Friends, Romans, and countrymen….I’ll try to catch y’all up on my life in Cherry Creek since last time. It’s gonna sound random and chopped up, but anyways.

· We had 3 days off of school for Labor Day, so that was a nice break. Eagle Butte (a city about 45 minutes from here) had a Labor Day Parade, and, since most of Cherry Creek is there, we decided to decorate our truck and take it through the parade. We ended up getting rained out, but we still had a lot of fun.

· A few weeks ago, we watched a DVD about Native Tribes Missions. Seeing such poor, isolated countries and the missions there makes me feel so fortunate that I was called to a place with so many conveniences – It’s so easy for me to take it for granted and feel like I “deserve” it. Something on the movie that really struck me went something like this, “What you want to be is not important. What matters is what you are willing to become.”

· Our dear dog Sergeant Maranckerson is still alive and well and now has a doghouse =) Troy built one under our back steps – that very night it rained, so it worked out just perfect. Troy left Wednesday to go back home; he was just here for the summer.

· Eugene and Elaine Weaver are planning to be here in about 2 weeks. It will be good to see them and also to get my huge suitcase of belongings they are bringing out!

· A verse that has really encouraged me recently is Isaiah 48:17, “This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go’.”

· I take the kindergarteners home at lunchtime, and when I dropped Kyson off today, he was was singing, “Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so!” That just totally made my day. Sometimes teaching can be discouraging, but little things like that is what makes it worth it. Thanks for your prayers!

Here's the link to some pictures....http://picasaweb.google.com/107725585786261891629/Blog2#

Later, Laura

Well, it’s Thursday night and we’re planning to go to Rapid City tomorrow, so I’m writing this with the hope that I can figure out how to upload it when I get there. First of all, thanks to all of you who have been praying for me and the ministry here in Cherry Creek…it means so much to me. I’ve been here about 3 and a half weeks now. It seems like way longer than that…so much has been going on. I don’t want to bore you with all the details, but I’ll try to give an overview of my time here so far and hit some of the highlights.

School started on the 23^rd. We’ve had 9 days so far. 4 kids were enrolled in kindergarten, and 2 in first grade; however, one kindergartener never did show up and one came for only like 3 or 4 days. The first graders are in the other classroom while I teach kindergarten. After lunch, I teach the first graders. 11 kids are in the whole school: Isaiah, Micah, Ethan, Dallen, Kyson, Seth, Lexie, Jayla, Kobe, Myanna, and Evalyn.

School is going very well. As with anything, though, it has it’s ups and downs. The verse that got me through the first couple days is Isaiah 41:13, “For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” The school ministry is such a wonderful place for God to touch lives. Help us pray that Satan would be bound and that each one of these children would someday turn their lives over to Christ. Yesterday was a very discouraging day at school, but once again, God was faithful. A song kept running through my head…”We’ve got the power in the name of Jesus! We’ve got the power in the name of the Lord! Though Satan rages, we will not be defeated! We’ve got the power in the name of the Lord!” 2 Corinthians has also been an encouragement to me. “But he said to me,’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Last weekend was the Pow-Wow here in Cherry Creek. It’s only a couple hundred yards from the house, so we spent a good bit of time there. Men’s and women’s softball tournaments were held on Saturday and Sunday. This weekend is the Pow-Wow in Eagle Butte, a bigger town about 45 minutes from here. Monday is Eagle Butte’s Labor Day parade, and our church is planning on sending a float through since a lot of Cherry Creek people will be there. We can’t wait!

This is getting long…the pictures should hit everything I didn’t write about. I just put them all on a web album...hope this address works. http://picasaweb.google.com/107725585786261891629/CherryCreekForBlog# Love and miss y’all! Laura

“If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Christ Jesus. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen” 1 Peter 4:11