Casey Town Hall VBS

Linda and I came to Wisconsin in 1987 and started to conduct VBS in 1988. One of the Bible Schools was at Casey Town Hall. Most years there would be 15 - 25 kids that would attend each year. It is easy to get discouraged and think that we are not reaching many kids in the area. But if you add up all the different kids that have attended over the years, it would be quite a few. More important, many of those kids gave their life to the Lord at that little town hall in the woods. We led several kids to the Lord right on the steps that go into the town hall. Ever so often we hear from those kids that came during the early years. Many of them are still living for the Lord and remember those times with great joy. Now some of the kids that come are the children of the ones that came in the early years. We must be getting old! Many of them have attended our camp and several have helped us as Summer Missionaries, teaching and doing puppets at Casey Town Hall and the other VBS's.
   Every year that we have used the town hall, we would go a day early, clean things up and set up for VBS. For the first few years we even had an outhouse that we had to clean. That was a dirty job with lots of dust and spider webs. During the rest of the year it was mainly used by hunters a few times a year. In the last few years we have had to use a "porta potty", which was brought in for the week. If someone asked us what we use the kid's offerings for most of it, if not all of it, is used to pay for the use of that porta potty.
First Photo: 25 years ago at Casey Town Hall. Last 2 photos taken today.

This week we are back at Casey Town Hall with 16 kids attending and teaching S.S. Charlie. The kids are all full of wiggles and giggles, but most of all they are full of life. Pray for them that God will continue to work in their lives and develop them into missionaries and servants for His glory.

On Friday, October 26th we held our annual Teen Event. This year it was held in Stone Lake, Wisconsin at the home of Eldon and Tina Colblentz. The first part of the event was a hayride that started about 5:30 pm. After the  hayride, everybody met at a nearby church for a chilli supper and a concert and a time of worship by a Christian music group called "513 Free". They sang and played for about an hour and a half. After the concert, the teens played games in the basement and some of them went back to Coblentz's home for a bonfire. It was a great night of fellowship, worship and fun!

Website: http://www.513Free.com

This winter we are hoping to have a Teen Retreat where a few older teens can come together for a weekend to have fun and fellowship. The main goal of the retreat will be to spend some serious time in God's Word and to talk about serving the Lord and being used of Him. As soon as we have the details together, we will post them  here and on Facebook. Please let us know if you are interested in being a part of this weekend retreat.    You can contact us at   Fdistad@Gmail.com

Afton's High Tea

When I think about this year's camp many things stand out: 60 campers, almost 40 workers, several decisions for Christ, the 20 year celebration and much more. One of the highlights for me was Thursday afternoon, when I was rushing about with several things on my mind that needed to be done. As I was heading for the kitchen, there at the top of the steps was my grand daughter, Afton. All of a sudden all the things I "needed" to get done were not important any more. I took Afton by the hand and led her down to the kitchen (mainly so I knew where she was). I asked her if she would like to have something to drink, so I poured her and my self a glass of iced tea. We sat down at the table and had what I called "High Tea". I showed her the "proper" way to drink tea, which consisted of slurping the tea followed by a loud "ahhhhhh". She thought that was fun. We sat there talking and slurping our tea for a good 15 minutes talking about everything under the sun that came to her little mind. Along with Linda and I, her other grand parents were at camp too. Afton proceeded to tell me that Grandpa and grandma Crawford had white hair and I had white hair, but "my wife" did not. She was just "old" but did not have white hair. I would not trade those 15 minutes for all the gold in Washington. Thank God for little girls and High Tea Time. Ahhhhhhh!!!! That's good tea!

Prayer meeting in the bank

Yesterday, I had an experience that was quite unusual to me. I went to the bank to cash a check. After the check was cashed April was standing right next to me and wondered if I had a few minutes to spare. I said, "Sure, what's up?" She told me that a few of the employees were going to have a prayer meeting in the side room to pray for a young man that had been diagnosed with cancer. A couple years ago, April was diagnosed with breast cancer and the ladies of the bank did the same for her, so this was very special to her. I followed her to the side room where 5 other ladies came in to pray for this young man. We held hands in a circle and we spent a few minutes praying that God would give peace to this man and his family. Most of the ladies knew who I was, but a couple of them did not. April introduced me as her "Uncle Frank", who was not really her uncle but that is what she has called me for the past 2o some years. That day we deposited much more than money in the bank. We deposted eternal blessings.
As a side note, today I was back in the bank and one of the ladies told me that God answered our prayers. The 23 year old man's cancer was not as radical as they first thought and he and his family had peace to and from the doctor's appointment.

Olivia's Picture for Garndma and Grandpa.

For quite a while I have been involved in taking photos and have really enjoyed it. But none of the photos I took can compare to a picture drawn for Linda and I by our grand daughter, Olivia. She is only 5 years old, but quite a promising artist. (That's according to a bragging Grandpa). Olivia spent a lot of time and love drawing the picture and was not satisfied giving it to us until it was just right. Then we had to wait at the door of her bedroom until she was "ready" to give it to us. Needless to say, we are very proud of her and think her picture is worth more than a thousand photos taken by a camera. We will put the picture in a prominent place and continue to brag it up. Thank you Olivia - Keep up the good work. All of our grand kids have made us drawings and we cherish them all.

Self Portrait

Our assignment for photo club was to come up with a self portrait. How do you take a picture of yourself and yet do it in a unique way. The other night I took a trip to Perch Lake Bridge to see what i could come up with. I hung over the edge of the bridge and pulled the trigger on the camera a few times. The final result is this picture. It looks a little surreal and alien like. Seeing I enjoy sci-fi, this probably fits me. Either way, the picture was chosen as the "winner" for the month of August, whatever that means. Can you tell who it is? I always enjoy the photo club as I can learn more about what is involved in taking pictures and working with them on the computer to make them better. My goal is to use these things for God's glory.

Camp 2010

It always seems a little weird that we prepare for months for camp and it is over in a batting of an eye. This years camp went quite well. We had 64 kids and about 42 adults helping. One of the big highlights for me happened during missionary hour. I had quite a few things to do that day, so i was not able to be in the chapel during that time. Toward the end of the missionary hour, I was getting ready to go into the chapel, but I stopped at the door and peeked in. What I saw was simply amazing. Almost all the campers and staff were at the front of the chapel with their heads bowed and praying. Many were making some very serious decisions about serving the Lord. To me that is what camp is all about!
It amazes me that this year marked our 20th year of camp! Next year we are planning a a time of celebration and praise. Like the theme for this year's camp states "What a Mighty God we serve!!!"
This picture is free for anyone to download and keep for their own. Enjoy and as you look at it start now to pray for next year's NorthLand Bible Camp.