The last two months were exceedingly busy with VBS in both Kemmerer and Cokeville!
Most of June was consumed with preparing for VBS in Kemmerer. Besides helping set things up at the church, Elizabeth designed a set of vintage alphabet cards to go with the 'Old West' theme, and James built a small train layout to go with the theme and to be part of the activities that went along with the lesson. Both kids and adults enjoyed seeing the trains and searching for hidden objects each day! The actual week of VBS we had an average of 20-25 kids each day. They listened well to the lessons, and overall we had some great participation.
In July, we prepared for VBS in Cokeville and were grateful to host a ministry team from Fellowship Baptist Church of Nampa, ID. They arrived the Friday before VBS and helped in our churches on Sunday, canvassed the town with flyers, and did a special Gospel Music in the park on Tuesday night. And of course, helped with VBS itself. We were excited to have increased attendance this year, with average 15-16 kids every day. And we gave out four children's Bibles at the end of the week!
We had some excellent contacts and good feedback from the Tuesday night music service, with 34 people attending. Most of those were local LDS who attended and heard the Gospel through song and a short preaching time. During VBS itself, several parents or grandparents stuck around and heard the gospel through Mrs. Hartman's lesson time with the kids. We had some really good conversation with one of the moms, who is very burdened for her three kids to learn about the Bible, and they have actually started attending Sunday services! This has shown an even greater need for help with children's ministry in Cokeville. For the time being, the Hartmans have graciously volunteered to come and teach the kids on the Sundays they do not travel to Manila, UT, for an afternoon church service (much like we do in Cokeville). We are grateful for the sacrifice they are making to come during a time that they could have at home to rest. We also thank the Lord for this contact and pray with us that LC and her kids will be faithful in attending church, that their husband/father will come, and that we will have help to teach these children.
Unfortunately, James got pretty sick the week after VBS in Cokeville. We were both extremely run down and tired from VBS, but he also ended up with a bad infection in his eyes that was affecting his vision. We went to Urgent Care in Park City, and they sent us to the ER - it took until after midnight for him to be seen by the on-call ophthalmologist. The good news is that James seems to be getting better, and some of the visual change symptoms have abated and do not seem to be permanent. Elizabeth is also dealing with some minor effects of her immune system being suppressed, although so far God has protected her from getting whatever James has.
We are hoping August will give us time to recuperate before a busy fall, despite having a few medical appointments and a quick trip to Legacy Trade College for James at the end of the month. He continues to help with their website and online applications, and they requested that he be present for their school year's opening ceremonies.
On other fronts, please continue to pray for BR, who has been in crisis lately. James has spent a lot of time with them over the last few weeks, and shared the gospel multiple times. Pray that whatever is preventing them from trusting God would be removed and that they would be saved.
Continue also in prayer for the salvation of J&C, RG, R&R, and B. We have had some really good discussions at Tuesday night Bible Study while working through some questions posed by C on modern Israel and the church. We are excited to see what God is doing behind the scenes!