Prayer request from Monica

Hey all you praying friends-here is a need from Monica-

Hello all,

I just got a call from my grandmother. They have recently discovered that my mom’s Uncle Jim has cancer in his lungs. Part of it has migrated to his brain as well. He is having rapid weight loss as a side effect of that. The doctors have only just found it, and are running quite a few tests to find out what if anything can be done.

Please pray that God would give the doctors wisdom, Uncle Jim comfort and confidence, and ultimately, healing from this cancer. I do not know if he is a Christian, so please pray that the Lord would use this time to draw him close and show him the truth.

Thank you all!

In Him,
Monica

A NOTE FROM JUSTIN

Dearest Friends,
Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, tears, and hugs. Today started as a rough day and only got rougher in the afternoon, your love and the love of our Father in Heaven soothed our hearts. Your encouragement has meant so much to me and my family through these hard times.

I also wanted to thank you for the overwhelming amount of food you gave us, we didn’t fully realize the volume until we opened the five coolers at home. They were full of homemade breads, cookies, cheesecakes, casseroles, cookies, casseroles, the biggest ham I’ve ever seen that wasn’t walking around, chili, and cookies, enough food for a long time. They say that the freezer is most efficient when full, ours must be running pretty efficiently right now. Your loving gifts will, and already have, really helped, Mom needs a lot of rest and it is a great blessing for her not to need to worry about making sure we have meals.
When unpacking your coolers tonight I told Mom, “We have the most awesome friends ever”, and not just for the food, for your love to and from each other and the amazing Christian friendship you radiate.
Love you all,
JIT for the Titus family

Prayer for the Titus family

I wanted to let everyone know that Tammy has gone into labor and they are expecting the arrival of Isabella sometime today. Please lift the family in your prayers today. I do not know if Justin has made it home from college yet, I know it was important for him to be here as they do not know the length of time they will have with little Belle before she goes to be with our Lord.
You can send messages to them through this site if you want, I will be sure to post them or send them through the Caringbridge site the family has set up. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/isabellahopetitus

Mrs. H2O

urgent prayer request from Joy

Hi Everyone,
I received the following e-mail from Joy, I know her family would appreciate your prayers.

Hey everyone, I'm sending this out in request of asking prayer for an Aunt and Uncle of mine. My Uncle Terry Bangart, my Mom's brother, has been fighting an incureable cancer for the last two years, and it's finally to the point he's going to try for surgery. The bad news is that he only has a 10% chance of living though the surgery. He's going in for the opperation on Friday. And, to top off the worst of the news, their youngest son, who was only about two years older than I am, was found shot in his appartment this morning. I cannot even begin to fathom what my Aunt Holly is going through right now, trying to cope with her son's death and the possiblity that her husband may be gone as well in another few days. Please, keep them in your prayers in the days to come, and if I hear anything more I'll let you know. thanks so much, Joy

See you Sat

Hey everyone,
Can't wait for Sat, looks like the weather is going to be wonderful!! See that crazy tornado chaser's forecast in the comments section on the last post. (I am sure he will update us if anything changes!) The vote was a landslide on the side of water balloon wars-so come prepared, figure out your strategy, and see if you can stay dry. I suppose in order to avoid a revolution we will have to make time for frisbee....
See you tomorrow,
Mrs. H2O

Sat H2O

Anybody want to do a post on the Sat H2O? I had a great time and we have been using some of the one liners from the skits already today. However, I'm not sure I will ever get over spandex togas....way too much visual there!!!! Who remembers the answer to "This animal is white and uses a shrill voice while dealing with it's mate?" What was your favorite line?
Mrs. H2O

Plan B

I'm trying to reach all of you by phone....the plan is to move the H2O to Mt Comfort Church. Call if you need directions. 376-2892 or 830-3583.
See you there.

anybody out there??

Hey everyone,
This is a test!! Anyone out there still reading this blog? We have been so lame at writing and keeping up with it-we have had a few good excuses!! Anyway, we will get busy with it again if anyone is interested-just send us a word or two!! Looking forward to hearing from some of you. Don't forget to rsvp for the H2O this Sat-I think there might be a vicious kickball game in the works.
Mrs H2O

pray for our friends who are grieving

Most of you know that Josiah H's grandfather died a few days ago, his funeral is Wed morning. Please keep his family, grandmother, and extended family in your prayers.


Also, we found out this morning that Molly and Sam B's grandmother passed away Monday night. Their family and Zach's (who were friends with her) could really use your prayers through their time of grief.

more

From Josiah H:

I just wanted to let you know about my Grandpa (dad's dad). He's in the hospital in ElDorado Springs. He had a massive heart attack on Friday, and has developed double pneumonia. His kidney's are failing. The doctor gave him 1-2 days to live, with a slight chance of pulling through. He's getting a ton of oxygen, and plenty of fluids, but not a lot of food. It's kind of a delicate balance of things right now. We'll probably have a better idea of what's going on in the morning, when my Dad talks to the doctor.

So if you could pray for my Grandma, that she'd be able to handle this well. For my dad, as he tries to make decisions while staying at the hospital. For the rest of the extended family, for peace of mind.

prayer seems to be the word of the month

Hi Everyone,
We received this e-mail from Jacey D, some of you may remember her from track. (She is trying to make it to an H2O soon) She asked the following:
I was wondering if you could send a prayer request to some of the H20 people. My sunday school teachers son, Jackson, has a lump on his stomach and they have not found out if it is cancerous or not. He is about 2 years old and cute as can be. Please pray for healing, wisdom for his doctors, and that his parents would submit to the will of the lord. Thank you so much.

Also, things have taken a turn for the worse with James and Mary's grandmother-please intercede for her health and for the family as some family decisions need to be made concerning relatives that are living with the grandmother. Thanks
Mrs. H2O

call to prayer

Hi Everyone,
Ever since the last H2O, my heart has really been burdened to pray for each of you, for the struggles you are facing, for the strength to stand strong, and for the plan God has for your lives. I am not saying this in a generic way-our family is praying for each of you by name. We are also praying for the group as a whole, that our times together would be uplifting and encouraging, that our prayer time would be a time of calling out to God, that our worship would be glorifying to the King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe. I want to encourage you to join us in our prayers this week before the H2O-to lift up those that come to mind and to pray for our time together. If you have something specific for us to pray for this week for you, send a comment so we can intercede. Below are a few that I currently know of:

James P is seeking God's Will on what area of interest to pursue as his life's call and how to pursue it.

Aaron G-is home on a short leave, loves jumping out of planes with the military, will have one more training camp and then will be shipped out.

Heather and Josh S-the house building is going well, continue to pray for them as they help their parents. Pray for safety and patience!! They have waited a long time for this!

David S-college life!! :)

Luke N-college life!! :)

Josh & Justin T-college life!! :)

Heidi M-College life!! :)

Charlie W-College life!! :)
Pray for these students as they are away from home, traveling back and forth, trying to balance study time and fun time, pray for their friendships, and for their witness to those around them.

Candace E and her FAMILY-Candance eloped a couple of weeks ago, knowing that her family had grave and justified concerns, it has been very hard on everyone involved. Pray that each of them would know how to adjust their relationship with her.

Colin C-his witness at work and that he would be able to encourage those that are struggling.

Mary P-her job (I think she might also be looking for something else? Let me know Mary)

Priscilla E- whether or not to go to college next year and where. She is also working on the illustrations for the next book in the series.

Joy H- pray for her work, for safety and for her witness.

Elizabeth S-the next step God has for her.

These are the specific ones I know of, keep me updated on anything in your lives you want prayer for. You all are on my heart.
Mrs. H2O

Prayer Request

Please be praying for the Pursselley’s grandmother. She was out checking on the cows yesterday and fell. She can’t remember why and every time she tells them what happened the story changes. When they took her to the hospital the doctor said that the memory problem was not a result of the fall, but the cause of it. So far they have not been able to find out what is wrong with her, but they think that it might have to do with her heart. Please keep them all in your prayers.

Invite to 11-10-17

Although it doesn’t seem possible,
Another year is past.
And so this next H2O,
Shall be ‘07’s last.
The meeting on Nov. 10th,
Begins at 4:00pm.
For dinner it’s pot luck we’ll have,
So carry something in.
The place is changed (for the best),
We’ll be at Mt. Comfort Church.
RSVP by the 8th ,
Or leave us in a lurch!

Belated Post

Well as you can tell, there is not going to be a really big post on the last H2O. However, since we are now almost up to the next meeting, I thought I would at least put up a few pictures, and then try to do better next time.

NIGHT OF PRAISE-LATE NOTICE

FOR ANYONE INTERESTED:
DENNIS JERNIGAN WILL BE IN BOLIVAR THIS SUNDAY (OCT 14) AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, STARTING AT 6:30. WE SING SEVERAL OF HIS SONGS AT H20, OUR FAMILY AND SEVERAL OTHERS HAVE BEEN TO HIS "NIGHT OF PRAISE" WORSHIP SERVICES BEFORE AND REALLY BEEN BLESSED BY THEM. HOPE SOME OF YOU CAN MAKE IT. CALL MRS. H20 IF YOU NEED MORE INFO.

H2O 8-25-07

The Whole Crowd (acting like the nuts that we are :)

Well it was a beautiful day for an H2O! The weather did us a special favor and cooled off enough to be a little more comfortable than the 90+ that it had been earlier in the week. We started at 4:00 this time instead of 4:30 so that we could have more time around the fire in the evening. We started with volleyball, as usual, but instead of quiting once everyone had arrived, we split into four teams and played a tournament. It was a lot of fun, and there were some pretty good volleys a couple of times.

Molly somehow manages to serve the ball while doing a complicated ballet step.

Right back atchya!!

And she finds her target..........

There is something about a left hander serving the ball that makes it so hard to return..........

After volleyball, we played Frisbee using the same teams. It was, as always, a ton of fun.

Josh plays a cool, calculated, and quiet game, and plays it well.

Just tune out the count and focus on the pass.

Keep coming, keep coming......

Running out of space!

Just some fun "random" shots.

Kezzi, looking (as usual), cool as a cucumber.

Victory!(?)




Smile!!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh yes, and a big thank-you to the police for laoning out security and S.W.A.T. members to keep us all in line.




Don't we know these people???

More Info.

The next H2O is at the S's on the 25th (as you already know :)
We will be starting at 4:00 this time.
I don't know what is for dinner. There have been several discussions on the subject, but no conclusions have been reached. Because of this indecision, and because I have been searching for something to use the new poll option on, I have decided to put dinner to the vote. Please visit the side bar and voice your opinion as to what we should have.

Heads Up!!

The next H2O is scheduled for August 25th, at the S's. Invitations will be in the mail next week (hopefully :). Any questions, let us know.

As for a post on last time.......

Let's just say that things didn't go as planned.

I do have a few pictures though, in case you are interested.

Well that is all for now. If anyone has any H2O pictures that they have never given me, I would like to get copies of them if possible. I have been working on the scrapbook a lot, and need some more pictures.

See ya soon,

Nyiad

Man to Man Invitation

MTM
(Of a Serious Nature)

For those of you who have been part of the MTM experience before you may find this unnecessary, but for those of you who are new to this please read carefully the following summation:
MTM stands for Man To Man. (This should be simple to understand.)
MTM is not a club, party, political action committee, church organization, civic group, school organization etc…

MTM is essentially an experience. The "experience" is facilitated by/through a group of adult male sponsors (Men, mostly fathers) who desire to offer an organized opportunity to share, teach, inspire or otherwise communicate real life skills to an openly invited group of younger (13 to 19 years old) Men (mostly but not limited to sons, even though I never met a young man who was not a son).
MTM has had a few of these "experiences". Last summer MTM "experiences" included the following:

1) Forging a functional knife from a piece of concrete re-bar steel on a coal fired forge and then competing with the knife through a series of timed tests. (No one got burned or cut.) One young man actually entered his knife in a county fair and won a ribbon.

2) Building a functional trebuchet by felling standing trees and assembling the device with hand tools and manila rope. The attending young Men were divided into 2 teams and when they had completed the machine they were then allowed to bombard the other team with water balloons. (It is somewhat hard to assemble a trebuchet while being bombarded with water balloons.)

3) Learning how to load and accurately shoot a muzzle loading rifle. The attending young Men were divided into 2 teams and had a shooting contest (no not at each other this time). Scores were kept and the losers had to cook the evening meal for the winners. (Yes, we usually eat at these "experiences".)

For those of you who are perceptive you probably noticed that these are what might be called "manly" activities. You might also say they are fun. But you might also ask "what were the life skills that were shared?" If you have ever watched a blacksmith working metal you could probably guess a few of the more obvious points but we also learned about the chemistry and physics of metal hardening. We also learned some of the history of steel making and the requirement for hardening steel. (For a more detailed analysis please make plans to attend the repeat event scheduled for June of 2016.)
At the trebuchet "experience" we learned the history, uses and physics of the trebuchet. (Some might say we learned some valuable construction principles and also how to work and dodge water filled projectiles at the same time!) If you missed this "experience" watch the movie "The return of the King" and observe the things that look like a catapult slingshot mixed together-it’s a trebuchet.
At the muzzle loading "experience" we learned the history, chemistry and physics (do you see a pattern here?) of black powder and muzzle loading rifles. We also were taught the basics of firearm safety. (If you were there I hope you learned these simple but EXTREEEEEMLY IMPORTANT SAFETY RULES AND THAT YOU WILL NEVER VIOLATE THEM!!!!!!!) If you missed this "experience" we may find time in the fall to repeat this activity. Notice I said MAY, not will.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what MTM is please allow me to announce the immanent return of the "experience". You are cordially invited to attend the latest MTM! Please feel free to invite a friend who might come to mind.

Here are the particulars:
Subject: As most of you are aware this year there was a horrible mass shooting at Virginia Tech. (Yes this is a serious MTM.) As many of you are aware the shooter was a deranged young man who had no intent on living his life to its natural end after he completed his murderous shooting spree. He turned his firearms on himself. Some of you are aware that many of the victims stood still while he shot an entire room full of students. They patiently waited while he reloaded his weapon and then continued shooting. When I heard about this my heart was troubled that there was not one person in the room who took action to attempt to save the lives of the innocent people in the room. Why did they not fight? Was fear or doubt or ignorance that stopped them? The question came to my mind "What would I do in this situation? What would my sons do? What would my wife or daughters do? What would my many young friends do?"
A few months ago a young woman was abducted in Kansas City and brutally murdered. When I heard about this I also began to wonder how one man could do this and if my loved ones knew what to do to prevent this from happening to them. Would my sons know how to protect my wife or daughters or friends in this situation? Would the many young friends I have know what to do?
With this in mind some of the sponsoring men have planned to offer a "Basic self (and others) Defensive Training Course. The intent is to teach you how to recognize potential dangers to you or your loved ones and tactical methods to avoid and defend against these potential dangers.
The intent is not to teach you to whip-up on your enemy or to be the enforcer in a crowd or even to provoke you to be a hero. The intent is to give you the basics if you ever find yourself in a position that requires you to protect your family or your own person. There will be three instructors. Two are US Army Special Operations Personnel. One is a former police officer (They are real experts!!) There may be additional law enforcement personnel if the crowd is big enough.

When: This will be on 7/28/07 starting at 12:00 oclock noon.

Where: This will be at the Brown's home in Strafford, MO. What to bring: A willing and attentive attitude. A note pad might be helpful. Bring or wear sports pants or sweats and a T-shirt. Also, feel free to bring a male friend(s) (13 to 19 years old).

Cost: Nothing. We would like to have some folks volunteer to bring food for the gang to eat after the training. This makes for a more complete "experience". (See list below for possible things to bring. Let us know what you want to bring when you RSVP on or before 7/26/07.)

Food Ideas: Hot Dogs
Buns
Mustard. Pickles, relish, ketchup
Chips and salsa
Backed beans
Potato Salad
Desert of some kind (watermelon?)

A special note to parents
As inferred above the intent is not to produce a tough guy attitude. Many of you strongly believe (as do I) that we should "turn the other cheek". Where this applies to me being slapped I attempt to live this out. Where someone else is being attacked I confess that I am of the opinion that "no greater love has a man than to lay down his life for his friends". While this could be a stretch of the interpretation it still seems to me applicable when defending my family or some other innocent person. Also please note that there will be an obvious spiritual outlook expressed by the instructors/sponsors (these are men of honor and principle who will likely share their core values as they share their knowledge). If you have reservations about letting your son attend this MTM please call me and lets discuss it.

If you have any questions or need directions, call or e-mail Mr. S.