I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. This is our second Christmas away from family. Butch's mom came out to spend it with us. We had a great time with her. It made it a little easier being so far away from the rest of the family.
Several times in the past few days I have started to update this blog and as you can see have not gotten very far. I uploaded pictures to make a new slide, but haven't finished it, I started a post but never finished. Oh well. I had to get in the last post of 2007 and wish you all a happy new year with an update on life in Nevada!
Life continues to be busy, but that is the life of a Pastor and his family. We spent a couple of days in Reno after Christmas so that the kids could spend their Christmas money. We didn't really do much shopping this trip. Typical end of the month.
Today the boys started cleaning their room. I say started because they have boxes that have pretty much been packed since we sold our house in 2002. Needless to say, it was time. Spencer has always been the easy one when it comes to his stuff, he's willing to toss and give away. Grady...he's my packrat. He finally came to the realization today that a lot of the stuff he didn't want to part with really has no meaning to him and why did he need to keep packing it around. What an opportunity to talk about our faith, in that we tend to pack around a lot of stuff that we don't need as well, instead of just giving it to God.
As I look forward to the new year, I have been setting some goals for myself. First, I want God to be the center of my life. I'm not saying He isn't right now, but sometimes I lose my focus. I will spend more time practicing my guitar, so that I can be a better musician and better lead worship in our church. I will take better care of myself and my family. We need some life changes as far as eating healthy and exercise. (Pray for us!)
God is good and continues to bless us in our ministry. Many of you sent us gifts this Christmas and we thank you. It is a blessing to know that you are praying for us and care for us. We continue to greet new faces on Sunday morning and meet people during the week. You would think that in a town as small as ours, after two years you would know most everyone. Not so, people keep to themselves. We continue to make efforts to meet people, when we go to lunch, or the post office. A quick trip to the grocery store for milk easily turns into an hour.
We continue to love it here, despite the cold. I don't think it's gotten above 30 degrees for weeks. It snowed all day Saturday, making our mountains look peaceful, blanketed in white. When it's windy, our house always feels cold, despite the wood stove. Gotta love a 1977 mobile home with little or no insulation.
Well, 10 minutes to the New Year. The boys are awake, Becca is sleeping and I have been instructed to wake her in time. I would just as soon be sleeping!
Thank you for praying for us. We appreciate all of you. Maybe tomorrow I'll get that slide show finished and some new pictures up.
God Bless You in the New Year
Jen
Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Pre-Christmas Greetings
It's been a busy few weeks and I apologize for taking so long to give an update. Our Christmas letter is nearly done so I will get that out soon. In the mean time, updates on our family! A couple of weeks ago Becca had her D.A.R.E graduation. She placed first for the essay contest and was very pleased with the effort she put forth. We are very proud of her as well.
Our church Christmas party was this past Friday. It was well attended and everyone had a great time. As White Elephant Gift Exchanges go, there were a couple of "hot" gifts that kept going around and around and around some more. We played as LTCC youth does, limiting the exchange to 3 steals per round, then it's on again for the next round. Much more fun that way!
Sunday was the children's Christmas Play. Two weeks ago I wasn't so sure they'd pull it together, but the kids did great! Some have already asked if we can "do that again next year." Hmmm....let's finish this year first.
Now it's on to VBS prep. I can't wait. I got my kit last week and it is sheer will power keeping me from diving in before the new year. I did peek at it, then put it all back in the box. I think I need to go put it out in the church tomorrow. The temptation to dig in is getting to me! Yes, I love VBS and can't wait.
We are looking forward to having Butch's mom spend Christmas with us. She arrives Saturday and will stay until the following Friday. I guess I better get cleaning. We had a great snowfall last week, but it melted rather quickly. Our family was headed into Fallon that day for dentist appointments and the kids didn't ev
en get to play in it. I got some fun pictures when we stopped for a potty break in Austin. Normally 1 hour away, but that day it took 2. They had at least a foot of snow!
en get to play in it. I got some fun pictures when we stopped for a potty break in Austin. Normally 1 hour away, but that day it took 2. They had at least a foot of snow!
Well, I will get that newsletter done and posted in the next day or two. We'd love to hear from you, whethe
r you comment on here or send us an e-mail.
r you comment on here or send us an e-mail.Serving Him,
The Hallenbeck's
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thansgiving Surprise
We had a wonderful time keeping secrets before Thanksgiving. The "friends" we looked forward to spending the day with were really our family! My mom and Butch's sister knew we were coming to Washington for Thanskgiving but no one else did. Oh it's so much fun to surprise people!!!!
On Thanskgiving day we sat in the car at Butch's sister's while he called his mom, who was inside, to wish her a happy Thanksgiving. We sent the kids in, when Butch asked her if she wanted to to talk to them, he told her to look around, she might be able to find them. I wish I could have seen her face. Priceless I'm sure.
We had a wonderful time and came home feeling a bit tired but rested as well. It took us about 20 hours to drive up. Coming home we spent the night in Medford, OR and drove the rest of the way Monday. We got home Monday night about 9:30.
It was nice to see our families and to see friends too. We surprised everyone at church Sunday. That was fun too because they didn't know we were coming and a lot of people said good morning first, then realized who they said good morning too. I think a few people might have gotten whiplash!
Movie night is tonight so I'm off to make popcorn. It's takes a long time to make enough but it sure is worth it. In the words of Mr. Food, "It's oh, so good"
Have a blessed weekend.
Jen
On Thanskgiving day we sat in the car at Butch's sister's while he called his mom, who was inside, to wish her a happy Thanksgiving. We sent the kids in, when Butch asked her if she wanted to to talk to them, he told her to look around, she might be able to find them. I wish I could have seen her face. Priceless I'm sure.
We had a wonderful time and came home feeling a bit tired but rested as well. It took us about 20 hours to drive up. Coming home we spent the night in Medford, OR and drove the rest of the way Monday. We got home Monday night about 9:30.
It was nice to see our families and to see friends too. We surprised everyone at church Sunday. That was fun too because they didn't know we were coming and a lot of people said good morning first, then realized who they said good morning too. I think a few people might have gotten whiplash!
Movie night is tonight so I'm off to make popcorn. It's takes a long time to make enough but it sure is worth it. In the words of Mr. Food, "It's oh, so good"
Have a blessed weekend.
Jen
Monday, November 19, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
Greetings Family and Friends
As we enter this week of Thanksgiving, I have much to thank God for. First of all I thank Him for allowing our family to serve Him in this beautiful place we call "The Middle-of-Nowhere" Nevada. I thank Him for our church family and for my husband and kids. I thank Him for the little blessings we receive each day through friends and even strangers. I thank Him for our family back home in Washington. I thank Him for all of you who are praying for us and supporting us finanacially, this is your ministry too. God is good, all the time.
This past Sunday we were hanging out after church and Butch noticed that he was seeing eye to eye with Spencer. So...we got out the pencil, stood everyone up against the wall and measured. ALL of us. What we found out is this...Butch isn't as tall as he used to be, but is currently still the tallest. I am an inch shorter than him. Spencer has only 1/4 of an inch to catch up with me. Grady is about an inch behind him. And Becca, she's still the shortest and the youngest:) Ha Ha, I think she'll have that one for life! She's shorter than I was at 10, must come from Butch's side of the family. In all our findings I see a scrapbook page developing. Maybe I'll get a chance to work on it this week and post it!
We are looking forward to Turkey Day and feasting with friends once again this year. More about that later. Last week we had a Church Family Thanksgiving Dinner at the community center. We had a good turnout with 58 people attending. It was nice to see some new faces. My mind is already moving on fast forward to December and all the events scheduled at the church. Once again we will have a Christmas Party and this year we are doing a Christmas Play. Pray for that one, I have lots of help so we should be able to pull it together!
Wishing you all a Wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15
As we enter this week of Thanksgiving, I have much to thank God for. First of all I thank Him for allowing our family to serve Him in this beautiful place we call "The Middle-of-Nowhere" Nevada. I thank Him for our church family and for my husband and kids. I thank Him for the little blessings we receive each day through friends and even strangers. I thank Him for our family back home in Washington. I thank Him for all of you who are praying for us and supporting us finanacially, this is your ministry too. God is good, all the time.
This past Sunday we were hanging out after church and Butch noticed that he was seeing eye to eye with Spencer. So...we got out the pencil, stood everyone up against the wall and measured. ALL of us. What we found out is this...Butch isn't as tall as he used to be, but is currently still the tallest. I am an inch shorter than him. Spencer has only 1/4 of an inch to catch up with me. Grady is about an inch behind him. And Becca, she's still the shortest and the youngest:) Ha Ha, I think she'll have that one for life! She's shorter than I was at 10, must come from Butch's side of the family. In all our findings I see a scrapbook page developing. Maybe I'll get a chance to work on it this week and post it!
We are looking forward to Turkey Day and feasting with friends once again this year. More about that later. Last week we had a Church Family Thanksgiving Dinner at the community center. We had a good turnout with 58 people attending. It was nice to see some new faces. My mind is already moving on fast forward to December and all the events scheduled at the church. Once again we will have a Christmas Party and this year we are doing a Christmas Play. Pray for that one, I have lots of help so we should be able to pull it together!
Wishing you all a Wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Halloween Pictures
I finally got a chance to post a few pictures from Halloween. I told the kids I wouldn't spend any money on costumes so if they wanted to dress up, they had to come up with the idea on there own and it had to be free. Here's what they came up with...
Becca is a box of Kleenex.
Grady is a Rubik's Cube. (I think he knows what a Rubik's Cube is)
I don't know if Spencer decided what he was. He's got a sword so maybe a knight?????
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Trunk-or-Treat
Hey all
Trunk-or-Treat was tonight. We had a great turnout. It's hard to say what the exact count was but we estimate that there was probably about 60+ kids that came. We figure we had over 100 people total. That's about double last year, which is what we were praying for. God is good.
Butch had the camera tonight and he doesn't take near as many pictures as me, but I'll post some in the next couple of days.
The other praise for tonight was the weather. We had all the games outside this year so we didn't have to take down the chairs. The wind stayed away and it didn't get super cold. After our early snow I wasn't sure what it would do. We had coffee and hot chocolate, which we went through a lot of, plus we had a roasting fire so people were able to warm up if they did get chilled. Surprisingly, we went through more hot dogs than s'mores. Go figure!
Thanks for your prayers for Trunk-or-Treat. The Lord blessed this event and the community is becoming more aware that we are here and reaching to them. We had quite a few unchurched families come and some that are on the fringes. Pray that we will continue to be able to continue to reach out to these families.
Trunk-or-Treat was tonight. We had a great turnout. It's hard to say what the exact count was but we estimate that there was probably about 60+ kids that came. We figure we had over 100 people total. That's about double last year, which is what we were praying for. God is good.
Butch had the camera tonight and he doesn't take near as many pictures as me, but I'll post some in the next couple of days.
The other praise for tonight was the weather. We had all the games outside this year so we didn't have to take down the chairs. The wind stayed away and it didn't get super cold. After our early snow I wasn't sure what it would do. We had coffee and hot chocolate, which we went through a lot of, plus we had a roasting fire so people were able to warm up if they did get chilled. Surprisingly, we went through more hot dogs than s'mores. Go figure!
Thanks for your prayers for Trunk-or-Treat. The Lord blessed this event and the community is becoming more aware that we are here and reaching to them. We had quite a few unchurched families come and some that are on the fringes. Pray that we will continue to be able to continue to reach out to these families.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Amazing Sunday
Wow. Today was an amazing day. Have you had one of those? I was a little bit weary when Butch came in at 10:00 last night and said I needed to change the closing song. Of course my first thought was "what about the rest of the songs?" He generally tells me what the main idea of his message will be and I let God take the lead and choose the songs He puts on my heart. So I'm thinking, "How will these songs fit with a message that God gave to Butch at 9:00 Saturday night, completely different from the message he had planned to preach, when I put together the music on Thursday?" (Sometimes I forget that God orchestrates everything and if He gave me the songs and Butch the message, then they will fit together.)
Well, because God is God, the songs He had put on my heart earlier in the week worked perfectly with the message God gave Butch to preach. On top of that, at 10:00 last night I felt like we should do "Made to Worship" by Chris Tomlin. Brand new for us, I've never even begun to introduce it to the worship team. But if God puts it on your heart to do it then you kind of have to listen. So I pulled it out of the "New Songs Someday" file and at practice this morning sprang it on our piano player and other vocalist. We ran through it twice and said, "well, let's give it a shot!" So we sang it for offering, and closed by just singing the chorus. We might just have to add it to our rotation.
Sometimes you wonder if the congregation is moved to a spirit of worship through the music you lead them in. But today you could just feel it. And when people who don't usually say a word about worship mention that it was good, you know God moved in people's hearts. Sometimes I get discouraged and wonder why God put me, a self-taught guitar player who doesn't sing in the position of leading worship. It still scraes me to death. Our church is great. They continue to encourage both me and Butch in the call that God has given us.
Thank you Lord for Sundays that confirm the call. You are an awesome God. Thank you for giving us what we need to effectively serve you in this place.
Just wanted to share what God did on this amazing Sunday!
Well, because God is God, the songs He had put on my heart earlier in the week worked perfectly with the message God gave Butch to preach. On top of that, at 10:00 last night I felt like we should do "Made to Worship" by Chris Tomlin. Brand new for us, I've never even begun to introduce it to the worship team. But if God puts it on your heart to do it then you kind of have to listen. So I pulled it out of the "New Songs Someday" file and at practice this morning sprang it on our piano player and other vocalist. We ran through it twice and said, "well, let's give it a shot!" So we sang it for offering, and closed by just singing the chorus. We might just have to add it to our rotation.
Sometimes you wonder if the congregation is moved to a spirit of worship through the music you lead them in. But today you could just feel it. And when people who don't usually say a word about worship mention that it was good, you know God moved in people's hearts. Sometimes I get discouraged and wonder why God put me, a self-taught guitar player who doesn't sing in the position of leading worship. It still scraes me to death. Our church is great. They continue to encourage both me and Butch in the call that God has given us.
Thank you Lord for Sundays that confirm the call. You are an awesome God. Thank you for giving us what we need to effectively serve you in this place.
Just wanted to share what God did on this amazing Sunday!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Hi all
It's hard to believe another week has passed us by. Wow, it's the end of October already. Tomorrow is no school for the kids. It is Nevada Day, a day to celebrate the day Nevada became a state. How come Washington never had a holiday for that!!!!!!
Anyway, we basically have no plans, just a day to relax with the kids. Well, I do have music to get ready for Sunday but most everything else is done. I should do this every week! Movie Night is tomorrow night. We are showing Nanny McPhee. Butch and a couple of the guys worked hard last week and this week to get the new screen and projector in. Thanks to the supporters who helped us be able to purchase these for the church. It will be cool to watch a movie on the BIG screen. Now we just need the surround sound...
We had Becca's fall conference today. She contiunes to excel in her classes. Grady and Spencer are at the age where we will only have a conference if they are not doing well. They generally do well. Spencer has a few low grades, more because he doesn't see the point of taking his time with his work than anything else. He is doing very well at drums, maybe we should have encouraged him to play them in Washington. He's already asking for a drum set. We told him he had to wait a year and see if he still wanted to pursue drums. Grady is also doing very well at trumpet. He and I are working on a song to play at Christmas. I haven't played my clarinet since the last time I played at Lake Tapps, the Christmas before we moved. I better get practicing!
Continue to pray for ministries here. youth group is growing slowly. Tonight was just our kids so we just had some time to hang out and play games. Next week we're having sort of a campfire night. The fire pit will be out from our Trunk-or-Treat the night before so we are going to roast hot dogs, make S'mores and have our worship and devotion around the campfire. Hopefully by sporadically doing something different, word will get out and more kids will come to check it out.
On Halloween we will have our second annual Trunk-or-Treat. We're hoping it will be bigger than last year. We'll have carnival games, cookie decorationg, hot dogs and s'mores, and of course the trunk-or-treat. Pray that God will supply the helpers and the families. We'll probably see a lot of kids come through as they are trick-or-treating. Pray that they stay long enough to plant seeds for a lifetime.
Well, I guess that's all for now. I have been scrapbooking older pictures but here are some from summer, when we went to Santa Cruz for an afternoon while at our staff conference. Note Becca's face as they are coming down the freefall. She says she wasn't scared but that pretty much mirrors her face on the Giant Dipper which now has her vowing to never go another roller coaster again!
Take care and have a blessed week!
Jen
Friday, October 12, 2007
Happy Friday
Greetings
Happy Friday to all! We continue to plug away. Our District Rep's were here Tuesday. We had a nice visit with them and felt encouraged by their time spent with us. I haven't gotten back to painting. This was a busy week. We had our monthly Ladies Luncheon Wednesday. We had a good turn out, 26 ladies came plus about 9 children. We are not offering childcare this year as no one took advantage of it last year. In setting up we are trying to accomodate the children who come. What a blessing to watch the ladies visit with one another over a home cooked lunch! This month was soup bowls. (Bread bowls) It was a hit! And the best part...I have a speaker for every month so I can sit back and breathe a little. Be the hostess and let others share what God has put on their heart. Amen!
Kids Club started on Thursday. This is our outreach to elementary age kids. We have a few 4 year olds that come as well. We had 17 kids, pretty good for the first day! Pray for those leading Kids Club. Pray that this would be a fun time to learn God's Word.
Continue to pray for Youth group as well. The group is growing slowly. Pray that we will be able to keep it fun and different so the kids don't get bored and will invite their friends! This week we had pizza instead of a game and watched a video. We do that about every five weeks. We have some other ideas on how to make it fun and different but if you have any suggestions, just leave me a comment!
Well, I need to keep this short. I am trying to get everything done today that I usually put off until Saturday so that tomorrow I can work on my Christmas projects. I figure I better not put that off too much longer or I'll be stressing over getting them done in time. But that would be nothing new, it's the story of my life!
Take care everyone. Have a great week.
Love in Christ,
Jen
Happy Friday to all! We continue to plug away. Our District Rep's were here Tuesday. We had a nice visit with them and felt encouraged by their time spent with us. I haven't gotten back to painting. This was a busy week. We had our monthly Ladies Luncheon Wednesday. We had a good turn out, 26 ladies came plus about 9 children. We are not offering childcare this year as no one took advantage of it last year. In setting up we are trying to accomodate the children who come. What a blessing to watch the ladies visit with one another over a home cooked lunch! This month was soup bowls. (Bread bowls) It was a hit! And the best part...I have a speaker for every month so I can sit back and breathe a little. Be the hostess and let others share what God has put on their heart. Amen!
Kids Club started on Thursday. This is our outreach to elementary age kids. We have a few 4 year olds that come as well. We had 17 kids, pretty good for the first day! Pray for those leading Kids Club. Pray that this would be a fun time to learn God's Word.
Continue to pray for Youth group as well. The group is growing slowly. Pray that we will be able to keep it fun and different so the kids don't get bored and will invite their friends! This week we had pizza instead of a game and watched a video. We do that about every five weeks. We have some other ideas on how to make it fun and different but if you have any suggestions, just leave me a comment!
Well, I need to keep this short. I am trying to get everything done today that I usually put off until Saturday so that tomorrow I can work on my Christmas projects. I figure I better not put that off too much longer or I'll be stressing over getting them done in time. But that would be nothing new, it's the story of my life!
Take care everyone. Have a great week.
Love in Christ,
Jen
Friday, October 5, 2007
First Snow of the Season!
Wow, can you believe it? Today, October 5th, it snowed. Not a lot, but enough to make a mess. And typical of what you would see in Washington...it melted within an hour of when it stopped snowing! And typical of Nevada, our forecasted highs for Sunday...mid 70's! Close to 80 by the end of the week. And two days ago it was 80. Gotta love living in the high desert of Nevada.
The last couple of weeks have been good, busy...but definitely good. My mom came for a visit, that was nice. We did a lot of nothing! One of the days she was her we went to Scotty's Castle in Death Valley. If you ever get the chance to go there, do it. We're planning a trip back with the kids. Maybe in November. Should you ever come to visit us, we'll take you there. It's funny how we are three to four hours away from everything in Nevada, but Death Valley, in California, is only 2 hours away. Go figure!
This past week I've been trying to get my kitchen finished. Once I get that done, we can start on the main bathroom. Then the dining room, and the master bath, and everything else. I'll be glad when we get all the work done. It'll probably take 10 years but that's OK. A little at a time!
Continue to pray for our ministry here. Our ladies Bible studies started a couple of weeks ago. Pray that the ladies would really dig into God's Word and discover what He is speaking to them. Also pray for our other women's ministry opportunities. We have a luncheon once a month, pray that the ladies who come would be blessed by the speakers, pray for the speakers that God would use them to reach others, and pray that new ladies would come. Also pray for Mornings for Moms. This is a ministry for moms with young children, sort of like MOPS, not as developed. Pray for me as I share Words of Encouragement with the moms and help the two moms leading this ministry. Pray for them, that they would keep Christ at the center of this outreach, and pray for the moms that come, that they would be encouraged in the most important job they will ever have, raising their children to follow God. Pray also that the work would get completed on our Annex building. It has been a year since the roof work began, and the inside hasn't begun yet. Pray for men to come and finish this project so we can move on to other necessary projects.
Praise the Lord for the generous donors who have given enough to get the projector and screen. It's ordered and should be here soon!
God continues to bless us in our ministry here and provides for all we need. The kids are doing well in school. We are preparing for a cold winter, getting as much firewood as we can. If this early snow is any indication, we should have a fun winter. Time to scout out a good sledding hill for the youth group!
Thank you all for praying us. Feel free to contact us anytime.
Serving Him Together,
Butch, Jennifer and Grady, Spencer and Becca
The last couple of weeks have been good, busy...but definitely good. My mom came for a visit, that was nice. We did a lot of nothing! One of the days she was her we went to Scotty's Castle in Death Valley. If you ever get the chance to go there, do it. We're planning a trip back with the kids. Maybe in November. Should you ever come to visit us, we'll take you there. It's funny how we are three to four hours away from everything in Nevada, but Death Valley, in California, is only 2 hours away. Go figure!
This past week I've been trying to get my kitchen finished. Once I get that done, we can start on the main bathroom. Then the dining room, and the master bath, and everything else. I'll be glad when we get all the work done. It'll probably take 10 years but that's OK. A little at a time!
Continue to pray for our ministry here. Our ladies Bible studies started a couple of weeks ago. Pray that the ladies would really dig into God's Word and discover what He is speaking to them. Also pray for our other women's ministry opportunities. We have a luncheon once a month, pray that the ladies who come would be blessed by the speakers, pray for the speakers that God would use them to reach others, and pray that new ladies would come. Also pray for Mornings for Moms. This is a ministry for moms with young children, sort of like MOPS, not as developed. Pray for me as I share Words of Encouragement with the moms and help the two moms leading this ministry. Pray for them, that they would keep Christ at the center of this outreach, and pray for the moms that come, that they would be encouraged in the most important job they will ever have, raising their children to follow God. Pray also that the work would get completed on our Annex building. It has been a year since the roof work began, and the inside hasn't begun yet. Pray for men to come and finish this project so we can move on to other necessary projects.
Praise the Lord for the generous donors who have given enough to get the projector and screen. It's ordered and should be here soon!
God continues to bless us in our ministry here and provides for all we need. The kids are doing well in school. We are preparing for a cold winter, getting as much firewood as we can. If this early snow is any indication, we should have a fun winter. Time to scout out a good sledding hill for the youth group!
Thank you all for praying us. Feel free to contact us anytime.
Serving Him Together,
Butch, Jennifer and Grady, Spencer and Becca
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Another Busy Week
It's hard to believe another week is gone. The middle of September already, wow. Our weather has turned, Fall is definately in the air. It's been cooling off quite a bit at night for a few weeks now, down into the low 40's, but until this week it was still getting up into the 80's during the day. Monday it was like the warm switch got turned off. Low 40's at night and mid 70's during the day. That would be just fine except for the wind, it makes it feel quite a bit cooler. The fall wind has a bit of a chill in it, not like the hot summer wind. It won't be long before I am having to build a fire every day just to keep the house somewhat warm!
The project for the week was the bathrooms in the church. Butch spray textured them for me last week so I asked one of the young gals to come over and help me paint on Monday. She painted one and I painted the other. I'm thankful for the help, it saved so much time. I painted the ceilings Wednesday and today (Thursday) finished up with the touch-ups. It sure looks a lot better than white!
My mom is coming tomorrow from Washington. Yay!! We are meeting her in Fallon so she doesn't have to drive all the way by herself through the lonely desert. We actually have to go in anyway and get Grady's new glasses so it works out.
The rest of the money for our projector system came in this week. Praise the Lord for the gracious donors who have helped us to purchase this for the church. The next step will be to move from PowerPoint to Media Shout or a similar program.
Homecoming is next week so I'll try to get some good pictures of the festivities to post. The band is playing the Star-Spangled Banner at half time. I think it's pretty ambitious of the new music teacher to do that for the first song, but it's a pretty mixed group, from kids who had never before played to kids who had played for 4 years before moving here. It's exciting to have a music teacher who is willing to just jump in and give things a try.
The next project around here is to finish my kitchen before our District Rep comes on the 9th of October! Then it's on to the main bathroom. The church nursery hopefully will be painted next month as well.
Well, time to get ready for youth group. My turn to teach. I've been letting the kids request the songs so they'll actually sing. That seems to be going well, except when they pick the same songs over and over again. Tonight they don't get to pick any we've done in the last two weeks. We'll see what the response is.
Continue to pray for our ministry here. Especially youth group, pray for more kids to come and for creative ways to reach out to the kids in the community.
Serving Him,
Jennifer
The project for the week was the bathrooms in the church. Butch spray textured them for me last week so I asked one of the young gals to come over and help me paint on Monday. She painted one and I painted the other. I'm thankful for the help, it saved so much time. I painted the ceilings Wednesday and today (Thursday) finished up with the touch-ups. It sure looks a lot better than white!
My mom is coming tomorrow from Washington. Yay!! We are meeting her in Fallon so she doesn't have to drive all the way by herself through the lonely desert. We actually have to go in anyway and get Grady's new glasses so it works out.
The rest of the money for our projector system came in this week. Praise the Lord for the gracious donors who have helped us to purchase this for the church. The next step will be to move from PowerPoint to Media Shout or a similar program.
Homecoming is next week so I'll try to get some good pictures of the festivities to post. The band is playing the Star-Spangled Banner at half time. I think it's pretty ambitious of the new music teacher to do that for the first song, but it's a pretty mixed group, from kids who had never before played to kids who had played for 4 years before moving here. It's exciting to have a music teacher who is willing to just jump in and give things a try.
The next project around here is to finish my kitchen before our District Rep comes on the 9th of October! Then it's on to the main bathroom. The church nursery hopefully will be painted next month as well.
Well, time to get ready for youth group. My turn to teach. I've been letting the kids request the songs so they'll actually sing. That seems to be going well, except when they pick the same songs over and over again. Tonight they don't get to pick any we've done in the last two weeks. We'll see what the response is.
Continue to pray for our ministry here. Especially youth group, pray for more kids to come and for creative ways to reach out to the kids in the community.
Serving Him,
Jennifer
Friday, September 14, 2007
Happy Friday
Greetings
I just wanted to say Happy Friday! Another week gone, hard to believe it's the middle of September. This week hasn't been quite as crazy as last week. I feel like I can actually stop and rest a few!
We had our first Ladies Luncheon for this ministry year on Wednesday. It was very nice and I think the ladies who came really enjoyed themselves. I am so thankful for the help I have in planning these and setting up for them. If I had to do it all myself I think my stress level would increase tremendously! Our theme for this year is Character, with each letter representing a different "pearl" of character that God wants for us in our lives. It should be a good year.
Ladies Bible studies begin next week. I am looking forward to getting back to a regular routine. I have a hard time in the summer staying diligent in my studies so it will be good to be back meeting with a group.
On the personal side of things, our family is doing well. The kids are doing great in school. Our family has grown again, this past week a kitten showed up. We tried not to become attached and did try to find an owner, but out here most people figure lost cats and dogs have most likely become Coyote Bait! Butch wanted to name her CB for short. So far she's not too excited about our dog Sandy, but in time I'm sure they will become friends. Sandy wants to play with her and doesn't seem to understand why she keeps getting swiped in the nose!
I finally scrapped the Back to School page of the kids. Spencer actually is not the one with the goofy look this time, so take note of what he looks like when he wants to get me to stop taking pictures.
Have a great weekend!
Friday, September 7, 2007
September Newsletter
September 2007
Greetings Family and Friends,
Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support. It was great to see many of you in June when we were able to spend a week in Washington. We apologize to those of you we did not get to see, there just wasn’t enough time in one week to get with everyone. On our way home to Nevada, we spent a couple of days resting in Oregon. We were anxious to get home, yet knew we needed a day of “nothingness” to rest before returning home.
Upon arriving home, we began youth group. We currently have 4 other adults besides us that have volunteered to work with the youth. It has been going well, and we are praying for growth with the beginning of a new school year.
The end of July brought a Community Block Party, hosted by our church. We were able to reach about 100 people through this event and hope that it will become an annual event that grows each year. We also held VBS at the end of July. The kids excitement built each day as the week progressed. We had a total of 62 kids for the week and 22 volunteers. God is Awesome!
Grady, Spencer and Becca began school August 21. We are praising God for bringing a band teacher and a trades teacher to our Jr./Sr. High. Grady is in 9th grade and is taking woodshop this year, as well as ceramics (he didn’t want to do weight training!) and band. It’s hard to believe that he’s in high school. Spencer is in 8th grade and is taking band this year and is looking forward to next year when he can take the “fun” classes. Becca is in 5th grade and is continuing Girl Scouts. Her favorite class is music and she is looking forward to next year and being able to take band as well.
Prayer requests:
· Praise the Lord for safe travel this summer as we went to Staff Conference in Californian then to Washington
· Praise the Lord for the new teachers who have come to our schools this year, pray that they would have a desire to stay and that they would be a postitive influence on the students here
· Pray that our congregation would have a desire to grow in their relationship with the Lord and that they would get involved in serving Him
· Pray for wisdom and guidance for us as we encourage our congregation to serve. Specific areas needing prayer are Women’s and Men’s Ministries. Pray for a strong leadership team for both and for God’s direction. Also for our Sunday School program, Children’s and Youth Ministries
· Pray for Grady, Spencer, and Becca to do well in school and to make solid, lasting friendships
· Pray for Butch and Jennifer to find time to spend together in the midst of serving our Lord
· Praise the Lord that He continues to provide the extra finances we need to cover Becca’s Orthodontics and family Dental and Vision expenses
We are still raising money for a new projection system for the church, if you would like to give to this fund contact us and we'll tell you how. We are also collecting books to update our church lending library. As always we would love to hear from you.
Thank you for your prayers and support. If you are not currently supporting us financially and would like to, contact us and we'll tell you how. We appreciate the encouragement you give to us. Without you we could not do what we do!
Serving Him Together,
Butch, Jennifer, Grady, Spencer and Becca Hallenbeck
Greetings Family and Friends,
Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support. It was great to see many of you in June when we were able to spend a week in Washington. We apologize to those of you we did not get to see, there just wasn’t enough time in one week to get with everyone. On our way home to Nevada, we spent a couple of days resting in Oregon. We were anxious to get home, yet knew we needed a day of “nothingness” to rest before returning home.
Upon arriving home, we began youth group. We currently have 4 other adults besides us that have volunteered to work with the youth. It has been going well, and we are praying for growth with the beginning of a new school year.
The end of July brought a Community Block Party, hosted by our church. We were able to reach about 100 people through this event and hope that it will become an annual event that grows each year. We also held VBS at the end of July. The kids excitement built each day as the week progressed. We had a total of 62 kids for the week and 22 volunteers. God is Awesome!
Grady, Spencer and Becca began school August 21. We are praising God for bringing a band teacher and a trades teacher to our Jr./Sr. High. Grady is in 9th grade and is taking woodshop this year, as well as ceramics (he didn’t want to do weight training!) and band. It’s hard to believe that he’s in high school. Spencer is in 8th grade and is taking band this year and is looking forward to next year when he can take the “fun” classes. Becca is in 5th grade and is continuing Girl Scouts. Her favorite class is music and she is looking forward to next year and being able to take band as well.
Prayer requests:
· Praise the Lord for safe travel this summer as we went to Staff Conference in Californian then to Washington
· Praise the Lord for the new teachers who have come to our schools this year, pray that they would have a desire to stay and that they would be a postitive influence on the students here
· Pray that our congregation would have a desire to grow in their relationship with the Lord and that they would get involved in serving Him
· Pray for wisdom and guidance for us as we encourage our congregation to serve. Specific areas needing prayer are Women’s and Men’s Ministries. Pray for a strong leadership team for both and for God’s direction. Also for our Sunday School program, Children’s and Youth Ministries
· Pray for Grady, Spencer, and Becca to do well in school and to make solid, lasting friendships
· Pray for Butch and Jennifer to find time to spend together in the midst of serving our Lord
· Praise the Lord that He continues to provide the extra finances we need to cover Becca’s Orthodontics and family Dental and Vision expenses
We are still raising money for a new projection system for the church, if you would like to give to this fund contact us and we'll tell you how. We are also collecting books to update our church lending library. As always we would love to hear from you.
Thank you for your prayers and support. If you are not currently supporting us financially and would like to, contact us and we'll tell you how. We appreciate the encouragement you give to us. Without you we could not do what we do!
Serving Him Together,
Butch, Jennifer, Grady, Spencer and Becca Hallenbeck
Digital vs. Traditional
I have decided that I absolutely love digital scrapbooking. Don't get me wrong though. I love the look you get traditionally, with raised embellishments and that 3D look. Inking and distressing. You know, all the fun stuff! BUT...with digital, I don't have to drag out all my supplies, I don't have a mess to clean up, and in my tiny house, I don't have to find a place to work! I don't have to print pictures, or go to town and get them printed. The couch is the perfect spot. And really, I get the best of both worlds. Especially if I use the digital version of the stuff that comes in my kit from the club every month. I can do my page on my lap top, order a print online, and then add embellishments when it comes. Wah-lah!!! The best of both worlds! So here's a couple of pages I did last night. Just thought I'd share.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Becca gets Baptized
August 12 marked the day. Becca decided she was ready to tell all the world that she has faith in Christ. She clammed up a bit when it came time to share her story, but she did it! It was an honor for Butch to be able to baptize his daughter. Of course, I cried! This is a big milestone in her life. We ask that you pray for her, to stand firm in her faith when whe is faced with trials. Pray that she would be a light at school.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Time Flies
Wow, where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday we were in Washington visiting family and friends, and now, summer is over, the kids are back in school and life just keeps getting busier.
We got back from Washington and jumped right into youth group, a community block party hosted by our church and vacation bible school. We had good attendance for both, and they were tons of fun!!! Youth group is relatively small, but now that school has started, we are hoping to grow.
The kids went back to school August 21st. Grady started high school this year. It seems like I just took him to Kindergarten. Spencer is in the 8th grade and Becca is in 5th. So far so good in the new school year. We are dealing with a couple of teacher issues. Basically the kids are struggling with what seems to be unfair policy. We have a new band teacher (yay!!!) Grady is continuing with trumpet, Spencer decided to try the drums. We'll see how that goes.
We are doing well. No one is sick or has a cold at the moment. Allergies have been relativiely calm as well. Our valley was filled with smoke a few weeks ago. It's blowing in from the fire burning near Santa Barbara, CA. We could even smell the fire. And that's a long ways away!
I'm currently working on a new newsletter, so those of you on our e-mail list will be recieivng it shortly. We switched computers and I need to get the addresses off of the old one.
I just wanted to give a quick update. Hope to hear from you soon.
Love, Jen
We got back from Washington and jumped right into youth group, a community block party hosted by our church and vacation bible school. We had good attendance for both, and they were tons of fun!!! Youth group is relatively small, but now that school has started, we are hoping to grow.
The kids went back to school August 21st. Grady started high school this year. It seems like I just took him to Kindergarten. Spencer is in the 8th grade and Becca is in 5th. So far so good in the new school year. We are dealing with a couple of teacher issues. Basically the kids are struggling with what seems to be unfair policy. We have a new band teacher (yay!!!) Grady is continuing with trumpet, Spencer decided to try the drums. We'll see how that goes.
We are doing well. No one is sick or has a cold at the moment. Allergies have been relativiely calm as well. Our valley was filled with smoke a few weeks ago. It's blowing in from the fire burning near Santa Barbara, CA. We could even smell the fire. And that's a long ways away!
I'm currently working on a new newsletter, so those of you on our e-mail list will be recieivng it shortly. We switched computers and I need to get the addresses off of the old one.
I just wanted to give a quick update. Hope to hear from you soon.
Love, Jen
Friday, June 29, 2007
Happy Summer
Hi all,
We just returned from 2 1/2 weeks away from our beautiful middle of nowhere home! While it was nice to get away, it was even nicer to get home. Our first week away was spent at our annual VM conference in Mission Springs, CA. It was a wonderful week of refreshing. Then we drove north to Washington to visit family and friends. While we were there a little over a week and visited with many people, we still didn't have a chance to see everyone. On the one hand it would have been nice to have more time, but on the other hand, home was calling! Some of you will just have to come here to visit us!
On our way home we drove through central Oregon and stayed 2 nights in Bend. It was nice to just relax and have time with our kids. We spent a third night in Winnemucca, NV and arrived home the 21st of June. Life has been crazy busy ever since! But that's life in ministry! We are getting VBS planned and starting youth group. As well as preparing for the fourth of July. That is a pretty big deal here in Round Mountain. We are building a float to drive through the parade passing out candy and information on the various minstries we have going in the summer. In the afternoon the mine has a big picnic with free food and games for the kids. That night we'll have a Hot Dog roast, S'mores, and ice cream Sundaes at the church and then watch the town fireworks display. Hopefully it doesn't get cancelled this year!
Well, I need to get back to my carzy busy life! It is my hope that through this blog I will better keep our friends and family informed of the goings on here in Round Mountain.
Serving Him Together,
Butch and Jen
We just returned from 2 1/2 weeks away from our beautiful middle of nowhere home! While it was nice to get away, it was even nicer to get home. Our first week away was spent at our annual VM conference in Mission Springs, CA. It was a wonderful week of refreshing. Then we drove north to Washington to visit family and friends. While we were there a little over a week and visited with many people, we still didn't have a chance to see everyone. On the one hand it would have been nice to have more time, but on the other hand, home was calling! Some of you will just have to come here to visit us!
On our way home we drove through central Oregon and stayed 2 nights in Bend. It was nice to just relax and have time with our kids. We spent a third night in Winnemucca, NV and arrived home the 21st of June. Life has been crazy busy ever since! But that's life in ministry! We are getting VBS planned and starting youth group. As well as preparing for the fourth of July. That is a pretty big deal here in Round Mountain. We are building a float to drive through the parade passing out candy and information on the various minstries we have going in the summer. In the afternoon the mine has a big picnic with free food and games for the kids. That night we'll have a Hot Dog roast, S'mores, and ice cream Sundaes at the church and then watch the town fireworks display. Hopefully it doesn't get cancelled this year!
Well, I need to get back to my carzy busy life! It is my hope that through this blog I will better keep our friends and family informed of the goings on here in Round Mountain.
Serving Him Together,
Butch and Jen
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