I hope that you all are not tired of hearing from the Rickert family by now. We have been sharing with you a lot of the day by day things that go on here, which some of you may not need to know or care to know. Our goal and purpose of our blog however is not to bore you, but to give you an accurate description of what our lives are like here so that you can actively be involved in our ministry through your prayers and correspondence. We value our family and friends that we have left behind and still desire to be a part of your lives. Our weekly blog is our practical effort to do this!
Having said that, I will try to give you a summary of our week. After our post last Tuesday, we had been invited over to dinner with Clint and Lauren Owlett. This is a couple that had been on staff for about 8 years with Three Springs, but had just resigned right before we came on board. Clint and Lauren and their two children still live in this area and go to our church. We had a good time of fellowship with them, and the kids especially had fun playing with their oldest son who is just a little younger than Duncan. We could not have known, however, that their kids would wake up the next day with coughs and runny noses. Yes, now all of our kids and Kathryn have had a go around with that same bug. Pray for Clay, who is once again showing signs of a possible ear infection that we will have to monitor.
On Wednesday, Steve Ochinno and went I down to Three Springs' wilderness cabin, which is tucked away in the woods down in a nearby valley by a stream. It is a primitive cabin that is used by the camp and other groups for quiet getaway and ministry. It has no electricity or indoor plumbing, but does have gas lights and a really nice outhouse. It sleeps about 12. We had a group of 10 young boys from the Philadelphia city area and their leaders, who were coming to use our cabin for a few days while they did some hiking and climbing in the area. Steve and I took some drinking water down to the cabin for them, and also started the wood stove to heat up the cabin some before they arrived. Yes, we still need our heat as it was about 32 degrees this morning as we got up.
After we left the cabin, we hiked our nature trail that is in that same valley as the wilderness cabin.
No one hikes the nature trail during the winter months, but now that the snow has melted we will start taking some groups here soon on this particular trail . We were surveying the trail for any debris, limbs or trees that needed to be cleared away before anyone hikes it. Since I have not been on this trail yet, it was good for me to get familiar with it as I will most likely be leading different groups on this hike. These woods are a lot different from the low country forests that I am used to in South Carolina, but I always enjoy being in the woods no matter where I am, and am thankful to be able to have that as a part of what I do here.
Thursday morning was a nice morning compared to some of the rainy and dreary days we had in the beginning of the week. That afternoon, a group would arrive at the Inn for the weekend, so I had a small window in which to do some outside work in the yard. I blew out all the landscaping beds that were still covered in leaves, and got our mower from Three Springs and ran over the entire yard. Although the grass really didn't need mowing, I still mulched up all the leaves and gave the yard a fresh cut look. I couldn't resist as I've been waiting for a month at least to get on the mower. The grass is really green though and starting to grow finally.
Our group this weekend was from an organization that many may have heard of before called Moms In Touch, International. They are a group that is nationwide, consisting of mothers of school-aged children. Their burden and desire is to pray for our schools and the students and teachers in them. They have a website which is www.momsintouch.org if you would like to learn more about the ministry. Our group of moms were leaders or coordinators in different counties from all around the state of Pennsylvania. This was their second year here with us, and they really had a great time. We even found time to build a campfire for them, so they could make smores.
I also put up a volleyball net for use during their free time.
Kathryn had planned to sing this Sunday morning with a group of four other ladies that she had been rehearsing with, but because of her cold, she wasn't able to sing. She did help them rearrange the parts somewhat so that the rest of the group could still do it. They all were glad to have the oppurtunity to sing and the congregation really enjoyed the special music, which they have'nt had very much of in the past. Lord willing, Kathryn will be singing next Sunday morning on Easter. Pray for her voice to be well by then and for the message of the song that she has prepared. She really tries hard to pick out music that compliments the message or passage that is being taught and preached from that Sunday. Sunday night we attended a meeting about a ministry in Uganda called Finding The Way. Its website is www.findingthewayafrica.org. It was good to be reminded of the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs in Uganda, but it also reminded us of the needs of those right here in America.
All day Saturday and Sunday, we had really bad winds and rain. I don't know if it was any of that awful system that caused all those storms down south or not, but it did cause a lot of limbs and debris to come down here. Audrey and Duncan helped me on Monday picking up limbs and raking up debris. It took me most of the day to finish in the yard. I did help load up another load of hay first thing this morning that was headed to the auction. We have another couple of loads to sell as we make room in our barns for this year's hay that will be harvested this summer. That will have to wait for a future blog down the road though.
We have this weekend off from hosting any groups because of Easter, so we have discussed going up to New York to see Niagra Falls. We'll see how everyone is feeling and how the weather is. There has been alot of rain in the forecast recently and for the next little while coming up.
Keep us in your prayers and have a great Easter.
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