Student Ministries Youth Band!

I am so proud of our youth and for their dedication to worship! Niki McCaffrey, Mikaela Michaels, Brittany Anderson, Jacob Garza, Caleb Garza, and Nic Craft did a BANG UP job leading our congregation in worship yesterday! They didn't seem nervous at all as they stood there, serving the Lord in praises! The voices were chiming, the instruments rocking....I am sure that God was well pleased and blessed.

Several youth helped with the offertory too. I want to thank each of them as well, with their leadership.

Jess Rollema brought a great message to the congregation with the word and great teaching illustrations. I especially liked the one about the juice from the orange squirting everywhere. You are right Jess.....let's keep having the juice and aroma getting everywhere.......i.e. Let's keep spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Wecome Baby Bennett!

Hey! How exciting it is when a new baby is born into the family! Congratulations to Chisum and Amber Bennett.....my brother and sister in law. Karys Bennett was born to them last week, a beautiful baby girl. Also congratulation to Trae Bennett for being a new BIG brother! Sandra, the boys, and I finally got to go and see the new addition at the Bennett house yesterday. Karys is a cutie....and Trae really needed our boys to play with.

Sandra and I enjoyed visiting with Chisum, Amber, and Karys. We can't believe how much the baby looks like Trae in his baby pictures. It almost made Sandra and I want another baby.........ahhhh NO! But.... having a niece in the family will be nice. We're so use to having boys running around...we don't even know what it is like to have a girl.

I am really proud that our church jumped right in to help Chisum and Amber with meals. As a matter of fact, Cheryl Jackson showed up with a meal for them when we were there. Good job 1st Baptist!

Chisum and Amber...we will be praying for you and your new little one. We love you, and God bless you! Trae...be a good boy and a good helper. By the way........Jess and Heather Rollema are next!!!! It will be fun winding their little one up like a top too...when the baby is older.

Remember....

Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Wyoming Boys' School Ministry

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." - Mark 1:17 NIV

What a day it was yesterday in worship! Of course we loved lifting up the Name of the Lord for the first and second service, but the highlight of the day was taking the 1st Baptist Wyoming Boys' School Ministry team for the afternoon service. Many don't realize all that goes into the afternoon.

* We thank the Lord Jesus Christ for this opportunity to minister for Him!

* I want to thank Sally Craft and my wife Sandra Garza for coordinating and cooking the lunches each month for the team before we go to the WBS. They do such an outstanding job with this boost that we are raring to go presenting the Gospel through song and message.

* Thanks goes to Steve Craft for hustling around stretching wire, monitors, etc., trying to get our sound going. You the man!

* Thanks goes to Sally Craft and Becci Kalfell for putting together our song sheets to be passed out to the young men in attendance at the WBS.

* Thanks to the Matakos for their involvement with the ministry....to Jodi for letting us take Shaun and also for her help with Sally and Sandra. A big thank you goes to Shaun for bringing awesome messages to share to the boys, staff, and worship team!

* Our thanks should also go out to the staff of the Wyoming Boys' School for allowing us to come and minister to the boys.

* Let's not forget the 1st Baptist Mission team for supporting us over the period that we have been a part of the boy's school ministry.

Now.....we give total thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ over all! We were blessed to see about 20 boys give their hearts to the Lord yesterday. Kaleb Craft, Nic Craft, Caleb Garza, Ben McMillan, Ashley Craft, and I loved playing and singing worship to the Lord as the boys sang along. Shaun spoke about being lost in the "wilderness" and needing the Savior to rescue us. It was really powerful to see what the Holy Spirit did yesterday! Please keep our team in prayer as we go in to present the Gospel message. It has been wonderful to see the Spirit in action and lives being saved. We look forward to going back next month in July! To God be the Glory!!!!!!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Belated Father's Day. It was a great day! First of all.....I thank God for my boys and my wife. They made it a great day! Thanks for the gifts including: Bocce Ball, mug, candy, shorts, Hot Wheels, lounge chair, etc. I love you!

We started the day with praise and worship at 1st Baptist! Worship went well! Shaun's message was great! It was great to give tribute to the ultimate Father....Our Father in Heaven.

After worship at First Baptist, our church family headed for Newell Sargent Park for a church picnic. We had a great time in fellowship. Kids played including Pastor Jess and Pastor Shaun.....lots of baseball. I didn't because I was just too busy talking and meeting new people that have visited our church. It was good to see new folks having fellowship with us. What a great picnic!

After the picnic, we had to mow the lawn, but it was fun playing a game of Bocce Ball afterwards with my new set with my boys, Caleb, Jacob, and Joshua. Jacob won. I got last place this time!

I got to watch a movie with my wife Sandra! It was a great day!

Thank you God for my family! I love them. Lord....strengthen us fathers as we walk with you. Amen.

My Wonderful Wife!

Ephesians 5:33 "Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

Yes! I love my wife Sandra! As you may know, my wife and mother-in-law, along with my two younger boys, Jacob and Joshua, were out of town for several days. In the mean time, my oldest son, Caleb, and I were being "bachelors" and trying to take care of the place. Needless to say....it was rough without Sandra! Read my previous post! I even accidentally stabbed myself in the kitchen!

Anyway.....when my wife is gone, I quickly realize how much I need her. I realize how much she does for us at home. I truly missed her company while she was gone. Besides..... it sure was nice to get a good home cooked meal when she got settled back in at home.

While I was mowing my lawn on my little red tractor yesterday, I saw how hard she was working, planting the garden. She is such a hard worker, trying to be a good wife and mother. I am so proud of her. I love her with all of my heart!

Welcome home Sandra! I'm so glad you are back! I love you Sweetheart! I thank God for you!

No knives please!

Yes! It is true...you need to keep me out of the kitchen when it comes to preparing food! Saturday morning after doing chores....I came in from the barn and decided that it would be great to make some breakfast burritos with fresh scrambled eggs and bacon. I had to take the bacon out of the freezer. As I was working on the frozen bacon with a kitchen knife, I slipped with the knife and ran it right into the palm of my hand! I bled like a stuck pig!....all over the counter, all over the floor, all in the sink! I finally got the bleeding to stop, washed the wound, and put disinfectant on it. I also wrapped it after thinking that it didn't look "too" bad for stitches.

Later that day my son Caleb and I drove to Thermopolis for his double-header baseball game. While I was there, my hand started to throb with pain really bad! It was turning black and blue. I tried ice. It worked a little. At the end of baseball, I told Caleb that we needed to get home as quickly as possible. When I got home, I called Pastor Shaun and Jodi and told them I didn't think that I could play guitar to lead worship in the morning. Bless their hearts, we all went down to the church and put together a CD version of worship for the next morning. Then I went home after Shaun told me to call him if I needed anything. At home I took my wrap off and was startled to see how bad my hand was. I called Pastor Shaun back and told him that I was on the way to the emergency room. This tells you what kind of a pastor we have.......Shaun went down and stayed with me at the emergency room until after midnight!!!!

By the time it was all over, the doctors had to cut off my wedding band, soaked my hand, given me antibiotics, and had my hand wrapped. The main emergency doctor told me that I had nicked an artery, and that was the reason for all of the black, blue, purple,.......etc. He told me that he was glad that I had not waited much longer to get to the hospital.

Thank you Lord for taking care of me. Thank you Lord that I was at least able to help with worship using CD's the next day. Thank you Lord for good medical care. Thank you Lord for Pastor Shaun and Jodi being there when I needed them.

I will be a lot more careful in the kitchen! I'm just glad that I didn't bring in the power tools to cut up the bacon!