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
Thursday, September 20, 2007
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.
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