When you watch rodeo events in the grandstands, it really doesn't look that hard. You just have to ride that horse really fast around the barrels or stay on that bucking bull for just a mere 8 seconds. You might sense you have to have some skill to throw a rope at a running calf but for the most part, it just doesn't look like a ton of skill. Yet when you watch the clinics at rodeo Bible Camp, you learn that there is so much skill needed to really flourish at the sport. If you have an event that requires you to have a horse, you must learn to handle your horse. You might have to teach it to back into the corner or approach a goat or when to start turning him around that pole or barrel. It needs to know what to expect when you get that rope on a calf. If you are riding rough stock, you need to know how to come out of the chute, how to spur it, and how to get off as safe as possible if possible. All of these skills are taught to the kids at Rodeo Bible Camp by people who have had plenty of experience. 
As important as these skills are, they also get to spend a couple hours of each day hearing about Jesus and all that He has done for them. Four of the kids asked to be baptized at the camp. Many testified that that they desire to spend more time with the Lord. It was a sweet camp!

We had 25 kids who came to grow in their rodeo skills while hearing about Jesus in the second rodeo Bible camp held in Rigby. The chapel services went through the first two chapters of Ephesians. Four kids talked to the pastor about receiving Christ and one kid asked to be baptized during family church on Sunday. The clinics provided so much entertainment. We love being a part of this ministry. 

We joined a mission team from several churches in Tennessee to work on a church replant in Gillette, WY. We replaced florescent lighting with LED, repaired a couple of leaks, put in new carpet squares and trim, painted the foyer, did some outside painting, and put in a closet and flooring to create a bedroom in the parsonage among other things. We also spent a morning removing a broken handicap ramp and doing some much needed work in a yard in the neighborhood. It was a great week ministering to the church and community with a great group of people. 

While Church Road Baptist was working in Salmon, Nathan was not working with the team as originally planned. Instead he spent the week building a casket for a dear friend. It was truly a labor of love and it was a privilege to do it.

​Nathan's home church joined us for continued work at Salmon Valley Baptist. A portion of the team spent hours stuffing insulation into cracks in the logs that will help when the chinking begins or power washing the newer section of the church. Another crew worked at the Lemhi River Cowboy Church replacing the decking on the bridge that was starting to rot. The final crew completed Western Mission training learning to contextualize the gospel in the area they are ministering in. They spent the afternoons in the community practicing what they learned. They also took what they learned and set a up a plan to minister to those in their community in Mississippi which they have already initiated. We were especially blessed that Nathan's sister and brother were among the team members. It was so great to have all of them here. They truly blessed us. 

The original building at Salmon Valley Baptist Church was a log structure built in 1981. Those logs were ready for some much needed maintenance and Red Bank Baptist Church sent 9 people to assist with this first phase. The first step was to sand blast the logs. It was a messy and time consuming project. One young man on the team did the entire building with other team members assisting him. Once the logs were sand blasted, they had to be stained. The ladies cleaned and organized the building inside the church as sand and sawdust came through the logs. This was definitely not a glamorous job but we are so grateful to Red Bank for getting this much needed work completed. 

After a year off, Rodeo Bible Camp resumed in Downey. There were 15 kids from the age of 11 to 17 years old who spent three days learning or improving their rodeo skills while having chapel twice a day and devotions morning and evening. The theme was 'Overcoming Fear'. The camp ended with a rodeo and an awards ceremony. We were privileged to be a part of it all.

A mission team from Salmon Valley Baptist went to Green Valley Baptist Church in Arizona to assist them with their Vacation Bible School. Green Valley is a senior adult community and the church reflects its community also being senior adult. Yet they continually have more than 100 kids from the surrounding area attend VBS. It was a great week and we met so many wonderful people from the church and community, a fellow mission team from Houston, and a church planting family. The church planter gave us a tour of Tucson, the area of their ministry. We went to the historic town of Tombstone. Amber and Faith also had to privilege of heading to Mexico with the team to enjoy excellent food. It was the first time either of them had left the country. We loved our entire Arizona trip. 

One of the great things about being in Monticello, Utah is the abundance of recreational opportunities it provides. We are only an hour from two national parks, multiple state parks, and national monuments. We spent one day in the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse State Park. We were blessed to get a timed entry permit to Arches National Park on another day. We took a day and went to the Needles area of Canyonlands. We were able to do hikes in each of these areas. These areas really live up to the their names with amazing arches and steep canyons. We also took a weeknight and went through Montezuma Canyon. We were able to find kiva remains, petroglyphs, and ancient and modern cave dwellings. But only having three weeks here just allowed us to scratch the surface of all the area has to offer. But we are grateful for the time we got to explore and see God's marvelous creation.

The roof on the older part of the building of First Baptist Church Monticello was sagging and in need of repair. It appears that the rafters just started sagging with age. Nathan and a team of church members have had to work around the typical high spring winds this area normally has but have been slowly making progress. The back of the roof is complete and the front just lacks metal. The lift made getting the boards on the roof a breeze.