We've got electricity back

Yesterday evening our electricity came back on.

Black Sunday, December 16

Today no electricity on campus.
Tomorrow the beginning of Finals week.
Last year it was the water problem. This year it is electricity.
I cannot believe how much Clark Summit is like the Dominican Republic.

I am typing this update from Donut Connection. It is one of the only restaraunts in the Clark Summit that has electricity.

The snow, ice and rain knocked out some power lines.

And finals week begin tomorrow.
Some schedule things to be aware of for us this week:
Monday - I have no finals. It is going to be a big school work day for me.
Tuesday - Foundations of the Christian Faith class
Final Exam
Term paper on the Gnostic Gospels due - 15 page double spaced
Doctrinal paper due - 5 page single spaced
Wednesday - Final Exam
Finish colateral reading. I need a minimum of 75 pages more.
**Wednesday is also the last day of classes for the college. Tuesday and Wednesday will be busy days for Krista with girls checking out of their rooms for the break.
Thursday - No finals. Prepare for tomorrow's final
Friday - Old Testament
Final Exam

It has been a long time

Sorry we haven't updated in quite some time.
What has been going on in our lives since November 19 (the date of the last blog).

We travelled to Toledo, OH for Thanksgiving. We had a great time with Krista's side of the family. Joel and Josiah loved playing with all their cousins. There were 10 grandchildren at the house. The one down side to the trip was that we didn't get to go to Emmanuel on Sunday. I needed to be back in Clarks Summit for work on Saturday. We missed visiting with people there.

I did some reading for class.

We had the dorm Christmas party on December 1st (I think that was the day).

I did some reading for class.

Joel's birthday party was December 8th. Joel and 8 of his little friends were in our apartment for a "Cars" party. One of the nice things about living on a college campus is being able to take a group of energitic 4 to 6 year old boys, along with an older boy from one of the other RD families, over to the gym for a half hour of running around crazy time. It was a lot of fun.

I did some reading for class.

We are now preparing for the end of the semester. More Christmas parties. Travelling to Pittsburgh for Christmas with my family.
God has really shown himself faithful to us over this past year.

Well I need to go and do some more reading for class.

Three Posts

I have made three recent posts today.

1. More Mission Trip Photos
2. Josiah's first haircut
3. Grammy's visit

You may want to read beyond this most recent post in order to find what has been going on with us.

More Jamaica Trip Photos

Here are some more photos from my mission trip to Jamaica.
In the evenings we taught seminars on Biblical Leadership. There were about 40 pastors and other church leaders including deacons, college students training for ministry and Sunday school teachers.
The seminars were a real blessing to us and those who came from the local churches.


Some of the people working during one of the seminar sessions.

Pastor Dave and Seminary student Dave talking with Pastor Dave.

One of the statements Pastor Dave (from Jamaica) made during this conversation really challenged me.

"It is time for Jamaica to stop being a mission field and become a mission force."

Some of the guys working one of the days at the seminary. Each of the days we tried to get some work done around the seminary. This included painting, helping with the library, cutting grass, chipping tile or whatever needed done.

This is a picture taken during a skit. I know it may not be the greatest picture quality wise but the reason why Ken and I are blurry is because we were supposed to be excited little boys telling his dad a story. I guess the camera caught our excitement.

Here I am enjoying some of the tropical fruit.

Josiah's haircut

Josiah recently had his first haircut.


This is Josiah's 80's mullet before it was cut.



This is Josiah without his mullet. A sad day for his living in the eighties dad.

Josiah and mommy after the haircut.

Grammy's visit

Grammy came for a visit from Wednesday to Sunday.

We had a lot of fun during her time here. It was great to spend time with her.

We had an early birthday party for Joel.

Joel and Grammy at the apartment.

Joel, Josiah, Grammy and Joey (Joel's bear) posing for a picture.

No we don't have any announcements to make. This is Grammy with two of the recently born triplets. Grammy, Krista, Joel and Josiah visited my cousin Rick and his wife Stephanie and their four children. (Grammy is holding Sara and Jack)

A couple of fun pictures from the trip

I will try to post some more pictures later but I wanted to post some fun pictures.


Me being mobbed by children at a preschool after a game of tag. Me versus the all the students.




Daryl and I wrestling after a regular afternoon rain. It is rainy season.
By the way. I won the match.



This is a photo of Daryl with a Jamaican man we met at the market..

Quick Update on Jamaica Trip

Our team returned safely to Clarks Summit on Monday @ around 2:15 am.

It was a long 14 hour day of airports, planes and a van but it is great to be back home with Krista and the boys.

Thank you everyone who prayed for the trip.

The trip was great. A real blessing for me was on Sunday morning when one of the Jamaican pastors stopped by the college to say goodbye and thank us for coming.
The seminars went well. Many of the people attending shared that it was great to get together with other church leaders and talk about things that were very practical for their churches right now. We had about 40 people there each night. The only night that was a little lower was Friday because several people were travelling for the weekend.

I will write more about it later. I just wanted to be sure to let people know that I got home safely and that the trip went well.

God bless.

A very cute picture...

It is 8:38 pm.

Our Jamaica team will be meeting over at the seminary at 12:30 am.



I am at home packing and here are my two very cutes boys preparing to go on the trip with me.

Please be praying for my trip and my family while I am gone.

Today Josiah said...

Recently, Josiah has said somethings we thought were words, but today he definitely said daddy.
Krista told me he said it earlier today when he saw a picture on the refrigerator.
Today at dinner she asked him to say it and he did and then he put his face into his plate of hamburger. It was such a moment for me.
1. He said daddy.
2. He is already starting to practice for all those crazy food skits that his dad did at so many different camps.

Some September Activities and some prayer requests

Krista had a leadership retreat with the dorm officers. It was a good overnighter as a leadership team. They did some planning, bonding and fun outdoor activities together.

This past weekend the admissions department had an iView (College Preview) weekend.
Part of the weekend involved a fun event Friday night with inflatables, dunk tanks and food.

This is Krista and one of the girls from the dorm "jousting." Krista did lose the match.

Some things to be praying for:

-Pray for our time together as a family. Joel and Josiah (along with Krista and I) are looking forward to a visit from Gramma and Grampa this next week.

-My mission trip to Jamaica begins on October 19th. (Mission trip prayer website: http://www.bbsjam07.blogspot.com/ )

-Krista's ministry with the girls in the dorm. Pray that she would be able to encourage and comfort those girls who need it and challenge all of the girls to grow in their relationships with God. The last two dorm devotional times seem to have gone well.

-Bible Conference (October 10-12) and Homecoming (October 13).

-I am now the Junior class advisor at BBC.
-pray for me and the Junior Class leadership team
-pray for the Junior class chapel on October 18.
-pray for the planning of the Junior/Freshmen bowling social on October 19. (I will not be there but the leadership team has been doing a good job of planning.)

-I am continuing to work on classes. Pray for focus as I am working on assignments and reading.

I cannot believe it is almost the end of...

I cannot believe it is almost the end of September.
So much has happened to during the last couple of weeks.
First of all, this....


Joel lost his first tooth.
Joel also started Cubbies at Heritage Baptist Church. (for those of you from Toledo Adam B. is one of the Cubbies helpers. He is not in Joel's group but they are together during the big activity times)
Josiah is a mad man now that he is walking. He just moves so fast with a big smile on his face.
Classes and work have really been keeping me busy.
I have been helping out with teaching in our Sunday class.
I, along with the other team members, are preparing to go to Jamaica in less than one month.
Krista is getting to know the new girls in the dorm.
They had a dorm officers retreat this past Friday and Saturday. It went well.

Life has been busy. But it is amazing how God has allowed us to make time for family. Joel is becoming quite a catchphrase player, when mommy or daddy read him the words. Another game he likes to play is Rush Hour (not based on the movies). It is a puzzle type game that was my dad's. I love watching Joel try to figure them out.

God has proven himself faithful over and over again.

On the much lighter side of life...
I am very much enjoying the start of the Steelers football season.

It has been over a week....

...and what an "over a week" it has been.

I have a lot of reading this semester. It seems like it is much more than the last two semesters.
Just wanted to make a quick post to let you know that we are still here. God is still (and always will be) good.

And we really appreciate your prayers and support.

Below is a picture of the Vibbard girls along with Joel and Josiah.

The flag won first place.

The "boat" didn't do so well in the "boat" race.

Start of the Semester

We have started our second year here at BBC&S.

Leadership Week was good but filled with meetings.
It was very good that the boys were at Grammy's house for the week. The boys really enjoyed it.

Be praying for the new students here in Vibbard. Freshmen and transfers. Pray that Krista would be able to build relationships and encourage them as they start out the school year.

My classes are going to be challenging this semester. A lot of reading.
Foundations of the Christian Faith on Tuesdays.
Greek Reading on Wednesdays
An online Old Testament course.
And a two week module course Training Others.

In regards to reading here is an interesting account of what happened to me last night after hours in the seminary reading room in the library.

My facebook friends don't need to read on any further if you already read this note.

This is entitled "How My Wife's Facebook Account Saved My Life."
For those of you who might not know what Facebook is, it is "a social utility that connects you with the people around you." It is networking program on line.

This is a post and some actual conversations that occurred last night.
-----------------
Well I am over at the seminary reading room in the library. I was ready to go home when I realized the door OUT of the seminary reading room was locked. No one in the library except me. So luckily I thought of facebook. I found a friend on line and wrote him a note. here is the correspondence:

-----------------
ME: Hey, are you there? Please answer. This is Dave Rodgers.
FRIEND: What's up man?
ME: Could you do me a favor.You are going to laugh.When security was coming through the library I guess they locked me in the seminary room. I need you to call them to unlock the door for me.Thanks. Let me know if you get this. If I don't hear from you in one hour I am kicking the door down. Thanks.

-------------------------
Now I can only hope my friend gets my message and saves my life. I am so hungry and thirsty. Will I make it?I will let you know how this ends as soon as I know!!!
--------------------------
About 15 minutes later
As I check my facebook account, I realize my friend is no longer online. Did he get my final message? Will security find me in the library when they open up in the morning?

I need a bathroom.I may need to dig my way through the wall and into Roddy's office.

So to finish this "saga." I don't know what happened to my friend, who will remain anonymous.
But DARYL, must have gotten off line and never responded back.

So I got off my facebook account and got onto my wife's bbc account. One of the RAs was online. So I asked her to call security.

She did and now I am safe in my home trying to deal with all the trauma of this ordeal

Leadership Week

This week has been CrAzY but good. At the beginning of the week students playing fall sports and student leaders (Resident Assistants and Student Government) moved into the dorms.

All of the student leaders and Resident Directors (Krista) have been attending seminars and planning things for the dorm. On Monday night they had a prayer retreat at a camp.

They continue with meetings tomorrow and on Friday new students begin arriving. Be praying for the remainder of the Leadership week and the new student orientation this weekend.

During this time I have been taking a Greek Grammar course. I know that title sounds really excited but it has actually provided me with a great opportunity to review for my fall class, which I probably should have been doing more of throughout the summer. Tuesday is my first class of the new semester. One of the minor blessing this fall semester is that I have NO 6:30 am classes. If we stay on the class schedule I have set up for the next two years this will be the only semester this will occur. Every other semester has at least one 6:3o class.

You might be wondering what the boys are doing while we are so busy with leadership week and classes. The boys are enjoying the week at Grammy's house. The weather has not been great for them but I am sure the boys are enjoying their time with Grammy and their cousin.

Grammy's house!!!! and another praise

Tonight we arrived at Grammy's house in Pittsburgh. The boys are going to be here at Grammy's for the week. Krista has leadership training with the RAs and dorm officers and I am finishing up a summer module.

Another praise is that I now have all my support for my Jamaica trip. Praise the Lord.

Pilgrim's Progress

In the midst of all my required reading, I have been trying to read some "non-assigned" books.
Right now I am reading Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. I read it several years ago but decided to go through it again. A very challenging.

One conversation in the book is about how does the saving grace of God show itself when it is in the heart of a man.
Two answers are given:
1. Abhoring sin not just crying out against it. Hating sin. Wanting nothing to do with it. Not just talking about how bad it is.

2. Knowledge that is accompanied with grace of faith and love not knowledgge that rests in the speculation of things.

In thinking about these things it is my prayer that I would demonstrate these things for the glory of God.

Quick update: My first two days of my module class have been good.

A wedding and an amusement park

Our summer is quickly coming to an end. I am taking a class that starts next weeks. The college students will be returning.

We are trying to make the most of our summer time.
In this post I have included a link to some pictures from the wedding along with pictures of our family day at Knoebels Amusement Park. (http://www.knoebels.com/) It was a great day.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3765&l=e85aa&id=501059302
(if you cannot get the picture link to work, please leave a comment. You don't need a blogger account to do this. Click on anonymous.)

The summer is winding to a close

This past Wednesday (08.01), Krista and I celebrated our 9th year of marriage. God has definitely blessed our family in so many different ways through good times and challenges. We are so thankful for an amazing provider.

The last camp of the summer just started tonight (08.05). Soccer camp.

Teen Leadership Conference finished up well. The counselors in the dorm said both weeks went well.

I worked a lot last week between Borders (four different shifts from Tuesday thru Friday) and campus security (from 9pm to 1 am).

Borders was craziness this week because we had a book signing Friday night. Senator Joe Biden was in the store from 5 to 7. I was so glad we were in NY at that time.
A friend of ours from the Dominican got married. It was a good time to reconnect with friends from the DR.

This is my last week of summer vacation. My Greek Review course starts on 08.13 and it runs for two weeks and then the regular semester starts.

A prayer request is for the Leadership Week with the RDs (resident directors), RAs (resident assistants) and SLC members (student leadership committee). It is an intense week of training and preparing for the upcoming year. The week begins on 08.20. Please be praying for wisdom in regards to dorm and campus direction for the year.

Joel and Josiah will be spending that week with Grammy in Pittsburgh. They are looking forward to a lot of fun. Well Joel is looking forward to it. When we tell Josiah he just smiles real big, which is pretty much what he does almost all the time.

Preparation for my trip Jamaica is coming along well. Please continue to pray for that. There is a prayer request website we will be using to update people about the trip. It is http://www.bbsjam07.blogspot.com/

July 28th - TLC Week #1 is finished.

A year ago today we were driving out here to Clarks Summit.

I could go all melodramatic about it but I won't. I can summarize what I am thinking in a two thoughts.

• God is so amazing and imaginative. He provides in ways you could never even imagine.
• One of those amazing methods of providing is through His people. We have been so blessed to have a great family and a group of awesome friends who are such a support to us.

I came across this verse while preparing for Sunday School:
Psalm 105:4 "Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."
I pray that I would do this every moment of my life.

It's July 25th already?!?!?!

I cannot believe how fast the summer seems to be going. (A summer time photo is at the end of this post)

• We have been out here for almost a year. Just about a year ago, Larry A. and several others helped us fit all of our stuff into that Penske truck that most people said would be to small. I knew Larry would find a way to do it. (God was amazing in provided so many friends and family members to help with our move)
• I finished up my second summer module last week.
• The first week of TLC (Teen Leadership Conference) is halfway over.

Some update information:

• Josiah is walking and I mean HE IS WALKING. Just last Wednesday he decided it was time and it doesn't seem like he has stopped since.
• Joel finished two weeks of swim lessons. Not quite ready for olympic diving or racing but if they come up with an event that involves putting your head underwater and blowing bubbles he will be great. He is a very imaginative boy. Yesterday, he informed Krista that he was going to camp for nine days. He went into his room and played for awhile. Then he came out and told us he was back and camp was a lot of fun. He brought "home" several trophies.
• Krista has had some good contacts with some of the girls who will be in the dorm next year. One of the RAs (resident assistants) is here in Vibbard as a counselor for TLC.
• I am finished with all of my work for my second module class. I have been working at Borders on the weekends and at maintenance here on campus for the first part of the week.

Pray for....

• Wisdom in parenting both Joel and Josiah. Now that Josiah is walking it seems like he wants to get into everything and he gets very upset when we don't allow him to do that.
• Wisdom about what do with Joel for preschool this year and kindergarten next year. (It is hard to believe it is that time already.
• Wisdom for Krista and the dorm leadership as they prepare for this upcoming year. Specifically pray for Krista as she thinks through how to develop a dorm theme for this.
• Discipine for me as I get ready for this next school year (begins August 27) and my last summer class (begins August 13 and runs for two weeks). Especially pray for me as I review Greek and prepare for my second year of language study.
• Wisdom and discipline for me and the other men going on the Jamaica missions trip from October 19 through 29.
• Open hearts as Heritage Baptist Church follows up with people who visited the church during Vacation Bible School.
• a willingness to make the most of every opportunity God gives us this upcoming year.

Josiah enjoying the rainbow that daddy "caught" for him.

Teen Leadership Conference!!!

Today (Monday July 23rd) is the first day of the first week of TLC (Teen Leadership Conference). This week over 500 high school students will be on campus. They are going to challenged by many different speakers, seminars and worship to serve the Lord and seek opportunities to lead others.

Please pray for TLC during the next two weeks. This week we have a packed dorm. Actually the are using extra mattresses in some of the rooms.

Last night at Borders

O.K. last night at work was MADNESS. CRAZINESS.


Let me begin with a "humorous" story. At 11:00 pm we began moving all of the customers out the front door so we could bring all of the books out. One of the managers sent me out to help "guide" the customers out the door. When I walked out the front I realized I need to guide 2000+ people to back up and move to open areas.


After a couple of minutes of asking individuals to please move backwards, I realized it was very difficult for people to get out the front door because of the crowd. So I reverted back to my SCS/EBCS days and yelled, in the most polite way possible, that EVERYONE needed to move back or the store wasn't going to clear out which meant they were not going to get their books. For a split second it was quiet and the people moved back. The crowd actually listened to me. I would love to say that from that point on every listened and cleared areas for people and just helped everyone out the rest of the evening. That would be a lie.

One thing I was reminded of last night was how rude and mean spirited people can be. At one point I had to help a woman with a baby and a stroller out the door. (This was before the midnight craziness) No one would move for her. It appeared that more people were worried about losing a place in line for a bracelet than helping this person out.

Some people in the store would naturally talk louder as we, the workers, would walk by. They would make comments about how they had been here since 6:00 and they were not moving for anyone.

This section was written later in the day (8:50 pm)....
Just got back from my 12 to 8 shift at Borders. The madness continued on today. I just don't get it. What makes people go crazy for these books?

Well, I need to rest.

Update on Joel and Josiah

Josiah is walking and it is much more than those little stutter things. He is walking across our living room. He is also using "sign language." The only problem is none of us understand what his signs are.

Joel is finishing up his two week of swim lessons tomorrow. He has really enjoyed going to swimming pool every weekday.

Harry Potter 7 SPOILER!!!!

My shift tomorrow at Borders is 6:00 pm to 2:00 am.

Yes, it is the day before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out and I am going to give you the heads up on how the book ends before it hits the streets. You may have heard about some other websites that have speculated about the ending. This is the REAL ENDING!!!!

Ready:

At the end of the Deathly Hallows....

• something is going to happen that will not really mean a lot to me because I haven't read any of the books.
• someone is going to die but keep this in perspective people it is only a book.

Update on Josiah

Josiah had his ears/nose/throat doctor appointment yesterday. The doctor said Josiah's one ear looked o.k. and his other ear was a little questionable. BUT the doctor did not want to put a baby under anthesia (sp?) to do one ear.

Josiah is going to go back for another check up in four weeks. Thanks for praying for him.

Prayer Requests - 07.11

Several prayer requests:

• Josiah's ear/nose/throat appointment is on Friday (7.13)
• Heritage's VBS program is going on this week. Krista is helping with Joel's class. Pray for the children who are attending and their families. The church does a carnival on Saturday.
• I am three days into a two week class on the book of Ephesians.
• Joel is three days into two weeks of swimming lesson.
• The girls who will be living in Vibbard this next year.

Photos from Fourth of July and NH trip

We watched the fireworks on the Fourth of July with the Golden's.
We watched them in mall parking lot overlooking PNC Field where the
Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees play.

Krista and the boys watching the fireworks on the Fourth.

On July 6th we drove to New Hampshire for the Jessica (one of the girls who
lived in Vibbard this past semester) and Jared. We added on an extra day and
spent some time at the beach.

Joel trying on his outfit for the wedding.

Josiah loved playing in the sand...

So did Joel.

We had a great time together as a family

(I smiling while taking the picture)

Quick Update on prayer requests...

PRAISES:
* I finished my 20+ page paper for my first summer module class.
* Things have been working out well so far with my work schedules.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
*Continue to pray for Josiah's doctor appointment regarding his ears. (7.13)
*Krista had her toenail removed. The doctor actually didn't have to remove the whole nail. He cut it down to the cuticle. Pray for that to heal up quickly
* My next summer class begins 7/9.
* Preparation for the Jamaica Mission in October. We have begun working on our presentations and other ministry opportunities outside of teaching.

It has been a month since....

Wow! It has been a month since our last post. (Be sure to read through this whole post to get to the very cute pictures at the end.)

What has happened since then.

1. I finished my first summer school module at seminary.
2. We visited my family in Pittsburgh. During that time
- Joel had his first "roller coaster" ride
- We also saw the Thomas the Train.
- We celebrated Josiah's first birthday.
3. We visited Krista's parents in Toledo. During that time
- We also went to the Toledo Zoo and saw the twin polar bears.
- I went to the graduation ceremony for Emmanuel's Class of 2007.
- We celebrated Josiah's first birthday.
4. Border's cut back on hours during the summer.
5. I started working maintenance here on campus two days a week.
6. We found out Josiah will probably need to get tubes in his ears. He goes to an ear/nose/throat doctor on 7/13.
7. Joel said he had one of the most exciting days of his life on 6/18. He received a paint splattered Thomas the Train in the mail and the swimming pool here at BBC opened.
8. The toe nail on Krista's big toe was almost torn off. She sees a foot doctor Monday (6/25) to see what needs to be done.

PRAISES:
!! Getting to see so many family and friends during our visits to Pittsburgh, Toledo and Canton.
!! It was great to be back in our Adult Sunday School class at Emmanuel.
!! God is so amazing in how He provides for our needs. I want to always remember to be thankful for that.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
* Josiah's doctor appointment regarding his ears.
* Krista's doctor appointment regarding her foot.
* My next summer class begins 7/9.
* I need to finish up a paper from my first summer module. The due date is this upcoming Friday (6/29)
* Preparation for the Jamaica Mission I will be going on this October.
* My work situation during the summer with schedules at Borders and BBC. It appears there will not be much conflict in scheduling.



Here is a picture of Josiah celebrating his One year birthday in Toledo. We celebrated in Pittsburgh and Clarks Summit also.



Two pictures taken of the boys by one of the girls in the dorm. Aren't they cute.

The Answer to the question

1. November 25 through January 10 is the Christmas rush

2. July 20-22 is only for this year. It is because of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release on July 21

Sorry I forgot to post the answer on Saturday.

Blackout times for Borders

I know I was going to post the answer tonight but I wanted to see if anyone else could correctly answer the Borders Trivia question I posted a couple of days ago.

"Since I have been working for Borders, there have been only two blackout times, that is days employees cannot ask off. Can you give the reason for both times period?

1. November 25 through January 10

2. July 20-22

I changed the posting of the answer to Saturday night.

You can leave your answers as a post/comment on this blog.

Role Reversal

This is Krista—I’m actually typing my first blog! I now know a glimpse of what dorm life is like for David! I am home alone while David is working (the boys are in bed) and I hear voices all around me…it’s Men’s Retreat here and our dorm is filled with men! If I choose to go to the laundry room I have to yell “Woman on the floor”, how strange is that? Actually I think I’ll choose to stay locked in my apartment!

I also want to share a blessing with you that David has not posted in his blogs. He was honored at the seminary Awards chapel as he was awarded a $1,000 scholarship for this coming year. The boys and I were there to see him receive it and are very proud of him for the hard work he has put into this year. It was a blessing financially as it is the same amount as a scholarship he received last year but is only given to first year students. God keeps proving himself as faithful Provider.

Borders Trivia!

Tonight I am going to work at Borders so I thought I would do something random.
A Book quiz for today:

Since I have been working for Borders, there have been only two blackout times, that is days employees cannot ask off. Can you give the reason for both times period?
1. November 25 through January 10
2. July 20-22


The answers will be posted on Tuesday night.

You can leave your answers as a post on this blog.

Jamaica Trip

BBS is sponsoring a mission trip to Jamaica from October 19 through 28. I have the privilege of going. We are going to be teaching a Biblical Leadership class at Fairview Baptist Bible College along with doing some other ministry in the area. The student leadership team at BBS is hoping to build an ongoing relationship with Fairview.

We had an organizational meeting today and it went very well. We have a great group of guys going along. Please be praying for us as we begin to prepare our curriculum and other things.

Done and empty

Seminary Finals are done.
The dorm is now empty.

Summer is here. Oh wait, I start a two week summer class on May 14th.
Oh well. I got my Greek exam score and semester scores back. I am glad I did o.k. with both scores.

Krista also made it through her first school year as a dorm mom. I think she did a great job this year. There definitely were ups and downs but I know she built some great relationships with many of the girls and she learned a lot about women's ministry.

We are so thankful for the ways God has provided for us during this past year. Spiritually, emotionally, financially and on so many other levels. He has provided us with difficulties and challenges to help us grow in our dependence upon Him. He has provided us with blessing and good times to help us reflect upon His amazing provisions. God is an amazing God.

Below are some family pictures we took this past week.

Finals week

Finals week is over and done with for me. I am not sure how I did on my two finals or two projects yet but I am sure they are done. Now I get to enjoy this week off before I start a two week summer class on May 14th.
My first year of seminary is completed.

The college is still in session until Friday's graduation ceremony. So, Krista still has four days until she finishes her first year as an RD.

Thinking about this year and the many different challenges it has been great to know there have been people praying for us. Thanks.

Finals Week

This week is finals week.
I have an exam Thursday morning 6:30 - Greek 2
My other exam is Friday morning 7:00 - Dynamics of Spiritual Growth

This week is also a busy week for Krista.
Tuesday night at 10:30 dorm meeting. They are going to be doing many things regarding next year. Room sign ups. Introducing new officers.
Thursday night is the RA/RD banquet.

This Thursday is Joel's last day of kinderstart, the prekindergarten class he has been going to on campus here. He has had a good year there and he is getting so tall. He also has quite the imagination. Friday, he was with a babysitter and asked if it was O.K. if they played the video games that he brought. She said yes and then looked through his bag but didn't see any games. He was talking about his pretend video games and preceded to play them with the babysitter and his pretend friend Matt.

Josiah has a couple of teeth coming through and he has started to crawl everywhere.

Please be praying for us here. God bless.

What a difference a week can make.

This picture of Krista and Joel was taken today at the same spot the picture of the four Vibbard girls was taken last week. SEVEN DAYS AGO. Can you believe it?!?!?

THIS WEEK!

LAST WEEK!

Praise: Krista had a good NYC trip with the RAs this past weekend.

It is the next to the last week of classes for me.
1. My Missions group project was today.
2. A Greek test tomorrow
3. My Church History group project is Thursday.
4. A paper on the Spiritual Disciplines is due on Friday.

Then next week is Finals week. I have tests on Final exams on Tuesday (Greek) and Friday (Spiritual Growth)

More than a flurry

1. Snow
2. Josiah
3. Some prayer requests.

4. More snow pictures

1. Snow
My last post mentioned a flurry of snow and activities.
Today we had more than a flurry. They actually cancelled classes at noon because the roads were getting bad. On Mondays I have class from 9:00 to noon.
Here is a picture of Joel and I out having some fun in the snow. I put some more snow pictures at the end of the blog.

April 16th

2. Josiah
Here is a picture of Josiah. He is getting so big and crawling around everywhere.

3. Prayer requests

Dorm related:
-Tomorrow is the Vibbard tea to show appreciate to the staff and staff wives. Today snow has thrown a little curve ball into the planning process. There is a senior recital right before it. Pray for the setup, last minute details and that the evening would show the guests how much they are appreciated.
-End of the year details including new room assignments, Resident Assistant positions and dorm officers.

Class related:
This Friday Bible Memory Test (yes, those who had me as a teacher, now I have to take the memory verse tests)
Next week I have two projects (Global Missions and Church History)
Next Tuesday I also have another Greek test.
Then the following week is finals.

Family related:
Pray that we would be able to keep our focus during these last couple of weeks.
Pray for Joel and Josiah as they continue to grow.

4. More April 16th snow pictures
The view out our backdoor

Some of the girls from Vibbard enjoying an April snow day off.

A heavy flurry of activities along with...

a light flurry of snow last night describe what we have been going through the last week and a half.

Last Tuesday I took a Greek test in the morning.
Krista's family arrived that same day and we had a good visit with them. Actually I was very busy with work and classes but it was a good time.
Joel and Josiah especially loved playing with their cousins.

Seth and Josiah at Chuck E. Cheese

Picture of Josiah, Seth, Ben, Joel and grampa.

I am also coming quickly to the end of my second semester which means lots of projects, readings and exams.

Also pray for my job at Borders, I was able to have a couple of conversations with coworkers about Easter.

Krista also has a lot going on with end of the year things at the college. Next week our dorm is sponsoring an appreciation tea for the women on staff and the wives of the men on staff at the college. Pray for all the details with that.

April 2nd

Haven't posted in awhile.
I am taking a quick study break so I thought I would type a quick update.
Yes, it is Monday night, April 2nd and I am studying Greek. Big test tomorrow.
Yes, I know the NCAA basketball championship is on but I already know who is going to win. (I think).

Well anyways, we had a great time this weekend. The choir from Emmanuel was here at BBC. Even though our time with them was very short, it was great to see them.

Krista's parents, brother (Steve) and family arrive tomorrow. Pray for them as they travel.

Continue to pray for school, ministry and everything here.

The boys are doing well and growing quickly.

Spring Break!!

We are coming to the end of Spring Break!
We were able to spend a lot of time together as a family.
We went to the Discovery Center in Binghamton (kind of like a mini-COSI - kids science center).
This past week has been relaxing.

Josiah has been doing much better health wise. He loves standing with the help of some of his larger toys.
Joel is getting so tall. He likes to let Josiah wrestle him. Joel is also enjoying his kinderstart class.

Some class assignments coming up:
-a group report on Jon Huss for Church history
-a group report on the global ministry in the church for Missions
-2nd exam for Greek 2 a week from this coming Thursday.
-weekly reading assignments and Bible memory work.
Pray for diligence and focus as we begin the second half of this semester.

Here is some of our schedule for the upcoming weeks:
-The girls will be arriving on Sunday.
-Classes start up on Monday.
-Emmanuel Christian School's Choir arrives on Thursday for a choir festival. It is going to be good to reconnect with some of the students from the school.
-The following week some of Krista's family will be coming for a visit.
Pray for encouraging visits with friends and family over the next couple of weeks.
Pray for Krista's ministry with the girls especially as we enter the second half of second semester. Many events are coming up. Decisions need to be by students and other issues that may come up.

Krista and Joel's picture in the paper

Yesterday Krista and Joel had their picture in the Scranton Times.

If you want to see the picture go to www.scrantontimes.com
at the bottom of the page is "online extras"
then click on the "photo galleries" link
then click on the "today in pictures" link
then click on the "3-13-2007" link
make sure there is a check on the show caption box

Josiah and our visitors

Over this past weekend we had been waiting for some test results for Josiah. They were testing him for RSV. The test results came back negative but the doctor's office informed of that the test may have been compromised so they are not sure if we have a "true" negative. They are going to check him on Wednesday. He is using a nebulizer to help with his cough.

Please pray for him!
We are very thankful for the health insurance that we have.


Also this past weekend we had 3 visitors. Grammy, Aunt Deborah and Jacob came for a visit. We had a lot of fun together.

Memory Verses

In one of my classes we have have to memorize different verses. The verse I am working on this week is James 3:17:
"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peacable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy."

The next verse reads "The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

I have really been challenged by these verses and my conflict resolution class last week. What steps am I taking to make peace? Not keep the peace.

Enjoying the Snow and Church Conflict

Over the last couple of days the Rodgers family has been enjoying...
THE SNOW!!

I have also been enjoying my Conflict Resolution in the Church class. It has been very challenging and educational.

Some prayer requests for us are:
1.0. Krista's ministry with the girls in Vibbard Hall.
2.0. David's preparation for classes.
3.0. Good visits with family.
3.1. My mom, sister and nephew are coming out next week.
3.2. Krista's parents, brother, sister-in-law and nephews are coming out the first week of April.
4.0. Continue to pray for the leadership team at Heritage Baptist as the work through all the issue around the roof collapse in the family room (previous blog has pictures).
5.0. Pray for spiritual growth and hunger for us and those we are ministering to.

Greek test and Global Ministry Forum

Greek test this morning...
Not sure how I did. I struggled with several parts of it but I will know how I did in a couple of days.

Globabl Ministry Forum...
Last night's dinner and presentation was very good.
The sessions today were also very challenging.

We will write more later.

Greek Test

My Greek test, that was cancelled because of snow, has been moved to tomorrow (Tuesday).

Here is a local news article about Heritage:
http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?S=6104403

Heritage's collapsed roof.

Here are two pictures of Heritage Baptist Church's Family room roof that collapsed Friday night/Saturday morning. If you look at the pictures and see the second window on the brick wall that is Josiah's nursery room. Some information is included after the pictures.

Praises:

1. That this didn't happen Sunday morning when the early service is held in this room.

2. That Pastor Rob came in when he did and smelled the gas that was coming from the pipes that were broken.

3. That it appears insurance will cover most of the damage. The church took their fall offering and part of it was going to go towards some improvements needed in this wing of the church. That money will be able to be used somewhere else.

4. MOST IMPORTANTLY, that the church has been able to use this as an opportunity to be a witness to God's goodness. The local NBC affilate was at the entire service this morning taping segments of the service and interview people afterwards. Pray for opporutinities that will result from all of this.

PRAYER REQUEST

Part of the roof on our church here in Clark Summit, Heritage Baptist Church, collapsed this morning (Saturday). The section is over the fellowship hall and kitchen.

When we saw it Krista said praise the Lord it didn't happen when there was something going on at the church.

Please be praying for the pastoral staff, deacons and others as they decide what to do.

My Greek Test

School is cancelled.
Test post-poned.

Valentine's Day Storm

Last night Borders closed an half and a half early because of the storm.
Baptist Bible College and Seminary cancelled classes because of the snow.
I added a picture to the "view outside our backdoor" link on the side.


Joel making a snow angel.

Josiah watching the snow from the window.

A pleasant surprise!!

I received a phone call this afternoon from Shane Miller. He said he was over at the student center talking to someone from Santiago Christian School. Terry Roberts, the director of SCS for the last two years was there. It was great to meet and talk with him about the school.

It was great to talk with him and it brought back a lot of great memories from the Dominican.

Last week Toledo. This week the Dominican. God has really provided us with great opportunities to stay connected with places where we have served.

Laundry time

It is been over a week since I last wrote on here. Sorry about not keeping you up t0 date.

Josiah is doing much better. We are regularly running him through the washing machine to keep him germ free. Just joking but it provides a wonderful transition to a great picture one of the girls in the dorm took of Josiah.


A little more of an update.

Krista has a head cold or something going on. It just started today. Pray that it would pass quickly.

This past week we were blessed with a visit by some people from Emmanuel. It was great to people from Toledo. It was also a great reminder to me of how blessed we are to have family and friends in Toledo, Pittsburgh area and around the world who love us and care for us. God is amazing. It was very strange to see Adam Bomar in the student center of BBC.

Two of my three professors this semester told us their classes were very front-end heavy on work. That has proven true. VERY TRUE. I have a big greek test Thursday and a paper due on Friday

It has been difficult but next week begin a two week "break." Actually they are not breaks. February 19-21 is the seminary Global Ministry Forum (a seminaries title for Missions Conference). February 26- March 2 is a one week module class. The class I am taking during the week is conflict resolution in the church.

Happy Birthday to all of our family members who celebrated or will celebrate Birthday in February especially grammy and grandma.

Doing Better Today

Josiah is doing much better today. The doctor said his ear infection was pretty bad. She gave us a prescription that seems to be working well. Thank you for praying and continue to pray for him.

Also, I found out I have 16 credits that will transfer in from my other master's credits. That is a real blessing because it saves us money and time.

In class news, my classes seem like they are going to be very good BUT several of them have most of their work at the beginning of the semester (the first 5 weeks)

Krista has her leadership meetings tonight. She is doing well in her Resident Director position. Two big activities ( the Dorm leadership retreat and the late skate ) went well. The next thing is the girls in the dorm are responsible for decorating for missions conference, which is next week.

Prayer Request

Josiah has not been feeling well. The last couple of nights he has been waking up at 4:00 am. He also has not bee eating well. Please be praying for him and us. He has a doctors appointment today.

Late Skate went Grate. I mean great.

The Late Skate event sponsored by Vibbard last night went well. The students were great. Two of the rink workers actually commented on how great the group was. The dorm made some money on the event also. Thank you to those who prayed for the evening.

Below are two pictures from the evening.
This is a picture of Krista with some of the Vibbard girls.


The theme was twin night. Some Krista and I went as Steeler players (don't try to figure out who #06 is for the Steelers. It was the shirt I received from the guys who graduated from Emmanuel last year).
This was my VERY FIRST TIME ever ice skating. I didn't fall during the whole night. I also didn't venture very far away from the wall.

First Day of Second Semester

The first day of classes went well. I had only one. World Ministry and the Local Church.

Tomorrow, Tuesday,
I have Greek 2 from 6:30 to 8:50.
Then chapel from 10:00 to 10:50.
Finally Borders from 3:30 to 11:30.

FAMILY RELATED ITEMS:
We think Josiah has started teething.
Pray for him, us and the girls who live above him.

Joel is enjoying AWANA cubbies (Wednesday night Bible program for kids at Heritage). He is learning Bible verses and lots of other things. Below is a picture taken aftern their Christmas program.

DORM RELATED ITEMS:

Praise:

This past weekends retreat with the dorm leaders was a good time for them to connect with one another and prepare for a second semester of ministry.

Prayer request:
This weekend is the Vibbard sponsored Late Skate activity.
-Pray for all the details to come together.

-Pray it would be fun and safe for those who attend.

Our apartment is now finished!

The renovations to our apartment are now over.
We have nothing in the lounge area and life has gotten back to "normal" for the Rodgers family.
If you want to see the amount of work they did go back a couple of entries to see the beginning of the project.
It definitely has felt like our apartment has been changed from connected dorm rooms to a home.
The interesting thing about these two rooms is they are actually 2 remodeled college dorm rooms with the wall between them knocked out.

Just a reminder about the the praise requests regarding the next two weekends, check the previous post.