Quebec Trip

This week (10.13 - 17), we are going to be in Quebec, Canada.

We are going to be visiting with Tim and Barb Vermilyea, missionaries that are supported by our home church in Toledo and our church here in Clarks Summit.

We would appreciate your prayers as we travel on Monday and Friday.
Pray that we would be an encouragement to the Vermilyeas while we are there.

Prayer Request

We haven't updated since September 12th. That is not because nothing has been going on.
School, dorm life, ministry and so much more but the biggest thing recently is also a prayer request.
The big news is this past week I (David) was diagnosed with diabetes. So this week has been getting test, visiting doctors and dieticians and crying out to God.

We would very much appreciate your prayers as we figure out diet and schedule changes that need to be made.

A praise is I don't have classes during the month of October so I am able to schedule appointment from a pretty wide open schedule. Also, I have been able to get a lot of rest. I haven't gotten as much school work done but right now I know I need rest.

Our pastor out here in Clarks Summit sent me a great devotional of encouragement by Oswald Chambers.
"The Theology of Rest."
http://www.myutmost.org/08/0812.html

Open Mic

This is my opening number at Open Mic on 09.05

I in no way, shape or form claim to have any singing talent.

The semester has definitely begun

Lots of things going on with the Rodgers family.

The semester is well under way.

We are busy.

We are also amazed at how God is working in our lives and the lives of others.

Here our some snapshots of things that have been going on.

Krista and the RAs and officers of Vibbard the day freshmen were moving in.

Joel's first day of soccer.

Josiah's first day of Joel's soccer.

Joel on his first day of kindergarten.

The Rodgers family relaxing outside a Cracker Barrel on David's birthday (Thanks for the gift card Aunt Mar)

Moving Day

Today is Moving In Day for Freshmen.
Please be praying for the new year in the dorm.
There will be 44 girls in Vibbard this semester.
There will be 27 girls in Vibbard this semester who are new to BBC.

Pray that this weekend of New Student Orientation would be a good time of connecting and communicating with the girls.

I start class on Tuesday.
6:30 - Hebrew 1
9:00 - Chapel
10:00 - Pentateuch

I need to go help unpack cars and vans.

Washington D.C. TrIp

We had a 3 day vacation to Washington D.C. before the start of the school year.
We did A LOT of walking.
Here are some pictures from the trip.

Josiah and Krista in front of the White House.

Joel at the FDR Memorial

Josiah "swimming" in the pool.

Joel and Josiah at the zoo.

David trying to explain freedom of speech to Joel in front of the White House as protesters are marching around.

Josiah at the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

Recently released video from Rodgers Studio

This is Josiah's creation.
Puppets for Cheapskates.

Take me out to the ballgame

Yesterday Joel and I went to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees game.

It was Joel's first ballgame as spectator.

BBC&S had a Meet You at the Ballpark event.

We had a lot of fun.

Joel outside the Kids Funzone area.

He hit a homerun @ one of the games.

Notice the cool Yankees hat he has on.

Joel enjoying an ice cream cone @ the ballpark.

Joel and I had a great time at the game and now we have matching hats.

WOW, what an eye opening day

Today Phil, the director of the Scranton Rescue Mission, and I went for a walk around the area of the mission.
There are railroad tracks and a river that run by the mission.
Some of the guests who visit the mission on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights live in tents by the river or under the bridges near the train tracks.
It was quite an eye opening, sobering walk.

Some mission related prayer requests, especially for those of you who are not familiar with the Scranton Rescue Mission.

• We meet on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. The service begins @ 5:30 and usually ends around 6:15. After that a meal is served.
• On Saturdays there is a Bible study @ 3:30.
• On Sundays clothing and other food items are given away. This is usually our biggest night.

I was reminded of two things today on my walk and while sitting in the service tonight.

1. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6
2. "If there's anything in life that we should be passionate about, it's the gospel. And I don't mean passionate only about sharing it with others. I mean passionate about thinking about it, dwelling on it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world." C.J. Mahaney

I must preach the gospel to myself everyday. (See Galatians 2:20)
Some other ministry prayer requests:

• TLC (Teen Leadership Conference) is starting on Monday. There are two weeks of this conference on campus. http://www.bbc.edu/tlc/default.asp
• Pray for Krista, the student leaders and the girls who will be living in Vibbard Hall this next school year.

It has been 226 degrees here in Scranton...

At least that is what the sign at the one store I pass on the way to work has said for this past week.
I think it may be broken!

Anyways, I finished up my assignments for my last class today. Summer classes have officially come to an end.
Now I have a couple of days before I need to start preparing for the fall semester.

Things at the Scranton Rescue Mission have been going great.
People have been responding to the Gospel message.

Here are some pictures of the family.

Joel at the pond

Joel, Jacob, Josiah and Nolan @ BBC

This should be a poster for the college.

Grammy with the boys outside Vibbard.

Coming to the end of summer classes

BBC Defenders’ Basketball camp has ending. The sound of bouncing basketballs around campus has come to an end. We were able to watch Emmanuel play a couple of games.

The last couple of weeks have been a real whirlwind for us.

May 26 through June 6
I had a two week class at the seminary.
Joel lost a couple of his teeth. He has a great big toothless smile.

June 13 through 22
We traveled to Toledo.
- On the way we stopped at my mom’s and spent two days there.
- We were able to go to Emmanuel Baptist Church two Sundays in a row..
- During the week, from Monday through Thursday, I attend a conference on Church Planting. The conference was in Medina, OH.

June 23 through July 3
I am now in a two week class at the seminary.
Krista is finishing up a graduate course in order to keep her teacher certification.
Joel is attending VBS at a friend’s church.
Josiah, along with Joel, loves to run around campus and watch the squirrels. Actually Krista and I like to do this with the boys.

The ministry at the Scranton Rescue Mission (the website link is in the personal link section) has been going well. I have had several opportunities to preach and talk with several of the men who come to the mission.
I have also led singing twice.
Yes you read that correctly. One of the things working at the mission has been teaching me is a lesson I thought I had learned in the Dominican Republic and at Emmanuel. In ministry FLEXIBILITY is important.

Please continue to be praying for us as a family and the ministry opportunities God has given us.

Some fun stuff

Our visit with grandma and grandpa and abby has been fun.

Here is a video of Josiah.

Batmen



Joel playing ball

Joel, Abby and Josiah on the Anchor at BBC

Summer "Break"

It has been a while since the last Rodgers' Family Update.

Here is what has been going on.

Josiah is...
-Cuter than ever.
-He will be 2 years old on June 8th.

Joel is...
-Loving t-ball (and playing in the dirt and with caterpillars at t-ball)
-Smiling real big now that he has lost his front tooth (we will be posting pictures soon)

Krista is...
-Working on a grad school class to keep her teaching certification current.
-Getting a lot of things done that she was not able to get done during the school year.

David is...
-In the middle of a two week summer class at the seminary. It has been a great class.
-Getting ready to start his now job at the Scranton Rescue Mission (www.scrantonrescuemission.com). It is a part time position. I have had two recent opportunities to preach there. It is an excited ministry and we are looking forward to ministering there. Please be praying for us and the mission. Specific prayer requests and information coming later.

This weekend we ahve a couple of visitors.
Grandma, Grandpa and Abby are coming to visit.

We are getting ready for our visitors.
We are planning to be @ Emmanuel June 15th and 22nd.
We are going to be stopping in Pittsburgh for a quick visit the 13th and 14th.
Krista and the boys are going to stay in Toledo from the 15th to the 22nd.
I am planning to be @ a Church Planting Seminar in Medina, OH from the 16th to the 19th.

By the way, our bbc.edu emails will be closed out the end of this May 31st.
Our daveandkrista@hotmail.com is what we will be using.
Thanks.

Some pictures

The Rodgers Family at the Seminary.



Krista and I with Shane and Shelley Miller @ the Seminary Banquet.
God has used the Millers in our lives during our time here and even before we got here.
They are a major reason why we are here at BBC&S.
They will be missed next year.

Prayer Request Update

In our last post we requested prayer for the family of one of the girls in our dorm. They live in Myanmar.

She heard from them. They are safe. The Bible school he directs sustained damage. I am not sure the extent. Continue to be praying for that country.


Today was also graduation day. All of the girl have moved out.
Be praying for the graduates as they go from here. It is our prayer that first and foremost they would pursue God in everything and anything they do.

The dorm is now quiet. OK not really. Josiah likes to run around "singing" which basically involves holding a little microphone and yelling at sounds with some sort of tune. And as many of you know Joel can get a little loud.

Thank you to those who have been praying for us throughout this year. There have been challenges and there have been great times. We know that God has seen us through it all.

I saw a quote recently that really made me think about how great and amazing God is.
"Remember that your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace, nor are your best days ever so good that you are beyond the need of it."
-Jerry Bridges The Discipline of Grace

Prayer Request

Many of you have probably heard about the cyclone the hit Myanmar http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24459578?GT1=43001

One of the girls in our dorm is from that country. Her family lives in the city that was hit with the cyclone.
Please be praying for her, her family and the country.

The Next Chapter in the T-Ball Diary

After t-ball tonight Krista asked Joel what his favorite part was.
His answer....
a. batting the ball
b. catching the ball
c. drawing houses in the sand.
d. throwing the ball

Which one did he choose?
Take a wild guess.

One more week... Two more weeks...

First of all...
We don't think Joel has the chicken pox. Maybe he did get that spot when he fell.

One more week of seminary classes for me.
Lots of work due this week.

Two more weeks of college classes.
Lots of work for Krista and the girls next week.

Family Health Update 2

Tonight Krista found a red mark on Joel's leg that looks like chicken pox.

His reaction when she said that was "It's not chicken pox. It's a mark from when I fell down outside."

End of the semester.

Family health update:
Josiah has pink eye AND chicken pox. The chicken pox is a mild case that appears to be localized to his legs.

The seminary has one more week of classes.
The college has two more weeks.

This upcoming week my schedule looks like this:
Monday -
an 8 page project for Training Ministries.
Tuesday -
a five page doctrinal paper
a fifteen page term paper
a take home exam
Wednesday-
a Greek vocab final
Thursday-
26 weeks of sermon outlines to finish out a year long preaching calendar.

This past week was student preachers in the seminary chapel. I had the opportunity to speak on Thursday. You can hear my sermon, along with the other student preachers, at http://www.bbc.edu/chapel.asp