here and there

Hey all!

Sorry there haven't been many pictures since the first week- I will do a whole 'before-after' and some scenic stuff once we get somewhere that you can tell from a picture- i think right now it would be "oh hey, you put that bottle over there!" which isn't worth a picture.

well how about some amazing providence stories instead!!

We have been blessed to get to know some people who love the Lord in the area! One is an artist (yay!) and she is interested in a collaboration of art movement like myself (bigger yay!) so as i get more settled we will see how to go about drawing artists together- especially to the Glory of God.

We also met someone who does tiling professionally and will tile our bathroom and shower for us!!! this is extremely exciting and, one day, when you see a picture- you will understand why. He even had some beautiful blue/green collage type strips from a job he just finished that we can use! I knew a big remodel of the bathroom wouldn't be a financial priority so i am thankful for the Lord blessing us in this obviously unneeded way.

I started a grant writing class today and will finish it tomorrow- it goes through how to find foundations that will fund the projects you need and how to write the grant properly! If you have time and are gifted in writing this is an excellent way to bless a ministry you care about- there are millions of dollars in grants that can be applied for. So i am hoping to help the camp in that way.

We will be insulating the house this weekend- it has insulation that is about an inch thick so we will be adding to it and then dry-walling. - no chimney yet for our wood burning stove but that will come and *hey, chris got rid of our atrociously ugly pink toilet seat so there is a lot to be thankful for.

Missing friends in Indiana! especially the many listeners and collaborators and Bethel! :)

Please pray! Pray for funds for the camp to finish up some big projects this winter- the biggest being their chapel - the "tabernacle" and for safety for Chris and those that help him work on it. I think my first grant will be a request for funding the renovation and tech-update of the office so please pray for clarity of thought and that it will be accepted.

Finally please continue to pray for growing friendships here that are encouraging and challenging :)

more to come-

One month

Yesterday I got to talk to our camp director about his programming ideas for next summer! It was exciting and encouraging- AND it was on the '*one month' to the day of us arriving- neat huh?! I am excited to continue to get to know the camp and the people supporting, volunteering, working here. This camp is eager to work in its mission field- the surrounding area and I love that they are reaching out to kids through day and overnight camp and families through retreats, camps and concerts. I see ways in which the camp reaches out so that the truth of Jesus is spread and God is glorified. :)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

three weeks

just over three weeks since we moved here!

Here are some highlights:

I have gotten a chance to walk most of the grounds and have seen the paintball course, sledding hill, high-ropes course, low-ropes course, the youth cabins, dining hall, mini-golf, and lake- you know to keep it short.

We have been completely blessed with fall colors!!! last week up to and including my birthday were gorgeous and i am thankful-autumn has always been my favorite.

We kyacked last weekend and got to hike on one of the nearby islands- and we saw TWO bald eagles!!!! so beautiful! Coming back from the island we went south on a creek that wraps around part of the property and I got to see a few blue storks- at least that's what i think they were :)

Not to much for a house update- i have re-arranged the living room (pics to come) so that the couch will actually be able to view the fireplace- YAY!!! and we are hoping to insulate in the next few weeks.

Pippin is doing great- for those of you wondering. Several people have taken on honorary care of him so he gets walked more now than EVER- tomorrow i will dress him up like a hotdog for our fall festival!

Prayer requests:
Next week i will start looking for a seasonal job to supplement what i will do here. Please pray that i have a humble attitude and eyes to see where the Lord can use me!

painting and lumber-jane

Adjusting well to life here. Today I picked up paint for the kitchen cabinets- pics to come. We are also starting to plan for our bedroom to go in the loft of the A-frame so i am excited about that!!

Today though Chris asked if i wanted to help him find wood for our new stove. I knew what he meant- finding a tree in the woods and sawing it up- yipee. I did not get to run the chain saw yet as we were cutting up an oak and they are very hard, but i did get to run the splitter! The down tree was about 200 feet off the road so chris would cut the logs to size and I carried (maybe he did get the better end of the deal :) ) anyway- we partially filled the truck and then he took me to a different part of camp to show me how to use a hydrolic wood splitter- i found it to be a lot of fun, although chris assured me it would get old lol! it was amazing to watch these huge pieces of wood be forced into the blade!

So this weekend we will probably be working together on the wall behind the wood stove and i will also, hopefully, be wrapping up the kitchen until we can pull out the faux paneling.

I have been blessed since coming by all the family in Christ and i am also very thankful for the opportunity to be surrounded again by creation! I have found plants i've never seen before!! pics to come :)