Scouting Resumes

Another Scouting year has begun, and Isaac is now a Webelo 2. Tuesday was the first Pack Meeting of the year and the awards for summer activities were handed out. Every one of the boys were busy over the summer, but Callum Smith and Isaac Kelly had their every move written down and consequently they earned a whole lot of goodies for their uniforms!

Isn't he cute?

Mr. Mangan reads the list...

Webelo Activity badges for :
Aquanaut
Geologist
Scientist
Compass Point
Academic/ Sports Awards for:
Badminton
Bicycling
Bowling
Chess
Communicating
Computers
Fishing
Geology
Music
Swimming
Table Tennis

(Whew!)

We're so proud of our little guy!

Since we moved to the area Scouting has become such a neat part of our lives here. When we moved, as we have several times, we expected to find friends through whichever church God would settle us into. This has been the pattern in the past, and held true here as well. However, what we didn't expect were the friendships we'd make through scouting. This group of parents has proven to be so warm and friendly, whether we are at a simple meeting, a parade or camping. They are all from the community near us and we run into them outside of scouting as well. There are many years to go yet, and knowing this bunch, they'll be fun ones!

Fort Mifflin!

This weekend was camping at Fort Mifflin with the Webelos! I have to admit that originally, I wasn't too keen on the idea, but it was a blast!

When we arrived we discovered that not only was it near the airport, the Fort was directly in the flight path for landing aircraft! Every 4 minutes, like clockwork, another jet flew right overhead... After several hours we barely flinched anymore.

Sleeping overnight in a national landmark, Revolutionary era Fort, is fascinating enough. Learning that it was the subject of an episode of "Ghosthunters" on the Sci-fi channel is just a teeny bit unnerving. We had the choice of tent camping in the grassy area or sleeping in the barracks. I chose the barracks since our family is sleeping in tents next week. Then, right before we went to the bonfire and S'mores, Wayne the caretaker regales us with stories of the "other" inhabitants of the fort- one of whom supposedly occupies the room almost above where I was planning to sleep- alone. I don't believe that ghosts have any power to harm me- but I am susceptible to a good case of the "willies" now and then- and this was a tailor-made case!

Cassandra Trostle was kind enough to join me in the room for the night and we weren't disturbed once- slept like babies.

Enjoy the slide show- pass your mouse over the individual photos to see the captions! (some of them are cut off- sorry)

The Rocket's Red Glare

This week has held lots of fun for our Webelo, Isaac! From launching homemade rockets at a local park on Tuesday to a day-long trip to Baltimore on Saturday, we've seen and done a bunch! Tuesday was our final meeting for the year, and we ended with a bang; meeting in Wyomissing park to set off the rockets that each scout had made at home. Engines were handed out and put in the rockets once we arrived at the launch site- for safety reasons, I'm sure.







The trip to Baltimore for Fort McHenry- where Frances Scott Key penned the Star Spangled Banner- and the Aquarium was a blast. Erin joined Isaac and me with the rest of the Scouts for the day. She ended up accompanying Katie Sanford and Grace Smith around the sights as the boys were more interested in their friends than their little sisters. I've not included captions in the slideshow below- too tired and not enough time, but enjoy these snaps from our day.

Update From Haiti

Jim has called twice and emailed once from Haiti. He and the guys arrived safely with no undue burdens getting through customs. Below is an excerpt from his email.

Saturday we travel to Lagonav (Ile De la Gonave) via ferry boat. We will visit one of the churches and meet some of the folks Ben is developing as leaders. On Sunday we will worship at 2 of the churches on Lagonav. It should be quite a weekend - with no electricity to boot!

Thus far no signs of rot gut or sundry ailments. Although I have seen a very large rat and some scorpions...

The little bit we have seen of the people, poverty, and pestilence was quite an eye opener. Most of our time has been at the house with the Hopps working on the porch... Yesterday, we did go to the pool and beach at the Kaliko Beach Resort near the Hopps' home. It was nice, I found some nice shells.

While they are traveling away from the home base they are out of touch by phone of email. As it happens, Jim's cell phone hasn't worked since they arrived- he thought it would, but there must not be the right kind of service. It's probably a good thing that his phone is off and he can be completely free of that particular taskmaster while he's away.

John Flavel would agree... it's providential.

Meanwhile, today was Pinewood Derby day for Isaac! His last Derby as a matter of fact. the Webelos one year ahead of his den did not compete- Isaac's was the oldest group to run their cars. It was, as always, an exciting event. I know Jim hated to miss it. Photos to follow once my Cuz Heidi sends them out!

Today Erin brought up our neighbors log splitter and with the help of her friend, Erin, they split up several loads of the cut tree that is stacked in the yard. Kate, Bekah and Isaac went out for a turn later. We hope to have most of it finished before Jim gets home- something off of his list of things to do.

Survivors

We have survived our personal plague while hearing reports that others are battling the same illness. This is the time of year when we fill conversational gaps by saying, "sure seems to be going around!" Ain't that the truth.

So, since we are back on our feet much has happened. Isaac and Jim spent a bracing several hours with the Webelos at the Daniel Boone Homestead doing outdoorsy winter stuff- so sorry to have missed that myself ;-). Between the outdoor cooking, team activities and shivering, Isaac ended up being the only Scout- of any age- to have his thrown tomahawk actually stay in the target! How cool is that?!



In one week Jim will be in Haiti with our Pastor Wendell and another member of the Missions Committee from church, Dave Lucas. They will be visiting a Missionary family there for a week in an attempt to determine how our church can partner with and help them in the future. Instead of merely throwing money at them, we want to truly become involved in their ministry, by sending people to help and possibly in other ways that we haven't yet seen. It ought to be nice and warm for the guys, but certainly not exotic. The travel warnings issued by the CDC and the State Department are enough to make one think very carefully before packing to leave!

Meanwhile, Kate had her telephone interview with MTW and knows that she will be going abroad for an internship, but not to Berlin. Her interviewer gave her a couple of possibilities, but we are as yet uncertain which will work. Where she goes depends upon the needs of the Missionaries already in the field, so, once again, she is waiting to hear back from MTW. Evidently the agency headquarters in Atlanta has also been hit with the flu, so we wait, with empathy and understanding...

Last night we enjoyed the rare treat of watching the Lunar Eclipse. Friends were over for dinner and we were finishing up when someone mentioned the eclipse. It had been overcast and snowing for the entire afternoon and into the evening, so I figured we had missed our chance to see it, but when we checked the clouds were gone and the stars clear! We could see the moon from our back porch, so we bundled up and stood in the cold to watch the moon turn red! Are the stars really brighter when it is that cold out, or was that my imagination? Couldn't help but think of my Grandmommy, and wish that I'd paid closer attention to her lessons about the night sky...

Okay, this is not our shot of the event- our camera isn't quite sophisticated enough to capture such a shot.

Things are in motion at church now for the Ladies' Bible Study that I will be leading beginning Tuesday, March 4th. I'm very excited, and very nervous. Having been a student, then a facilitator in Bible studies for years, I have never led one myself and am feeling, oh, ... inadequate to the task? That's far better than feeling invincible, I suppose. Humbled, I am driven to Scripture and prayer in a whole new way. This could only be good for me in that respect. My prayer is that this will be a blessing to others, and when questions arise I would have the wisdom to know when to answer and when to realize that I don't have an answer. May God be glorified through our time spent in His Word.