Book read and Easter gathering

I just finished reading a new book about the man behind the REVENANT movie. Hugh  Glass was mauled by a Grizzly in what became northern South Dakota. He was left by two of the party he was with to die. They were suppose to stay with him until he died, which he did not. He slowly recovered and eventually made his way to find these two men with help from some Mandan Indians, and his will to live. One of those who left him reluctantly was Jim Bridger who went on to fame as a mountain man. Hugh Glass was eventually scalped by the Arikara who hated him. His life is very interesting. 

We enjoyed having two of our grandkids for Easter. We are glad they were able to make the trip. They will be back for a weekend visit in a few weeks. 

A belated Happy Easter to all!  We had a nice weekend with daughter Katie and family. Lynn took the kids for the rides on the ATV, played board games, attended church, and enjoyed a delicious dinner with friend/relative Brenda. It was a cloudy rainy weekend. Today the sun is out and it will be a warm day. 

Spring is here and soon yard work will begin. I have one flower bed cleaned out - more to do.  Patio furniture is out but need to set things in order. 

Snow melt, high water, and the Applegates - missionaries we support

We received a lot of rain early this week and then some snow. All the area creeks and rivers are flooded and it is the same all the way to the Mississippi. The pictures above are the Deertail Creek which we cross as we head into town. One picture is of a field next to the creek. It often floods but this is really high. We have had water in our basement all week. 

This week the missionary of the week is Tracy and Noah Applegate who work with YWAM and are presently based in Madison. 

We have had rain the past 24 hours and now it has turned to flurries. You can see by this photo that it has rained quite a lot. Lynn had to pump water out of the basement this morning. 

This coming Sunday our featured missionary will be IDES. They are a ministry primarily supported by Christian Churches to provide help in times of disaster- feeding the hungry and sharing God's love. IDES.org is their web address. 

On Saturday I spent some time working in a flower bed. I noticed as I walked around the yard, that my lilacs are starting to bud, as well as some other bushes. I also noticed that some of my Asian Lillies are beginning to peak out of the ground. This is really early. Frost is nearly out of the ground and is in many places. This winter has not seemed so long. Really only two months long. 

Each week at church we are featuring missionaries that we support as a church. This week we will feature Mark and Jan Olander who serve with African Inland Mission - Kenya. Due to some health issues, they now spend half the year in Columbia SC working with African students at Columbia University. The other half of the year they are back in Kenya teaching African students who are planning to enter the ministry. Mark has also authored teaching materials for those in ministry. He loves to mentor young ministers. Jan is the daughter of the late Beulah and Paul Woods. Their son Jarod and his family will be serving in Kenya starting in the next few months. Their daughter Lisa lives and works in South Carolina. 

There were so many cute images I could have used, but this shows it all. I have been battling a nasty cold for the past week and a half. I also had a touch of flu for an evening. Yesterday I was still coughing up bronchial junk. A good friend told me last night that her Dr recommended 5,000 mgs of vitamin D, so I bought some and have taken two pills. Already I am not coughing or choking up the stuff. Now, it could be my cold has finally run its course. I missed two Sundays of church, one Impact class, canceled a dental appointment, and I may stay away from a funeral so I don't scare the family. 

I feel for all of you who are also battling nasty colds this winter.