Bible School for the Nations, Pokhara, Nepal

Two of our YWAM Idaho staff are in a village just outside of Pokhara, Nepal, right now attending a YWAM Bible School for the Nations (BSN).  This pic is of the staff and students.  Lillian (from Norway) is the blond in the back row. Lillian staffs our Backpackers DTS.  Zach (from McCall, ID) is standing at the far right of the second row, just in front of his brother, Caleb.  Zach is also teaching at this school.  Zach willl be leading our own BSN in Idaho starting in May.  And, yes, that is Annapurna in the background.  What an awesome place to be studying the Bible!

Here is their classroom.  Mark Evans, from New Zealand and currently on staff at YWAM Madison, WI, is teaching.  Mark spoke for our Bible school last year and is helping us transition into the BSN curriculum.

Some days were just too beautiful to stay inside.  I think I'd be a little distracted by the awesome view!

But these students appear hard at work.  Thanks, Zach, for sharing your pictures!

This Is A Test

I'm just testing to see if my blog really did get linked to my facebook post??

Tamarack

Steve departed for Asia this morning.  He will be gone for 6 weeks, visiting India, the Maldives, and Nepal.  Hopefully, he will find a way to post some pictures and news so I can pass that on to you.

Last Thursday, before he left, we got away to ski at Tamarack for the first time.

 

I hadn't been downhill skiing in 7 years.  My thighs and calves were talking to me.  It took me a few runs to remember what I was doing.  (You can't see Steve's arm holding the camera phone and trying not to drop it from the chairlift with a bare hand in frigid temperatures.  It was 12 degrees when we got there at 11 am and 19 degrees when we left at 4pm. Fortunately, no wind or precip.)

You can start to see frozen Lake Cascade in the background behind us now.  Tamarack is located about 30 minutes from Cascade.  Tamarack Resort opened about 5 years ago, at the height of the building boom.  The construction put lots of people to work in our rural mountain county.  But the owners over-extended themselves, and when the recession hit, they declared bankruptcy.  There was no ski season last year at all.  Lots of people were out of work, contributing to our still 19% unemployment rate in Valley County.  Many of the buildings in the Village are only half complete.

This year, the Tamarack Home-Owners Association (lots of ritzy condos on the mountain - but many unsold) pooled their funds to pay the over-due lease to the Forest Service (about $200,000) and secured permission from the bankruptcy court judge to run a ski season.  They sold 1200 season tickets at $199, pretty good for around here.  (A lot of those buyers live in Boise, of course; that's more people than live in Cascade.) And they hired back 100 people.  Everyone is hoping that a buyer will step up to the plate before the resort is sold off piece-meal to pay all the creditors.

Here's the view from the top, looking south.  Cascade is at the southeast end of the lake.  Cascade's elevation is 4800 ft.  I'm standing at 7700 ft.

There were probably less than 100 people skiing/snowboarding on Thursday, based on the number of cars in the parking lot (about 25-30).  Never had to wait in line.  Twice I sat down for a rest halfway down for about 10 minutes and no one came by. 

Have I tempted you?  Once again, the invitation is open...come and check it out for yourself.  We'd love to see you here.

Challenges

Most of our YWAM Idaho team is overseas right now in India and Nepal. We expect that Satan will throw challenges in their way as they minister in areas where he has had control for years. We're keeping them in prayer.  They have had quite a challenge with sickness this time around.  Here's the India team.

Nevertheless I've had a few challenges of my own right here in Cascade, ID. 

We returned home from the holidays before New Years so that I could do payroll on Dec 30th for our staff.  We left Spokane that morning about 8:45 (had planned on 8:00).  Normally it's about a 5 1/2 hour trip with an hour time change which would have put us home about 2:30 if we'd left on time.  Plenty of time to sort through a week's worth of mail, go to the bank by 5:00 and process payroll by 6:00 (online banking deadline).  But we didn't leave on time and the roads were snowy so we didn't arrive in Cascade until about 4:00.  After picking up the mail at the post office, this is what we encountered at the office.

 

There had been 2 ft of fresh snow while we'd been gone and no one had been there to shovel.  So while I sorted mail in the car, Steve tromped through the snow to reach the buried snow shovel by the door and worked on a pathway.

There's always more checks near the end of the year (which is a blessing!). Steve stayed and helped me prepare the bank deposit and carried it one block to the bank right in the nick of time at 5:00.  I called to let them know he was coming.  I got the direct deposit processed about 5:45 and everyone got paid on time.  When I walked home three blocks from the office, Steve was still shoveling at home.  A friend had cleared our driveway, but walkways still had to be cleared and the city plows leave a berm across the driveway entrances whenever they plow (we have two because of a circular drive).

New Year's Eve the low was -27 degrees in Cascade.  Lows the following 4 days were -25, -23, -19, -15.  An older lady at church didn't remember it being this cold for about 12 years.  We went out for a New Year's Eve service at 11:30 pm, thinking we were a little crazy.  If we hadn't been on the worship team we probably wouldn't have gone.  And sure enough everyone who showed up was either on the worship team, related to someone on the worship team, or the pastor.  And what did we have for refreshments afterwards?  Ice cream!  I discovered Cascade has fireworks on New Year's Eve, though.  We had a perfect view from the church parking lot of the display put on by the Ashley Inn.

Tuesday morning last week I got to the office and the thermostat read 37 degrees.  We've had a few instances recently of the old electric furnace shutting off unexpectedly, but we always seemed to get it going again.  I set up some portable heaters, one by the kitchen pipes, one by the bathroom pipes and one by my desk.

It was the next day before someone could get in to look at the furnace and another day before new fuses arrived to get it going again, so I enjoyed a few (short) brisk days working in 50 degrees temps wearing my long underwear and lots of layers.  We have a temporary fix now, but will need to replace our "disconnect" box in the near future.

So the same day the furnace got restarted (Friday) I was working at my desk and all of sudden I heard this electrical blowout type noise and the accounting computer went dead.  No response on the CPU or the monitor.  I had noticed the lights on the modem went off briefly, but came back on.  The lights were on in the building, the furnace was still working, no circuit breakers had flipped.  The other computers in the office were still working.  Then I noticed my electric calculator wasn't working either, and after some testing I discovered it was apparently the surge strip that had gone bad.  Fortunately, we had a spare at home and soon everything was humming again.  Since when does a surge strip blow out??

Sometimes I have to wonder is this just coincidence or is it spiritual warfare.  It is good to know God is always with us and He helps us to overcome even these small annoyances.

It Is Well

I am passing this on from Gary Randall and the Freedom Faith Network.  You may have heard this story, but hearing it fresh from someone who just discovered it, brought fresh impact.


Stephanie Wilson has produced nationally syndicated television programs for CBS and an award winning series on teenage suicide.

She has also written news stories for television and print and authored a novel, "Whispers of the Heart," available at Amazon and Barnes and Nobel. She is currently writing a prequel, "Treasures of the Heart."

She also writes a regular blog.

She lives in Washington State with her husband and their son. She is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University with degrees in history and journalism.
______________________________

Moments

A man not my husband touched my heart today. A devout Presbyterian and prosperous Chicago attorney. A compelling man with many political and social connections, yet a man with moving creative talents not many knew.

This man, confident of his abilities, took on the challenge of life and succeeded spectacularly, at least it seemed. Not only a sought after attorney, but a real estate developer as well. A man finely tuned to seizing opportunities others failed to recognize.

But ... that was before. This family man dearly desired a son to carry on his enterprise. After four daughters, the heir was born. And then tragically, at four years old, the son died.

And this was only the beginning.

You see, this man touched my heart 150 years after he experienced a series of events that most of us could not bear singularly, let alone collectively. This series of tragedies forged a man who would give the world a spectacular gift.

In 1861, heavily invested in real estate, this man once again faced loss as almost everything he owned went up in flames in one of the great fires America has ever known. The Great Chicago Fire.

Two years later, burdened by loss and hardship, this man knew his family needed some time away, a time to begin the healing process. His friend, the great Dwight L. Moody, was holding meetings in England and it was there he decided his family needed to be. His wife's health had begun to fail in the wake of their losses.

Delayed by business and unwilling to yet again disappoint his family, he boarded his wife and four daughters on the French steamship Ville du Havre.

The Ville du Havre was struck by a British vessel and sunk within twelve minutes. All four daughters lost their lives.

Only 81 of the 307 passengers and crew survived. His wife, alone, survived. Nine days later, she was able to send a simple telegraph that read, "Saved alone. What shall I do ..."

Horatio Spafford immediately left Chicago upon this word. Standing at the railing, the ship captain joined Spafford shortly after leaving port. "A careful reckoning has been made," he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the du Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep."

To be truly moved by this story, you must know something of gospel music. For when Horatio Spafford left the railing that day, he closed himself into his cabin and penned, in my opinion, one of the greatest most moving lyrics ever set to music.

He wrote:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

You may be very aware of this man and his story. I was not. Alone I had to contemplate the many times I'd lamented seeming hardship, inconvenience, superficial loss. And I was ashamed.

I suppose January is a month of reflection. In that, I'm grateful. I hope to be reminded when I take life's many blessings for granted. And never, ever will I hear that dear sweet hymn and not shed a tear for a very courageous man who decided against bitterness and anger and instead gave a gift to the world that will last for eternity.

For the full lyrics to this hymn, click here.
For images and more information on the life of Horatio Spafford, click here.

Free Christmas Trees

So one of the great things I discovered about living here is that Christmas trees are free.  You just have to go out and cut them down yourself...in about 2 ft of snow.

Steve was still in WA, but Becky, one of our staff, was staying with me.  She got invited out to Sally Wise's house for a potluck and tree cutting event ( Becky called it "The Ugly Tree Party"...you'll see why) and so we went together. Sally has several acres of property a few miles south of Cascade.  She invites people from the Community Church over to cut trees every year.

The transportation of choice for the afternoon was snowmobiles.  Here's Becky and Sally.  We rode and walked, trying to find  a tree that was somewhat symmetrical and filled in with branches.  We were more successful on the former than the latter.  If we'd been willing to get out and tromp through the 2 ft snow we might have had better luck, but there were only so many choices near the snowmobile paths and I didn't want to take all day.

 Finally, after going around and around several times, I found one that I thought would fit in the space I had at home.

I signaled, "This is the one, " and someone brought over a knife to cut it down.

 

Then it got transported back to the parking area on this cart pulled by a snowmobile.

 

I actually got two trees, one for the main living area and one for the guest area downstairs. Why not, they were free!  The next challenge was tying them on top of the subaru.  Fortunately, we got some help with that.

I had to go to the D-9, our local grocery store to buy a tree stand.  We owned one, but it was stuck in our storage unit in a place where I couldn't get at it very easily.  Besides, we would need two now and I figured Steve could drag the other one out after he got back.

So Becky and I put up the first tree upstairs. As you can see, it is a lodgepole pine and was a little sparse. Not quite like the firs I am used to from WA.  I'm told if you go out into the national forest here to get your tree, you can find some nice firs. Maybe next year.

It looked better after I bought some 2 inch wide gold ribbon at Target (in the city) and spiraled it through the branches.

 

Tree #2 didn't get put up until we returned from a trip to WA about 10 days later.  I had left it outside, thinking it would be fine (because all the Christmas trees sit outside at the grocery stores in WA, right?).  Actually, the trunk was frozen when we got back and some of the needles were turning brown.  But I picked them off and it has fared fairly well since then.

Guess I'll have to think about taking them down soon.

I Then Shall Live

I have taken almost a month off from writing due to the holidays and family concerns.  Many days I didn't have the time, but honestly most days I just didn't feel like it either.  I'm hoping to pick it up again and write every few days.  Thanks for your patience.

Today marks one year since I moved to Cascade, ID.  It's hard to believe it's been a whole year already.  2010 sure didn't turn out like I thought it would.  Life is always an adventure when we walk with God, isn't it?  In some ways it was better (the pleasant surprise of how much I like living here) and in other ways it was harder (dealing with family member's issues, losing a loved one).

I'd like to share with you a link that was passed on to me by a friend on Jan 2nd.  It originated with Ken Talbott, who hosts a show called The Walk Show, "Looking for those who are walking the talk."  It is a youTube video of Bill Gaither and 7 other guys (mostly younger than him) singing a song called, "I Then Shall Live".  Bill Gaither isn't always my favorite, but I found this particular song very inspiring, and even more so because the message comes from 8 men who clearly believe passionately in what they're singing.  Take a look.  I hope you are inspired, too.

Ken Talbott suggests the words of this song would make a great New Year's resolution for all of us to follow who claim Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives.

I then shall live as one who's been forgiven.
I'll walk with joy to know my debts are paid.
I know my name is clear before my Father; 
I am His child and I am not afraid.
So, greatly pardoned, I'll forgive my brother;
The law of love I gladly will obey.

I then shall live as one who's learned compassion.
I've been so loved, that I'll risk loving too.
I know how fear builds walls instead of bridges;
I'll dare to see another's point of view.
And when relationships demand commitment,
Then I'll be there to care and follow through.

Your Kingdom come around and through and in me;
Your power and glory, let them shine through me.
Your Hallowed Name, O may I bear with honor,
And may Your living Kingdom come in me.
The Bread of Life, O may I share with honor,
And may You feed a hungry world through me.

Amen, Amen, Amen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpIJfiR9v_Q