Saturday Aug 19/06

We had great weather today for our boat ride! We left the wharf around 10:45 and got back at 2! It was great to sit back and chat with the church crowd - watch the beautiful scenery - the birds - the water- and the open sky! We set anchor in a little cove and had our lunch, devotional, and chorus sing! I think everyone had a great time! This afternoon we did a little more packing.

I can't believe that tomorrow is our last Sunday! 2 more services and we are done...wow. After the open air tomorrow night the Home League and Men's Fellowship have decided to host a fellowship hour - a very nice gesture indeed. I'm not very good at goodbye's (I've only ever had to say goodbye once!) but I am very thankful to the corps for their generosity!

I'm not sure when I will blog next as we are heading to Corner Brook on Monday morning - stopping in grandfalls to post our CFOT assignment of course! haha! Chat to you all again! Blessings- keep safe!

Friday August 18/06

The past day or so has been filled with last minute things! We have certainly enjoyed being invited out for supper so much this week as the groceries have been depleating at the speed of light! We've been packing, cleaning, re-organizing, sunday prep, and trying to find an envelope big enough to put our worship/preaching assignment in! haha! We've gathered up a large stack of papers over the past 8 weeks!

Today will be yet another significant day in our ministry as we participate in our first funeral as Cadets. The Pretty family will bury their husband, father, brother and grandfather this afternoon here at the church. The service seems to be more of a celebration of life - but regardless it is hard to say goodbye to a loved one - even if you know you will one day be reunited with them. Following the commital we will gather here at the church for a time of fellowship with the family. Please pray for the Pretty family today.

Tomorrow we will head out on Glen's boat again for an afternoon of fellowship with the Home League and the Men's Fellowship. I'm sure that God will speak to us once again through Sheldon's devotional - and will bless our time together.

Wednesday August 16/06

Well we are doing pretty good for being invited out over the past few days - yesterday afternoon the CSM called and invited us out for supper! So since Sunday we haven't made a meal for ourselves! We had a lovely meal with Glen & Valerie up at "Monty's"...but came home to some sad news. On Monday we received a call saying that Mr. Pretty wasn't doing very well in the hospital, and yesterday he passed away. The family requested that if possible the Blackler's would do the service - so Maurice & Marilyn are coming home tomorrow. We went and visited the family this afternoon, and we will see them again tonight at Warren's Funeral Home. The family is wonderful - sharing many stories about their lives together - Mr. & Mrs. Pretty had 54 years of marriage! She shared some of her happy memories about Harry...a very sweet woman indeed. Keep the Pretty family in your prayers.

Tonight we also have our second YP Event. Continuing to follow with the VBS program, the theme statement for tonight is "Encourage one another!" The bible story comes from Mark 1 when Jesus heals a man with Leprosy, and the memory verse is Hebrews 10:24. Hopefully we will get a good turn out - and most importantly - the kids will have a great time! I must go and finish up a few last minute things for tonight!

Tuesday August 15/06

Let me think back to Sunday...we had another great Sabbath of worship and praise! I decided to give the Worship Team a break in the AM and provided the piano music for the prayer time - using the band for everything else. Members of the WT said that they really appreciated having the chance to sit back and worship, and not to be at the front. This is a concept I totally understand, as when I was in the WT in Corner Brook some Sunday's I felt like I needed time of personal reflection and prayer...alone...sitting in my seat...and not being in front of everyone! The open air that was held in the church parking lot went well also. The Holy Spirit definitely met us again this week as we gathered together. We ended up being invited out for dinner, and then invited out for tea after the open air service...so we did pretty good for grub! This gave us another opportunity to meet with two Candidates who are planning on entering in 07...we took our computer to show them pics of our apartment and CFOT. They thought everything looked awesome! I think it also put the parents at rest a little as well.

Yesterday I took the day off! Enjoyed the sunshine, finished reading a book, relaxed! In the afternoon I had to go to the walk-in clinic to get a prescription renewed. The clinic opened at 2...the receptionist didn't show up until 2:30...the doctor didn't show up until 3:00! BRUTAL! So basically my whole afternoon was taken up, 2 hours is a far cry from the 10 minutes it takes me in Winnipeg! But I am thankful that I was able to get my prescription! We were invited out for supper last night - we had a lovely time getting to know another family!

Well today's schedule seems to be filling up pretty quickly...I can't believe this is our last week!

Saturday August 12/06

My apologies for deserting my blog over the past few days, but we have been attending the Leadership Summit in St. John's since Thursday. What an experience to say the least! Here's a very short recap of the Summit.
Session 1: The Life cycle of a leader - Bill Hybels
Session 2: Enemies of a growing church - James Meeks
Session 3: focused Leadership - Andy Stanley
Session 4: Tribal Warfare - Peg Neuhauser
Session 5: The risky business of hiring stars - Ashish Nanda
When business thinking fails the church - Jim Collins
Session 6: An exclusive personal interview (Videocast) - Bono
Session 7: Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars - Patrick Lencioni
Session 8: Dead Leader Running - Wayne Cordeiro
Session 9: The Power of Clarity - Bill Hybels

If you are at all like me, very few of these names sound very familiar to you right now! But I must say that I have learned very valuable information about leadership from each individual over the past two and half days. I am still processing much of the info that I have received, but I can say that I feel very encouraged...that my leadership skills have improved...I've been introduced to very valuable principles and strategies to leading a healthy and growing church...leadership is a great responsibility that God graciously gives us and I'm not so sure that I realized how great of a responsibility I will carry on my shoulders until attending this summit. I am positive that God will continue to increase my skills and experience in Leadership - and even more certain that He will always be my guide.

By the time I arrive back in Winnipeg I will be 100% ready to unpack my personal insights from this summit, and look forward to doing so! Sheldon and I would be glad to fill all of you in on the more specifics of each session when we see you! It was an awesome Leadership Summit, and I would love to attend it again next year if possible! Bungay & Bungay give it 2 thumbs up!

Romans 12:6-8 "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

Hey Bram & Anita - if you are looking for a different worship experience while you are in Hawaii check out Wayne Cordeiro church's in Honolulu, "New Hope Community Church." He is a great speaker!

Wednesday Aug 09/06

I had a great time last night! 15 kids came to Judy's trailer, and we had quite the experience with them! The treasure hunt that Judy made up for us took us just over an hour to complete - so what did we spend all this time looking for? A bag of Jolly Ranchers candy! I had made just enough bookmarks to go around (thank goodness), and I think that my devotional just went okay. If I knew what I know now about the kids before I had written the devotional...it would have looked totally different. I guess that is one of the challenges about Summer Assignment...not knowing your audience! The campfire was great, and we concluded the night with a game of "Camera Hide and go Seek" a new game that Sheldon invented! haha! It was fun!

Today we have spent a little bit of time catching up with the Blackler's, asking questions, furthering conversations that we had with them before they left for holidays, sharing our ministry stories with them, and one again have been encouraged! This morning all the kids met here at the church to prepare to leave for Junior Youth Camp, with their medical form, gas money, and canteen money all in tow! Canteen money being the most important of course! haha! As they pulled out of the church parking lot I felt like chasing them down the road, and hopping on one of the vans! Camp would have been a blast! Today was the last day this week that we could devote to Sunday prep, so we both have been taking advantage of it...plus Sheldon was finishing up his prep for the Senior's home service tonight. Well I must finish up a few things, and head home for supper! Blessings everyone!

Tuesday August 08/06

We are about to head over to "Spread Eagle", and spend a night at Judy's cabin with some of the teens of the Corps ages 11-15. Judy has a scavenger hunt designed for them, followed by a devotional, and then a campfire! Wahoo - more wieners and marshmallows! haha! I've decided to mimic Judy's idea for a scavenger hunt with my devotional tonight...mine is a "character hunt"...who's character are we hunting? God's! My plan is to get the kids to go out into the woods and find something that reminds them of God's character, and then talk about what each one of them has brought back. Then I just want to talk to them for a few minutes about how we go about finding out more about God's Character. I'm don't have a lot of experience working with youth of this age - and not knowing the youth - I wasn't sure what to prepare - so hopefully this will work well. My creative juices were flowing today so I decided to make bookmarks for them all as a little keep sake!

We had our second client for the food bank today! I felt more confident this time. I was talking to Karen today on MSN and she said that she had 27 clients at their food bank today alone!! A little bigger of a number than 2...but I'm just glad that this SA community as able to help out where they can! The CSM stopped by the office this morning so we had a chance to get to know him a little more - he's such a wonderful man - and what a testimony he has! With his fishing schedule it's hard for us to schedule a whole lot of time with him, but we are all determined to spend time together before we leave! This afternoon we had to go to Carbonear to do the corps banking - as well as pick up a few fresh groceries as we are expecting the Blacker's home tonight. They will spend the next few days with us as we attend the Leadership summit. Exciting!

Monday Aug 07/06

Weekend update!

Despite rainy weather we did get the chance to go out on Glen's boat on Saturday! One of the activities throughout the Dildo Days festivities is a "flotilla" in which people from the community can take a boat ride - this is why we invited to go for the boat ride! Glen is a fisherman so his boat is fairly big, and it was packed with people! We had a great time getting to know the church folk a little better, and for me it was a great learning opportunity to increase my knowledge about fishing! We are planning another trip out in boat just before we leave- and who knows - maybe Glen will let me be the Captain! haha! After that we came home for some lunch (freshly caught fish!) and headed over to Bay Roberts for the bowling party! We had a great time bowling, and ended up with lots of goodies! Sheldon took lots of pictures.

The Sunday meetings both went well, we had a large congregation out in the morning and a large group out for the open air as well. This week the open air took place at the Dildo wharf -which I think is the best location as many people drive back and forth through that area. Again, we took some pictures to show you all! Our first official dedication ceremony has been done! What an awesome feeling! Sheldon did the actual dedication part, and I read the scripture and provided the music on piano. It went well. What dedication is complete without crying right? haha!

Today is the start of a very busy week! Today I have to contact all the kids who are going to Junior Youth Camp and give them details about transportation, begin to prepare a short devotional for the Youth ages 11-15 for tomorrow night, and begin a sermon for the Sunday meetings, as we will be attending the Leadership Conference in St. John's from Thursday to Saturday! I sure have a lot of things to pack into a few days! But every bit of it will be rewarding! God is good.

Friday Aug 4/06

Yesterday we took some time for ourselves! We went into town to do a little shopping, and ended up watching "Pirates 2, Dead mans chest." It was a great movie - we are both looking forward to when that series comes out in a box set!

Today it was back to the sermons, leads, chorus sheets, and finalizing the dedication certificates! I'm proud to say that I only made one mistake - thankfully it wasn't on a legal document! With a name as long as "Abigail Elizabeth Charlotte McCarty" is it really my fault that the name won't fit on the length of the line, and I ran out of margin to type on? haha! We also got their little bibles all straightened away - I can't wait for the ceremony! It's such a privilege to be able to dedicate a child back to God - the only other ceremony that I can't wait to do is marriage ceremony! I don't know what got into Sheldon and I this afternoon when we were picking out upbeat choruses for the Sunday meetings, because we were having quite the time singing, laughing, and doing the newfie glory dance (well one of us was...guess which one!) We also had Gerald and Ellie Fifield drop into the office this afternoon! They were on their way to St. John's and decided to pop in to TBS to see if they could find us! It was great to see a familiar face from home, and catch up with them again.

What is there to do in TBS on a friday night????? Maybe a trip to the Irving to rent a movie? who knows! Tomorrow we are hoping to go out in Glen's boat with a group from the church - and then head Jared's Birthday Party at 4! Exciting day!

Wednesday August 2/06

Just getting back to the office from the YP Program! We had about 20 kids come tonight which isn't too bad considering there is a play going on for "Dildo Days" which a lot of people had previously bought tickets for. It's hard to plan a program for kids ages 3 to 10, but over all I think they had a pretty good time. All of the children remembered the words and actions to the VBS Songs which I thought was awesome! I love doing children's ministry!

Today I was also blessed by the women's prayer meeting, and the home visitation that we did. It's amazing how some individuals cling to God when they go through a difficult time - even to the point of writing their own gospel songs! Amazing! God's strength is perfect, when our strength is weak! I'm so thankful for all of the ministry opportunities that God is placing in mine and Sheldon's path here in TBS - I know that I have grown and matured since my arrival - I think that Sheldon's blog speaks for him! God Bless!

Tuesday, August 1/06

What does a typewriter and a 21 year old have in common?

Answer: Absolutely nothing!
In getting ready for our dedication ceremony on Sunday afternoon, I decided to take out the typewriter today and practice typing up the documents on photocopies. First of all, let me say that it was first time using a typewriter...and I won't be sad if I never have to use it again! Why was I using a typewriter you ask? Well the corps doesn't have the new computer program for documentation...so it's the old fashioned way for now! While I'm on this topic of dedications, does anyone know of a creative way to dedicate two children at once? We are dedicating a sister (2.5 yrs) and her brother (5 mths) at the same time. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Once I had defeated the type writer and won the battle, it was time to sit down for a little sermon time...after that....finishing touches on my YP program for tomorrow night. I guess tomorrow afternoon I'll have to go searching for some good hiding spots for my memory verse pieces! haha! Wish me luck!