First Week...

The first week of school is complete. I think all 3 kids survived! I know the parents did!!!!!

Tuesday morning we sent them out the door and promptly headed up into the hills to pick Huckleberries. We got about 2 gallons, which we then had to sort and get in the freezer. I am enjoying a Huckleberry Scone as I write. It is very tasty. A new recipe for me though, therefore it will need some tweaking to make it my own. We plan to go back up this coming week and get a couple more gallons. Huckleberries in the freezer are like gold and we plan to get as much as we can before the bears get them all.

So back to the kids...

Becca is in 7th grade this year, there are a total of 5 kids in her class. She settled right into the routine of school. Volleyball starts Monday and she plans to play. She hasn't played before but when there are that few students, it doesn't seem to matter as much! She has all the typical classes. She doesn't like History so is a little concerned about her Pacific NW History class. She is trying to convince me that she shouldn't have to take it because she had Nevada State History in 4th grade. She continues to be the only Oboe in band and we are looking into private lessons for her. She plays very well and with lessons could become an excellent Oboe player.

Spencer is in 10th grade this year. Also a total of 5 kids in his class. There is one new one but he is not new to Glenwood, he went to Trout Lake for a few years of school. Big sister wanted to take Running Start so they are attending Glenwood this year. Spencer is having his typical feelings towards school, "Why Bother." So far he has been doing his work and Grady keeps telling him he has to have a good GPA for college. Maybe big brother will be more of an encouragement to him than we seem to be. He isn't in band this year, Geometry was the same period. Spencer doesn't seem to mind but I do. He does want to learn to play the drums so we are working on getting him a drum set and some DVD's so he can learn.

Grady is in 11th grade, and, like Becca and Spencer, has 5 kids in his class. He is taking Running Start which has created a few minor issues. With our move, he is on the off year for math, so he has that with 2 other students during the pre-Calc class. He is missing a quarter credit of Biology so we will be working on getting that final credit through independent study, and he needs Pacific NW History. He is doing that through independent study as well. He is in band with 2 other students, a trumpet player and a clarinet player. So for his classes he has US History, Algebra 2, band, and PNW. Plus he has 4 running start classes so he has a pretty full load. We'll wait and pick up the Biology credit when he finishes the PNW credit.

Needless to say, I think that all 3 will be very busy this year.

As for Butch and I, I am sure we will be filling our days with church things. Visiting people, Bible Studies, Music, Youth Group and other ideas we have got brewing. We are still praying about going back to school and asking God to provide the finances to do so and we have committed to becoming better musicians by playing together daily and learning more.

I'd post the first day of school picture but all 3 told me no because we haven't gone shopping yet. That's what happens when school starts before payday!

August Update

August 2009

We pray that this finds you well. Our whirlwind summer is beginning to wind down. We just finished with Camp. The first half of the week was for our 4th-7th graders and the second half for 8th – 12th grades. We took 14 campers for Junior Camp and 5 for Senior Camp. It was a great week and we saw God impact the lives of our kids.

In July we were able to go to a Pastor’s Getaway at Camano Island, hosted by our District Rep. Vern & Cindy Wilkinson and the folks at Camano Chapel. It was a wonderful time of refreshing for us and many other Village Missionaries in Washington. We were able to spend a few days visiting our supporters at Lake Tapps as well.

We did manage to squeeze in a camping trip this summer just before the 4th of July. We spent a few days at Tahk Lahk Lake on the Northwest side of Mt. Adams. The kids fished, we made S’mores and acquired a few bug bites.

Vacation Bible School was the week after Father’s Day. We had prayed for 30 kids and God answered with 32! Yay GodJ 2 of those kids prayed to receive Christ. We held it in the afternoon and served lunch before we started. This allowed the staff time in the morning to prepare for each day and I think it helped us all be just a little bit more relaxed during our time with the kids.

School begins on August 25, the kids aren’t too excited about that. Grady is taking Running Start this year. He will take College classes online, getting his High School credits while working towards an AA degree as well. We are beginning to look at colleges for him, so please pray about that. We’re still trying to get classes all straightened out with our move from Nevada. Both boys will have to retake a class or two, and they will need to take Pacific NW History with the 7th and 8th graders. Good thing there are only about 10 them!

Becca is becoming quite the photographer. She entered 4 pictures in the Klickitat County Fair. She received 3 blue ribbons and a red ribbon. She has also begun learning to play the Bass Guitar. Grady is learning guitar and Spencer still wants to learn to play the drums. We are in the process of trying to find a drum teacher for him. Then we’ll have to get a drum.

Labor Day weekend we are having a church campout. We’ll have our worship service at the campground, coming into town to pick up those who aren’t camping with us. We are looking forward to having the chance to really spend time with those in our church. We visit them but you can learn so much more when you spend a few days in the woods! The campground is just out of town a ways along a creek. Maybe we’ll get fish for dinner.


As you think of us please pray for the following:
· Unity within our church. We need to grow together as a church family so we can effectively reach our community.
· Fall ministries. We are beginning our new Sunday School Classes, Adult, Elementary and Middle School, as well as Youth Group and Bible Studies. Pray that the people in the church will get connected. Jennifer is also starting a Women’s Ministry Team. Pray for the women who will be part of this team.
· Pray that more people would get involved in serving in various ministries in the church. The needs are great in every area of ministry. The workers are out there, they just haven’t said “Yes” yet!
· Butch wants to go back to school but our budget is tight. He has found a Bible College to take Distance Learning classes from, and Jennifer can take classes for free. Pray that God will provide the funds to get started.
· Praise the Lord that our first 4 months in Glenwood have gone very well. Our kids are doing exceptionally well here. We have seen them blossom and grow. It has been a very smooth transition for all of us.
· Praise the Lord for our time in Round Mountain, NV. We learned so much during our 3 years there and know that God had us exactly where He wanted us during that time, and He has us exactly where he wants us now.

We thank you all for you financial support and your prayers. If you would like to support us financially to help cover this expense in our budget, please contact us or find our name on the Village Missions web site. www.village-missions.org. Without you we could not serve the Lord full-time in Glenwood. Glenwood is a very needy Mission field in that many here do not know Christ. We pray every day for opportunities to share the gospel with those who cross our path.

Serving Him Together,
Butch and Jennifer Hallenbeck
Grady, Spencer and Becca

The Past Few days...

The past few days we have rested, after camp I am always exausted. Said goodbye to my mom last Monday, so thankful for her coming out and staying with Sandy (the dog) and Becca. Well, Becca was only here part of the week.

We had a wonderful visit from our friends from Lake Tapps on Saturday and Sunday. Took them up to Bench Lake and let the kids fish. Caught 2 Trout and cooked them up for lunch the next day. Said goodbye to them yesterday after church.

Today we went out with the intention of picking Huckleberries but ended up at Forlorn Lakes instead. We wish we would have packed up the camping gear so we could have stayed up there longer. The kids fished but the ones that were nibbling were too little. The water was nice and I wish I had my suit so I could swim. I usually am not a fan of lake swimming but the water was clear and the lake bottom didn't look too mucky!

No Huckleberries though. We found some bushes with red ones on them but we want the purple ones. Maybe next week after the kids go to school we'll go up for a day and pick some.

Speaking of school it starts next week. Becca is in 7th grade, Spencer is in 10th , and Grady is in 11th. Grady is also taking Running Start so he will have 3 classes at school, and 4 Running Start Classes online. His Running Start Classes don't start until September 21 so he will have a couple of boring weeks. I think he won't mind!

I'm working on our prayer letter. Should get it out in the next few days. Until then just keep praying for our ministry in Glenwood. Things are going well. We are working on a few things. Butch is wanting to go back to school. He is looking into Summit Bible College, which offers Distance Learning. I can go for free so it will be a good thing for both of us. Pray that the finances will come through so we can get registered in time to start the Fall quarter.

Thanks for praying!!!!

Aaahhhh....

We are home from Teen Camp, a little sore and a little tired, but it's all worth it when I think about what God has done this week in the lives of kids and teens.

We took 5 teens (all boys) to Teen camp and every one of them re-committed their lives to Christ. We had an awesome speaker, Eric the Youth Pastor from Clover Valley. He really connected with the teens. I hope that we can have some sort of camp reunion/worship night thing like Brian W. used to have at Lake Tapps. I think it would be fun for the kids and help them remember the commitments they made at camp. We'll see.

We have made plans to keep our youth and the Wishram youth connected through the school year by having different things periodically. I am so excited to get youth group going. I know that God has big things planned for Glenwood and I have come back from camp ready to go!

I love camp and can't wait for next year!!!!!!!

Junior Camp

We took 13 kids from Glenwood to Junior Camp. That woud be 4th - 7th grade. Part of me wishes we could have stayed one more day but we only have a week to get both camps done. It is amazing what God can do in just 3 days. 4 of our campers prayed for the first time to ask Jesus to be their Savior. Most of the others made a re-commitment to Christ, desiring to truly live their lives for Him.

Today we head back up with 5 teens, all boys. Pray that lives would be changed and for strength and stamina for the satff. Not all of us came home on the turn around day so some may be more tired than others!

I'm almost all re-packed. Got the cards, Catch Phrase, and a die and a pencil to play 6's. A new game I learned last summer when the youth group from Graeagle, CA came to help us with VBS in Round Mountain.

Well, time to get the boys up (all 3 of them:~) so we can get on the road.