Faith Bible Church Campout & Burn Road Bible Church

On Friday morning, the three of us (Andrew, Katherine & Bob) went to Cougar Rock Campground to spend a couple days with the Faith Bible Church group. Pastor Tim & family went out on Wednesday and some others joined on Thursday. We had a wonderful time of fellowship, time in the Word, singing....and yes, some awesome hikes. Friday the three of us headed down to Longmire to look through the store and then we took a short hike around the meadow reading various signs on the history of Longmire (we also had a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier). Then we headed back toward camp but stopped to hike up to Carter Falls. A treat for us was a doe with her two fawns that walked right up to us. We got some pictures and a video. Once everyone got back to camp from their various hikes (some of the group went up to Paradise), we had dinner and devotions around a nice campfire.

On Saturday morning, five of us men got up at 5:30am and drove up to Paradise Lodge for a 4.4 (1700ft elevation) mile hike up toward Mt. Rainier. We were fortunate to have a great view all the way up to about the 7000ft height before returning. We could almost reach out and touch Nisqually Glacier we were so close. Boy we're we bushed when we got back for breakfast which Katherine, Sarah, and Eric had ready for everyone (Mountain Breakfast Burritos). Pastor Tim shared from a couple Proverbs and some Psalms which were a nice inspiration for the day.

Just before lunch we all loaded up to head out for another hike starting at Narada Falls, which ended up being somewhat over 5 miles with some real nice elevation in it. We stopped part way through at Reflection Lake and ate lunch. Along the way we saw a fox and took some pictures. We headed out after a wonderful spaghetti dinner arriving home to unload, take showers and prepare for Sunday morning.The two of us got up early to drive up to the Arlington area for services at Burn Road Bible Church. Pastor Doug took the group through a portion of their Doctrinal Statement for Sunday School and Bob preached a topical message, "Finding Delight in the Word of God" from Psalm 119. Afterwards we went to Doug and Rene's home for a delicious lunch and then headed home in the late afternoon. All in all it was a long, but great fulfilled weekend.

NICE/IFCA Annual Picnic

Beautiful weather, great friends, good food and wonderful time of sharing made for another annual picnic at Earl & Shirley Brubakers. They always host us with a beautiful, wooded landscape surrounded by high rise apartments in Tacoma - spittin' distance from the Tacoma Mall. The NICE Board met earlier in the morning to interview Randy and Angela Koch. They will be working with Eric & Jennifer Nyborg at the Antioch Bible Church in Beaverton.

The kids had a wonderful time romping around, playing on the trampoline and enjoying the gold fish in the pond. Bob led us in a time of sharing any plans for the fall, what God has done over the last few months and any prayer requests. After a time of prayer Earl, Director of NICE introduced the Koch's as new missionaries with NICE and handed out some NICE travel mugs to any missionaries who hadn't received any yet. God gave us a beautiful day of calm weather with a gentle breeze to enjoy ourselves.

Idaho Trip & West Memorial

On the weekend of July 24-26th we (Bob, Katherine & our daughter Sarah Joy) headed to the Sun Valley area for a wedding. A pastor friend of ours had a daughter getting married who is also a friend of Sarah's. It was a great wedding even though it was warm. They say Sun Valley hasn't really experienced much sun these days as they've had lots of rain. What a change! On the Sunday we were there Bob preached at Larkin Memorial Community Church in Carey, Idaho. This is a predominantly Mormon town with LMCC being the only other church; one building down from the LDS church none-the-less. And with a last name of "Kimball" the pastor gets many questions. Yes, he is distantly related to Spencer Kimball, past president of the LDS. While it was a short weekend it was a pleasant time. On August 6th, the two of us made another trip to Idaho spending five days on the road visiting different ones along the way. We started out early Thursday morning dropping by Noel & Lorraine Olsens home in Gleed then ending up in Yakima for lunch at a local restaurant. We drove on to Nampa, Idaho arriving at Leroy & Carole Reddings home for a late dinner and overnight stay. The Reddings served a short time as Associate Pastor at Bonney Lake Community Church. They are great hosts and we had an enjoyable time of fellowship. Friday morning we packed back in the car and headed to the Sun Valley area. We made a stop in Fairfield, Idaho to visit our friends, Chuck and Fay Butler who pastor the Community church there. After a time of visiting we decided to grab a bite to eat at the local cafe and then headed to the church and visited some more. We're glad things are going well for Chuck who has recently had eye surgery. Friday night we arrived in time for dinner in the Wood River Valley at our friends, Dan & Mary Shoemaker who we also stayed with for the weekend. Saturday was a slow start to the day but eventually we meandered over to the Hansen's house, another friend of ours, for lunch and fellowship. Saturday night found the Shoemaker's and us in Bellevue for a bite to eat and then home to review & print the Sunday morning message. Sunday am came quick and off we went to Sunday School, which after we arrive with just a couple people, we discovered it had been canceled. Oh well, we had a good time talking with those who came. Bob preached to a full house which was great to see. A number of people from various churches, for various reasons, have been attending Calvary Bible. Bob shared from Hebrews 12:1-3 on Focusing on the Right Perspective in the Course of Life concentrating on the theme "Faith initiates responsible action by concentrating on Christ in the Christian race." He shared the need for three responsibilities: Responsibility of Laying Aside Various Hindrances, Responsibility of Running with Endurance and Responsibility of Concentrating on Christ. It was great to see the new Sanctuary that has been framed and now ready to finish off the interior. God has been gracious to CBC and they continue to trust God for the final financial resources to finish the Sanctuary.

Sunday after we headed back to Fairfield where we visiting some more friends, the Browns. We had a great chicken dinner with Apple pie & Ice Cream (one of Bob's favorites). We stayed the night and headed out Monday morning for home which was about an eleven hour trip. All in all Katherine handled the trip well as she is recovering greatly from her surgery.

On Tuesday morning Bob headed to Carson, Washington with Earl & Shirley Brubaker, Executive Director of Northwest Independent Church Extension, for a Memorial Service for Florence West. Katherine was unable to come due to a prior commitment with Andrew and his upcoming job. Florence and her husband Bill have served with N.I.C.E. for a number of years. Her son David, pastor of Carson Bible Church did a fantastic job, as did many other members of the family, in honoring their mother and faithful saint.

IFCA Church Extension Conference & Convention Kalamazoo

"Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo" is a slogan you often see in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This is where we had our recent IFCA Church Extension Conference and Convention all last week. We began last Saturday, June 20th for our CE Conference at the Oakwood Bible Church about 15 minutes from the Radisson Hotel where we were staying. For those thinking we just struck it rich, we didn't. The IFCA always gets a great break on these higher class hotels where we can all be together for meals and meetings. The Church Extension Conference is an opportunity for Church Planters & Leadership to join for fellowship, challenge in the Word and updates by various Mission Agencies throughout the country. Our main speaker this year was Steve Wilt, President of Fellowship International Mission which assists local churches and missionaries to carry their ministries effectively. Our theme was "Be Encouraged." It is always a refreshing time to see what God is doing around the country in planting churches, revitalizing the struggling churches and encouraging the strong churches.
The IFCA Convention was held this year at the Raddison in downtown Kalamazoo. Due to a recent rain storm the main dining room was flooded so we had to eat in a couple different rooms throughout the week. Our main session opened Monday night with Dr. Les Loftquist, Executive Director, challenging us from Scripture on being sent to the world to proclaim the gospel. This is in correlation with our theme which is "Vision World." The purpose of Vision World is to enlist 100 churches in 2009 to pray intentionally that God would raise up international vocational missionary church planters from their number, resulting in identifying 100 new international workers from IFCA churches by June 2011. The main speaker this year was Dr. Robert Alderman, Minister-at-Large, and former pastor of Shenandoah Baptist Church in Roanoke, Virginia. We had a number of seminars we could attend, Ladies meetings, Men's Business meetings and fellowship times.

Bob was on the Nominating Committee again this year. The only difference was he was a nominee for a position on the Board of Directors; his name being one of the final six names. Unfortunately they only needed three and Bob wasn't one of them. However, our Executive Director of Northwest Independent Church Extension, Earl Brubaker was voted in this year as the President of IFCA International (he's the one smiling - or is it shock)? We're confident Earl will make a great President as he has a lot of wisdom, discernment and heart for God's leading in the IFCA. Next year's Convention is scheduled for Springfield, Illinois which was the stomping grounds of Abraham Lincoln.

Wenatchee Valley Bible Church & Stark's Visit

What a glorious and beautiful day for driving on Sunday morning for Central Washington. But then Katherine might say Bob would have no idea as he slept a good portion of the way. That was partly due to allergy medications and lack of sleep the night before. We arrived in Wenatchee about 10:00am and proceeded to our typical hangout - Starbucks, then over to Dan & Donna Bong who pastor Wenatchee Valley Bible Church. Services began in their home at 10:45am with Pastor Dan leading us in song. We had some announcements, reading & opening prayer by one of the young men in church and praise time with prayer requests. Bob was the main speaker for the morning and typically does a "sermon from the seat" message. There were about 9 adults and 2 children. Bob spoke from Daniel 3:16-18 on "Faithfulness in Times of Pressures to Do Wrong" from the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He concentrated on three marks: 1) The Mark of Unwavering Determination; by not giving into wrong even when it isn't popular, 2) The Mark of Unwavering Confidence; knowing God has the ability to deliver, but recognizing His plan might be different, and 3) The Mark of Unwavering Allegiance; understanding clearly what God's Word says and determining to do right regardless of the consequences. Following the service we had a wonderful time around the table eating a great pot roast meal provided by Katherine. Mike Jones, Child Evangelism Director and board member of WVBC joined us. At 2:30pm we had our WVBC Board meeting with discussion and prayer for the church and God's blessings in reaching the few ethnic folks in this ministry. We are truly thankful for Dan and Donna Bong ministering for God's glory. About 4:00pm we had dinner with our missionaries from the church at Rock Island Community Church. What a blessing Dennis & Lori Stark continue to be at their ministry. God continues to bless with a growing attendance. They are planning a Marriage Seminar this coming weekend using the Love and Respect Series. They are hoping for 10 couples. We continue to pray for Dennis who will be having a number of shots in his back for the pain.

Faith Bible Church Leadership/DuPont Bible Study

On Tuesday evening we had our monthly leadership meeting for Faith Bible Church. Bob sits on the team along with Dr. Roy Sprague, Minister at Large with N.I.C.E. and Chris VanLiew of Edgewood Bible Church. The other men are all involved in Faith Bible. The goal is to someday establish Elders from among the congregation. Pastor Tim Atkins leads us in a time in God's Word, prayer and discussion concerning aspects of ministry life, vision, goals, etc. of FBC. We always start with a delicious meal often created by Brenda Atikins and dessert provided by Elvia Sprague. Once the meeting begins the ladies head out for their Bible study at one of the women's house close by while the kids head up stairs to their rooms. We appreciate the ministry of the Atkins and ask for prayer as they continue to move forward in this church plant to reach the people of South Hill and Graham.

On another front, we were at the DuPont Bible Study Wednesday night for the second week in a row. A bit unusual for us but the calendar seems a bit more cooperative these days at the midweek point. Pastor Tim Atkins is leading us through the Gospel of John, but we always start with a couple songs; Brenda Atkins playing at the keyboard. There is a group of about a dozen or so that attend; although one of the faithful couples had their last night as they are getting more involved in the church they are attending in Olympia.

The goal is to turn the Bible study over to our new Church Planter, Mark and Tracy Wilson, once they move up from California in the late Fall. Mark will be working with Pastor Tim in a Church Residency Program for a year or so learning many aspects of Church Planting and giving help to Faith Bible Church. We are praying for a number of churches to help financially with the church plant and/or give assistance in a number of areas in the months ahead.

Wishkah Valley Community Church/Wagner Visit

Early morning coffee was the routine as we headed out Sunday morning for Wishkah Valley Community Church about 20 minutes north of Aberdeen. Of course the quiet hour of the morning is good for prayer together and chatting about family and ministry. Arriving in Aberdeen about 8:45am gave us the opportunity to stop for a "real" cup of coffee at Starbucks. After a short break we headed up to Wishkah for the 9:45am Worship Service; the first Sunday for the new summer schedule. It was great to see many familiar faces and greet some new folks. After a time of worship in song Pastor Jim led us in communion to celebrate the Lord's death, burial and resurrection. We sang a few more songs before Bob preached on "Living Holy & Godly in Light of the End Times" from 2 Peter 3:1-13. He stated seven facts raised by Peter and then spent some time on a major principle from verses 11-13, "Because the world will end in severe judgment by God, believers must live in such a way as to exemplify a holy and Godly life." He then developed two primary applications on Holy Conduct and Godliness.

Following the service time we viewed the newly finished Multi-Purpose Building which is lovely. It has a library, a few classrooms, bathrooms, kitchenette and a small multi-purpose area. We spent a couple minutes talking with Pastor Jim before heading out to lunch with a couple in the church. He needed to be at a funeral he was conducting in the afternoon and a baccalaureate at night so they were unable to host us this time.

On our way through Olympia we stopped at Denny's to meet John and Judy Wagner, retired missionaries with N.I.C.E. We had a great visit and enjoyed getting updated on what they are doing. They were a great asset for many years to George and Rita Williams and the Forks Bible Church. They have served in Alaska for many years and enjoy a trip now and then back to Fairbanks to visit their son and family who pastor a church and give oversight to a Christian school.

Then it was off to Faith Bible Church for their evening service at the Silver Creek Retirement Center and a time of fellowship and food at the Atikins home following.