Cistern Preparations and Rain!

Cistern preparations:
We have a team coming mid March to help build some cisterns that are going under the quonset hut that we will be building.  So this week we started to make preparations for them to come.  On Monday a couple men from church came and helped Kyrk to clear the area very well.  Then today there were about 10 men from church who came up to start digging the holes.  This is going to be hard work, but the men are very thankful for the work.

Clearing the stomps and bushes

Starting to dig the cistern holes.

Rain:
About a week ago I mentioned that we were in great need of rain.  There have been many people praying that God would send rain.  On Monday afternoon this is what the sky looked like.

 Then the rain came down hard.  It rained for about an hour and we ended up receiving 1 1/2" of rain.

The kids loved playing in the rain.

 

Water is so valuable, we scooped water out of the puddles so that is can be used to water the gardens.

Today Kyrk was talking with several pastors from the area churches and apparently this rain was very localized and just 3 miles from our place they didn't receive any rain.  So we are extremely thankful for this amazing gift from God.

Busy days:
One of the things that we like to do when we hire local men, is to provide a meal for them.  We were blessed with a gift of a sac of rice to use for these meals.  The only problem is that the rice has small stones and pieces of bad rice, so we have to go through it to clean it.  We are so thankful for help with this and Helen and Bob are a huge help.  The next couple of days we will be making large pots of rice and beans each day, serving these men who are working so hard.

Ladies Group

At the end of December while we were visiting the Christen family from church I started talking with Mdm Christen about the ladies in the church and the woman's group.  She invited me to come each Tuesday afternoon when the ladies met for prayer and Bible study. 
So in January I started going down to church for the ladies meeting.  The first week I went it was a very stretching time for me.  First they asked me to stand up and share a little with the group.  I wasn't prepared for this, so what I had to say was very short.  Then they said that I would be joining them when they sang on the last Sunday of the month.  I thought to myself "Okay, I guess I'm going to be singing."
When the last Sunday came there was a group of about 15 of us that just walked to the front of the church and sang a song that we had practiced the week before.
This past month we have been working each week on learning a new song, preparing to share it this morning.  Last week when we were practicing, they said that we would all be wearing the ladies group uniform and then sitting together.  When I heard this I thought that would probably mean that I would not be singing with them, which I didn't mind :)
Well I was wrong.  On Friday evening Mr. Christen came up to our house with a gift from his wife.  It was a shirt that matched all the other ladies that she had had someone make for me.  WOW, I guess they really want me to sing with them.
So this morning I was officially part of the ladies choir and it was a very neat experience to sit along side my sisters in Christ and sing with them. 
I have been very humbled with the way that these ladies have included me into their group and the ways that God is using this weekly time with them to learn more about them and their lives.  I really enjoy studying God's word with these ladies and praying together with them.
I am praying that as I continue to fellowship with these ladies that I would be able to continue to build relationships with them and that God would use me in what ever ways He desires.

Already to head to church with my pink shirt.

Below is a short video that Kyrk took in church this morning of the group singing.  You can't really see the group too well but you can hear the first part of the song that we were singing.

Moving a Garden

It truly has been wonderful having Aunt Helen and Uncle Bob here.  They have been helping in so many ways.  One major task that we undertook was setting up a new garden.  This involved clearing and preparing the new site, moving dirt from another garden that was built on the south side of the house and was too hot to grow things in.  We figure we moved about a dump truck load of dirt mostly with wheel barrows. 
We are so thankful to have this new garden ready to be planted.  We are experimenting with various plants and seeing what we can grow up here.  We are hoping that people in the community will be interested in copying this idea and grow vegetables for this families with gardens in their yards.

This is the new garden site before we started clearing.

Jonathan loved using his hatchet to help clear the brush.

Everything had to go, so we all worked together to get it ready.

The new garden site had to be leveled, so we needed to bring up fill from the back yard.

We were so thankful for the Gator to help with this task.

Everyone worked together to move all this dirt up to the new garden site.

Robert was the driver of the wheelbarrows back down the hill.

The almost finished product.  Now to plant it :)

Pray for rain

It has been extremely dry here.  This capped spring (pictured below) usually has many people around it gathering water.  For the past few weeks it has been dry and the people are having to walk much greater distances to get water.  This is the first time since the spring was capped, many years ago, that it has went dry.  Please join us in praying that God would send rain.

Few Highlights from the past couple of weeks

Saturday Afternoon Children's time
We are so thankful that prayers are being answered and we are having many children come to our children's program on Saturday afternoons.  Last week we had about 20 children come.  We have started reading a children's story bible together and next week I'm planning on having a colouring picture for them and start learning a memory verse together.  Continue to pray that God would draw these children to Him.  Many are do not attend church. 

Visitors:
Last Friday Helen and Bob (Deborah's Aunt and Uncle) arrived.  They will be spending the month of February with us and it is always a joy to have them here.  With their help we have canned 3 bushels of tomatoes, started many vegetables and trees, planted the gardens and many other projects.   

The kids loved to help Aunt Helen plant seeds.

 One huge praise, is that we have a welder/generator now in Atrel!  This has been a need that we have had, and thanks to a generous donation from a church in Alberta we were able to purchase one.  It was brought up on the truck today and Bob got right to work setting it up.  There are many projects waiting for this welder.

Jonathan watching carefully as Uncle Bob gets the welder ready.