The summer months started off with a baby shower for our cousin Christina!:) With a month left to go, she and Miguel were ready for her little girl to make her entrance into the world. The gentlemen graciously went out for the day and the house was transformed for the occasion.;)
Aunt Rocio did an excellent job decorating! This onesie banner was perfect and added a cute touch!
It was a neat blessing to see how many things the Lord provided that Christina and Miguel were wanting!
Taco Salad for lunch...
Desert and drinks.....
Aunt Rocios beautiful cake.....
After a nice lunch and visiting time, we played several games in Christina's honor....
Baby Word Scramble with the future Grandma- Adriana Chrispens....;)
We had a full house and a very good time!
It was a treat to see Auntie Ruth again!
A "dressing the baby" relay race with baby dolls was the fast paced game of the afternoon! Its definitely a challenge and each team member had to put all the accessories on the baby in the right order too!
Grandma, looking forward to being a great grandma...:)
How big is Mommy??
Guess what's in the baby food jars?? Pumpkin or Carrot? Green beans or Peas?;)
We also played the diaper pin game through out the shower.....don't say "baby!";)
Four generations! How good the Lord is to give us families and children. They truly are a blessing from Him.:)
After the games, Christina opened her gifts....
A nursing cape with musical notes on the material for Baby Melody.:)
A few weeks later, our family was at home tending to the daily chores and activities when the phone rang. It was Daniel Brimlow (whom we affectionately call Uncle Daniel) calling to invite the four of us young people to leave in an hour for a camp in Wyoming that a friend of his, Mr. John La Benne was putting on! If we could be ready and were interested, he would swing by and take us with him as he was passing through! Little did we know how this unexpected invitation from the Lord would take us on an exciting and life changing journey!! Uncle Daniel would be driving back up to WA, and a ride back was not figured out yet, but as the Lord always does, He worked everything out perfectly. Mommy drove up with younger ones the Sunday of the second week, and Ryan flew in after finishing a video shoot, Monday and we enjoyed a really good time together.
We arrived in Wyoming, after several adventures on the road, in which the Lord kept us safe. We jumped into helping set up the "The Bright and Morning Star's Camp" for the next few days.
We spent the first few days helping set up the actual camp site. Staring with a spot in a national park, the La Benne's and other Christian brothers and sisters in the Lord come and help to set up the two week camp every year. The food, accommodations and all other necessities are provided free of charge to those attending the camp. The Lord provides through the brethren. Anyone is welcome to come and every age is welcome, from babes to elderly!:)
"Mr. Jonathan LaBenne" and his wife Pam.:) He was thrilled to have our family come, and has such a heart of love for people! He and his wife are a neat testimony of what the Lord can do through willing and faithful servants! Its amazing what a bond can be created through the Lord Jesus with fellow believers and we sure love and appreciate them both! They opened their home and their hearts to us from the minute we arrived.:)
We really had very little idea about what we were getting into, and we are so glad that the Lord opened the door for this wonderful opportunity! Here Caytlin was helping Mr. Sutton with inserting the bones into the teepees that most of the people would be sleeping in.
Eating meals with the set-up crew at "Bearly Cooking Kitchen! Mr. Virgil Redmen, a believer and good friend of the La Benne's comes with his wife every year to cook for the first few days before camp starts.
The three cowboy wrangelers: Cal, Monty and Luke! They stayed busy preparing the the corrales and horses for camp. During the next two weeks they led many trail rides and fed and water the horses. They were a big blessing to the camp!
Things were coming together here!
Mr. La Benne is known as "Jonathan the Bear Man" there in Wyoming and the Lord has blessed him with a home business working as a woodworker and artist. Much of his work is scattered throughout the town of Jackson Hole and admired by family, friends and tourists. During camp, he had a pretty pressing deadline, so Isaiah and Daniel along with their new friends the Dominguez brothers, Angel and Palko, Sarah Pottebaum and Uncle Daniel drove down to his studio in Afton to help him! They had a great time of work and fellowship.
It was a late but eventful night!
A few days later, a group of the young people pulled an all nighter to go show their support for Mr. LaBenne and watch the resurrecting of the finished raft in the middle of town!
Back at camp, each day started with a meeting after breakfast followed by some activity options. These included but were not limited to, horseback riding, white water rafting, hiking, driving out to see the hot springs, a scenic river tour and many others. Each activity was open to whomever wished to participate, and if you wanted a quiet day to spend with the Lord enjoying the scenery, that was an option too!
Mr. Redmen giving pointers to the guys on chess.....
Meal times under the tent....
Friends of the La Bennes, also believers, came and cooked delicious meals for us everyday!
One of the older brothers there who led the evening meetings, Bill Prost and his wife, visiting from Canada!:) He spoke on Spiritual Diet and Exercise. Each of his meetings ended with a time for other brothers to share thoughts and questions. It was a really good time of rich fellowship and learning from the Word of God. Mr. Prost was a special encouragement to us and gave us an open invitation to visit them if we are ever in the area!:)
We had several opportunities to go white water rafting and it was definitely a highlight for us! We had never been and were somewhat nervous after hearing about Mr. LaBenne's thrilling and hair-raising experiences on the wild, Snake River, but we decided to go and make memories of our own! This first raft here was Natey, Caytlin and I's group.....it was wild but so much fun!
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Isaiah and Daniel's group here, being led by Mr. La Benne, who is also an experienced river guide and part of the local Search an Rescue Division. It was rumored that he always took the bigger waves than other guides, and it was true!! The trip for our rafts was 8 miles downriver with the rapids dispersed throughout that distance. Each time we hit a rapid, we had a good long stretch usually to recover and prepare for the next!!
At the biggest of the rapids named "Lunch Counter", Daniel found himself a bit disconnected from the others! He may look terrified but he tells us that it was really fun to be bobbing up and down amidst the angry waves! His boat threw him the lifeline not long after this picture was taken and he was soon safely aboard the raft and ready for another rapid!
Battling...more like losing here.;) Balance is the key to riding waves and if you do not hit them at the right place, you may end up being tossed up and down like a pancake!;)
Uncle Daniel faithfully drove the bus for us to different activities.....
Capturing a beautiful sunset before evening meeting....
For those who couldn't do the white water rafting, children and those less adventurous, Mr. La Benne had arranged a scenic tour up further along the Snake River. Here the water is much calmer and the scenery breathtaking! This was more Mom and the little ones style!:)
We stopped for lunch.....
Walking the raft through the shallow water to get back out to the river....
Enjoying songs, a warm fire and fellowship during an evening meeting....
Riding the bus....
Song-time during the meetings....Mr. La Benne usually accompanied us on the guitar which was a real treat!
Helping make ice cream for dinnertime!
Some handsome brothers riding the bus to go whitewater rafting again!:)
A group shot of us rafters after a rather rainy but fun trip down the river!!:)
Making blankets was a fun craft we got to do!:)
The little boys decorating water bottles....
Playing volleyball.....
Going on a ride!:)
A baptism was held at a nearby lake....
Joshua was one of the young people that expressed a desire to follow the Lord's command in believers baptism and was baptized by Mr. La Benne.:)
This picture of the aerial view of the camp was taken by some gentlemen at camp. What a lovely scene in which the Lord's Word is shared in action as well as voice. Bright and Morning Star is the best camp experience our family has had, and Lord willing, we hope to return next summer if the Lord tarries and this time with Daddy!:)
On the way home we were able to visit Auntie Lola, as we passed through Utah. We didn't get many pictures but had a wonderful warm visit before heading home back to CA.:)
Daniel's 20th Birthday was next on the calendar! He expressed a desire for some squid as a treat with his birthday dinner! Here mom was grilling and Daniel was giving instructions.;)
A little squid anyone??:)
Daniel sure loves his brothers!
We had a little bit of an adventure with the cake! Don't be deceived though by its appearance! It was very good and we named it the Chocolate Lava Explosion Cake!! Happy 20th Birthday, Daniel!! We love you!!
Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Psalm 107:31
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