Good Friday in PA

Crystal, Sammy and I flew back to PA for the Penn View Missions Convention, arriving in time to help prepare for a Christian Good Friday celebration at the Laurelton Community Center, where Jonathan and I celebrated the reception after our wedding 19 years ago.

This time, we spent the day helping set tables and decorate for Good Friday.

Here is Gabriel's boy, Gabey, setting plates on the table.

There were umpteen boys helping set up tables and chairs, but then they had nothing to do.

I see boys needing something to do, I get them busy!

The other option is: boys getting into trouble!  



Meanwhile, the girls (cousins Crystal, Candace, Natasha, Andrea and Bethany along with a new friend from South Africa, Margaret Van de Merwe) fold napkins into fan shapes.

We even got the boys to help with folding napkins!

Why not?

I really appreciated Candace's patience in teaching the boys new tricks.

The pile of freshly folded napkins. We had to have enough for about 60 to 75 people.



Crystal plays "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name," and "Crown Him With Many Crowns" as prelude to the supper/service.

Behind her is the Van de Merwe family who were in the States visiting their son-in-law's family, Phil Geise. We so enjoyed getting acquainted with this dear family from South Africa.



Gabriel led the suppertime, sharing a lot of background of the Jewish passover, as Jesus would have celebrated it before His death. We shared the cup of grapejuice four different times, and unleavened bread two times, remembering different aspects of redemption each time. Interspersed along the way were many verses of beautiful choruses and hymns, sung in beautiful four-part harmony. That was my favorite part--the beautiful, meaningful music.

Below is a Jewish passover plate, the plate for Elijah, according to tradition. Of course, as Christians, we know that Elijah did come, as John the Baptist.
Afterward, Gabriel and I discussed ideas for next year--not always the same thing.
Perhaps a skit of the Lord's Supper next time!
Wouldn't you love to watch twelve young people acting out the argument over who was the greatest?
Or listen to Thomas begging to "know the way" to heaven?

Sounds like the way the different missionaries at the convention were doing--Bro. Steve Mowery up front talking about bouncing ideas around with the other missionary men. What fun!

"Better than being in a candy store," Bro. Mowery said.

And so much better for us!

Nephew Bryn dipping his parsley into salt water, another tradition of the Jews.

Gabriel asked Bro. Brandon Byler to share a devotional about redemption.

Candace bringing in this lovely plate of little sweet delicacies.

Cousins Bethany [Morley] and Susanna [Bradford] show the cute little blueberry cheesecake tarts that Regina made for the supper.

The sweet, beautiful aproned girls who served: R to L

Candace, Margaret Van de Merwe, Crystal, Natasha, Andrea, Susanna

The short Bro. Phil Geise laughs together with tall Brandon Byler as several cameras snap photos of the size difference. 

Another photo of three cousins--about the same size-- (Crystal with Susanna and Candace) and so happy to be together for the evening!

Pennsylvania Scenes

"Stop" in Pennsylvania Dutch!!

This sign is at the end of the road Fain's family lives on.

Every morning and evening, Sammy went with Fain's boys to help with chores at their Amish neighbor's farm. This scene is one Sammy snapped from the top of the silo. The white house in the middle of the scene is Fain's home.

Fain's home, where we stayed while back in PA, up closer.

The silo Sammy climbed up inside to snap photos.



Bro. Tim Keep, director of Bible Methodist missions, had a thought-provoking and compelling message on the last night of missions convention at Penn View, on a couple of the "hard sayings" of Jesus.

"Strive to enter the narrow gate."

Perhaps this rugged but rustic trellis gateway that Fain built (along with the rustic log clothesline posts) could illustrate this verse.

Rugged, narrow, only-gained-by-stooping--is the way that leads to life.  

And only he who hates his own life in this world shall obtain life in the next, Bro. Keep reminded us.

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."

What does it mean to "hate" our life in this world? Bro. Keep asked.  How can we win others when we live selfish, indulgent lives,

when we make more of our relatives and "stuff" than we do of Christ?

Hating our lives, Bro. Keep reminded us,  requires taking the lowest place, inviting the poor, the maimed, the blind to our "feasts," instead of just our rich relatives and the people we like.

How about Christmas feasts?

Another speaker, a Mennonite minister who has worked effectively with Muslims for years,  talked about inviting Muslim or other international students to homes for Christmas because one of the biggest leaders in the terrorist movement went back to Egypt from America, embittered by loneliness and how no one reached out to him from their affluent homes and immaculate lawns. City lawns near the university he attended in Greeley, Colorado, were like fences.

What if a Christian had invited him home for Christmas?

The world might be a different place.

I leaned over and whispered to Jonathan,

"That is what I wish we could do for Christmas."

Here is an empty church near Gabriel's home.  

Bro. Keep said how Jesus shames religious people who test the winds of acceptance rather than finding out what God wants.

How "territorial" are we? Bro. Tim asked, telling of a robin who pecked and pecked at the window because he thought the reflection was an enemy.

Those most familiar with Jesus were often the ones He said would not be able to enter in "because they mistook familiarity for relationship and did not pay the price of discipleship."
Convicting thoughts.
Lord, show us how to live this kind of life in our day and culture.

Here is Gabriel's country home as several of us went over one day.

What a blessing for Crystal to have some time with her cousins, Candace and Natasha.

Here they are taking a walk on the road and pausing to watch the rippling stream at the bridge.

Fain and Regina were so hospitable when several of us converged on them at once over the Easter weekend, moving out of their own beds and some sleeping on the floor.

The girls spent part of one day cutting out fabric pieces for about 18 or 20 school bags to send to Haiti through Christian Aid Ministries.

Pennsylvania crocuses.

 I wish spring could have sprung more while we were there, but it was a treat to visit

my home state again after 10 years.



Jobs and Joys Around Here

 

Saturday we were thankful to bring home our beef from the butcher. Jonathan opted to do some of the meat cutting and grinding ourselves to save money.

Trying to get the grinder to work, but the beef gristle kept clogging up the grinder. It was a very tedious process. We finally just froze the rest of the meat we cut off bones, to grind another time.

Another Saturday was such a warm day, and Jonathan's truck needed to be cleaned out after several months of accumulation--so here the little boys and I are helping him before he has to go to work. We will not post a picture of the inside of the truck--and don't ask any quesions.

 



Danny enjoying getting ready to fry a doughnut the day we got together with home school friends.

Timmy planted some pepper seeds he'd dried from peppers we'd bought.

One warm day, the snow drifts melted and the little boys built a dam to wade in.

The same day we all worked at shoveling wheelbarrow loads of snow from drifts to dump on bare spots on the yard. Lots of exercise working together.

Mom taking her turns shoveling and emptying wheelbarrow loads. 

Sammy's turn. (The result of all this work is green grass sprouting up today out in the yard. Yeah!)

The little children having a merry time with other home school children last week after the older children did several science experiments. Had to take a picture of the little mountain of stones with Pikes Peak in the background!

Danny lovin' on the kitty.

You're just finding out Hannah's hair doesn't always get put back in the morning--and if it does, it is soon looking like this anyway! Time for play doh!

"Thou art the Potter; I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will

While I am waiting, yielded and still. "

I just took note of something today as I glanced at a page of a book, how we notice the eagles, and God notices the little birds.

I have always noticed the little brown sparrows--perhaps because I felt like one of them next to all the beautiful bluebirds and cardinals and swans.

People thought Simon, the one who invited Jesus to dinner, was a pretty nice guy, and disdained the woman who washed His feet with tears and dried them with the hairs of her head. Religious folk were always being shocked at the people that came around Jesus and all the unceremonious and strange ways they did it.

Something usually is wrong with people who cry, isn't it?

Especially with people who do crazy things--unheard-of things like washing someone's dirty feet with their tears for instance?

 Jesus had different ideas.

His eyes flamed as he read Simon's thoughts, and the thoughts of the disciples; 

He always takes the side of the despised, the sinful penitent, the weeping widows,  the worthless sparrows, the helpless baby birds.  

And He leaves most religious folks gulping. 

The chicks the children are raising.

This picture was supposed to be up with the other doughnut one. The girls are dipping doughnuts in icing.

Wonderful Fellowship!

Last week our family was invited to a first-time homeschool support group only a few minutes away. There were five moms and twenty-one children--and a dear old grandmother who could not speak much English, but shared loving hugs and kisses all around.

A mother named Audrey was in charge, and she did a superb job of having organized activities for all the children.

The first activity was to promote teamwork. Audrey divided the children into teams of two, and let each table of teams observe a tray of small items for 40 seconds. Then the teams had a short time to write down everything they could remember.

 

Here are most of the boys at their table, scratching their brains.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen another mom coordinated table activities for the little ones who couldn't read or write yet. 

Carrie and Amanda won the first two activities! They were a great team!

 



The next activity was for each team to sort a cup of macaroni, red beans, and chick peas.

Who can get them sorted into three piles first?

After teamwork activities, more cooperation and cooridination are required. This activity has two teams at once working to scoop cotton balls off the floor--with one partner of the team blindfolded and the other giving directions! Danny was teamed up with a 16-year-old, and instead of telling him directions, he pounded the floor wherever there were cottonballs. He's definitely a kinesthetic and auditory learner! Everyone had a ball cheering each other on.

 

During an instructional activity, the children took turns playing "Who Has the Ball?" Then there was a delicious snack and time for mom and children to visit.

A new friend, sister in Christ, and organizer of this first event--Audrey Zarkovski, whom I've met in Safeway a few years ago. Just when I felt I couldn't make it any longer without some sort of understanding support, God is providing other families with similar needs and vision-- choosing to homeschool but recognizing our need for support and fellowship and interaction with other families of like faith.

Last night, all of us went out for exercise in the snow, by shoveling about 20 or 30 wheelbarrow loads of snow from this 6-ft drift in the goat pen. We spread it over the dry and barren spots of the back yard.

Hannah wanted to help, too! She insisted she did not need mittens. Later when she went inside, Sam found her in the kitchen with muddy mop water all over the floor, sunflower seeds all over the floor, and who knows what else was going on while we were dutifully wheeling snow here and there!

The tunnel the children made in the huge drift before making a mighty crash through it!

Second Snowstorm in Two Days!

Tuesday night we had another snowstorm that redrifted where we had shoveled and used the snowblower earlier! We had planned to take our steer to butcher, but the roads were too bad and the drifts were high again on the way to the pasture where the cattle trailer was. Sammy is here snowblowing a path all over again to get the truck through.

 



Teamwork! Someone came up with the idea to blow the snow into wheelbarrows and take it where there wasn't any snow around trees or on bare patches of yard. It was fun teamming up with my sweetheart! How wonderful to have him home for the morning and to sneak some extra kisses and hugs.



Jonathan starting to snowblow through this huge drift.

Sammy teaming up with his dad. We'd slowly maneuver wheelbarrow right alongside the blower, 

then the boys would dump it around trees.

Timmy's turn! He is not afraid of hard work.



You can see how high the drift inside the goat pen is--more than six feet high, Timmy says.

Carrie is busy working in this huge drift by the snowfence, digging paths, and tunnels.

This is just one of the tunnels. 

You can see how high the snow is.

Sledding.

Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow!