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.