Backwoods '07

Another Watersmeet Men's Retreat has come and gone. This year, Backwoods went international with 4 men attending from Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada. Five churches in all were represented at the retreat. Each year is a special blessing...that's why we go. Each year is also different; some new faces mixed with the familiar veterans; some dear brothers missing, but very much there in our hearts. Usually Pastor Ohman will say something like, "this is the only time in history that we will ever meet together quite like this". He's always right about that and it's always special! It's a place where the bond of Christ insures that you'll meet someone new and become old friends before you leave. Commonly, the good-byes are accompanied by wet eyes, bearhugs and the words, "I love you brother".

One constant is that God always meets with us. I've never attended a Backwoods Retreat yet without my heart being stirred by the Holy Spirit and God's Word. This year had special meaning as Pastor Ohman shared his personal trials and what God taught him while going through them. God really is out there and He really does all things exactly right.

The other constants? Let's see...John Williams (never missed a one yet and will remind you of that fact)...the horseshoe tournament...and the coveted Chamber Pot award. Congratulations to our own Matthew Galvan for being only the second man in history to win the CP two times back-to-back. Why he won it is pretty lame, but why he really did deserve it is a bit more interesting: Actually, Jeremiah Alderden and Matthew should have shared the honors for gun hunting mice in the outhouse in the middle of the night. Maybe we can amend this year's award.

~Steve

Sr. High Sunday School

Recently, we were presented with the opportunity to teach the Sr. High Sunday School class at our church, Bible Baptist in Beaver Dam, WI. We've enjoyed working with the youth group in the past and are excited about participating in this ministry again.

We love our young people - each one is unique and special to us. Currently, we are studying the wisdom literature of Ecclesiastes...a very suitable course for young men and women preparing to launch into adulthood. Their participation is great and we hope to post some of their insights here soon. Stay tuned!

Quality Laptop Time

The North Street Study Group:

Hannah, Mitch and Ronda enjoy an evening of wireless fellowship.
Acer vs. Apple vs. Dell.

Great Golf Outing

My son-in-law Matt & I golfed 18 holes at Black Wolf Run today. It was a lot of fun. Yeah, we were a little outside of our comfort zone, but the course staff made us feel welcome. We pulled up to the clubhouse in my rusty '95 F-150 and they immediately unloaded our clubs and got our cart ready while we parked and checked in. "Yes sir, you're all set...18 holes on the Meadows course...10:40 tee time...enjoy". We boarded our cart (outfitted with complimentary tees and towels + onboard ball & club wash) and headed out (the wrong way). Driving down a long path..."Hey Matt, there's a few balls laying in the grass...let's stop and pick'em up". After we each had both hands full of "lost" golf balls, we realized that the ground was covered with them. They were practice balls and we were on a path that ran along side the driving range. Realizing that our lack-o-class was vividly showing, we sheepishly looked around...dropped the balls and quickly got back in our cart. Moving on...

We finally arrived at the Starter's shack. He was expecting us and kindly explained the layout of the course; where the various conveniences were located and when the next group would be teeing off. The course was awesome; our play...frustrating (as usual). Oh shoot...we forgot our score card on the steering wheel of the cart! I'm sure there are a few staff members laughing themselves to sleep tonight. The great part about playing a course of this caliber is that when you're searching for the ball(s) you just launched into the tall grass, you find 3-5 more that are of much better quality than the one's you brought along. Apparently, the usual clientèle enjoy the nicer things, but don't enjoy looking for them when they go astray. We probably lost better than a dozen balls, but found twice that. It's all good.

~Steve

10:40 Tee Time

I have been invited by my son-in-law, Matt, to golf at Black Wolf Run's course in Kohler, Wisconsin on Monday, the 17th. It's all due to the generosity of our good friend Ed, who comes across these offers from time to time through his job. I'm not a good golfer by any stretch of the imagination, but hey...FREE GOLF at a world-renowned course? I'm there.

This ought to be interesting! I'll show up with my $35 rummage sale clubs and tennis shoes, and try to fit in with the upper crust. Think they'll notice?

~Steve

Ronda's Quest for Ireland

Well, maybe it will finally happen! After seeing both of our daughters go to Ireland on mission trips (one of them went twice; the other met her husband there), we're making plans to go ourselves. Although we will only be there about a week, we do plan on acquainting ourselves with some of the missionaries that serve there. Both of us share a fascination with Ireland, Wales and Scotland, but to date have only been able to admire them from afar. It's exciting to think that we may be able to see them first-hand soon.

The trek is planned for late December as soon as our son, Mitch, is free on his Christmas break from Maranatha Baptist Bible College. Ronda has waited patiently for this trip for a long time - saving her pennies to make it happen. We're not sure who else may be joining us at this point, but the three of us are looking forward to it and (Lord willing) will be purchasing our tickets soon.