Renewing Our Wedding Vows

Last night at church was our last service for family month. Since it was the 5th Sunday of the month the youth were in charge of the program. They decided to have a service where the married couples would renew their vows. It was a nice program and they had even decorated the church for us. It was a fun time. I received a dozen red roses for the occassion. Roses are very cheap here compared to the USA but they are still just as beautiful.

After the service we took some family shots. The girls and I enjoyed taking this silly picture.

Volleyball

These past 3 Saturdays has been eliminations of ladies volleyball. The first weekend was for those 14 and under. Rebekah and Abigail played. They won one game and lost 3. Each year they improve. Last weekend was for those 15-30. We fought hard in each game but only won 1 out of 4 games. Many matches were very close. This weekend is was our turn. The ladies 30 and over played. I just don't like to think of myself as being in the category of the "older" ladies. We won 1 and lost 2. It was a fun time. We had 10 ladies turn out for the game. We had plenty of subs. Our ladies had great attitudes and had fun together.

Rebekah falls

On Saturday Rebekah came into the house with tears in her eyes and holding onto her wrist. Rebekah doesn't cry with pain unless it is really bad. On furlough 3 years ago she fell and badly sprained the same wrist. The fall on Saturday reinjured it. Thankfully we still have the splint that they made for her at the hospital. It is a little small but works. We are treating her wrist and resting it. It makes school and piano lessons a little more difficult.

Welcome to the Family

We had a great Easter evangelistic campaign. We had visitors each night. Decisions were for growth and change each night. On Saturday night the girls and I prayed for just one person to get saved. Sunday night after the evening message one man asked Jesus to be his Saviour! Better yet it is the father of one of the young ladies in our church. She was recently saved and baptized. There was a lot of rejoicing going on at our church last night! Now we pray for the mom and brother of Gisella. We are also thankful for Tirzah Brown being able to step in a play the piano for our choir and congregational numbers. She did a great job. David took over as choir director. God blessed and each special number turned out great!

Fish Dissection Day

We have been studying vetebrates this past week in science, specifically fish, etc. Today we dissected a fish to look at its gills, heart, etc. It was a neat experiment, although smelly. For a few days both Benjamin and Rebekah were asking, "when are we going to digest a fish." They finally figured out the word is dissect not digest :) In the first picture you will see Rebekah holding the fish eye, second picture is of the fish spine and the 3rd Rebekah is just beginning to cut open her fish.

Prayer Requests

Dear friends and family,

Please pray for the Stilwell/Hogg family as Grandpa Hogg (Evelyn's dad) passed away yesterday. That would be David's grandpa. He was a very godly man who is now singing the Hallelujah Chorus in heaven. Dad and Mom are working on changing their already purchased airline tickets. They had planned to travel for furlough on the 10th but things will probably be changed.

Also please pray for our church's evangelistic campaign this Friday through Sunday. Over 800 invitations have been handed out around the church. Pray that many will see their need of receiving the Risen Lamb as their Saviour.

Thanks so much for your prayer support.

Jacob Matthew Stilwell

What can I say about Jacob? He is our goof ball. He keeps us in stitches. He has wonderfully kissable cheeks although he only lets his mom kiss them. Jacob is very active. He enjoys softball and soccer as well as his bike and scooter. In the second grade he enjoys history and science. This semester his Aunt Martha is his teacher. He really likes that! Jacob will always be my baby boy. His grandpa calls him Cowboy Jake. He has a sweet spirit and is always ready to lend a hand. His birthday is September 1, 1998. He is also taking piano lessons.

Abigail Nicole Stilwell

Abigail is my "baby girl." She is currently 10 years old. Her birthday is June 19, 1996. She is quite pleased to share a birthday month with her mom. Abi was supposed to be our peruvian baby but she decided she just didn't want that. She prompted us to travel home to the USA for her birth. Here in Peru they told us she was a he! Surprise, mom, I'm a girl. She came back to Peru when she was 3 weeks old. Abigail is our girl on the go. She loves to play outside and to climb trees. Her favorite subject in school (5th grade) is reading. She also enjoys drawing pictures and designing clothes. Abigail is my right hand gal in the kitchen. She loves to bake, especially cornbread. She is full of laughs and has beautiful blue eyes. Abigail is also taking piano lessons and shows some real talent in this area.