been teaching, sharing, and playing with the Prairie Bible Camp youth.

It was a rich week and we sensed such a sweet spirit amongst the campers this year. There were so many specific answers to prayer -- from the gorgeous weather to safety and many meaningful conversations, it was a very blessed few days!

(Thank you Christopher & Joseph for your generous and much-appreciated help!)

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him
and for Him.
And He is before all things,
and in Him all things consist."

Col. 1:15-17

Matthias

Matthias Meinert

“God’s gift”:: “courageous strength”

One who is committed to revealing God’s greatest gift to mankind.

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” Philippians 3:12

Happy 18th Birthday Matthias!

Heading North...

This morning we're all packed and ready to drive out the driveway. Unfortunately, a minor and unexpected bus repair is hindering our departure, but this gives me a few moments to upload some pictures and give a quick update on what we'll be doing in the coming week.

It's camp time again! For the last several years, early June means a trip up to visit our friends in North Dakota for a full week of kids activities at Prairie Bible Camp. This year is no exception and we're looking forward to what the Lord has for us in the coming days.


Our theme this year is "Far Out" -- focusing on the majesty and detail of our world and universe -- and ultimately the Creator and sustainer of life, Jesus Christ. While we older children have been working on multiple projects concerning the musical, Mom and the younger ones have been preparing props for camp. It's been quite the science class!

A blazing comet

Paint, paint paint!

The planets in our solar system -- obviously not to scale!

We'd appreciate your prayers this week. Camp kids start arriving tomorrow afternoon at 3 -- and we have lots to do before then! May the Lord be glorified!

Stay tuned....

"For by Him all things were created

that are in heaven and that are on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

All things were created through Him and for Him.

And He is before all things,

and in Him all things consist."

Colossians 1:16-17

All in a Days Work

The Redcoats are coming! The Redcoats are coming!

And in full costume, too! With the search for Redcoats coming up dry (MANY thanks to each of you who sent ideas and sugguestions!!), we found bulk red fabric at a price we couldn't pass up -- and wonderful navy fabric on the Walmart sale rack. So...after placing an order for 300+ gold buttons and inviting our local sewing crew to join us for a day of sewing, we dug in for one very big sewing day!

Eleven redcoats all cut and ready for assembly!

Our smiling, diligent, sweet friends.

(Thank you all SO much for your many hours of work and fun conversaton!!)

Ironing

The younger children had all sorts of adventures during the day -- including painting props and decorations for our upcoming Prairie Bible Camp. Such helpers!

Fun details!

And after 14 hours of sewing, all eleven costumes are hanging in our closet ready for the final fitting and the addition of 333 buttons -- Hurray!

Preparations

Life continues to be very full these days -- with many hours of preparation for the July 4th Musical. It has been amazing to see the Lord almost daily answering prayers and showing His hand of provision for the project!

Just to share one specific testimony -- we've been praying about how to mic all our actors and actresses as our sound equipment is not sufficient for a drama production. The most lapel mics we'd need at one time would be 10 mics...a daunting number if you've looked into renting such equipment.

But we recently learned that our friends from Iowa, the Mally family, have graciously offered us the use of their high-quality mics. I had to smile at God's amazing provision -- They have exactly 10 mics. Isn't HE good!?

And now for a few pictures of our progress this week...

:: Sewing ::

The Lord so wonderfully provided used sheets donated from a local hotel -- lots of free fabric for white colonial vests!

I'm so grateful for all the hours my grandmas spent teaching me to sew. So MANY times their investment in my life has been a blessing!

I think the Colonial era had a fascination with buttons -- these vests alone took 88 button holes!

:: Rehearsal ::

Now that we're past the 'memorize-your-lines' stage, it's exciting to see the drama coming to life! We'd appreciate your prayers for each of the actors as the next two weeks we'll have a gap in practice schedule due to our family travels.

The Minutemen

:: Painting ::

Ruth and Elizabeth are the "Set-Designers", with paint all over their fingers to prove it! With a local company giving us some wonderful cardboard, it's been exciting to see the backdrops come together.

An almost-completed backdrop for an outdoor scene.

Thank you all for your prayers and e-mails of encouragement and costume ideas!

"Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!"

Psalm 31:19

Mommy

Gloria Ann

“glory” :: “full of grace”

One who has a passion for God’s glory and seeks His will.

“Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.” Psalm 46:10-11

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Progress...

In case you're wondering if we've vanished once again, we are still alive and well -- and enjoying a week of being at home. As the banner above indicates, most of our days are being filled with preparations for the July 3-4th musical! It's been exciting to see the Lord bringing so many details together.

Much of our work this week has not been of the 'photo-taking' type...designing posters and advertisements, revising scripts, ordering wigs, hats, buttons and fabric, and finishing the soundtracks and musical arrangements.

With our dear friends from Omaha diligently sewing Constitutional Statesmen costumes, progress is being made day by day! (Many thanks to Anna, Alatheia, and Angela!)

We'd appreciate your prayers for this coming week. Due to various factors, we've decided to sew all the British Redcoats -- in the few days we have left before leaving for North Dakota camp the end of next week. Hopefully our fabric and trim will arrive on time so we have couple days to work on the project! We'll look forward to posting pictures of yet another 'sewing party'! [smile]

Working on the soundtrack.

Our sound engineer

And so project continues forward. As we reflect on the changes taking place in our country and culture -- and then read of the conviction and godliness of our forefathers; of their vision for this country -- we labor with passion. Thank you, again, for your prayers! We're looking forward to sharing more in the coming days...

“Let us be cautious of the notion that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can continue after the removal of religious principle. It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.”

George Washington

A Special Evening

With Josiah and Abi's zest for wonderful surprises, every once in awhile we get to help with the 'behind the scenes'! Last weekend was such an occasion. During a 'double-date' with Dad and Mom, we scurried around, turning our home into a 'honeymoon suite' for an evening retreat. Such fun!

Bethany was away, spending time with a *certain someone* -- but Hannah did manage to capture a few pictures on our small camera...

Candlelight

Refreshments

The co-conspirators!

Thank you, Josiah and Abi, for such a fun evening and your fantastic ideas!

And to Daddy and Mommy --

we're so grateful for you and love you lots!