The Wilkes Team

Praise God to whom all blessing flow! The last three day have been amazingly wonderful! Words can not adequately express the joy that fills our hearts over how God worked these last three days.

The enthusiasm, the joy, and the attentiveness that each one of these children demonstrated was so CONTAGIOUS and wonderful to behold!!

God is at work in each one of us and by us stepping out in faith to do this club God was honored, people were blest, we received joy, and two more children were added to the Kingdom of God!

I love the verse that says “…If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matthew 17:20)

May we always remember that with God ALL things are possible!

Today with the help of Sarah we learnt the 5th verse of Proverbs 8:32~35! We all had a blast learning these verse! Especially since Sarah made up such creative hand motions. It made it so much easier in learning! Thank you Sarah!!

We reviewed the attentiveness song and sang a lot of other real fun songs as well. One of everybodys favorites was “Are you attentive and you know it clap, spin, stomp, cheer, pat your head, then do all FIVE!”

We were reminded of just how much God cares for us and watches over us in today’s missionary story.  John G. Patton was continually put in situations where it seemed for sure that the Indians would kill him and end his ministry. But God watched over him! God did some miraculous miracle! That would leave John in utter awe of His Creator and Lord. If you want to be inspired and encouraged by a man that was more than willing to die for his Lord on many different occasions then read about the life of John G. Patton! You will be inspired and encouraged!

We also heard a bible story about Samuel! In how he was attentive to the voice of God!  We realized that the reason Samuel was able to be so attentive even when he was asleep, was because he had learnt to be attentive to his authorities that God had placed over him before this situation occurred! May this be a good reminder to us to take heed and work on our character flaws. We don’t know what the future holds. Let God prepare you NOW! 

“Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it NOT!”

Proverbs 8:33

6 Comments » | posted in Family News

We just had another FANTASTIC day! 

Attentiveness is such an awesome quality. We learned about a very alert Daddy and Mommy deer that were able to save the life of their young fawn from the jaws of a cougar!

Do you now how God made the deer’s ears? Well, we made a human deer ear and learnt how it works! God is such an incredible designer in all areas of His creation. He made the deer’s ears to be so sensitive to sound that they can hear just a SNAP of a branch or a RUSSEL of long grass from quite a distance. They rely on their alert ears to keep them safe!

We learned that God wants us to be attentive as well. Our parents are one of the key tools that God uses to keep us safe and to direct us. We must be attentive to our authorities when they call us, and when they tell us to do or not to do something. Just like the young fawn was when his mother called to him to come to her. He did not know why he was called but he went instantly and his parents were able to lead him to safety.

Yet in order to truly be attentive to the snares that Satan lays to trip us up, we need to see our desperate need for Christ. For He says that we can do all things through Christ!

Josh gave a very good picture of what it looks like to try to “make it to heaven” in our own strength. Then he showed them how through Christ we can have a relationship with God. Please pray with us that these children that are coming would understand their need for Christ and would give their lives completely to Him. Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven!

We had another great demonstration of attentiveness through the obstacle course today! Each and everyone did a fabulous job in being very alert to the task at hand!

Some things that the children said that blessed us all!

~ “I wish we could have bible club everyday this summer!”

~ ” She has already learned her verse! I want to get mine down too!”

~ “Can I say my verse again to you?”

~ ” I want to learn the dog verse!” ( The verse card token had a picture of the Frisbee chasing dog on it )

~ “Can I work on my verse with you?”

It is amazing how so often when we go out to bless others we end up being blessed!

3 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports

Earlier this year, Dad gave our family a vision for hosting a Backyard Bible School this summer. Stepping out to prepare as a family to impact our local community in this way has been a rewarding experience. And a fulfillment of a recent family rhema passage:

"And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in (Isaiah 58:10-12)."

Our first step was to decide upon a theme – the quality of attentiveness. From there, a flier was drafted and delivered to children in our neighborhood, friends & family, and attendants of last year’s Good News Club. A related Bible lesson was chosen (God’s call to Samuel), a portion of Scripture to memorize (Prov. 8:32-35), a powerful story entitled, "The Frisbee Chasing Dog," and the remarkable lesson of the white tail deer along with the ‘Attentiveness Song’ as laid out in the Character First material.

This morning marked day one. The children in attendance were full of joy and such an encouragement. Everyone enjoyed learning three secret hand signals (1 finger up means sit or stand up straight, 2 fingers up tells everyone to freeze but do keep breathing, and 3 fingers up tells everyone to smile with atleast 3 teeth showing ). We also received a surprise visit from Cadet M. Wilkes who discussed how essential it is for a soldier to demonstrate attentiveness. With the memory verse, Sarah encouraged us to be attentive to and apply instruction that we may be wise. We learned that the first thing every person must be attentive to, is the call of God unto salvation (Rev. 3:20). The story of, "The Frisbee Chasing Dog," kept the audience in suspense & revealed the close relation between attentiveness and obedience. Would the dog heed the distant cry of his master to drop amidst a wholehearted frisbee chase?

Our attentiveness was put to the test when Daniel lead us in a water balloon toss. Squeals, water, and balloons were coming from everywhere as close to 60 water bombs flew back and forth through the air. The fun continued as everyone lined up and then charged across the yard in search of water balloon remnants. Following the clean-up, scarcely a piece could be found anywhere.

We enjoyed every part of the morning and are eagerly looking forward to tomorrow!

Attentiveness: Showing the worth of a person by giving full concentration to his or her words.

3 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports

Not too many years ago, we were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the 11th member of the Wilkes Team. On the day of the delivery, Grandma and Grandpa graciously came over to help at our house while Dad and Mom headed to the hospital. No one knew whether the Lord was sending a baby boy or baby girl our way. But oh the squeals, shouts of joy, and anthems of praise that erupted in our midst when the call came that a little boy had been brought into the world. A natural follow-up question was what we would name him. While many ideas had been tossed around, there was some difficulty experienced as different names were proposed.

Dad had a vision for naming our new brother with not just a name that flowed well or was common at the time, but with a name that brought meaning and purpose. The decision finally settled upon the name, Mark Christopher.

Shortly after deciding on the name, questions began rolling in. Is new little Mark a junior after his father? No, Mark Christopher is not a junior. He was named Mark Christopher for a very special reason. Mark means, “mighty warrior.” Christopher means, “Christ bearer.” Mark Christopher is going to be a mighty warrior bearing Christ to the world. Time after time this answer has been given. And so from almost the day he was born, Mark Christopher has been mightily bearing Christ because of his name.

This week our family was reminded once again of the call upon Markie’s life. Mom, Adam, Hannah, and Markie stopped by the hardware store to check on prices for some upcoming expenditures. The employee attending to their needs was taken back by the genuine smiles on the faces of Adam, Hannah, and Markie. After spending several moments watching them while trying to assist Mom, the gentleman looked down at Markie and asked, “Why are you so happy?” With joy and confidence, Markie replied, “Because I have Jesus in my heart.” The store employee, who it turns out was also a Christian, went on to briefly share his salvation testimony. And so the body of Christ was uplifted and exhorted through the decision of a young man to confess His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the world.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth… (Rom. 1:16).

Thank you Markie for being an inspiration to boldly proclaim the name of the Lord!

Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God (Luke 12:8).

8 Comments » | posted in Family News, Ministry Reports

Hydrangeas are just beautiful!

We have a couple of these stunning bushes in our back yard, and this summer they have added such color and contrast to our patio.

They make great floral arrangements and their blossoms last for days! Something I learned the hard way in taking care of hydrangeas is that there are specific ways to prune. Different types of hydrangeas need pruning at different times! But I did not know this!

Pruning Bigleaf, mophead, or florist hydrangea (three different names for the same plant) in the spring or even late fall, after the buds have been set, will remove the flower buds and any chance of getting flowers that season! This is what I did and we received no flowers that summer – only green foliage.

This certain species of hydrangeas grow off their second year growth, and you must leave the woody stalks alone in order to enjoy these stunning flowers.

Bigleaf hydrangea should be pruned as soon as the flowers have faded. You should begin to see new growth coming in from the base of the plant. To keep the plant vigorous, selectively prune out the dead and weaker stems, both old and new.

Don’t prune out all the old wood, since this is what will keep flowering as the new growth matures.

I found this information to be very helpful and I hope it will save you, who have these stunning flowers, from missing a year of vibrant color in your gardens next summer!

3 Comments » | posted in Photography, Tid Bits