Commissioning Service

Tonight was the commissioning service for Brother Lewis and Sister Kim Howell. They are missionaries out of our church going to New Zealand. It was a really sweet service. Pastor Goodman sat them in chairs in the front of the church and they gave their testimonies of when they accepted Christ into their hearts and answered a few questions from our Deacons and church staff. Then the deacons prayed over Brother Howell for his ordination and then over both Brother Lewis and Sis Kim for their commissioning. Their joy of serving the Lord in this capacity is evident by the smiles and excitement you see on their faces. They will leave Wednesday for six months and he will pastor a church there while the pastor of said church will be back here in the states. Then they'll come home and finish getting up their support before their final leave to New Zealand. We will miss them dearly. Please pray for the Howell Family.

Another Busy Day

Our Missionaries to New Zealand have added more coloring pages for your little one on their website. Please check it out and print some off. And remember to pray for the Lewis Howell family. They leave, I believe, the 20th of this month for a six month term. To print the coloring pages, click here.

I spent most of the day away from the house doing "Kristi" stuff. It was a busy day but a good one. I say that a lot about my days lately.....busy, but good. Would I want it any other way? Nope!

Courtney's mother, Rachel, did a wonderful post today that I think all mothers should read. Please click here to read it.

I didn't have a dinner oops to share with you tonight. After all, how do you mess up corndogs?

I had lunch and went shopping with a couple of my friends today for the children in our bus ministry. That was fun. We hit the Dollar Tree store and racked up on some fun stuff for the little ones, things older boys would enjoy, and things for the older girls to make them feel pretty. Like lotions and hair clips, bath gels, etc. The bus kids earn "bus bucks" to purchase certain items by doing things like attending church, learning Bible verses, dressing right, etc. I suppose they'll put these things up like a store. That will be fun.

Tomorrow I'll be cleaning house for my mother and possibly dropping off Justin to cut grass. I say possibly because it's been raining off and on all day and looks like it may be doing the same tomorrow. I have some other irons in the fire as well. So either way, my Friday will be full.

Tonight I hope to get my own house cleaned and several loads of laundry finished. We'll see. It's already 9:00 so I'll have to call in the troops and assign chores. Our best cleaning is at night and it's always nice to get up to a spotless house. Before we put our floor down, I would clean my carpets very late at night. SOME people thought that was funny. SOME people would laugh at me for that. SOME people.....well, I can't think of anything else, but SOME people know who they are. ; )

That's about all I have for tonight. Have a great Friday~

And remember: Hard work, cheerfully done, is easy work. Light work, unwillingly done, is mere drudgery.

Update On The Howell Family...Praise the Lord!

This email was waiting for me in my box yesterday. Thanks to all of you who prayed for the Howell family, our missionaries to New Zealand. The Lord certainy came through once again. Here is the email Brother Howell sent:

PRAISE GOD!

I just picked up our passport and approved visas from FED EX.

Thanks for your prayers.

We have had more funds come in this past week to bring us closer to our needed $8,500. Our airline tickets have been covered now, they were just under $6,000. Please continue to pray that we will raise all of our needed funds and that we will be at least 70% of our support. It is important that churches with commitments, but have not started support, to get their suport in before the 25th so we will see it before we travel on the 20th of next month. Also pray that any churches considering supporting us will start by the same date. Pray also that our support will continue to increase while we are in New Zealand for the 6 months; I know many churches do not take on new missionaries until the end or beginning of the year.

God is good...all the time,
Lewis Howell

Another Message From the Howell Family

This post is really for those that live near me, but not necessarily if you're interested in a free pet. Mrs. Kim Howell, our missionary to New Zealand, is offering a free pet to a good home. Here is what she has to say about it........

Just thought I’d drop a quick note about the hamster. New Zealand doesn’t have hamsters and won’t allow them into the country so our furry friend has to find a new home. We would like to keep the cage because we probably would get a guinie pig or other small animal that could use the cage. Pet supplies are very expensive in New Zealand. The hamster is free with all other stuff I have for him since we could no longer have a hamster. The wheel, wood home, feeding bowl, water bottle, food, bedding, small fence for letting him run around in without letting him have free roam in the house, wood chew blockes, etc. The happy person receiving Tiger would only have to supply a cage and the above stuff is free. Tiger is a teddy bear hamster with some dark stripes on his side, hence the name Tiger. Of course he is male. We have had him about 1 year and he has always been healthy and quite friendly. I give him an apple and carrot piece each week and put vitamins in his water. His fur is very good and he has never given us any problems.

Another quick note, do you know if anyone has a fish tank and would like a few free fish? I will be breaking down the tank soon and will just take them to the fish store if no one wants them. I have about 8 swordtails and 4 small stripped things (forget name) and 1 algae eater. All get along fine, the swordtails have reproduced and their babies keep having babies, so a few of the swordtails are only about ¾ inch long.

Thanks for posting this on your web site.

Kim

If you're interested in the hamster, please go to the Howell website and email them from there or just email or call me and I'll make sure they get the message. THANKS!

~Kristi

Please Pray for the Howell Family

As some of you know, I have posted periodically on the Howell family, missionaries out of our church on their way to New Zealand. I received this prayer request through an email and wanted to share it with my praying friends. Please keep this family in your prayers.

The Devil is fighting our getting into New Zealand. Our last lengthy trip away from home, we came home to a defrosted freezer which leaked all over the kitchen; we lost the freezer and all the food in it. Also, on that trip we had a flat tire and a blow out. This trip we came home to some potatoes that rotted and oozed all through the kitchen; smelled as bad as the defrosted meet. This time we also had our washer go up. And, while cutting grass last night the lawn mower front wheel fell off. We just returned to this yesterday and today we found out about our visitor visa being declined. All of this and much more has been happening ever since we purchased our airline tickets a couple months ago.

Our application for a visitor visa for our 6 months in New Zealand came back declined. We are resubmitting with what we hope is all they will need for approval.

They declined due to insufficient funds for our stay. We will have sufficient funds coming to us through our mission board if we are at 70% or more of our support. However, what they require is a specific amount of current funds in a personal bank account or credit card, and this amount for our 6 months is $14,400. When we eventually apply for our work visa we will not need this because our salary will be proof of funds. Besides purchasing our recent airline tickets, we have no credit card debt (this month the Lord has sent in about $1,500 towards our tickets). Because we had no credit card debt when sending in our visa application, the credit card information we sent was over a year old since we have had no purchases or statements, and this card had only $13,200; the credit card statement being a year old and not for at least $14,400 caused the decline. We just activated a credit card for $15,200 but we have no statement except what I can print off the internet. I am sending this information with our application for a visitor visa. Please pray that this will be sufficient. If this is not sufficient, we will need $14,400 in a personal bank account to show proof of funds.

God is good…all the time,
Lewis Howell
Ephesians 6:18-19

Updated Moving Sale

Here are more items that the Lewis Howell Family are selling before their trip to New Zealand. These items can not be taken with them when they move and all proceeds will be put into their moving fund. If there is something you are interested in, you can contact me by email or visit their site for their email information and title the subject "Moving." Thank You.

	Little Tikes Toddler Rocking Horse Condition: Very good Used inside Sells new for $50 Asking $20
	Step 2 Rocking Fish Condition: Good Used outside, has little fading Sold new for $60 (interesting: I found this sold new in New Zealand for $120 US dollars) Asking $20
	Twin Bed Frame with Wheels Condition: New in box Never used Sells new for $50 Asking $25
	GM Accessory Roof Rack Condition: good Genuine GM Part Removable, expandable, lockable Load capacity 165 lbs. Used on 2000 Malibu, fits other vehicles, makes and models that have a Valley roof gutter Sold new for $200 Asking $35
	Decorative Cabinet Condition: Excellent PA Dutch pattern Hand painted, hand crafted 4.5" W x 19.5" H x 7" D Inside 4.75" depth Flat back so it can be hung on a wall (needs hardware to hang), we kept it on the fireplace mantle Sold new for $100 Asking $25
	1959 Fleer Ted Williams Card #1 of The Early Years series Condition: good Sells $60-$100 Asking BEST OFFER
	Weber 22 1/2" Green One-Touch Gold Kettle Grill Condition: very good, not used a lot Heavy-gauge porcelain-enameled lid and bowl - Green One Touch? cleaning system made of stainless steel Rust resistant aluminum legs Glass reinforced nylon handles Made in USA Removable high-capacity ash catcher Hinged Cooking grate Sells new for $150 Asking $50
	33 Gallon Flat Back Hexagon Glass Aquarium with Oak Stand, with Door Condition: good Includes all accessories I will be using this item through Summer Bought all new for $400+ Asking $75
	Rocking Horse Condition: used/good Works great with our 40 pound girls, sound does not work Sells new for $100 Asking $20
SOLD	Toastmaster Bread Machine Model 1190
	Art Deco Style Mirror Condition: Excellent 24 in. X 21 in. Bought new for $100 Asking $50
	Stained Glass Table Lamp (soldered plastic - metal base) Condition: Excellent Round, floral, hummingbird Bought new for $80 Asking $35
	Stained Glass Desk Lamp (soldered plastic - metal base) Condition: Excellent Rectangular, 2 bulb, 2 AC plugs with surge protection, and phone surge protection Bought new for $100 Asking $35
	Step2 Super Tuggy Sandbox / Pool Condition: Good Heavy-duty plastic, protective cover, steering wheel, seat ledge at the back, drain plug, and holds 400 lbs. of sand Currently full of sand Sells new for $150 without sand Asking $50 with sand
SOLD	Plastic fire engine toddler bed with night-light and mattress
SOLD	Sharp UX A255 Fax / copier / digital answer machine / CID
includes 2 hutches on either side	O'Sullivan Diplomat "L-Shaped" Workcenter, Snow Maple with Pebblestone top 1"-thick desktop and extra-wide, height-adjustable keyboard shelf 2 Hutches (purchased separately) designed to mount on the left and right side of "L" work center and has multi-use storage compartments 28-3/8"H x 73-1/4"D x 73-1/4"W Condition: very good I will be using this item through September Set sells new for $350 Asking $75
SOLD	CADENCE 200CS Treadmill