School field trip to Zion National Park

First-sixth graders, their principal, teachers, and several chaperones left Pioche Elementary School around 7:00 this morning to travel to Zion National Park between Cedar City, UT and St. George, UT. It was a long trip with a strenuous hike but the scenery was rewarding and the trip enjoyable! Dinner at McDonald's in Cedar City (and Play Place time) completed the trip and we returned to Pioche around 6:00 p.m. Enjoy the pictures!

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Rodeo

We've just returned from watching a high school rodeo (Nicole's first). We'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

These boots were made for walking

A last minute stop at a local thrift store today resulted in a great find for Nicole. These red boots were just her size and just our price--$1.00!

Since Mom bought the boots while Nicole was at school, it was a pleasant surprise when she got home. The picture above was taken just moments after Nicole put them on and she wore them right up until bedtime. On Saturday we are going to a rodeo at the high school and Nicole will be wearing boots! (Does anyone have a $1.00 cowgirl hat?)

News, but not a lot!

Nicole had a friend over Friday after school. The friend traveled with us to Cedar City, UT (about 95 miles away and the location of our closest Wal-Mart). She also spent the night with Nicole. The girls had fun but Mom and Dad said, "Girls," "no more giggling," and "go to sleep" a lot.

On Sunday, Jane began teaching the 5th-8th grade Sunday school class. She also began to accompany the piano with her guitar during Worship.

Mitch preached an expository message from 1 Corinthians 11 on Sunday morning and he administered the Lord's Supper.

Jane applied for a part time office clerk position at the local utility company. She is very excited about the possibility and would appreciate your prayers in the next few weeks as a candidate is selected. Substitute teaching is also a possibility but not until she receives state certification (a process taking longer than expected).

Thank you for your continued prayers for us and for the ministry here. We love and miss you.

Sight seeing in Echo Canyon

This week has been a chilly, windy one in Pioche. But today was different. It was sunny and 83 so we decided to take some time in the late afternoon to explore nearby Echo Canyon.

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Art-Science-Music Fair

Tonight was an art-science-music fair at Nicole's school. A sloppy joe fundraiser kicked off the event, with proceeds benefitting a 5th grade trip to Washington, D.C.

Nicole's second grade class made paper mache pigs and displayed artwork. For a science project, her class learned whether a sweet potato grew better in a window, on a desk, or in the closet.

The students sang some oldies but goodies like "Moonlight Bay" and "Zip-a-dee-do-dah." (It's common for one to get the giggles when performing in front of others.)

Before the night was over, Nicole had an opportunity to pose with her teacher, Mrs. Dixon.

It was a fun night for Nicole to show off her school and to be with her friends. We enjoyed the opportunity to meet more community members.

Happy birthday, Mitch!

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A great day in the Lord!

We've had a great day in the Lord today. Nicole was baptized today (having more understanding about baptism after giving her life to Christ some time ago). It was a blessing for Mitch to be able to perform it.

Also, a long-time attender was baptized and he and his wife joined the church. They have been faithful attenders for some time but had never joined. The wife had been baptized but the husband was not baptized by immersion. We rejoice in his obedience to the Lord's command and are encouraged in their commitment of membership to the church. We were able to share a meal together with them this past week in our home. It was a good opportunity to get acquainted and enjoy their fellowship. The husband brought his guitar to the house and sang us a couple of old gospel songs and a couple of miner tunes.

Another couple also joined the church today and one came forward to rededicate her life. We praise the Lord for these decisions. Thank you for your prayers for the ministry here!

Mitch's birthday is tomorrow. Nicole and Mom scoured a local variety store this weekend for just the right gifts. A future post might reveal one of these gifts but we'll keep it a secret for now.

It seems the locals have pretty big feet (or perhaps we've solved the mystery of "Big Foot"). In any case, Nicole couldn't resist posing for this picture at the variety store.

We love and miss you all but thank the Lord for His call to this church!

We'll keep you posted.