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posted by David on 09/1/08

Mr. Van Essen works for MSC Canada. A school was closing down and donating its remaining desks, black boards and other equipment to this ministry. By 6:00 a.m. we were up and on the road and got a good days work in carrying the furniture and equipment from the 3 floors to the gym in the basement. This was a great opportunity for us to work together and encourage each other to keep going cheerfully even after many tiring trips up and down the 6 flights of steps. We were sure to be back in time for Mrs. Van Essen’s delicious cooking. They quizzed our Canadian knowledge over dinner. We learned that the national animal is the beaver, the tallest building in the world is the CN tower in Toronto, and the Prime Minister is currently Stephen Harper. It had been a good final day. Robert, James, Daniel, Jonathan, Timothy, and I had one final pillow fight in the tent before drifting off to sleep.

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posted by David on 06/9/08

The morning of May 16th we decorated for my birthday. Michael designed a great cake for me with the picture of a lion  head on it. One of the best things about my birthday was that I got my new 4/4 violin. We ordered four violins to try out. Esther and I learned a lot about listening and discerning which one was the best. I love the one we picked from Potter’s Violin Shop! Another fun event was a big treasure hunt Jonathan made. Since we did it at night we had to find some of the clues with flashlights. It had rained earlier so some of the clues were soaked and others took 15 minutes to figure out! Instead of the darkness and the rain preventing the treasure hunt, it ended up making it even more of a challenge. In the same way God uses the spiritual darkness and rainy circumstances of our lives for good when we accept and deal with them according to His design. I certainly had a great birthday.

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posted by David on 03/28/08

Jonathan and I got a great idea to make two boats that we could sail on our pond. First we got two boards from Dad that he couldn’t use any more and cut the front of them to a point. We hunted in the woods for some perfectly straight sticks for the mast. Then we drilled a hole in the middle of the board for the mast. With tiny little rubber-bands we tied two or three smaller twigs to the mast and taped the cloth sails on. For looks I put six little canons that we made on it. And last of all we pounded a nail on the back of the boat and tied a rope to it so that if it sunk while we were sailing it we could pull it in.

We had a wonderful time sailing the boats on the pond. During a pretend attack from the enemy, Jonathan threw rocks near the boat. Accidently he threw a big rock too far and hit directly on top of his boat and smashed it. So he decided to make another one that was a lot bigger and better with 3 masts, 7 sails, and 2 flags. He used a picture from a book of actual ships for his design.

This is an example of Resourcefulness because we used what other’s would probably overlook or discard like sticks and left over scraps of cloth.

Resourcefulness: Wise use of that which others would normally overlook or discard.

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posted by David on 12/13/07

Flash News Interviews brings to you a weekend with the Wilkes. The highlights are well summarized in the following quotes.

David: “I had fun playing an escape game on the hill in the tall grass with Kenan, Adam, and Sarah.”

Jonathan: “Everything was fun but I enjoyed playing soccer the most”

Daniel: “I am so glad that we were able to play Bible Runners (an exiting outdoor game) in the tall grass especially since it was at night.”

James: “Let me see, I think my favorite activity was the prayer meeting for our nation. We had it just before the concert which I really liked as well (trying to get pictures and playing also). I liked the time of prayer because everyone was together and I know it brought our families even closer together. We had never done it before but I sure hope we can do it again. In the mean time, we can keep praying individually and together as a family!”

Esther: “We made more time than usual just to talk. Conversation ranged from the U.S. border issue to our spiritual walk with the Lord, and I greatly appreciated it all.”

Robert: “I thoroughly enjoyed an intense game of volleyball with the Wilkes team. It was extremely close, extremely competitive, and extremely fun. I was amazed at how well the teams worked together. It has been quite a while since I’ve had a volleyball game that good!”

Michael: “What a joy to share together what God has been teaching us from scripture, experience, and history.”

Dad: “My only regret is our evenings weren’t long enough. ‘Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.’ Prov. 27:17 Discussions with Mark have helped sharpen my thinking.”

Praise the Lord for His blessing of friends to come along side and encourage us to be like Christ.

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posted by David on 10/3/07

This month our family has been studying the character quality of “love” (Giving to others’ basic needs without having as my motive personal reward). To help us learn this quality we made a “love tree.” Here’s how it works: each person gets a different colored heart. Every time someone does a good deed” they write it down on their color heart and tape it to the tree. Here are specific things that members of the family shared with me about how the love tree changed the way they think of doing good for others during this mornings Flash News Interviews. The question is: how has the love tree changed the way you think of doing good for others?

Jonathan answered:
“Instead of doing loving things for others so they will do good for me, I’ve been encouraged to do good to others without expecting anything in return.”

Daniel answered:
“It totally changed my outlook throughout the day. Instead of just thinking of ways to save my own time and make things easer on myself, it challenged me to “Look also on the things of others” Phil 2:4.

James answered:
“Hmmm, good question. It has shown me how little I take the initiative to go out of my way to help others.”

Mom answered:
“The more I was able to do the extra things for other people the more joyful I became”

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