Awesome April!

This car was actually parked in Canyonlands NP (Utah).

April has been some kind of month! Gary is finishing up the year with SYD, going on a couple of concerts and then being a part of the recording of a CD last night (4/28). Dale has led singing at BV this month. Kathy is finishing up the school year with the boys, also finding time to go to Martinsburg, WV, to speak in a Ladies Day. She and our intern minister's wife studied with a young woman named Shelden Johnson, who became a Christian this past Lord's Day. The family took a trip to Utah (pictures below) and all of us but Carl (who also attended) got our hunters safety cards (yes, even Kathy!). Dale's got a great eye with a sight, but Carl's a natural for spotting wildlife and seeing details in the woods (see a sample of that below, too). There are a couple of hunts planned for the fall, one in Carbondale, CO, involving bows and elks and one in North Dakota involving shotguns and pheasants. Enjoy our month in pictures.







Carl and I just returned from a 3-day lectureship/camp out in Valley Springs, California. There were two baptisms over the weekend! It was a beautiful place, as the pictures will show. It was a joy and honor to speak. About thirty congregations from the central part of the state at the foothills of the Sierras were represented.
(View from the front of the Valley Springs church property)











Perry Cotham gets more amazing with age (will be 97!).











(There was ample time for kids to play; the sand was a favorite)











(William Woodson wooed 'em with wit and wind. His restoration lesson Saturday night went between 1.5 and 2 hours, but no one complained)












(I spoke three times, once each Friday, Saturday and Sunday)

(The folks in the churches there made all feel welcome, with the exception of one uninvited guest)

(But we asked him to stay for dinner anyway)













(Carl and I were glad he did!)
























(I had so much fun with Carl going with me. We were able to take the better part of a day to go down to Yosemite National Park. He was a load of fun to be with and once Mr. Shy gets talking, he can stand toe to toe with any talker out there.)














(Carl and bears were a theme for the day. Look further down)













Bridalveil Falls














Melted snow run off--powerful and spectacular
























(Call Carl "Mr. Eagle Eye." He had his eyes on the woods and was the first to see this brown bear feeding. Thirty cars must've stopped to look after we did.)














The trip to Yosemite wasn't bad either. Such beautiful country!














Carl enjoying a coffee drink in Seattle's airport. We spend some time there!














We are trying to make periodic trips to see area attractions whenever possible (wish it was more often than a couple of times per year). The Raburns have become good travel companions. This trip was to Utah, to see Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. Kathy bought us a "Passport" book, we bought an annual pass to Colorado State Parks as well as the Interagency Annual Pass for all national parks (which Carl and I used in Yosemite).

(Mesa Arch in Canyonlands)












(The Raburns and Pollards in front of Delicate Arch in Arches NP)













Another view of Delicate












At Rifle Falls SP in Rifle, CO (en route to Utah)











Dale meditating












Fellowship was crucial to the early church. We are trying to have as many Bear Valleyans into our home as possible. In April, we had the N-O-P-Qs. Twenty-eight were able to be with us for a night of food, fellowship and falalas. Kathy is a dynamo at these events, one of about ten thousand reasons why I'm so proud of her.














We had a baptism and a restoration in a gospel meeting in Edenton, NC.















Historic lighthouse (dates to early 1700s) that's been moved to the river in downtown Edenton













We're having good fellowships at Bear Valley. At this one, thanks to the Warnes' hosting, we met Shelden Johnson for the first time (Heidi Polumbi-Susko brought her). She was the fourteenth person baptized at Bear Valley last Sunday (4/27).














I'm getting to teach Gary's Junior High Class this quarter, helping Wes Autrey. We've had four baptized this quarter from the class.














Well, that's enough for now. Plenty of good things on the horizon. God is good all the time. Come out and see us. We'd love to "catch up" (as we have with some good friends and family lately).