Pictures
8/08/06
Below you
can see additional pictures that I could not include in the Prayer Update
e-mails.
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After
attending the wedding reception for our friends
some of the
younger Wallers created their own Playdoh
version.
I was
amazed at the detail. Note the "rose petals" on the white carpet,
and the
ring bearer with his pillow.
Did you
know that you can burn play-dough? I was trying to make my
own
homemade batch for a craft at the children's seminar, but did not
realize how
quickly it would "cook."
Starting on
Monday afternoon with "Teacher Training", we went over the
lessons
that we would be teaching that evening.
Part of the
training included a skit on how NOT
to work with your team.
It would
have been funnier if I hadn't actually made most of these mistakes
before
while teaching.
The welcome
board was prepared for the first night.
It was a
real blessing to have my sisters Rachelle and Sarah at the
seminar.
After the
training time, the teams worked to plan their lessons for the
evening.
Janice
working at the supply station.
Soon the
first children began to arrive.
A total of
twenty children came, and were divided into three teams for
the small
group teaching time. Here Mary and Caitlin teach about
God's
special design for each person.
A smile
from one of our students.
On Monday
night, I shared a story about one of God's amazing works
of
creation, the ant. After learning about how the ant uses its sense of
smell, a
volunteer tried to guess what was in the paper bag.
Are you
sure it smells like popcorn?
Making
large group a little more interesting, we were visited by
"Wannamaleekii Luaaw" who
asked the children about the story.
He actually
managed to play a few chords on his ukulele.
Through the
week we studied some of the names of God. On Monday
we learned about "Elohim",
God our Creator.
Visiting
one of the teams, I found that they had connected their ants
together,
just like the jungle ants that I had described in the story!
Timothy
helps one of the students with their ant craft.
I even
brought a live ant to show the students the two characteristics
that scientifically identify an ant. The bent antenna, and the "waist", an
indentation
around the ant's center body segment.
A student
shows me her ant. Why they only have four legs is something
that I need
to discuss with our craft design committee. :-)
Rachelle
and Madison play the part of the sailors in the Jonah story.
Acting out
some of the stories as skits helps make them more
memorable
for the students.
Theresa
shows her team how to make the "Justice Spinner" craft.
be there.
The variety
of crafts and activities helped reinforce the concepts while
making
things interesting for younger children.
The
"Canaanite soldiers of AI" weren't going to be intimidated by the
Israelites!
In fact,
they were quite smug after defeating the Israelites in the first battle.
Back at the
Israeli camp, there were some serious discussions going on.
Achan
thought that no one had seen him do wrong, but all of
learned
that nothing is hidden from God.
In the
second battle, the Israelites were victorious, and although we
missed
getting pictures of the battle, it was memorable indeed!
On
Thursday, we talked about how God is our Shepherd who loves and
cares for
each one of us.
After two
of the teachers had called to say they would not be able to
make it to
the seminar that night, Derrick drove down from our farm to
lead their
team that evening.
Is your
mouth watering? We enjoyed a picnic lunch on Friday after
singing at
a local nursing home.
Here,
catch!
It was over
ninety degrees, but that did not prevent us from enjoying a
few minutes
of recreation before heading back to the Miller's home to
rest and
prepare for Saturday.
In the
large group assemblies, we practiced our songs and verses,
getting
ready for the parent presentation that afternoon. Through the week,
the
children learned all the verses to Psalm 20.
Caitlin
sharing with her team.
Sarah helps
a student with one of the crafts.
In one of
the large groups, I shared a story of how God delights to
make
something beautiful from our mistakes, if we turn to Him.
Janice,
(left) coordinated the Children's Program, even while her family
was in the
midst of a move.
Rachelle
did a great job playing the piano for the songs we were learning.
Our final
story was to be a skit of David and Goliath, and Paul
volunteered
to play the part of Goliath.
Goliath and
his armor bearers paused for the cue before joining the story.
I think I
would have been scared too, from the looks of this guy! But
our
"David" (Left) didn't seem afraid.
A drywall
square that "Goliath" happened to have in the back of his truck
made an
impressive sword. Our "David" used it gently to remove the
wig from
the fallen giant.
After
dragging the "slain" giant out of the way, I was able to wrap up the
story with
a challenge to trust God as we face the giants of our day.
Returning
to the farm, I found Derrick working to repair his haybine.
Reinforcing
the broken axle with some extra steel, Derrick welded the
parts back
together.
The newly
installed air conditioners have been a great blessing to our family.
This
picture was taken just minutes after installing the first one.
That night
our prayers were answered, and the clouds moved in to bring
in the
much-needed rain.
Taken maybe
a week earlier, this was one of the last pictures taken
while the
barn roof was still standing. For safety reasons, none of us
were
allowed to go into the hayloft.
That night
the wind and rain caused the roof to collapse.
Matthew and
Samuel survey the wreckage.
Some new
additions to the farm include these calves.
The day
after the barn fell also marked the arrival of fifty young pigs.
At age 13,
Samuel takes part in many responsibilities at the farm.
Sarah poses
for a picture on some giant logs cut from the cottonwood
trees that
used to stand in front of our house.
Derrick's
corn is making a comeback with the recent rainfall.
The antique
copulas were unhurt in the collapse of the barn.
Using some
extension ladders, we worked to recover the copulas from
the fallen
ridge.
They were
not extremely heavy, just a bit awkward to handle.
Dad helps
me carry down the top of the second copula.
They don't
look very big on top of the barn, but that perspective changes
when you
see them up close.
On Saturday
morning we gathered at the barn for a
"Family
Work Day."
The task before
us was huge, but the Lord blessed the day with cooler
weather as
we began the project.
Everyone
helped, even the youngest Wallers, as we bagged up
the
old roofing
materials.
Sarah and
Samuel worked together on a section of the fallen roof.
Some of the
roofing materials were easier to pry off from the top.
Matthew
helped load barrels of old cedar shake shingles to be burned.
The prying
and sorting was a tedious task, but fun to do together as a
family.
Rachelle
came out with cookies and Kool-Aid for everyone, and we
took some
time to rest.
Ladders
helped in working on some of the higher sections.
David
worked to carefully remove the unbroken window from the end of
the barn,
reducing the hazards of broken glass.
The asphalt
shingles had to be separated from the older cedar shake
shingles.
The Lord
blessed us with safety on the project, and we had no significant
injuries or
accidents.
Matthew
worked very hard picking up cedar shakes, and helping
wherever he
could.
Samuel and
Rachelle load bags of shingles into the wheelbarrow.
Long
tamarack poles were used in the construction of the barn.
Matthew
enjoyed climbing, but we tried to have him stay on the lower
sections of
the barn.
Samuel
prepares to step down to the ladder.
I paused,
trying to decide the safest way to throw down this heavy
rafter. I
finally decided to let it cartwheel down the fallen roof into the barnyard.
A moment to
regret! I didn't realize how far it would go, and my throw
sent my Dad
running for cover, only to trip backwards over the metal hay
elevator!
Thankfully he was not hurt in the process.
Dad carried
many loads of cedar shake shingles out to the burn barrel.
A great
deal of progress was made, thanks to all the willing workers.
Later that
afternoon, Derrick and David worked to dismantle some of the
more
precarious sections.
Dad, David
and Derrick carefully lower the hayloft barn door.
Stopping by
for a visit, my uncle also helped us with the project.
We haven't
yet settled on a plan for the future of the barn, but one idea
is to build
a simple roof over the main floor section.
Another
recent project was to rewax the reeds in the
accordion that my
Grandpa had
given me. The wax was old and brittle, and some of the
reeds were
nearly falling off the block. The first step was to
carefully
remove all
of the reeds and old wax.
I was able
to obtain a book on accordion repair from the library, and
this gave
me an idea of how to attempt the repair.
Pouring the
new wax was not an easy job, as I soon discovered.
Here you
can see some of my mistakes on my first attempt. A table
knife, I
discovered, worked much better to guide the hot wax between
the reeds.
I didn't
have time to rewax all the reed banks, but at least
the instrument
was up and
running well enough to take to a nursing home last Sunday.
One older
lady especially enjoyed the accordion.
Hope
you enjoyed the pictures!!
Special
thanks to
Program in
Shorewood.
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