Weekly Update: October 29th, 2013

Well, ok, this is more of an end of October update…

For the last couple of weeks some friends and I have been cutting, hauling, and splitting firewood for our Bible School for the Nations this winter. Just this month alone we’ve been able to gather a little more than nine cords of wood.

According to a couple of websites I found, nine cords should equal 1,152 cubic feet of stacked wood. Most of what we cut up was dry white pine which should add up to around 19,800lbs; give or take some for the black walnut and the red-fir tree that we were given.

All of the wood cutting culminated in a wood splitting and stacking party we held last Saturday. I think we had over twenty-five people, four wood splitting machines, and a couple extra chain saws cut up the last long pieces of wood we hauled down. Now our community building, caboose, and two Mongolian yurts should be nice, warm, and ready for the BSN this winter!

This Bible School for the Nations will be running from January 14th through June 20th, 2014.

Specifically, this is a school that walks you through the Bible chronologically and teaches you how to share the Bible’s stories and principles with others. After the school is finished there will be several outreaches where students will be able to practice what they’ve learned. Outreaches to Mongolia, India, and a stateside outreach are all on the table!

If you are interested, click any of the links to find out more about Bible School for the Nations!

Also, while I was working on the wood stacking, my wife was able to cook up enough food to feed everyone there! That brings us up to 35 meals of hospitality that we’ve given to others inside and outside of our mission this month!

Thanks for all of your support!

In Christ,
The Abiding Kingdom

Weekly Update: October 11th, 2013

Hello everyone!

This week’s main activity has been closing our camp for winter. Well, that has been my main activity; my wife has been taking extra care of the kids while I’ve been gone.

Since we didn’t have anyone to rent the camp this fall we decided to shut down the camp early this year. Even though we’ve been renovating the camp, a lot of our water lines will still freeze during the winter if they are not kept warm. It is an old camp with a lot of quirks like that, but still a wonderful place.

This year’s process was made a lot easier as the new water system is simpler than the old one. Just a few years ago I remember the guys turning on random valves trying to figure where the pipes went, then running around trying to find the water, and then hearing hollers from the other guys disassembling the shower heads in a nearby bathroom as the pipes started gushing with water again.

It was all pretty funny… as long as it was a warm day and you weren’t the one to get wet.

We also bring down all the ministry supplies, things that would freeze, and junk we’ve accumulated over the summer. This one was probably the most we’ve stuffed two trucks with, but still not near the record.

Then, once all the heavy lifting is done, we get to enjoy one of the best parts of camp shutdown!

These hot springs are just seven miles up the road from our camp. Every year, during spring, the stream will be flooded from the melting snow and wash away the pools. Though, before long, some really committed locals will head back up and rebuild them.

It seems that the pools keep getting better every year!

We pray that this finds you very well!

In Christ,
The Abiding Kingdom

Weekly Update: October 3rd, 2013

Hello everyone!

A long break between summer and now, I know, but our family has been back in Cascade for a couple months now, it’s quickly becoming fall, and there are plenty of new things to be said. First of all, why the long break of updates?

The simple answer is that I couldn’t keep up with them.

I tried to keep going even when I was falling behind and was too prideful to try something different. It’s not an uncommon failure on my part. That said, I’ve asked around for some help and suggestions. The weekly updates will be quite a bit shorter and more focused on what we are doing. The prayers, praises, and scripture sections will be brought together and only come about once a month.  I’ll also be posting more pictures.

The hope is that this will be easier on my part to write and more enjoyable on your part to read! I’m still learning how to communicate well and accept feedback humbly. It’s one of the areas I really need to work on in order to keep growing.

I’m looking forward to sharing our lives with you in new ways!

In Christ,
The Abiding Kingdom

Weekly Update: October 5th, 2013

This week has been a fairly productive one for our family!

So far we’ve been given a Jeep, I’ve helped insulate and upkeep our dining hall at camp, we’ve hosted five friends for dinner, I’ve helped gather and stack about three cord of wood for our Bible School for the Nations (BSN) that starts this January, and tonight we’ll be praying for people in India who are celebrating Navratri.

The snow has finally shown up in the valley as well. It’s mostly way up on top of the mountains, but it doesn’t seem long before it’ll be snowing down here in Cascade as well.

Are plans had been to help out with the fall Discipleship Training School, but for the lack of students we needed to cancel the school during the first week of staff training. Instead we’ve all been given the opportunity to pursue projects that we’ve had in our heads.

I’ll be able to work out a bit of a return to the community prayer group that we used to have. Also, we may have a Bible study at our house again. I’ve also been able to do some hunting in the mountains around the valley. My wife has been able to be involved several groups of the community; including, a moms’ group, a ladies’ Bible study, and a pregnancy care center.

One of our friends is testing out a fundraising business for our ministry Kits for Kids. A couple of the families involved also needed rest after busy summer programs.

After all this, come December, we’ll be heading back to Michigan for the month to spend more time with our family there. Do keep my grandfather in your prayers; he is getting older and not in very good health. We are really looking forward to getting his great grandkids back in his house before long.

We pray that this finds you very well!

In Christ,
The Abiding Kingdom