63 years

        My parents, Russ and Dody Barton, celebrated 63 years of marriage on Sunday September 18th.  Although my dad had a drastic deline in his ability to move himself the last 3 weeks, Jim and I decided to do all we could to help make this anniversary special.  Due to our commitments at the church in Mattawa, Mom and Dad were not able to attend their church here in the TriCities.  Once they get to church there are a couple of faithful men who help dad in and out of the car and church but my mother is not able to get him in and out of the car here at the house by herself.  So part of our plan to make their day special was to get them to church to see friends and hear the preaching. 

     On the way home we stopped at a local chinese restaurant for Dad's favorite dish - Shrimp in Lobster Sauce and other yummy dishes we got from the buffet bar to take home with us.  A small detour to the Dairy Queen allowed us to finish off the meal with an ice cream cake.  My dad is known for having to have a dish of vanilla ice cream every night so this was a treat for him.

My sister's card probably expressed our feelings about their anniversary best.
            In a couple's little everyday choices,  
           in the grace and love and support they give each other,
           they honor God and will always shine as a beautiful light to the world.

We see in my parents marriage the everyday choices to love and support each other and honor God and it certainly does shine as a beautiful light in our world.

 Mom and Dad - Thanks for the example of a good marriage and blessings for 63 years of loving God and each other.

Teaching Sunday School

After the summer off, I again began teaching the younger Sunday School class.  This year we have started with basically the siblings of 2 families. 

Jasime has been coming for a couple of years now and just started 2nd grade. Her "little" brother is Johnny, who just started kindergarten and our SS program. 

Jacob Cruz is also in 2nd grade.  His younger sister, Sarah will turn 4 next month but is learning her letters and does quite well with the crafts even if her attention span isn't quite equal to the older ones.  Their older sister, Ada, is in 5th grade and very happy to learn more about God.  She helps as my assistant teacher when I need an extra hand (or voice).  Ada is in my class since we don't have any other upper elementary kids at the moment. They all moved up to Junior High and more teen topics in class.

And then there is Jaide.  It is amazing I got a photo of her by herself and quiet!   She is 2 and her mom helps with the Junior and High School group.  We do not have a nursery program and so Jaide tends to roam between the classes enjoying whatever toys are out and getting lots of attention from the older kids.

Please pray for the children in the Sunday School program.  Most have difficult family lives and yet God has given us the opportunity to share His love and salvation with them.  Pray I would communicate clearly and that these little ones would grow in wisdom and knowledge of Christ.