Costa Rica 2019

July 12, 2019 | Stacy

At 3:30AM Stewart and I drove to pick up some other travelers and got over to the airport for their early morning flights to Costa Rica.

During their time there, Stewart’s team hosted a VBS for children in both Carpio and Pavos during their short, two-week, summer break. The played games, prepared and served hot lunches, and with the help of translators, told the kids about Jesus and His love and the gift of salvation.

Stewart and Justyn stayed with a host mom who made safe breakfasts and dinners for Stewart.

They had one overnight debriefing on the west coast and got to swim in the Pacific Ocean. Some of the local team from the local church also got to go. This is Ariel and Stewart messing around. He’s not playing Santa Claus.

And this is Stewart providing his mom with a good laugh from thousands of miles away…

dork.

I picked them up in Buffalo at 1 something A.M….

He was home by 3:30AM and his alarm went off at 5:30AM for work.

Youth Group worship

June 10, 2019 | Stacy

In the winter, Marie expressed a desire to learn guitar. So she borrowed Nigel’s guitar. And she broke his guitar string…

We shared this story at youth group one night and the next week Mrs. Walter brought her in a guitar to borrow indefinitely. She’s taught herself to play and last night she and Sophia led worship for the group.

♥

Easter 2019

April 21, 2019May 8, 2019 | Stacy

The morning started with a basket hunt, as always.
Despite the fact that John and I believed that all the good spots had been overused over the years, it still took the kids a long, long time to find their baskets. WTG Mom and Dad. The big kids didn’t want early morning photos shared of themselves.

Church had the kids join the choir for two songs. Or maybe the choir joined the kids?

We had a family photo in the church lot. I wish I’d had my good camera and not just the phone. I’d blow this up in a heartbeat.

After a scrappy lunch of leftovers we did an outside egg hunt. It was chilly, but after a cold winter it was tolerable for a little while.

Stewart and Marie have a thing going. For the last two years they’ve tried to recreate a pose from 2017.

2017

2018

2019

LOL. I think 2019 came closer.

Flower City Work Camp 2019

April 18, 2019May 8, 2019 | Stacy

This was the third year I was involved in Flower City Work Camp (FCWC) as an adult leader on a Sidewalk Club. This was Marie’s second year on a worksite and Tab’s first year on a worksite.

Marie worked on a house in Rochester, laying kitchen tile flooring and doing a lot of painting. Tabitha went to multiple Heritage Christian Home locations doing work on their facilities. She mucked horse stalls, spread mulch, and even went dumpster diving (I still need to get that photo from our Youth Pastor.)

Over 700 students and 1000 adults work within this week-long ministry.

My crew, Sidewalk Club D.

We had locations on Council Street and Woodward Street.

Each morning and evening the students met in the sanctuary for worship, and teaching. This years theme was “The Greatest” meaning the greatest of these is love.

Tabby had her birthday at camp. This was the last time I was going to see her as a 12-year old.

Ta Da! Here she is 13!

By far the best part of Sidewalk Club is telling children how much Jesus loves them and how He has a special plan for their lives. At least three kids made the decision to follow Christ from our club sites this week.

Derby 2019

March 30, 2019 | Stacy

They didn’t come home with prizes… but they had smiles for miles.

And Daddy survived another Pinewood Derby.

Derby 2019

March 30, 2019April 6, 2019 | Stacy

They didn’t come home with prizes… but they had smiles for miles.

And Daddy survived another Pinewood Derby.

Christmas fun at church.

December 16, 2018 | Stacy

It is really hard to take photos outside in the dark when your hands are freezing. So there are only a few.

Our church had a Christmas Fun Night out in the parking lot. There was a petting zoo, a throw-the-snowball-at-the-Grinch game, a fire pit, a hot cocoa and cookies tent, and later on in the evening there was singing. Indoors there were some crafts for kids and a photo op.

I didn’t get a picture of the live nativity… that included pigs?
But here is a photo to prove there were some animals.

Stewart, Nigel, and Marie sang with the adult choir. Johanna and Katriel sang with the children’s choir. Tab is in an in between age, but she had more than enough fun hanging out with friends.

And for the first time since we started attending in 2001 there were lights on the giant pine tree out front that went on at the end of the gathering.

Katriel and Pastor Tim

December 9, 2018 | Stacy

Not sure what else I would title this.

My friend Miriam sent me this photo. She said she couldn’t resist snapping it after she saw these two in conversation (while having a snack at a small reception at the church). I love that there is such a culture of intergenerational fellowship at our church. I am just as likely to find my kids visiting with someone 50 years their senior as I am to find them chatting with someone their own age. This goes for all my kids.

This summer, I heard a research article summarized on a radio broadcast. It said that young people who stayed involved in church into adulthood could identify 4 non-family member adults who they had friendships/relationships with at church as youth. At this point my kids could “boast” of way more than double that number. I am exceedingly grateful for this. We all but left our church in 2011, but God saw fit to direct us back. It’s worked out spectacularly.