corn maze

Our landlady lives upstairs from us and she is the nicest owner we've ever rented from. The other day she saw a coupon for an outing to a corn maze just outside the city so she bought five tickets and treated us! She drove us out there and even bought us ice cream at Culver's on the way home. Thanks, Judy, for your kindness!

Here are some pictures from the outing. It was a beautiful day...

cherry picking

Yesterday we drove to Michigan to go cherry picking with some good friends. Afterwards, some of the kids enjoyed a pony ride and we all had a picnic. It was a fun day! Here are some pictures.

snapshots of a life-giving church

Christian Associates has a project in St. Paul called Communitas. I had the privilege of joining with them yesterday in an event aimed at blessing some friends without homes in downtown St. Paul. This month's event featured free brown bag lunches and hygiene products. A photo journal of our time together:

First, we collected lots of supplies: food, drink, shampoo, soap, and other hygiene products.

Then, we made the sandwiches, created 124 brown bag lunches and made baggies with assorted hygiene products in them.

After those preparations, we spent some time talking about why we do this. We prayed and watched a video of past Communitas events. It was astounding to see all that had been accomplished through these wonderful people!

We went downtown on a rainy afternoon and served all 124 brown bag lunches. We handed out all the hygiene gift packs to many friends without homes. It is hard to say why, but being with these folks blessed my heart no end. Their spirit lifted mine.

Thanks to all those who made this possible! It was a great example of good teamwork (which makes my heart go pitter-patter).