Fifth and final post today (prolific, eh?):

The first game in the youth Christmas party required each person to eat three saltine crackers and then whistle. This might have been the best game of all (except for Musical Chairs), You should have seen the cracker crumbs flying in all directions! I'm sorry that I didn't get a picture of that. In fact, I think everyone shown here is still in the chewing mode.

Fourth post of the day: One of the games in the youth gathering required each one to chew a piece of frozen bubble gum sufficiently to be able to blow a bubble. When one had blown his bubble, the next person in line began chewing his piece of frozen gum. What you see here are the four best bubbles of the evening.

Third post today.

Back to the youth Christmas gathering on December 14: One of the games we played required that each person wear gloves or mittens, unwrap a Hershey Kiss, and eat it, then pass the gloves on to the next team member. The team that finished first won the game.

Second post today.

Some of the people from the Adult and Young Adult Sunday School classes who came to the Christmas dinner at Spring Mill State Park on December 13 (no, it wasn't a Friday!).

They say that it isn't good to take pictures of people while they eat. I understand that video is even worse! Anyway, if anyone is offended, please forgive me (and pay no attention to the fact that I didn't take a picture of myself with my mouth full).

































































































































Steve and Nicole Cassidy were the specially invited speakers/singers for the occasion, and they did a very nice job. It's always good to hear them sing and to hear Nicole's artistry at the keyboard.

First post today. I purchased the following nativity figures on our trip to Honduras early this month.

The Catholics refer to the birth of Christ as a mystery (after all, the Virgin Birth is rather mysterious), so when I was asking about these figures, the lady at the souvenir market told me that this was "el misterio de los gordos," the mystery of the fat people. You'll see why.

First, a few of all the figures together. I need a stable large enough to house them in.I guess you can see that they're all rather round!

Next, a closeup of the three kings. Note the rich borders on their garments. One of the figures is kneeling.

Here's the shepherd. I think he's my favorite. Note the patch on his clothes. I like his moustache. I think it makes him look Italian. Isn't the sheep cute?

Now for Mary and Joseph. They, too, have patched clothing, for they are poor. Jesus didn't come to the rich and powerful!

And now the baby Jesus.

At the behest of someone from Faith Mission Church (I won't say who, but her initials are CM and she's an RN and plays the piano), I'm posting this interesting little news story.

You need to know at the outset that the principal of Stone City Christian Academy here in Bedford, David Crosley, proclaims himself to be a champion participant in Musical Chairs. We haven't actually seen any evidence that it's so, but he did lay heavy claim to the title.

On December 14 we had a Christmas gathering for the young people of the church and school. Among other things, we played Musical Chairs. Well, most did. I took pictures, and I'm glad that I occupied myself in that manner!

(1) Here he is, hands waving, losing early in the first game. No wonder he wanted a rematch!


(2) In the second game, he barely retained his place in the line-up.


(3) His demise came in the very next round, with only three people left to occupy two chairs. A younger and more agile participant managed to slip into the chair even as our erstwhile champ was sitting down.


(4) He (somewhat) graciously acknowledges his second loss of the night.

Just copied this fun link from Rex2 and Missy McDowell. Check it out!

Test your reaction time.

He says that the automobile driving manual says that the average driver's reaction time is .75 seconds, or 1 car length for every ten mph.

Hopefully I can squeeze out some time to do some more reporting on our Honduras trip. In the meantime, there's a little info and a couple different pictures on our mission website:

www.efm-missions.org

Check out both the home page and the prayer page.

The camp meeting is over, the final service being last night. Though I'm a little hoarse this morning, God touched my throat and I was able to speak twice a day all week with absolutely no problem.

We had a missionary service on Wednesday night, the first time for such a thing in this camp, and the response was very good. Some people from our work in Costa Rica spoke for a few minutes and showed some pictures; then the fellow from Guatemala who is working in Bolivia did the same, and I followed up with a brief challenge. Even before I was finished speaking people started coming to the altar to offer themselves for God's service. The invitation song that we had planned ended up being a special song to close the service.

We had seekers at the altar every night and some evidences of help and victory. Thank the Lord for all that He did through the week.

I'll try to get some pictures up in the next few days. On Sunday we're planning an English service with the missionaries, then returning to San Pedro Sula after lunch to visit a church near the city on Sunday evening, so there's still ministry ahead. We'll appreciate your prayers.

These pictures: Kathy holding Larissa Robberts while her parents, Zack and Sarah, sing a special in an evening service; and yours truly dedicating a baby during the missionary service. Don't you love the way she's looking at me?

Quick update from Honduras.

A photo of Kathy singing in the congregation.

A picture of Steve preaching on the first Sunday morning.

Camp meeting begins on Monday night, Dec. 3. Pray for us! My throat's been kinda bad, but so far it's holding out well. I'm trying to take it easy and pace myself and not get too loud.