Enchanting Trails

New zoom lens

2009-05-02T23:54:00.003-06:00

I have always wanted a digital camera with a zoom lens, so I tried something different. I focused my 10x50 binoculars and then set my cheap Kodak cx3400 up to the eyepiece and here are the results of the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon this week.

Commencement

2009-05-02T23:06:00.002-06:00

Darrick W. is our Senior this year. He will be graduating May 14, 2009. Please remember him as he leaves the school not to forget the spiritual teaching he has had the last 4 years. We will miss this quiet young man.

Love is in the ...

2009-02-22T13:03:00.003-07:00

PIZZA!

Looks yummmy and it was! Melodie was going to make some little sandwiches for our Valentine's school party, but because the store was a ways away she decided to make pizza. There was no question that it was a good idea - the students love pizza. Melodie shaped the pizzas into a heart. She made 3 pizzas and if she would have let them they would have eaten all of them.

Murphey's Law

2009-02-22T00:46:00.010-07:00

If it's going to happen it will happen when you least want it to.
It happened too. A water leak. I'm just glad the Lord allowed it to be a slow one so we could hold off a couple days for better weather and more time. Melodie woke about 5:30 a.m. and went to the school to turn the heat on - we had no school on President's Day - and found water running out by our meter. All day the wind blew and was pretty cold and Wednesday we had an appointment. Last Dec. there had been a leak on the Utilities Co. side of the meter, so I hope it would be their mess to fix, but it turned out to be my job instead of theirs. With the help of our neighbor's backhoe were able to dig it out and have it repaired and the hole covered before our Thursday eve service. It did inconvenience the students a little but we were able to get buckets of water to flush the commodes. I'M VERY GLAD I DIDN'T HAVE TO DIG IT OUT BY HAND! I have done it before and that is a very big job! That pile of dirt is very water logged and was a magnet to the school kids.

Battle of the Bulls

2009-02-01T00:40:00.003-07:00

This would have been interesting to see. Someone e-mailed these pictures and article to me.

RENO, Nev. (AP)
It's not all checking hunting and fishing licenses. Sometimes the issues are bigger. Like when a Nevada game warden was handed the chore of figuring out how to separate two bull elk that locked horns while sparring and couldn't untangle themselves.

The saga began Nov. 21 when a rancher in Reese River Valley spotted the two elk. By the following day, the animals were gone and the rancher assumed they had separated.

A week later, according to Nevada Division of Wildlife biologist Tom Donham, the rancher was out looking for some of his cows and saw the elk again. This time, he called the wildlife department and Donham, game warden Brian Eller and Bureau of Land Management wildlife biologist Bryson Code headed out to see what they could do. When they reached Indian Valley , south of Austin , it was Nov. 29, one week after the elk were first seen.

“When we arrived where the rancher had last seen them, we found them pretty quickly. They were both lying on the ground and one of them was in a very uncomfortable-looking position with his head directly above the others head and his nose pointing straight up to the sky,” Donham said. Eller said he wondered if they had survived their ordeal.

“Once we found out they were alive, I was hoping they couldn't move and would stay where they were. That didn't happen. When they ran off, I was hoping they could not go very far. That didn't happen either,” he said.

The elk may have been sparring at the outset, but Donham and Eller say they used teamwork to run for nearly a mile to evade the newcomers. 'It looked like they had been doing it all their lives; serious cooperation if I've ever seen it,' Donham said.

After two unsuccessful attempts, Donham was able to get a tranquilizer dart into one of the elk. With one down, the other could not run, but was also partially tranquilized in order to separate the two. Eller and Code helped hold the elk down while Donham used a hand saw to remove part of an antler from one of them.“

As soon as they were apart, the bull that hadn't gotten a full dose jumped to his feet and Bryson, Brian and I quickly gave him all the room he wanted. He went off about 30 yards and lay down for about 10 minutes before finally walking up the hill and over the ridge, none the worse for wear,” Donham said. The other elk was treated with antibiotics and eventually walked off as well, after the tranquilizer had worn off.

“If these two bulls had not been discovered, and we had never gotten the call, they more than likely would have both died. Watching the bulls walk away, and knowing that we likely saved them from a slow death was definitely one of those moments that makes this job rewarding.”

Christmas Break! When?

2009-01-11T00:38:00.006-07:00

It seems like our Christmas break flew by swiftly. School let out on Friday the 19th. We had snow that weekend and it grew pretty cold, the Lord let it be a nice day and evening on the 23rd. We got all the students except 2 to go Christmas Caroling. Not too many have done this in our area, so we are trying to start a little tradition. Christmas day we went to jail. gulp! Yes, you read correctly. Only we go because we want to share the Good News! My Dad has gone to jail on Thanksgiving and Christmas day ever since he started having jail services and we have tried to continue. More cold weather. Sunday night after service we left our house and headed to South Dakota to see my two sisters. It is an 18 hr trip and we drove straight through. We had a family reunion planned for New Years Eve. We all made it but William (Jonathan's son) had a seizure on the way out and then ended up in the hospital in Sioux Falls, and Darla stayed with him. Jan 1st and 2nd I was able to go deer hunting. South Dakota has a special season in January because of the large deer population. We had 7 deer tags and we filled 5 before 2:oo then another that afternoon and the 7th on the Jan. 2. I was able to bring four deer home. My 2 tags and my brother-in-law gave me 2 of his. We woke up Saturday morning to gray skies and blowing snow and we neede to be home for Sunday services. The Lord helped us and we drove only about 70 miles and the winds quieted some and the sun came out. We had good roads most of the way home. Sunday morning was cloudy in Grants where my sister Dorcas lives and it tried to snow. By the time we got clear home we had 4-6 inches of snow and by Monday morning there was a good 9 inches of snow on the ground.
Wednesday afternoon the students enjoyed a time of sledding down a hill close to our house.

Happy Birthday to You!

2009-01-11T00:19:00.008-07:00

We started the year out with TWO Birthdays in the school.

On the 1st Amanda turned 3.

On the second Marlin turned 11.

Marlin is suited up for fire duty
It hardly seems possible that it is now 2009 while yesterday - uuhh! Excuse me, 11 years ago the Yates family increased by one.

2 vanilla wafers and a york mint patty "hamburger"

By the Way there is to be another b-day on the 23rd of this month and she will be 21.

Christmas Humor

2008-12-13T22:59:00.003-07:00

I was walking through Wal-mart the other day and passed these items for sale I thought were cute and humorous. These were on 0-3 month old baby onesies.

Joke of the Week

2008-08-24T00:08:00.003-06:00

We were shucking corn to freeze and Marlin says, "This corn is sunburnt!" Melodie and I look at each other and I say, "What makes you say that?" He said, "It's peeling!" We had a good laugh!

Day Camp 2008

2008-08-10T00:41:00.009-06:00

This was a busy week. We took Pauline Nunes to the airport to fly to Greensboro, NC. Melodie made arrangements to pick up some of Marlin's friends that live in Albuquerque. They spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning with him. Wednesday and Thursday Marlin had some other friends come over and they had quite a time. Wednesday, Melodie made homemade pizza. Everyone's favorite. We ended up having 12 children at some time during the day and a former student for lunch. We kept them busy...

in a water fight,

stacking them,

and with other games such as "Uno Attack"

Thursday we went to the Navajo Nation Zoo. The only monkeys were imported.

This one wanted to know WHOOOO they were? They tried to escape... well I don't think they would have gotten far in this.

Family Get Together

2008-08-09T23:49:00.013-06:00

My brother and his family flew to NM in July. William wanted to visit Auntie. In planning we asked where they would like to go. They decided Durango, Colorado. So we packed up and... There were 10 of us in the van with our luggage.

Our first stop was at Four Corners.

Next to Durango where we met Miriam, April & Isaac. We ate supper together at the Bar D and enjoyed the evening there.

Riding a small train. Eating supper together. The next day we went to the ski resort and went up... then we came down...We camped in cabins and sat around a fire...

Crossed the Animas on a swinging bridge

Before it was all over we took in a sunset.

VBS 2008

2008-07-28T17:47:00.000-06:00

In the second week of July, 7th through 11th, we held our VBS and one at Free Trinity Navajo Mission. The missionaries there are Rev. & Sis. Dennis Gardner. We had theirs at 10:00 in the morning and ours at 2:00 in the afternoon. That kept us hopping, then in the evening we prepared for the next day.
Our Giant - had a new name each day

Our theme was, "Campsites of Victory." Overcoming giants in our lives. We studied the life of Joshua and the conquest of Canaan.

Trekking through the Wilderness
Our Campsite

Monday and Tuesday was the conquering of Jericho and remembering how the the giant "Fear" caused the Israelites to wander in the Wilderness 40 yrs. and the report of the 2 spies Rahab hid and helped to escape.

Achan's hidden goods revealed

Wednesday was about Achan's sin and the defeat at Ai because of the giant "Rebellion."

Achan and his family stoned (with the help of the kids)

Thursday reminded us about the giant "Self Sufficiency" when Joshua relied on his own "wisdom" and made the alliance with the Gibeonites.

Friday we saw Caleb at 80 yrs old telling Joshua, "Give me those mountains!" Those mountains full of giants and walled cities. Then the death of Joshua and his challenge that is with us today - Choose you this day...

This "Giant" got wrapped around the back seat of the van. Becky Plummer, the secretary of Northwest Indian Bible School, Alberton Montana, helped us out this year. We could not have done it on our own. A Special thanks to Becky, NIBS, and Sanders Family!

Automatically a Preacher

2008-07-20T01:13:00.003-06:00

A preacher one Saturday night had a dream. He dreamed of tailpipes & mufflers. When he awoke he was totally exhausted. He went to church that morning and preached on the manifold Blessing. By the time the message ended it had backfired on him. One car salesman had one catalytic converter and he quit smoking immediately.

Look who came to visit!

2008-07-20T01:02:00.004-06:00

Yes, that is Pauline Nunes. She flew in Friday, July 11 from Jamaica. She sure has livened things up around our house this week. She will be with us until Aug. 5, she will be flying to Greensboro, NC to see a sister and then back to Jamaica to start school again. Please pray for her as she returns to her students. Her students are special needs children. Many come to school without having had breakfast and no money for lunch. Learning is hard for them to begin with, then add the empty stomach.

What's Up?

2008-07-12T23:20:00.001-06:00

Definitive explanation of the word UP that you may think confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk‑sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4" of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on.and on, but I'll wrap it UP because my time is UP, so ... it is time to shut UP!

Where? Oh, where have you been?

2008-07-05T22:43:00.017-06:00

Time sure flies. Many are wondering, "Are you Lost?" Well, we have been enough places to be lost and done enough to lose track of time. In May:

Kindergarten Graduation. May 1

Revival with Beechers. May 4-11

End of the year School trip. May 12-14

End of School and Awards night. May 15

Trip East to Pa.

Oklahoma

Oh yes! We have two extra passengers. "Where do you go?" they asked. "Come and see," we said.

Indiana

at the Beecher's

Kentucky

Creation Museum

Waynesburg, PA

at my Brother's.

In June

Hershey Chocolate World

Amish Country
Bethel, PA

Family Reunion at Pioneer Coal Mine

Ashland, PA

Trip home.

Top of the World! Well, 630 ft above the flooding Mississippi.

Yes way up there!

Arrived in Grants on June 14, home on June15 in time for service. The last 3 wks we have been preparing for next week. Vacation Bible School July 7-11. Can you believe it, we have even been talking about school starting... Whew!! WAIT A MINUTE!

No Snow? No Problem!

2008-05-25T20:43:00.006-06:00

We didn't get a chance to go sledding this winter so we waited until May to do our sledding. The temp was just right - about 75'. It was a little windy and conditions were a little uncomfortable but the children enjoyed it very much. "What might that white stuff be?" you ask. It is gypsum sand. For the End of the Year Trip we did something a little different. We took a 3 day trip. The students elected to forgo some trips earlier in the year to take a longer one at the end and see something farther from home. We decided to go to Carlsbad Caverns in SE New Mexico. On the way to and from Carlsbad we stoped at some sites. The one pictured above in White Sands National Monument. Nearby is also the White Sands Missle Range where the first Atom Bomb was tested during the Second World War. While there we were able to use the dunes to do some catching up on sledding. It was a little distressing trying to wash the sand out their hair that night but it was fun.

Signs

2008-04-26T18:25:00.003-06:00

I enjoy taking signs and reading them literally or twisting them a bit. Here is one that is at the edge of my sisters yard. It reads:

Speed Limit

20 Children

Isn't she cute?

2008-04-12T20:39:00.002-06:00

Can you guess who this cutie is?

Lost & Found

2008-03-09T01:07:00.003-07:00

Who? What? Where? This is a little friend who was lost and now is found. I'm sure we have seen this little guy crawling around in the church sometime but suddenly disappeared. Then it was found a few weeks ago. A friend of ours cleaned out the furnace and what did he find. Yes it was "Lizzy" although not in any shape to do any harm to the insect population. Not really charred but surely dried. However it was still able to surprise folks. I decided to bring i=him home and forgot him in the car. Wakaine was going someplace with Melodie and found him. He carefully brought him in and said, "I don't think you really want this in the car, do you?" He was not sure he wanted to ride in the car with it. We had a good laugh.

Extremes! of another kind

2008-03-09T00:40:00.007-07:00

We have had quite the winter this year. It seems we have had unusual weather. I Looked at the almanac for our area and it was predicted that we were to have a mild dry winter. Well whoever was predicting that must have been from another continent. It has been any thing but mild and certainly not dry. By the Way we are very grateful for the moisture. Temperatures were in the highs of the mid 20's and lows around the single digits a few nights even below zero. However this changed - rapidly! With about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground and the temp rising above 32 the once beautiful snow disappered. This happened in at least two cycles - 2 weeks of cold and snow then 1 week of thaw and melt. Only the second time the ground didn't freeze and more snow then cold on a ground that was already saturated. This created quite a few problems in Western NM and Eastern AZ. I heard that the tribal President declared a state of emergency in some areas. Maybe a few pictures will help. It was on the way to pick up a student for school that I had this happen to me. The student called a 2nd time and asked, "Is Bro. Seth picking me up?" when Melodie started to look for me. I had already started to walk and was almost home when they started to look for me.

Extremes!

2008-02-10T00:14:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some pictures I had taken on my cell phone and ran across these extremes. It's amazing how people seem to like the EXTREME. Its not only in vehicles - its seems to be anything.

Update!

2008-02-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

The little church mentioned below is located in Western Nebraska north of Ogallala. The little village is a ranching community. It is nestled in a small valley among the sandhills and suddenly appears as you are rounding a curve in the road. There is an interesting welcome to the travelers. Starting about a half mile or more from "town" each fence post is topped with a worn out cowboy boot. Then suddenly as you round that last curve there is Arthur and a half mile later its behind you. I'll bet their crime rate is really low. Too busy working to get into much trouble.

Where there's a will, there's away!

2008-01-26T03:04:00.000-07:00

Back in 1928 there was a group of people that wanted a church very badly. The depression was severe and money was tight. Supplies were even scarce for this community. Not much timber around for lumber, and if there was it was expensive. This was a ranching community in the sand hills of Nebraska. The group of Pilgrim Holiness people got together and came up with an inexpensive way to build a church. I'm not sure what the cost was but it was built. Can you guess what the building material was? I'll post a couple pictures and see if you can guess. I enjoy traveling the back roads and enjoy going through this area. Its kind of lonely through there.

Twas the Week before Christmas......

2007-12-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

On Monday eve., Seth and I "wrapped" over 110 gifts.

On Tuesday night, we had the children come to practice playing the bells for our Christmas Program. Afterwards, we played a few games, had a talk, and then opened some gifts.

THANK - YOU LEBANON GOD'S MISSIONARY CHURCH FOR BRINGING LOTS OF LAUGHTER AND JOY TO OUR CORNER OF THE WORLD! APPRECIATE IT MUCH!

Wed. Ladies' Night

Thursday, Christmas Service

There were 43 in attendance with at least 3 people who came for the very first time and several who attended that haven't for years. Yes, we were encouraged! The whole program was centered around not having an Xmas, just another holiday, but a CHRISTmas!

Friday School Gift Exchange N Pizza

Friday evening - Paricipating in Program at Hospah Holiness Mission

The Tale Of Two Kings - It was Awesome!

A Herod's Life vs Jesus' -

Last Scene - Everyone will bow at the name of Jesus! (even Herod who scurged and ridiculed Him) It was a very powerful ending as the whole cast went to the front and bowed down before the cross and Jesus, laying our "trophies" at His feet, while someone sang, "Have you any room for Jesus?"

Christmas Decor

2007-12-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

How does it look around our place at Christmas?

This year the students chose to decorate the classroom in gifts and bows.

At the church, we always try to decorate with a message.

Got Home! Need Wife!

2007-12-23T03:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a good friend of ours that is looking for a helpmeet. He recently has purcased his own home and is doing some remodeling on it. He is a third generation MK here in NM. He loves the Lord and feels he needs to help his parents in the mission work at Hospah, NM. He has many interests; Hunting, camping, fishing, ranching, and some good old fashion clean fun with family and friends and works hard. He loves children and they love to be with him. He is about 25 yrs. and I had better not forget his name: Timothy Sanders

What's on the "List" for this week?

2007-12-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

Plans for this week seem overwhelming! I have cleaning, cards, some decorating, and gifts to wrap Monday night. Tuesday night, we plan to practice playing the bells with the community children for the program and have a little Christmas children's night, giving out gifts that others sent in for the children. Wed. it is the ladies night. We plan a little C. craft, make some candy and share a little gift and devotional. Thursday, we have our Christmas program @ 7:00 p.m. (Please pray!) Friday, we are scheduled for our last day of school for this year with our C. party and then in the evening, we are planning to participate in another program that is on the tales of two kings.
Lord willing, I'll be back to the computer next Sat., if I survive the week.:)
On the serious note, I really do appreciate all the prayers and encouragement you all send our way. Christmas is a very busy time, but it is also a great time for outreach. This past week, when we went C. caroling, I finally had one guy that said he would come to church on Thursday night for the C. program. I hope and pray he will. He will help his mother get ready and send her but he never showed interest in coming.
Hopefully, we will remember our camera next time and be able to share some of the events of this past week. We made lots of cookies, with the school students help, and gave out a plateful to those to whom we went Christmas caroling. Trust you all have a good week and its off to jail service for me............... Still pondering this morning's lesson..........Would I have been willing to say yes to the angel as Mary did when knowing the difficult task that God was asking me to do could mean persecution, separation from loved ones, losing the one I was about to marry, others talking bad about me and the list goes on..............remember it's about CHRISTmas! Mel

'Tis the Season...

2007-12-16T01:11:00.000-07:00

Goodies! Mmmm!Mmmm! That time when the Christmas programs are in full swing and those of us who are in charge have a million and one things to do to get it all together and run it as smoothly as possible. Tonight we put together some treat bags for our Christmas program. Our family has some memories to go with preparing treats. As long as I can remember this has been a yearly event. Our family also has some stories to go along with the ritual. One year my father opened all the bags to add one more M&M because there were some left over. The preparation started earlier when we went to Albuquerque to pick up the makings of the treats. One of the big hits is the "Monster Cookies." I'm not sure where they get their name. Mabe its the size of bowl you need to mix the batter in. It only takes 18 cups of oatmeal and 3 lbs of peanut butter and 1 doz. eggs plus brown sugar and baking soda - 8 teaspoons not tablespoons as we found out last year- and M&M's. We like to let it set overnight and then bake the following day. Well while Melodie did laundry and dishes I baked over 6 doz cookies. It's not over yet. We will pack some more for our jail service we have on Christmas Day.
Here we see the 2nd and 3rd gerneration working on the treats - Auntie and Marlin.

Praise and Prayer Update

2007-12-09T13:37:00.001-07:00

Thank-you for your prayers! I'm sure every one is busy now a days, but for those of you who do remember us in your prayers. Thank-you!
Yes, Marlin and I were blest with having pink eye for the first time. We hope and pray we are on the mend and do not pass it or get it agian.
Grandma Edith had another procedure again on Monday. They found a bleeding ulcer. We had four little extra ones from Monday morning till Tuesday evening, needless to say, we did not feel like we got enough sleep Tues. morn. with all the interuptions during the night.
She came through the procedures fine, and we once again thought we were making progress, and then yesterday, she was moved back into ICU again.
On the brighter side, I am encouraged, despite the extra unplanned responsibilities, we did get at least five big projects, plus lots of others, completed this week towards Christmas preparations. (Don't ask how many more there is to do, just rejoice with me that five are completed. :) )
Hope you all have a great week!
As the angels rejoiced and sang, let us rejoice and sing!
Once again, thanks for your prayers! Melodie

Prayer Requests

2007-12-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

Grandma Edith who went in the hospital on the 22nd of June and has been in a hospital or care facility since then, except for one week, is having another procedure done today. She had heart surgery on Nov. 16th, we thought she was well on the mend, but this a.m. recieved another phone call saying that she was transported back to the hospital. We heard her two grandsons praying that she would come home for Christmas. Please join us in prayer that if it be God's will, this could happen, it sure would be an encouragement to the family.
Baby Wade has pink eye this week, I hope and pray that it will not spread around the classroom, especially since I watched him several times this week. With everyting else that is happening, I don't think we need this.
We certainly need prayer as we are planning and preparing for Christmas activities and services. We want it to be more than just a fun and busy time but a time to draw closer to the Christ of Christmas!!
God also knows about the three personal unspoken prayer requests!
Thank-you for joining with us in prayer about these matters! This morning's lesson was on Job and I am glad that He knows the way I take, and when I am tried may I come forth as gold. Mel

More Intersting Numbers

2007-12-02T00:07:00.000-07:00

I heard this story:
A young man was a very good athlete and was wanting to play college football. The coach told he would have to pass a test. That made him very nervous because he fell short academically. Here's the test - multiply the nines
9x1=
9x2=
9x3=
9x4=
9x5=
9x6=
9x7=
9x8=
9x9=
He sweated over this for quite a while and knew he couldn' t pass. He could only answer one problem. That was 9x1=9. So he decided to count the others to see how many he missed.
9x2=1
9x3=2
9x4=3
9x5=4
9x6=5
9x7=6
9x8=7
9x9=8
To be sure he counted right he counted again statring at the bottom counting up.
9x2=18
9x3=27
9x4=36
9x5=45
9x6=54
9x7=63
9x8=72
9x9=81
He made the team.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr! Awwwwwwwww!

2007-12-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

Its that time of the year again. We drag out the extra blankets, heaters and winter clothing. The days are getting shorter and shorter. It's hardly 5:30 pm and you have to turn the lights on. Some drag out the old chainsaw and get it tuned up for the winters wood supply. We have been doing something a little different. We haul coal. Yep, you read it correctly. For us to get wood we have to haul it more than 40 miles one way, and coal is about 20 miles. Now this picture is not our vehicle, but it is at the place we load it. Yes, we load it. Thursday, Marlin and I went to get coal and we loaded 1.75 ton on a 4 by 8 trailer. Then later we helped Judy load 3.75 ton on their truck. We get a double heat out of the load. We worked up quite a sweat loading it. Later we will feel its warmth radiate from the stove. As you can see some of those chunks of coal are quite large. They will burn for several hours.

Numbers! Just happened?

2007-11-18T00:37:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail and I thought I would share it. Isn't it amazing how numbers fit together. Look at these!

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Does this whet your appitite? More later!
Seth

DON'T Throw That Pumpkin Out!

2007-11-11T02:36:00.000-07:00

Do you still have that Halloween pumpkin that you had sitting out. If that nice looking orb is still around and you don't know what to do with it. I have a suggestion.
1. Cut in half and clean out all the seeds and that stringy mess inside.
2. Lay them on a cookie sheet and add some water.
3. Bake at 350* until the skin is nice and brown and pulling away from the pumpkin meat (blistering) about 45 min. depending on the size.
4. Peel the skin off and cut into chunks. Save the water in the pan.
5. Put the chunks in a blender along with some of the water and blend into a smooth puree.

Now do you know what you have? You know that stuff you find at Wal-Mart in a tin can that says "Pie Filling"? That's what you have, only this is better and really not that hard to prepare! You can take the pumpkin seeds and roast them and enjoy them for a snack later or keep some for next years crop in a small garden.

Now a recipe for that pumpkin puree

12 cups of pumpkin
3-5 cups of sugar
1 1/2 Tbs Cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger

Stir well all the ingredients together in a crock pot and set on medium. Cook for about 7 hrs or overnight. Stir occasionally. Yields about 3 quarts.

You have just finished your first batch of Pumpkin Butter
If you have any of those canning jars, it is very easy to preserve.
1. Clean your jars in hot water.

2. Heat water in a small pan to boiling and turn off - put you canning lid in the hot water.

3. Pour your butter into the jars. Make sure the rims of you jars are clean or they will not seal.

4. Put your canning lids and rings on the jars and set out to cool and seal.

5. After they cool and seal open a jar and take a portion out and put on bread, toast, or whatever you like and enjoy.

Seth

Thanks Mom and Dad!

2007-11-11T00:29:00.001-07:00

We sure enjoyed having you visit for a week, although it went toooo fast. A special thanks to every one who helped send some goodies and Christmas gifts our way. It is much appreciated!! Thanks again for everything!!!! Mel

:) Child Humor :)

2007-11-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

After showing Grandma and Auntie's the pic, Amanda's brother, in a very disgusted tone of voice said Amanda was trying to be a Navajo Lady. His Auntie told him watch how you say Navajo, cuz you are one. He then replied that he was not Navajo. When asked what he was, he replied that he was a Cowboy! :) Mel

And the rest of the story......

2007-11-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

Up by 4 a.m. to can peaches, and had 18 jars canned before school. Yeah! The bad news, I'm still learning about canning in high altitude and all 18 jars unsealed by the end of the week. In doing research on the web, it seems we need to boil them for up to 30 min. considering our altitude. Thankfully, we were able to save most of them and freeze them. Fortunately, my husband used a different method to can the other jars and most of them are still sealed!!! Mel

Let's build to the sky!

2007-11-10T23:48:00.001-07:00

Anyone want to help babysit????

2007-11-10T23:46:00.001-07:00

School Chapels

2007-11-10T23:30:00.000-07:00

Last school year, we started walking down "Route 66", the 66 books of the Bible. We only did the OT, so this year we are covering the NT. We have talked about the Gospels as being the pillars to the NT, Roman house that we are exploring. In each Gospel, we have talked about a "P". In Matthew, we had several lessons on Principles, such as attitude to be, forgiving, prayer, etc. For Mark, we talked about the Power of Jesus, in Luke it was the Parables of Jesus and in John the Promises of Jesus. Here are a few pics from one of the lessons in Mark, loaves and fishes, talking about Jesus has the power to supply our needs. Everyone was glad they could partake of banana loaves also. Mel

Room for another one?????

2007-11-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

Had four extra children, which seems to happen a lot lately, due to situations out of our control. We just returned from town and I needed to prepare something to eat and of course that's when the baby started crying and everyone wanted to be held. :)

Mel

I'm back :)

2007-11-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

Vacation to San Diego was very short but great and the demands of life afterwards have created LOS and I am out of blogging for over a month. My favorite part, besides camping with family was watching the sunset over the ocean and lights shining. I heard a phrase from a song today, that said, "Just let me be a lighthouse for Jesus." This expresses my heart's desire. Mel

From Sea to shining Sea

2007-10-21T13:10:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of this month we were privileged to go to San Diego, CA. I haven't been on the west coast much, neither on the east coast very often. But what I have seen I like the San Diego area. My brother, Jonathan, went there for his medical boards and a medical conference. He took his family with him. We met him there and spent a couple days visiting various places and enjoying the area. One thing I found very disconcerting. You're driving along on Interstate and you see this sign that says "Dead End", you look beyond and you see the Great Big Pacific Ocean! That's quite an eye opener when you see it for the first time. We had lots of fun. We will try to catch up later. It seems like yesterday was Oct. 1, and tomorrow is Oct. 31.
Seth

Enchanting Tidbits "Columbus Day"

2007-10-13T20:12:00.000-06:00

We have been taught all our lives how in 1492 Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover the New World. We even have a National Holiday celebrating it. I have a Question to ask. Was he? Now I've heard there are some archeology sites along the east coast that some believe are remains of the Vikings. I'm kind of a history nut and when I find a book about history I like to look at it. Well, this summer at a second hand store I found a book titled "Mysteries & Miracles of New Mexico. Right down my alley. I bought it. There have been some very interesting things that have transpired in New Mexico where there are no explanations. Not very far from my sisters house in Grants, is basalt rock with very strange lettering on it. There are 11 sentences composed of 214 letters. For years some have tried to read and decipher these words. Some believe they are Phoenician characters. Others believe they are archaic Hebrew and a summary of the 10 Commandments. Others say they are Greek. What ever the case is, Scientist agree that they are very very old, dated close the the time of Christ. One thought maybe 500 B.C. Again the question I ask is, "Was he the first?"
I haven't seen this yet. I have only recently learned about it, but I am anxious to see it and photograph it.
Seth

Something else that makes this teacher excited!

2007-09-30T01:22:00.000-06:00

I love teaching but I also love school breaks and this coming week we are taking a three day fall break! We are planning to take Seth's sister with us and travel the 9 hours to San Diego to meet his other brother (who will be attending a medical conference) and sister and their families. Please remember us in prayer that God will grant traveling mercies and undertake with some other concerns. Thank-you and have a great week in Jesus! Mel

What is happening in school?

2007-09-30T00:27:00.000-06:00

This year we are traveling the road of success: "and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; "

For every 100%, the student receives a car to put on the "Racing to Success" poster.

We now have 6 weeks of school completed, which means that every student should have 2 PACES completed in every subject. Yes, they all made it, everyone has met the requirement!! I'm a happy teacher!

Our Memory Work for this month is Psalm 121, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." We certainly need help to run this race, so it is good to know where to look! And yes, all the students said all six verses, even the 4 and 6 year old. This makes for a very happy teacher!

For our unit theme, which we spend about 10 min. in studying in the morning, we travel to one of the 50 and learn some interesting facts! We have talked about the 5 Pacific States, and they know where they are located on the map and why they are called the Pacific States.
I am one very excited and proud teacher. I'm looking forward to a great year of "traveling". This week every student completed their goals and received a green star on their goal chart for the day. When they receive a green star for every day, they get a small prize the following week, for some its a "hot pickle" that they absolutely like, certainly more than their teacher. My K student, with stars in his eyes, turned to the 1st grader and said, "We learnin lots of new things, right?" I pray most of all, it will not be just an academic race, but a spiritual one --- Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith!!!

Mel

Okay,I've been tagged!

2007-09-29T23:16:00.000-06:00

Here are seven random things about myself:
1. I was the oldest for 11 years, and a Daddy's girl, in which he had me driving the tractor at 3 yrs of age so he could unload the manure spreader. He would tell me which way to turn, so he says, and laughed, cuz, I would turn around and look at him and go zig-zagging in the field. (I'm not sure I'd let my son do that!)
2. At seven, I ran the tractor in a tree cuz I couldn't turn the wheel fast enough to make it around the turn and it was very hard steering. (I don't think power steering was in exsistence at that time). After the front loader rammed in the tree, it stalled. There I sat crying, so sure dad was going to be upset. And when he saw me, he laughed.
3.Once a friend and I took a walk at dusk, some guys stopped to talk to us, we kept walking to get away from them. We could hear them drive down the road and turn around and start back, so we took off running in the woods and hid, unbeknowns to us, right in a patch of ivy poison, which we were both allergic too. We arrived safely home after dark, but suffered for weeks.
4. Another friend (Won't mention any names)and I went "cruising" down the main drag of town and while we were stopped at a red light a crazy man, who we thought was crossing the street in front of us, stuck his head in the window and screamed at the top of his lungs at us. (Lesson learned -- Don't do things just to be cool!)
5. At ten, I lost 4 siblings in a house fire, in dealing with some of the emotions involved, my Mom would stress that it could have been me, that died. God has me here for a purpose, and I need to find that purpose. I am a firm believer that there are no mistakes with GOD, no one is just an accident. We are special to God and here for a reason. This has become even more real to me as we have struggled with infertility and miscarriages. Thank God for our one miracle son, and for those who know about his birth can truly say he's a miracle!
6. In dealing with many issues and giving them to God, at about 14 years of age, I felt God"s call on my life to be a teacher in NM one day and approx. 14 years later those doors opened. I was about 7 when I started having a tender heart towards Navajo's.
7. My first date with Seth lasted approx. 8 hours! I was amazed that I felt so at ease, it was like sitting down and talking to a best friend, in which we still are!!!
Mel

Enchanting Scenes

2007-09-22T22:57:00.000-06:00

We live in the desert, right? Right! Just sand, snake and bugs, right? Wrong! There are a number of things that have real beauty. An earlier post showed the sunset as it progressed. Recently I have been amazed again at some of the beauty even in some of the undesirables. You probably have heard of someone painting dried tumbleweeds and even marketing them. I have even fallen in one when I was younger and "oh the stickers". I've taken stickers out a week later. Did you know those nasty, prickly weeds have a flower? Well, they do as you can see in this picture. Notice the delicate petals and color. I wonder what this plant was like before the Fall of Man?

Then toward the end of August and into September you see these flowers pop up. I've seen quite a plot of these along the highway and then I've seen these in individual plants. I've often wondered what they were. After doing a search I found a name "Aster tanacetifolius" "Tahoka Daisy" or "Prairie Aster." I'm going to try to get some more pictures and post them later.

People often have a mindset that tells them that the desert is dry, barren, and empty. There are probably some that are, but most deserts have an amazing ecosystem thriving in them if you will take the time to find it.

Seth

Prayer Requests

2007-09-16T13:13:00.000-06:00

Just a few things on my heart:
It's been a long week, but God is helping and aswering prayer. He especially helped us with the peaches.
1. I took four other ladies with me on Tuesday and we went to visit Grandma Edith in ABQ. She has been in a hospital since June 23rd. Actually, she drove school bus on the 23rd, even though she was feeling weak and in pain. After she went to the ER, she was diagnosed with double pnemonia, which led to collapsed lungs. She is definitely tired of hospitals and determined to come home. She was able to sit in a wheelchair on Tuesday and recently started feeding herself. It was also reported that she did stand by herself this week. She still has some hurdles to cross, one of which is a bed sore, which may require surgery. Thank-you for your prayers and please continue to pray for her. God is working! We are praying that it will make a positive spiritual impact on the family also.
2. Baby Wade was tested on Monday night, and he no longer needs oxygen. He is now up to 7 lbs. He and his family need prayer. We also need wisdom and understanding as we deal with his siblings and their adjustments and emotions. "Jesus in the family, happy, happy home" and sad to say, this song can not be sung in every home and it affects these little ones.
3. A prayer request for a little boy and his family, especially in the next 4 weeks.
4. That God would help Seth and James Hasdale this coming week to be able to have things cooperate, including the weather, so they would be able to get the new heating system put in.
5. Prayer request that if it pleases God, He will touch my shoulder. Been having quite a bit of pain, and after 3 treatments of $48 each time, would really like to feel a touch!
Thank-you for joining us in prayer concerning these matters!
Mel

New Life!

2007-09-16T01:09:00.000-06:00

Have you ever watched this before? Notice the egg on the left. it is in the process of hatching. This last spring for a class project we hatched some eggs in an incubator. The incubator had a window we could look through and watch the process. Everyone enjoyed the experience! We let each of the school students take one chick home. This summer we had one hen try several times to set. We finally let her have her way. This one hatching above is #11. Sadly it didn't make it, but 8 of them were running about this afternoon.

We have her seperated from the others for a while. Seems to be a very good mother. See how her tail feathers are all ruffled. She is out of sorts with me because I'm in the pen.
Seth

Enchanting moments

2007-09-09T00:33:00.000-06:00

Here is one of our Enchanting Sunsets. These were take moments apart and lasted less than about 2 minutes.

Seth

Look what is on the agenda with my "Free Time" for this coming week!

2007-09-08T17:00:00.000-06:00

What a blessing!! Especially since they were free for the picking!

It took us a little over an hour to clean the tree. Need to go get started!

Mel

UMMM! This apple butter is GOOD!

2007-09-08T16:55:00.001-06:00

A Rewarding Scene For A Teacher

2007-09-08T16:31:00.000-06:00

Amanda jumped on Marlin's stomach to see if he'd react!

On Friday's, we have school for a half of a day. After school, while my gang was waiting for their mac. and cheese and hotdogs for lunch, this is what they were doing. Maybe they were not too tired of school yet..........for this week anyway.
Mel

Thought To Ponder!

2007-09-08T16:28:00.000-06:00

What was Jesus doing in His darkest hour?
Praying for YOU!
Taken from Sr. Dorcas' SS Hour Lesson

Thank-you Sweetheart!

2007-09-02T00:51:00.000-06:00

Thanks, Sweetheart, for fighting with this monster and keeping it from finding lodging under our house trailer! The boys saw the bull snake and it tried to find refuge under the trailer but Seth pulled on its back half and after a struggle, he won the match! Thank the Lord!!!

Carrie, if you would have been home, we might have sent it to you. Did you say you were looking for another pet?

Sorry! I don't share your tastes on pets.

Mel

What's wrong with that horse

2007-09-01T23:38:00.000-06:00

Thursday evening after picking up my load of people for church, I was driving on one of our Enchanted roads when I noticed a horse lying out in the field. Out here, it is mostly open range, that means visitors of all kinds, sheep, goats, cows, and horses, yes and snakes. Seeing it out there, I commented and Loretta, a student's mother, said, "Yes, I saw it out there about 3:30. I wonder whats wrong with it." As we were passing by I noticed every once in a while that it would try to get up. It was a young stud I had seen around all summer and I thought it might have been too close to a herd of mares and had gotten the worst end of the deal, or had it entangled itself in some loose barbed wire, or stepped into a hole. After service and taking everyone home I drove over to it and looked it over. I could see no obvious reasons for its predicament. Asking the neighbors for a phone # for the Tribal Rangers (Livestock inspectors) I told them about the horse. They had called Poncho, a man who they thought the horse belonged to and started looking for it. We went out to it and Poncho said he has colic and thought we were too late to help it any. After trying to locate the owner, he decided to try and save it. Our neighbor said give it some coke. Poncho went to his truck and pulled out some beer. He took a stick and forced the horse's mouth open and poured it down its mouth so it would have to drink it. Then we put a rope around it and helped it up on its feet. The three of us chased that horse in circles for quite a while. Keep it moving, keep it moving! Don't let him cramp up! After a while it relieved itself. It then stood there shaking and quivering all over. Later we tried to get it in a corral and it took off running. It must have been feeling pretty good. By this time it was close to Midnight. Another one of those unexpected duties of a Missionary. It wasn't the first call of the week, to go out "after hours" for duty.

Seth

Highlights of this week!

2007-08-25T23:00:00.000-06:00

Monday the last fling before school starts!

Tuesday - evening MORE EXCITEMENT! Rattler #5!!
This was interesting. A wild rabbit that lives around our house spotted this one. It was going about its business when suddenly it jumps about 18 inches straight up. Then circled around a small bush with its ears up and forward cautiously checking it out. I told Melodie something is out there, so I took my .22 rifle to check it out myself and.....

Wednesday First photo-op of school with 6 students
L-R Wakaine 2nd, Vanessa 9th, Lorna 1st, Darrick 11th, Ty Kindergarten, Marlin 4th

Thurday Marlin entertaining Amanda before evening service.

Friday afternoon scraping & priming the trim on the church. Looks like Marlin is really enjoying himself! :(

Friday Evening - "DAD!!!! RATTLE SNAKE!!!" number 6 Notice in the middle of the body it is noticably wider - had lunch a while back.

Jail Service

2007-08-19T13:34:00.000-06:00

Seth and I have prayer before we go into the jail. It’s a must! I asked the Lord to help me be a blessing…, but deep down I was hoping it was like last week and that there were no ladies. There are times I enjoy having Ladies Jail Service and then there are times ……..When I walked inside and looked at the board, I looked quickly for the 0 and instead it was 3. I walked back to the room where we have service, while Seth went to have the men’s service. As two of the ladies walked in the room, I greeted them and gave them each a songbook. One of them in a very gruff voice asked,” What church are you from?” “Calvary Indian Mission” “What kind of church is that?” “Wesleyan Holiness” “Never heard of THAT!” (Now, I am really starting to send prayers heavenward, some of my experiences, I would rather not repeat.) I think the other lady had pity on me, and tries to tell her it’s going to be okay. They didn’t have a song selection, so I felt led to pick, “Tell It To Jesus”. I have witnessed this many times, but it still amazes me, how God can come and settle down and you can actually witness transformation right before your eyes. By the end of that first song, tears were streaming down her face. After several more songs, prayer, and then God helped me share the Gospel message. This lady was so open, all the animosity that I felt earlier was gone. God met with us again during prayer time. Afterwards, she opened up, and shared. One of the reasons, she was upset when I came in was earlier in the week someone told her the reason people backslide is because they are not serious and never get anything at the beginning. Very adamantly she said, “I was serious and I did have a relationship with Jesus. Don’t tell me I didn’t have anything! If that is true, then I don’t even feel like trying, cuz I know it was real.” Once again, God gave wisdom. By the time I left, I felt like having a shouting spell, did a little. My heart was bubbling!! I know God helped and touched a heart and life! Oh, and looking back, even though I didn’t realize it at the time, that was a major spiritual battle I was fighting when I had no desire to have a jail service and felt an unexplainable heaviness.
Thank-you for your prayers!!!
Mel

Where, Oh Where? Part 2

2007-08-18T20:16:00.000-06:00

After a week of two VBS’s, plus the men worked at putting on the church roof and many other duties, Monday,7/16, finds us trying to rest in a little and then off to Grants,90 miles away, for a dental appointment, UGGGH!, and other business. On the way home, we received a call and would we come down to Flagstaff the next day? We arrived at home around 9:30, and as Seth went to unlock the door ahead of us and yelled for us to stay back, it could only mean one thing. Yes, another rattler which had the audacity to try and claim territory at our door step. But, with one bang from the gun, he lost the battle.
The next morning, as I was getting breakfast, I told Seth, “There’s something out in the chicken yard.” The chickens were really squawking and the rabbits were thumping. Seth ran out with the gun. (I forgot it could be a rattler, I thought maybe a dog.) He came back in a little bit, and said he didn’t see anything. But after he went to feed the rabbits, it didn’t take him long to come back to the window for his gun. This one was a lot bigger and took more than one shot! Seth thought the chickens cornered the snake behind the feed barrel. Okay, I had more than my fill of rattlers for this year, please no more!!! After this excitement, Pauline and I left for Flagstaff to visit Grandma and the baby and to bring back the other children. Since we sat for quite a while on the way home, waiting for an accident to be cleared away, it was after 9:00 p.m. and I was so glad to get home. My husband spoils me when it comes to driving and it’s been quite a while since I drove that much in one day.
The next two days were normal surviving duties with the mid-week service. Friday, after we did some errands and sorted food to distribute from the food bank, Seth took the guys back home and fed them, while Pauline, Amanda and I had a girl’s night. It was WONDERFUL! I haven’t had a night like that for quite a while.
The week of the 23rd, we packed and loaded everyone up, and went to Durango camping for three days. The scenery is breathtaking. We saw deer and even a bear, who we heard came to visit the campground during the night. Special thanks to a Christmas gift in July that we received, I got a night off. We went out to eat at the Bar D Chuckwagon. We listened to cowboy Gospel poetry, took pictures, rode the train, took pictures, and more pictures, and then we ate a cowboy supper and listened to cowboy music. Everybody had lots of fun, especially the boys with the possum song! Don’t even ask for the details!
OK, so vacation is over and it is back to more wash, cleaning and all the preparations for the weekend and the list goes on…… But somewhere in the midst of this, Thank-you Pauline for volunteering to baby sit and thank-you Seth for a nice few hours together to finally “celebrate” our 12th anniversary.
The last few days of July, we worked at preparing things to send with Pauline. Seth made her thank-you cards, bookmarks and other items to be used in her classroom. I managed to do about 40 –some pages of a scrapbook.
August 1, finds us on the road by 4 a.m. to take Pauline to the airport. Pauline, we miss you! The boys need your help to sing,” A-men!” The children did very well, considering all their interrupted naps. It seemed they went to sleep right before we were ready to stop someplace. The exciting part of the day, was that they finally got to see and be with Grandma for a little bit since she went into the hospital.
And the first two weeks of August, have also seemed to fly. We have had quite a bit of rain, which Seth is going to post some pics of the unusual night of the 6th, when two storms collided. Somehow the lightning was making the light bulbs flash when the electricity was off. That was a bit scary!
On the 9th, we had our back to school service since some schools will be starting next Monday. The verse for the night,”Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” God met with us and I felt very encouraged after the service.
Sat. the 11th, we had lots of fun sneaking into my sister-in-law’s office at the hospital and putting up several birthday balloons after midnight. I must admit that was more fun and less painful than trying to clean up her yard. I hope you have had a wonderful birthday! You are a special person, and have blessed many lives, ours included!!!!
Baby Wade came home on the 12th. He is on oxygen, but seems to be doing well. I have only had his siblings twice this week, when he had appointments. Grandma seems to be doing a little better. They took her feeding tube out on Wed, so the only thing she is hooked up to is the oxygen. But she needs to work at getting her strength back. At this point, she is not even sitting up on her own.
Well, I hope you have had an enjoyable summer! Mine, has been quite interesting and is quickly coming to an end. Although, I have just shared physical happenings, we’ve experienced lots of emotional and spiritual battles that can be just as draining if not more. We definitely would appreciate your prayers. By the time this gets posted, I will have two days left before school starts. Actually, I am more ready than at the beginning of this post. A trip to the “Teacher’s Candy Store” does help to get you into the mode.
I thought I was finished writing this post……It’s Friday night, and I am typing this now to post tomorrow at my sister – in – law’s……Seth went to lock up the chickens….started yelling for his gun…….Yes, another rattler!.......GRRRR! …I was hoping the rain that we have been getting would keep them away……most years, they come close to the house looking for water…I can live without the rattler excitement!!!!!!!!
Mel

Where, Oh Where, Oh Where, Did My Summer Go?

2007-08-15T22:01:00.000-06:00

“Where, oh where, has my summer gone? Where, oh, where did it go?” This is my sad (veggie tale) song of recent. This teacher is trying her best to get pumped up to start another school year, but my “to do” list is far from being completed. L I don’t know if any one is interested or not, but here’s a little insight of our summer.
I returned from the east, determined to get several projects completed, and was met with lots of dirt and sand that blew in from the dust storms. We were told one storm had winds up to 70mph, the church roof showed it, and the broken basketball pole. The first night home, we had an unexpected guest to spend the night and I was crazy enough to say yes to two very eager boys that called and asked if they could come over for a slumber party because they missed us. J Oh, and would I baby-sit? Grandpa is going back to work and Grandma has two more weeks of driving summer school bus. But… by the end of that week, Grandma is in the hospital and then ICU with collapsed lungs and is flown out to Flagstaff. Unpack, clean, laundry, meals, work on VBS, hospital visits, other outreach duties and preparations and in the mean time, keep the four little “Indians” under control. June is history, July will get better!
July 1-7 – Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart! It’s Sunday, we have a morning service, jail service in the afternoon and an evening service, so we can spend some special time together tonight-----umm---- change of plans-----extra children at our house due to circumstances out of our control. Let’s go for a walk! On the way back, we heard the dreaded noise, as Ty yelled, “Snake!!” A rattle snake slithered in front of him! No, not yet, this is only July, we don’t have to worry about them till August. Because it was dusk, Seth didn’t see it at first and that was scary. Then Seth held it down with a stick, while the boys and I ran back to the house and got the shovel and lights.
Tuesday, we went “camping” by the corral to help some friends do their branding. Another rattler almost struck Wakaine if Sharon wouldn’t have pushed him out of the way. We had a nice time roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and one guy even roasted a rattler. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep very well that night. I kept hearing “noises.” You probably wouldn’t have slept well either if you knew how many rattlers were killed in the area! Stirring in the camp by dawn and it was time to round up all the cattle and do branding. What a long but fun day! We even made it to Grants (80 miles) in time for the fireworks on Wed. eve. We came home Thurs. and had our mid-week service. Fri., Seth went and picked up the metal for the church roof, while I cleaned. Sat, Steve and Sarah Miller and Promise Little Moon came and we made preparations for VBS.
July 8-14 – Awakened at 2 a.m. by a distressed phone call, from the mother of the three children that I am watching. She is in Flagstaff with Grandma and her water broke!!! Baby isn’t supposed to come till September.
VBS Week - We had a VBS at Free Trinity Mission which is about 15 miles away from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and then had about an hour and a half to get lunch and go pick up for the VBS here at 2:00. It got interesting some mornings, trying to get 4 kids ready, breakfast for everyone, and all the VBS materials together. Bro. Steve did an excellent job with the Bible Lessons. I told the Character Story, and Sarah and Promise did the Memory Verse. Seth and I did the Review Game, and everyone pitched in with the craft and the many other duties. It makes a big difference when everyone works as a team! I couldn’t have survived the week if we didn’t. Steve and Sarah were great!! It was a very good VBS, Pioneering with Courage and the kids really liked it. I started teasing the three boys from my house that they didn’t need to come to the morning session and just go in the afternoon. They were almost in tears. They really wanted to attend both sessions. In fact, another little girl on her birthday came to the morning session so she could go with her Mom to do something else the rest of the day, but she made her Mom bring her to the afternoon session and for the rest of the week she came to both sessions. I guess that should speak for itself.
Friday - It’s a Boy! Due to more complications, they allowed the baby to be born, weighing in at 3lb.3oz. After VBS and cleanup, out to eat to celebrate the survival of another successful VBS, we take off for ABQ to pick up Pauline Nunes, a college friend from Jamaica, at the airport.
Sat. we go shopping, looking for bargains, especially for Pauline. J
Since this is getting long and I’m running out of time ------ to be continued!

Mel

Picture Update

2007-08-08T12:44:00.000-06:00

These pictures were taken in Colorado a couple weeks ago at the Bar D. If you have never had the opportunity to go to a chuck wagon supper don't turn it down. We took Pauline Nunes from Jamaica to Durango for a couple days. Quite a culture shock for her. New food, climate, culture, etc.

We spent a very nice evening there and on the way back to the campground we were privileged to see a black bear running down the road. It was dark and he was running so we did'nt get a picture. The next morning we heard he visited camp and the week before they had to put down two others.

Got run for now - had some good rain that I'll mention later with some pics.

Enchanting Trails

2007-08-05T01:00:00.000-06:00

I've tried to think of a good title for this blog. Others that I have seen have fit their personalities so well. So with Enchanting Trails we hope that you will see and feel the vision we have for our Navajo People that we minister to. We have a small church and day
school and try to reach out to our people in other ways also. Just being there is often enough to let them know we care -- what ever the situation. Some are fun and hilarious - others sad and heart breaking.
I can only post once a week because there is no Internet access out at our place. We can only respond to comments on the weekend or when we happen to be at the public library about 25 miles away.

2007-08-05T00:49:00.000-06:00