Two Weak Women and Amazing Grace

On Monday I was looking for one of the books that we have to read and couldn't find it so I just browsed through the bookshelves, not really wanting anything extra to read, but this book just caught my eye. The title intrigued me so I thought I would see if the contents were as captivating as the title. I wasn't disappointed, it was an excellent, yet easy read.

It is the true account of two women who, as the title suggests, are weak in their bodies, but who God used mightily.

God called them to work together to purchase, renovate and run a retreat center on 55acres. This may not seem too much of a challenge until you understand that the women weren't in good health (one even had a heart defect), they didn't know how to run a retreat center or have any money to purchase it. But God called them to do this and He was faithful.

It was a riveting story of how God directed their steps and worked out his purpose in their lives. If you want to read about miracles and God's involvement even in the small details then you would probably enjoy this book. It is out of print now, but is still available at Amazon.com.

Even though it wasn't on my book list I am so glad I read it.

Michelle

New Clothes

A couple of weeks ago we received a call from the mail room informing us of a large box that had arrived for us.

Gary immediately went to get it as our curiosity was too great to let it go unopened for long.

How surprised I was to find it was addressed to me. I had no clue of the contents of the box and opened it with excitement. You can only imagine my surprise when the contents revealed clothes ....for me.

I very kind friend had sent them to me. So to you 'friend' I say thank you for your thoughtfulness, kindness and generosity. You have been so good to me.

Michelle

Easter Egg Hunt

Last Saturday we went to Branch Creek Community Church for an Easter Egg Hunt.

It was a cold day (at least to start with) as we drove through snow flurries to get to the church by 11am. We were a little late as there were so many people attending that traffic was backed up for a mile with people trying to park. The church was expecting approximately 3,000 people to attend - there must have been at least double that - it was so crowded.

Thankfully the kids didn't mind the crowd. I felt a little more at ease once we had arranged a meeting place if one of them got lost.

The church had filled 50,000 eggs, so there were plenty to go around. They had 3 different areas for the hunt. The first was for 0-3 year olds, then the 4-5 year olds and finally 1-5 grade children.

I jumped into the hunt with Deanna, and Gary went with Jeremiah - they needed a little help otherwise they would have been crushed in the stampede. Daniel, Elaina, Nicholas and Naomi were quite capable to hold their own with the chaos that surrounded their hunt.

After the hunt we made our way to the food tent. All that excitement made them hungry. They devoured a whole pizza way too quickly.

There were many activities to entertain the kids in the afternoon. They enjoyed the bouncy castles - well, all except Deanna, she didn't last long before she got too scared and wanted out.

The petting zoo was a great hit. This was Deanna's favorite. She loves to touch and stroke anything soft. She could have spent hours in there petting the rabbits if we had let her.

Nicholas was really excited about the pony rides. He has been asking to ride one for a long time and enjoyed getting the chance to do so. Although, from the look on his face, Jeremiah seemed to have the best time riding the pony as the smile never left his face from the time he got on to after he dismounted.

After the pony rides they had more turns on the bouncy castles and finally inside to check out what was going on there. We found a magic show that had just started. This fascinated the kids for about 15 minutes. At least the older ones, by this time Deanna was getting exhausted.

As we were planning to leave we saw that the line for the hayrides was short so some of us decided to ride before we went home. What was really fun for the kids, was that the Easter Bunny decided to join us for that ride. It fascinated Jeremiah. He spent most of the ride staring at the Easter Bunny trying to figure out if there was someone in there. I had so much fun watching the expressions on his face as he was trying to work all this out.

So, as you see we had a wonderful day. It was great to get out as a family and do something fun for the kids. We are grateful to the church who put on all the entertainment for free. We truly appreciated it - and so did the kids.

If you want to see more pictures please check out the new slide show in the right column, or click HERE if you want to see bigger pictures.

Michelle

Health Update

Thank you so much for your prayers for the family. I am happy to be able to tell you that everyone is doing so much better. There are a few coughs still around, but nothing serious. Even Deanna is doing a lot better. It is so nice to see her running around again after 9 days of not feeling well.

Again, thank you for your prayers.

Michelle

God's Goodness (via CVS!!)

Last week I was wanting to plan a small Easter egg hunt for the kids for today, but couldn't justify buying the plastic eggs (seeing we won't be able to use them again as we won't be in this country next Easter), but then, thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom I discovered that CVS was selling them for 99 cents with 99 cents ECB (basically making them free). So I decided it was time for me to do my first CVS trip. (Some items are not pictured as I gave them away before I decided to take a picture)

This is what I purchased

1 Pot of Gold chocolates - $8.95
2 Listerine Smart Rinse mouth wash - $5.98
2 Oral B toothbrushes - $9.98
2 bags Jelly beans - $1.98
2 bags of plastic eggs $ 1.98
4 Johnson Easy Grip Soap $3.96

Total before sales and coupons $32.83

Sales (with CVS card)
$3.96 off of the chocolates
$1.00 of each of the mouth washes
$0.50 of each toothbrush

Coupons
1 CVS $4 off $20
$1.00 off each Easy Grip Soap
$1.00 of each mouth wash

Total after sales and coupons $19.03

As you can see this was a pretty good deal - it gets better - I also got $24.91 in ECB (Extra Care Bucks - which are printed on the bottom of the receipt to be used like cash on the next visit to CVS)

So after I got home I realized that this CVS thing works and decided to return the next day to buy some other products that would be free (after ECB). So I went back and purchased the items in the second picture (oh and a lipstick that didn't make the picture)

This is what I purchased
1 box Pot of Gold chocolates
3 Johnson Easy Grip Soap
2 Nivea men's shaving cream
5 CVS Vitamin C tablets
1 Maybeline lipstick

I purchased these in 2 transactions. The first transaction came to $18.94, after sales, coupons and ECBs my total was $0.01
The second transaction came to $27.86, after sales, coupons and ECB my total was $2.99

$3.00 oop (out of pocket) was my total for the day - not bad for $46.80 worth of products PLUS I came home almost $28.00 of ECB!!!

One of the things I like best is that I can give away many of these items. Here at WEC we have a place where we can put items that others can take if they have need for it. I was so excited that all the items I placed there were gone within just a few hours. The Lord enabled me to help others - that was the real blessing.


Michelle

Happy Easter

We want to wish all our friends and family

HAPPY EASTER

May you enjoy celebrating Jesus' resurrection.

Love

Gary, Michelle, Daniel, Elaina, Nicholas, Naomi, Jeremiah & Deanna

Please Pray For Our Health

We would really appreciate your prayers for the health of our family.

Thankfully Jeremiah has just recovered from a cold and ear infection so now that only leaves 5 of us sick.

Gary has a cold with tightness in the chest
Daniel has a bad cough and cold
Elaina also has a cold and is loosing her voice
Nicholas has a cough and cold and his eyes are also swollen. I'm not sure if this is related to the cold or the start of allergy season for him.
Deanna has an infection in her lungs. She has been sick for 9 days now, including high fevers and coughing so hard she throws up. She has been on breathing treatments for a few days and has now started on antibiotics to help clear the infection.

Thankfully Naomi and I are well. Although I would appreciate your prayers as I am tired. This is the second week of sickness (last week was the stomach bug!!) and I have lost count of the number of times I have been up during the night over the last several days.

Thank you for your prayers

Michelle

A Gift from my Sunday School Class

Today we received a check for $170 from the ladies in my Sunday School class at FBC Fenton. It couldn't have come at a better time.

On Wednesday we have to get the 100 day refill on Daniel's specialized vitamins from Pfeiffer Institute at a cost of between $145 - $150.
Deanna's medication costs $9
This leaves us just enough to buy some more cough medicine (which we are just about out of)and a couple of boxes of tissues.

So I thank the Lord for stirring your hearts to give and I thank you for your generosity in giving. You have provided for our family at a time when we really needed it.

THANK YOU

Michelle

Check this out!

This you have to see!!

 

This was taken in the main kitchen of the castle. My wonderfuly husband!!

Michelle

Our Home in the Castle

Finally, here are some pictures of our home in on the second floor of the castle. This is the boys room. They have plenty of room to play and even have an en-suite bathroom!! 
 This is the school room and play room. We have been so blessed to be given all this space here.
  This is our bedroom - again so much space.
  This is a view of the hall way. The first door on the right is a bathroom, next on the right is the boys room, next is the small kitchen (sink, kettle and microwave). The girl's bathroom is through the kitchen. Straight ahead is the school room. First room on the left is our bedroom, next is the family/dinning room and third is the girl's room. Hopefully now, you can picture just a little of where we are.

A Challenging Week

I have had several people ask what we are learning/doing while we are here at WEC. So, let me start with what we did last week. We went to an inner city neighborhood of Philadelphia. We were working with Cornerstone Community Church reaching the community through door to door evangelism. On Monday our group went down to the church to learn about the community and take part in a prayer walk around the area. Then Tuesday through Friday we were knocking on doors taking a community survey and when possible sharing the gospel with people. Gary and I were suppose to take turns and be down in the city 2 days each, but due to sickness here at Camp Hill Gary ended up going down 3 days and I was only able to go down on Friday.

I was so far outside of my comfort zone at the idea of knocking on the doors of complete strangers and sharing the gospel with them, but that is what we are here for. As Christians we are called to reach out to this hurting world and share the good news of Christ with them. I was very pleased that I got the chance to go, although it wasn't easy. I guess it was good for me to realize that I struggled to do this myself because then I had to turn to the Lord for strength and as Philippians 4:13 says "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength". I really felt the Lord was with us as we spoke to those we met. It was hard to see and hear how much the people are hurting and yet they reject the One who can heal and give them peace.

Then on Saturday the Church held an ice cream social to which the people we had spoken to during the week were invited. We were able to introduce them to the church members who would continue to follow up with them. We thank the Lord that quite a few people showed up yesterday afternoon.

Please pray for the people we met last week. That the Church would be able to follow up with many and that the seeds we planted would begin to grow. Thank you.

On a side note, Gary got mistaken for a cop at least once - I guess it had something to do with the short hair and black leather jacket!!

Michelle

Rescue Shop Within a Yard of Hell

Part of our education here at WEC is through reading books. We are expected to read approximately 1 book a week. This is a challenge for me as I am not the fastest reader or have a lot of spare time, but I have found it very beneficial to read as much as I can and I have learnt a lot from what I have read. So I thought that when I come across a book that has really been beneficial to me, then I would share it with you.

One book I really appreciated reading was 'Rescue Shop Within a Yard of Hell' by S. Dinnen. It is about the Betel Ministry (a part of WEC) which is a residential rehabilitation program which helps drug addicts and alcoholics. Betel started in 1985 in Spain and to date has since helped 90,000 through its 72 locations in 15 countries and the Lord has granted great success to this organization.

The book describes how Betel was started and how the Lord guided the leaders through the steep learning curve to a place where they have helped thousands of men and women become drug and alcohol free and, most importantly, guided them to the Saviour who gave them their freedom. The book also gave many testimonies of people who God has released from their addictions and the way He has worked in their lives.

The style of writing was not the most fluent, but if you want to see God's power demonstrated in people's lives then this book is a must read.

Michelle

More of God's Provision

What a week! We have been so spoilt. It started last Tuesday when we received a box from some friends in St Louis. It had gifts in it for each of the kids along with tea bags and CHOCOLATE!! This was such a special surprise. The kids loved it and so did I - especially as I was having a craving for chocolate that morning! (I forgot to take a picture of those gifts until after the kids have moved them all over the apartment and the chocolates have long since disappeared). Thank you.

 

Then, just a few days later we received the above in a box from a different friend in the St Louis area. As you can imagine the Rice Krispy treats didn't even make it to the end of the day, without being devoured. The kool aid was a special treat for the kids too. Thank you.

Just after this I was able to get the great cereal deal (see post below).

 

Now let me tell you about a regular way the Lord provides for all of us here at WEC. Every Monday, Thursday and Saturday we are given the day old, discontinued or damaged goods from Whole Foods. This always includes bread and quite often includes organic fruits, cereals and snacks. Last week we even found a 16oz bottle of moisturizer which was great as I had just about ran out of the moisturizer the kids use. Above is a picture of what I was able to pick up for our family today. We are eating great wholesome food at no cost. God does provide .... abundantly!

Michelle

Provisions from the Lord

 

It has been really interesting this week to see the different ways the Lord has provided for us. Let me start with the story of the free cereal. Thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom I learnt about some good deals on cereals at a local grocery store and which websites had coupons for these cereals. I planned and printed coupons and left for the store hoping to get a good deal. The deal I did get was even better. Before sales the total for 11 boxes of cereal was $46.09. After sales and coupons the total came to $0.00. Yes, you read it right $0.00. I thank the Lord for providing.

The Northcutts on the loose in Philidelphia!!

 Today we decided to get away from Camp Hill for a while and do something fun as a family. It is on days like today that I realize how much I actually miss the city of St Louis. This is why - there is nothing to do here that is free!! After searching long and hard I found something that would work, so we ventured south into Philidelphia for the afternoon and visited the art museum.   Normally this costs $14 to enter, but on Sundays you can literally pay what you like, so Gary and I paid $1 each and there was no charge for the kids. It was a really interesting drive there, through some 'interesting' neighborhoods. Once we arrived the challenge was parking, apparently everyone had the same idea as us. Now I admit once we were inside there wasn't a lot to interest the kids, but they did enjoy seeing the armory exhibits. I think the most fun I had in the museum was watching the terrified look the employees had on their faces when they saw 6  children coming near their precious, priceless exhibits!!! My fears weren't inside the building, but outside as we tried to cross the street to get a look at the George Washington statue. As most of you know our kids are not used to crossing streets, especially busy ones in the middle of the city where drivers seem to have very little patience!  

Thankfully, they were all kept safe and we had a great time exploring somewhere new. Oh, and we did resist the urge (or maybe we were just too lazy) to run up the steps like Rocky!!

God's Provision for Deanna

  Deanna has grown. This in itself is not a problem, except her clothes were getting too small. Her pants were showing two to three inches of ankle and we were struggling to get some of her shirts over her head. As you can imagine a trip to the store for clothes was not in our budget this month. The Lord knew that and provided clothes anyway. Here at WEC there is a 'Pershing' room where there are donated clothes etc. We are allowed to help ourselves to anything we need, so last night I went searching for clothes for Deanna.  The pictures show what I found, 5 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, 1 pair of shorts and a dress. As you can see Deanna really enjoyed trying them on. An exciting part of all this is that I now get to put all her clothes that are too small into 'Pershing' for the next person who comes along with a growing child. Maybe Deanna's clothes will be as much a blessing to someone else as these clothes were to us.

Michelle

Pictures

 
















These were taken in the school room in our corner of the castle.
(L-R Josiah, Cressia, Jeremiah, Mark, Daniel, Deanna, Naomi, Jeanne, Elaina, Hannah and Nicholas). The kids have been working on a 'creation dance' with Jeanne which they performed during worship time last week. I hope to put a video of the dance on the blog next week (my video was too dark - I'm trying to find someone who got a better recording) Mark and Cressia are the ones who take care of the kids when we are in class. They do a great job and the kids love them.