Wow I can't believe it's already April! It still feels like January here in Montana...in fact it is snowing as I type this. But we know that Spring is coming because new students are arriving for the Spring schools here on the base. Ruth has decided to take the Introduction to Primary Health Care (IPHC) class as a student this year. She's really looking forward to learning even more and hopefully going on the outreach as a family with the school. She is taking the class so she will be able to teach the school anywhere within YWAM.

The School of Biblical Studies(SBS) has been going great! The students are currently on spring break having a well deserved rest from their studies (they just finished the first 1/3 of the Old Testament). I am teaching Nehemiah and Ezra in the next few weeks, so I'm studying a bunch to prepare. Already we are accepting students and beginning planning for next year...hard to believe. I think I told you already, but we have committed to be on staff next year again. I felt like God was saying I wasn't finished yet. It was an interesting decision making process, but it did make us think a little more about what God has for us in the future. And to be honest, at this point there are a lot of exciting possibilities, but we're not real sure what might happen after next year....we'll see! I think God might have some good plans for us.

Jessika is enjoying 4th grade. She won first place with her science project at the county level. She was very proud of that. Here is a picture of her with her project. She experimented with adding salt to water to make an egg float. We also floated her in the bathtub by adding 50 pounds of salt!

Jonny enjoyed his eighth birthday and has been sick for the last week. He is anxious for the weather to get better so he can jump on the trampoline and ride bikes and get crazy outside. Actually I think the whole family is anxious for that! Here is a picture of him and his friends celebrating his birthday with 3D glasses watching the movie "Monsters vs Aliens".

Prayer
-for sunshine...this has been a looong winter :)
-for balance, especially with Ruth taking the health school full time.
-that God would clearly show us if our family should go on outreach with the IPHC.
Praise
-Ruth is really enjoying her job working a day a week as a nurse at the local hospital.

Love & blessings from us to you!
Dave and Ruth and kids

PS
I've been writing down some thoughts I wanted to share...see what you think...

Have you ever had the perfect moment with someone else? The moment when you connect with them so completely and you wish that it would never end. I just had one of these moments with my boy. He's nearly eight years old and taking his first guitar lessons. He had to be coerced into going to his lesson tonight, but in the end he loved it and now he knows four chords! On the way home we were rockin' out to some worship by Phil Wickam. We just kept singing louder and turning the music up. We were both rockin' out worshiping God in our minivan for the 15 miles toward home. I even reached back and grabbed his hand because I won't have very many more years to do that. It was awesome. I wish every ride in the car could be like that moment.



I have often thought of God's relationship with us as that of a Parent to a Child. Funny thing is that I've always thought of it from the negative, discipline side of things. When you study the Old Testament it is so clear that God disciplines Israel as a Father would a Son. He even calls them his “son” or his “firstborn” many times. God gives them every chance at an awesome relationship. He sets up rules to guide them to Him. He sets up a place where he can live with them. He teaches them how to come close to Him. But they blow it. Just like my kids have missed out on icecream at Dairy Queen. They only had to do what I was asking them, whether it be chores on Saturday or homework for school. But they hear what I ask of them and they turn around and choose something different...creating a rift between us...testing to see if I'll really stick to what I said. So discipline comes and I wish I could be having ice cream with my kid.



But the relationship is so much better than the discipline side of things! There are those times when we draw so close to God that we can feel his heartbeat. Sometimes it's during a quiet moment when we realize the depth of his love for us. Sometimes it's while we roll up the windows in the car and sing songs to him as loud as we can. Maybe the quiet moment at the top of a mountain when we realize the awe of our creator...that he made us in his image to love him with all we've got. He's just reaching his hand back from the front seat of the minivan. He's smiling at us, loving us, rocking out to some great music with us because we are his kids and he wants to share life with us deeper than we've ever dreamed.

PS- here's a picture of the snow today... flakes were at least 2 inches around!