Heat, VBS, power

Wednesday our weather station registered 111 degrees. It did not feel like it was that hot because the humidity was only 10% and there was a  constant wind blowing the hot air around. However, our plants and trees are definitely feeling both the excessively high heat and the excessively low humidity. Mama and Grandpa have given up on the garden for the most part. They are continuing to water only a few struggling plants. The rest have been pulled up or allowed to wither away. The idea that we are presented as a cardinal truth of gardening, to “give your plants full sun”, is turning out to be a misnomer for our garden. Though Grandpa was excited about the plants when the weather was cooler, he has lost all that enthusiasm as we have watched almost all the beautiful, lush plants shrivel in the recent heat. Our hopes for a better garden this year petered out once again. That has become an annual tradition. We did get some produce for all the effort of planting and tending to the garden, but even the plants grown in pots have given up without any edible fruit being produced. We will probably try again next year but I am not anticipating any better success.

Brittany called last night. She was very upset. She continues to face some significant struggles – especially financially – as she is setting up a home for her and the girls without the promised assistance from Andrew. It is difficult for Mama and me to know how to help. We covet your prayers for Brittany and the girls that the Lord would give her wisdom and opportunity. She is an amazingly resourceful person when she sets her mind to the task. Please pray that she allows the Lord to lead her to the right opportunities and helps her make the right decisions.

We have had Vacation Bible School each night from Monday through Thursday this week. It was a bit of work, but it was great fun. We had over one hundred kids each night. With several children, including Aubrey and three of Cheyenne’s visitors, praying to receive Jesus as their Savior. Mama and I were able to take Cheyenne and Aubrey to VBS each night along with six and sometimes seven of their friends. Cheyenne was very motivated to win the competition for the most visitors, but she came in a close second with thirteen visitors across the four nights. For that she won a Nintendo Switch. The prize was secondary to actually winning the competition. She was thrilled with her victory. Mama and I, as well as many church members, were more thrilled with Aubrey’s salvation.

The theme for VBS this year was Coming out of Egypt. The stories followed the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt: the Red Sea, the ten plagues, the rebellious heart of Pharoah, and the power of God. Each night the lesson followed the Bible story through the exodus and each night Bro. Zach presented an illustrated Gospel presentation. Each presentation was well presented and well delivered. The impact on the children listening to the presentation was noticeable. I was impressed. What is even more thoughtful about the program used to present VBS is that the same presentation will be used again at the Navaho Reservation in Nazlini, AR in a few weeks. Our church puts on a VBS for the Navaho people every year in July. I have wanted to go to help but have not been able to get the time off to do so. Hopefully, in my retirement next year I will finally have the opportunity to follow through on that desire.

Mama and I are picking up four rescue goats in the morning. They are four bred nanny goats that have been poorly cared for by their owner due to financial constraints outside of her control. They are all registered Myotonic goats. They are from a different bloodline than our own, but we are assured that they are good stock. Mama and I plan to allow the does to kid and then sell the nanny goats once the kids are weaned. We will keep any of the doelings that look good and sell off the rest of the offspring. It should be a win-win for us, but time will tell. It will require some travel to get the goats – which are about two hours away - and rearranging of the herd we have on the farm at the moment since we will need to isolate the new arrivals from the rest of our herd, but we should be able to manage for a few months.

Other than fetching and rearranging goats, I hope to get into the beehives this evening or tomorrow. I am also planning on getting power fed to the container. I was able to get power hooked into the box in the well house, so I will certainly be able to activate a plug or two inside the container over the weekend. Though we are still waiting for windows to be purchased, I can get a couple outlets energized as I run the conduit for the power throughout the container.

One small step at a time.