Confession: that title was fun to type. We returned to The Falls Church in Idaho Falls the week before Thanksgiving to put up the OSB walls for them. They had already got the walls insulated and painted for fire protection. We put the OSB up and hung doors for the storage area. This will put them one step closer to being able to use the building for their young people. 

Salmon Valley Baptist wanted a place for moms with young kids to take their kids when they were being fussy while still being able to participate in church. The church decided to build a cry room with a one-way mirror. Nathan put the window in the back of the church off of one of the classrooms. We still need to put in the sound system but the window is now ready. 

One of the deacons at Salmon Valley Baptist Church became aware that a widow in the church needed a new roof on her house. She had some leaks. Her son-in-law purchased the materials and a group of people from the church spent two days removing the old roof and putting new shingles on the roof in the coldest weather we have had this fall. She will now have no need to be concerned about leaks with winter coming. 

The Falls Church in Idaho Falls is running out of room in their church building. Therefore they are working on converting a hanger (or barn) at the back of the church property into useable space for youth and kids. Nathan built walls around the inside of the building and a stage at the front with storage room behind it. The church will then insulate and hang drywall so the room can be used year round. 

Northridge Fellowship in Jerome sits on the Snake River plain in the desert of Idaho. There are some things you can just expect when you are in Jerome. The smell of nearby dairies. Heavy infestations of flies during 'fly season'. And winds. High winds. Frequent winds. And those winds have wrecked havoc with the shingles on the church roof. The church needed to replace the shingles with a seamless metal roof. Two missions teams- one from southern Mississippi and another from the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee came to assist with the projects. They, along with many members of the Northridge Fellowship, were able to get all the shingles off the large roof and put up all of the large sheets of metal. The teams have since returned home and Nathan and two roofing contractors hired for the job continued working to get the remaining metal in the valley and the ridge cap on. The contractor will be finished with the remaining pieces and ridge cap soon. And the church will be able to breathe easier when the next high wind comes. Because it will come. 

Twenty six kids, most younger than 15.
Five baptisms, including three siblings.
One amazing weekend gaining more rodeo skill and worshipping Jesus.
We love Rodeo Bible Camp and Jerome is always amazing.
Enjoy these pictures from the clinics. It was raining during the rodeo so the camera did not come out. 

First Baptist Atlanta returned to work at Bethel Baptist Church in Billings, Montana and we were able to join them this year. A church plant in South Billings merged with a dying church and inherited an older building. The church is in a low income area of town with a higher crime rate than the rest of the city. Every Sunday morning they serve a continental style breakfast before the church service begins. They needed a better set up for this. We tore out the old area and built a new café area. We also replaced lighting in the sanctuary and kitchen, replaced several toilets, repainted the kitchen, and did maintenance to and stained the playground the team built last year. The building will now be able to better serve the needs of the church in reaching their community. 
One major bonus of our time in Billings was watching the Blue Angels practice for an upcoming air show. We also took an afternoon and toured Red Lodge Montana. 

The first ever Rodeo Bible Camp in Rigby, Idaho saw 41 kids between the ages of 11 and 17 attending. They were taught various rodeo skills at clinics throughout the day. In addition, they had chapel twice daily and devotions in the morning and evening led by counselors. The chapels taught through the book of Colossians. Several of the kids decided to publicly proclaim their faith in Jesus by following Him in baptism. On Saturday evening, they were baptized along with some siblings, one father, and one of the camp leaders. Sunday morning saw the final church service, the rodeo, and the awards ceremony; all of which were well attended. We are praising the Lord for His work in Rigby! 

Outdoorsman Church, Frenchtown, MT
Outdoorsman is heated by wood heat and needed to replace the Quonset hut that holds the wood. Nathan and a team from Tennessee spent a week pouring the footings for the hut. 

Clark Fork Fellowship, Superior, MT
Clark Fork had numerous people waiting to be baptized but needed to get the plumbing on the baptistry repaired before they could use it. Nathan repaired the baptistry and on June 25, six people were baptized. 

Mountain View Baptist Church, Blackfoot, ID
A severe windstorm took sections of the steel roof off of the church. We spent several hours replacing those sections and securing down the older section to withstand the strong winds common to that area.

Valley Christian Fellowship, Panguitch, UT
Valley Christian has been without a pastor for the three years. One of the hardest things about calling a pastor to the church in remote Utah has been lack of available housing. The church stepped out in faith and raised the funds to build a parsonage. Texas Baptist Men took the lead on the project and have been on site since April. We worked alongside a mission team from  Beech Haven Baptist Church to paint, connect water and sewer lines, and put in window egresses. Amber and Faith assisted with a Sports Camp that the mission team also hosted. The deadline for completion of the duplex is July 27. While there, we visited Cedar Breaks National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park, and enjoyed the Panguitch Valley Balloon Rally.

One Hope Church, Greeley, CO
One Hope is a church replant in the lower income area of Greeley. They inherited a large facility that needed lots of restoration. We worked with a team from Red Bank Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN to replace the sanctuary flooring, paint the sanctuary, replace much of the lighting, and to change flooring in the church planter's house. We explored Rocky Mountain National Park Sunday afternoon.

Mountain View Bible Church, Colorado Springs, CO
​Mountain View is a church plant that was meeting in schools and even in driveways before they merged with a dying church and inherited a large facility that required much renovation and restoration. Alongside the team from Red Bank Baptist, we worked on converting an old barracks into a youth center that will serve the students of the high school across the street. We repaired floors, reworked some electrical wires, installed ceiling lights, took out walls and put up others. This puts them way ahead of schedule on getting the youth center up and running. We spent Sunday afternoon at the Mollie Kathleen Mine where you descend 1000' below the earth's surface to tour the gold mine.

We were privileged to be a part of a missions conference in Crossville, TN on April 30. It was an amazing experience meeting with other missionaries and hearing about the Lord's work all over the world. We were grateful to connect with people we have served with on mission trips in the past. We enjoyed staying with a couple who spent a couple of years serving as international missionaries. We loved their stories about their mission work. 
We then headed to the Smoky Mountains where we met with Nathan's sister, Crystal. We stayed in a cute cabin outside Pigeon Forge. This was Amber and Faith's first time at the park. The first day we went to Cade's Cove where we seen 13 bears. The next day we went to the top of Clingman's dome, the highest point in Tennessee. It sounds impressive but it was only a half mile hike up a paved trail to the top. But it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the views. We also visited Mingo Falls, Cherokee, NC, and Smokemount. While the area was gorgeous, the highlight of that part of the trip was time with Crystal whom we haven't seen in two years.
Our next stop was Washington D.C., where we met up with Kelly. We went to McLean Bible Church in Arlington, VA. We seen both the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery from the road on the way. The next day we visited the Air and Space Smithsonian museum, the National Archives (home of the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights), and the Smithsonian American History museum. The next day we had a Capitol tour, spent more time in the American history museum, seen the White House from a distance, and toured the major monuments (Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson). We knew we could only do so much in just a couple days but we were grateful to have the opportunity. One couple blessed us with a vacation resort in Maryland for our time in D.C..
Our final part of the trip was to Lynchburg, VA where we attended Kelly's degree presentation and commencement ceremony. She graduated with honors receiving her degree in strategic communications from Liberty University. We enjoyed staying with a sweet couple who graciously opened up their home to us. 
We have never had a vacation like this and we are so grateful that the Lord provided so abundantly for us. We were blessed with airline tickets to Nashville, a two week car rental, a cabin in Pigeon Forge, and the vacation resort in Maryland. This was in addition to the incredible people who we were able to stay with. We got to experience another beautiful part of the country and see God's hand in it all. 

SMOKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

WASHINGTON D.C.

GRADUATION