Christmas SNOW!!!

One of the things I am learning during these winter months is that sometimes you just have to sit back and wait for the weather to break. This morning we were supposed to have our church service at Barron, but we canceled because of the snowy roads. The snow from yesterday had quit and the sky was clear, but the windchill was below zero and the roads were very slippery. Instead of traveling 42 miles south to church, we traveled about 1 mile to Trego Community and joined them today. Linda went to their Christmas program tonight. Linda's mom called tonight and told us that Linda's nephew and his wife and child were in a 30 car pile up on Highway 94 this afternoon. Their car was totalled as it was hit from behind and in the front. Scott lost 3 teeth and his face was cut up and they are keeping him overnight to check for a concussion. Lornell and the baby are all right.
I thought this picture of the bush in our yard was quite interesting with the red berries showing in the snow covered bush. The Lord was reminding me that even in the midst of snow storms there is life and blessing.

Olivia'a Birthday

A couple of weeks ago, Linda and I went over to the Twin Cities to help celebrate our grand daughter's 4th birthday. Jennifer made Olivia a beautiful "Little Mermaid" birthday cake. After we had lunch, it was time for her to open her presents. Olivia had it planned out to the letter, just what we were suppose to do. She would go into her room, wait a little bit and then come out. As she did we would yell out "Surprise" and "Happy Birthday". Of course, she wasn't really surprised, but she still loved the attention. It is always a delight to help celebrate their birthdays. I think we are just as excited as they are sometimes.

An Aamzing Week!

This past week has been one of those weeks where there was something happening every day. It was definitely a busy week, but a very good week. It actually stated last week when I traveled to south east Wisconsin to be a part of 2 different mission conferences and make a couple of visits. The first conference was Wednesday night in the small town of Fulton, Wisconsin. It is a small town, but Fulton Church is a good size church with a very active membership. On Thursday I traveled to Union Grove to stay at Shepherd's Home, where they minister to Cognitive Impaired adults. They not only provide housing and work, but a great source of spiritual leadership. I came away with a great appreciation for how they work with C.I. adults and respond to their needs. Friday I was involved in a 3 day mission's conference in William's Bay at Calvary Community Church. It was amazing to see missionaries from all over the world and here in the USA.

That was last week. This week involved 3 adult Bible Studies (Linda has a Ladies Bible Study on Monday, I have one at an assisted living facility in Hayward on Wednesday and we both took part of the Bible Study at Hanson's Group Home in Barron.) We also had a Bible Study tonight with our adult group in Shell Lake.

Thursday after school, we hold a Bible Club in Haugen Elementary School. This was our first week of club for the year and we had no idea how many kids would be coming. In the past we were able to send notes home to all the kids at that school. But this year we had to send out personal notes to the kids that attended last year. Praise the Lord, we had 11 kids come and had a great time with them. God really answered prayer!

Friday night was the night of our Teen Youth Night in Barron at the Barron Area Community Center. Instead of going all night, like we have done in the past, we went from 7 - midnight, which was a lot easier for us "old people" to handle. There were 29 teens and 11 adults. Paul Frey handled the games and devotional for the night. One of the games he played was "Chariot Race", where each team had a blanket for a chariot which they placed someone on and pulled them around the gym and raced chariot style. The kids had a blast!

Today was our annual "Praise Celebration" at the Barron Church. The music group "Reachin' Out" sand and played several songs and we celebrated God's bleesing during the year. Our attendance was nearly doubled with 41 people attending and enjoying the potluck dinner after church.

This past Saturday we had a work day at the church in Barron. Dave and Randy came up from Portage, Wisconsin with their wives to help us install 5 new windows. Wayne Nutt also help with the windows. I went over the day before and removed the brick molding and inside trim and they basically did the rest. I am glad that they installed the windows and not myself. It took most of the day to get the job done, but it really looks nice now and a whole lot quieter. It should be more economic this winter for our renter. I played "gofer" and ran after parts as we needed them and Linda fixed dinner for the crew.

Aunt Ruth

The other day my brother Bob called to tell me that our Aunt Ruth had passed away in her house. My dad and all his brothers and sisters are now gone. My Aunt Lil lives in Moose Lake, Mn. She was married to my dad's brother, Clayton, who passed away a few years ago. Ruth was always the quiet one with a very dry sense of humor. I still remember when she and my Aunt Blanch came to our wedding in Jackson, Michigan back in 1971. They stayed with Linda's folks for a couple of days. Linda's dad was trying to get them to crack a smile, which they did after a while. I don't have a lot of memories of Aunt Ruth, except going with my dad to visit her and her husband Arnie at their house in Rochester.
The picture is that of Dad's family. Grandma Distad is the one in the middle and Ruth is on the right with Blanch on the left side. Left to right in the back is Clayton, Dad and George. We miss them all.

Last week we held a VBS at Haugen Elementary School in Haugen, Wisconsin. Last year there were only about 4 or 5 kids total, because of Summer School and swimming lessons. This year we changed the dates to later in the summer, when Summer school, Swim lessons and the county fair were over and left the results with the Lord. We averaged 11 kids with 14 enrolled. That may not sound like a lot of kids, but it was a great week. One of the things we have been trying to do is to get to know the parents better and this year we were able to get better acquainted with many of them. A couple of them stayed and helped with the VBS program. The kids seemed excited about VBS and the lessons on Sunday School Charlie. One of the highlights for the kids was to play "Poop Deck" each day. Molly, our summer missionary, led in that game.

VBS in the Dark!

This week we are holding VBS at Lake Park Alliance in Shell Lake. It has been a good week with about 25 kids coming. Today was a little different, and yet a very good day. Sometime last night we had a storm and the lights went out. We woke about 3:00 am to a dark room. In the morning the pastor called and let us know that the electricity was out at the church and would not be on until at least 10:00 am. We wondered if that would affect kids coming to VBS - It didn't! The kids came and it turned out to be a VBS the kids will probably not forget for quite a while. We couldn't use the tape player to play back ground music to the songs they sang and the puppets were a little harder to see, but that was all right. Instead of going down stairs for class, the classes were held in the auditorium where there was more light. After hearing about the tornado that struck the boy scout camp in Iowa and where 3 of them were killed, we praise God for our little inconvenience. God is in control!!!

On June 6th, our grandson, Connor, graduated from Kindergarten. We really enjoyed watching them march in with their cap and cape. One of the highlights was when they sang a song about brushing their teeth. They also had a slide show of the kids during the year. They sure keep them busy. The great thing about the school he and Gabe goes to is that it is a Christian school where they are not afraid to share Christ with the kids. Where else can you begin and end a program with glorifying the Lord!
After graduation we went to a restaurant called Snuffies, where they serve old fashion 50's style hamburgers and milkshakes. I just wish the prices were the same as in the 50's. The only reason Connor likes this restaurant is that they have a candy machine that lets you keep playing until you win some candy. He likes his candy!!!!!
Yesterday we started our first week of Vacation Bible School in Shell Lake, Wisconsin with 17 kids attending. Today there were a few more. I have been teaching another Sunday School Charlie episode where Charlie and Red go to camp and encounter a bully named Muscle Mike. The theme is "Fishers of Men". Today the youth pastor had a long, long cane fishing pole with a lizard on the end of it that he dangled above the kids. (The lizard was in a plastic bag attached to the end of the pole.) Some also brought a turtle for the kids to see. maybe we should have counted the animals in our attendance?

Grand Parents Day

This past Friday was Grand Parents Day at our grand sons Christian school in Blaine, Minnesota. During the first hour we were in the school auditorium and each grade sang a Christian song. It was fun watching both our grandsons sing and do the motions to the songs. Connor is quite the ham, so when he came out on stage with the rest of the kids, he was waddling like a duck and just enjoying himself. Then we spent time in both Connor's kindergarten class and Gabe's First Grade class room. In Connor's classroom, each child introduced their grand parents (or special friend) and tried to tell a little about them and why they were special. In Gabe's class, Gabe showed us his room and read to us out of his library book. He does pretty good at reading. Later I went with Connor to the library where he picked out a couple of books to "look at". He just likes looking at the pictures.
We are very proud of our grand sons (and grand daughters). It is amazing to see them grow up and change every time we see them.

Spring Showers???

Everybody I talk to say that they are more than ready for spring, even though the first day of spring was more than 2 weeks ago. Two days ago the temperatures were in the 50's and I was working in the garage. Last night and today we have been experiencing spring showers - SNOW showers that is - wet, heavy slushy snow. So far we have had about 6 - 8 inches and more is coming tonight. The pictures are of our house this morning. It wouldn't be so bad, but I was talking with a friend from Texas where they were suppose to be over 100 degrees this week. I think I will take the snow over that. No matter how we look at it God is in control and we praise Him for the weather He sends.

Love and Grand Kids

Yesterday, Linda and I spent time with our grand kids in the Twin Cities. We baby sat with the 3 younger ones while Jennifer took Gabe to the eye doctor for a routine eye exam. The doctor told them that he does not need glasses. After they got back to the house, Linda and I took Gabe, Connor and Olivia to McDonalds for Happy Meals. This McDonalds had a play area with shoots, ladders and climbing tunnels that the kids really loved. Talk about noisy!!! Needless to say, the kids enjoyed all the climbing and running around. One of the things that really made our day was our 3 year old grand daughter, Olivia. She is all girl and loves to dress up, play house and look pretty. But what really tickled both Linda and myself is that she must have told each of us a half dozen times "I love you grandpa" and "I love you grandma". Then she would give us a hug and look up at us with those big beautiful eyes. It don't get any better than that!!!

Ready for Summer?

Believe it or not, lately our goal has been getting ready for summer - actually summer ministries. Our Vacation Bible Schools start the week of June 9th at Lake Park Alliance in Shell Lake, Wi. We are planning 5 VBS's this summer. The material we are using is one of the old Sunday School Charlie lessons called "The Mystery of the Golden Keys" and is the story of Charlie and Red going to camp. Since we are using a Fishing Theme, I have been busy planning the lessons around stories in the Bible that have to do with fishing or boats, along with either finding or making fishing props. Along with that there is daily verses, attendance cards, games, contest props and much more.
We are also trying to get ready for NorthLand Bible Camp, which is August 3 - 8th. Every year we divide the campers by age and have about 8 age related classes, which are taught all over the camp grounds. Part of my job is to work up the lessons and get them ready for the teachers. This year our theme is "Godly Heroes - past and present", emphasizing Bible Heroes and modern day heroes that left their mark for God. Linda has already started planning the camp meal menus and figuring out just what food they will need for the week. Then she gets to go to camp and with the help of other kitchen staff and prepare the food for up to 125 hungry people.
Then from July 6 - 11, we will be in Iowa helping Bonnie Ellis with her week of teen camp. I will be the teen speaker and Linda will help in the kitchen and with other things. The plans are to do a study on the Life of Joseph from the book of Genesis. I am hoping to start sharing this series at the Barron church in April and then use the time to prepare for camp in Iowa as well.

Barron Church

One of the joys that God has given Linda and myself is to be involved with the Free Methodist Church in Barron. I started pastoring this church 2 1/2 years ago. If you come to Barron, Wisconsin look for "the little pink church by the side of the road". It is a very unique church in that it is made up of mostly adults from group homes that are developmentally handicapped and have a great love for the Lord. When we first came to the church, we noticed that the building needed a lot of upkeep. Since then, with the help of many others, we have made many improvements, including putting in a handicap bathroom on the main floor where a nursery used to be, replacing divider curtains with a solid wall in the sanctuary, painting, putting up curtains and pictures top lighten the place up and make it more cheery. God has provided a refrigerator and stove and much more. He recently provided money to replace inside entry doors. This Sunday we will dedicate those to the Lord in memory of Rachael H. who went home to be with the Lord in January at the age of 89. What a mighty God we serve!

Winter Visits

Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting with 2 special people. The first person was Pastor Mike from Hope Congregational Church in Superior, Wisconsin. For the past few years we have been helping them with VBS and they also have a few kids that come to NorthLand Bible Camp in August. This year for VBS we are planning on teaching another Sunday School Charlie episode. This one is called the "The Mystery of the Golden Keys" and involves Charlie and Red attending Bible Camp and encountering a bully by the name of Muscle Mike. The kids always love Sunday School Charlie and his adventures.
The other person I spent time with was Helen S. I first met Helen over 20 years ago when Clarence Ecker, the former missionary in this area, took me around to visit people on the field. Helen and her husband used to help Mr. Ecker with a Sunday School in the Barnes, Wisconsin area many years ago. In July, Helen will be turning the young age of 100. But the thing that makes her so special is her vibrant faith in the Lord. She is looking forward to the day when she can see Jesus face to face. For Helen that will be great, because she is legally blind and very hard of hearing, but her mind is still young and energetic.

For more information about us and our ministry with American Missionary Fellowship you can go to www.distad.org

Welcome to our Blogger Page

We want to welcome you to our new Distad Blogger Page. We will try to add new information each week to keep you updated about what is going on in out lives here in N.W. Wisconsin.