We had 3 new ladies in our Sunday morning service with a total of 14 present....and 13 in our evening service.  Some of the kids that normally come were not here but according to the one little girls that did come, their parents had gotten into a big fight, gotten drunk, and the mother was passed out in front of the back door and the Dad was gone and the kids had been instructed by the police if he tried to come back home to call them.  My heart goes out to the kids that have to live in fear and go through this kind of thing.  But this is a scene that happens over and over again in home after home!!   And one of the saddest parts is that the kids look at is as being  a "Normal" part of life because that's all they have ever known. 

Right now we are in the middle of yet another blizzard!!  This one started yesterday evening around 5:30 and by the time church was over it was snowing great, big wet flakes!!  The wind hasn't blown as much this time as it did with last weeks blizzard and we seem to be getting alot more snow with this one.  I guess we have about 8 inches or so already and they say we can expect about 8 more before it's over with!!  This is also a heavier, wet snow. 

We want to Thank everyone who has called to check on us when they have seen the reports of all the flooding up here.  The Lord has watched over us and we have not experienced any flooding here.  We can see the river but it is far enough from us that I don't think we will have to worry about flood waters reaching us.  But many in the area have had to leave their homes because of the flood waters...one area called "Brien" which is about 20 or so miles from here was completely flooded.  The Lord has protected us and we praising Him!!

Love & Prayers,   Sis. Sheri

Yesterday was a good day with 17 in attendance in the morning service...there were 11 adults and 7 children...normally we have more children than adults so this was a real blessing.  Then in the evening service we had 8 children and 7 adults for a total of 15.  There would have been 9 adults but 2 of the older ladies could not get here because they had the road into Cannon Ball closed due to water across it.  Arvala, the lady that was just released from the hospital, wasn't feeling well enough to come yesterday but we did visit her yesterday afternoon and she is hoping to be feeling better so she can come next Sunday. 

Wednesday night Doyle is starting a Bible Study for the adults.  Several have told us they will be here and we are looking forward to this.  I have decided not to have a class for the kids on Wednesday nights until someone is up here to help me with it.  We would be able to break it into at least 2 age groups and the classes would be more effective that way.  Until then...I will enjoy some Adult Fellowship.  

Please continue to help us pray about our transportation...I made 4 trips yesterday morning and 3 last night.  Two ladies drove yesterday morning and one of them got her van stuck in the mud in the parking area.  The lady that is on crutches and comes every week almost got her car stuck in the mud and ended up tearing off the rubber piece under her front bumper.  So along with praying for about our transportation....pray about the gravel for our parking area.   

 We have a Blizzard Warning for Tonight through tomorrow night.  Right now it is raining!   The Lord knows our water lines are frozen and how we need it to warm up and thaw them out.....and we are leaving it all in His hands!!!  He is the Potter and we are the clay...so apparently we need a little more "molding"!!

Love and prayers,   Sis. Sheri

I added a New Album in Picasa titled "March Thaw 2009".  There are some interesting pictures we took this afternoon of one area of the Cannon Ball River that  normally is just about dried up....but as you will be able to see, it is much more than that now.  Snow has begun to melt with the warmer temperatures we've been having.  But big chunks of snow floating down the river are causing Ice Jams which in turn are causing alot of flooding.  The flood waters are within a foot or so of crossing the road in a couple spots and if they do, we will be cut off from going to Bismarck!!

It seems strange that with the warmer weather...our water lines are frozen....but I guess it has taken this long for the ground to freeze to the 4 feet where the lines are only buried that deep.  So today we made our first visit to the laundromat and to the showers at the Truck Stop in Bismarck.   Maybe it won't take the Lines too long to thaw out!!   But then again....they have posted a Blizard watch out for the first part of next week (Monday night and Tuesday I think)!!  

Marie called yesterday and said she and Tex needed a ride to church tomorrow along with her grandaughter and spouse.  Also Arvala was released from the hospital Friday and she is suposed to come tomorrow. (She has already told us that her sister is going to give her a hard time....so please pray for Arvala.)  There are also several other adults that have said they were coming.....so maybe we'll have more adults in the service!!  

While in Bismarck today we went by the hospital to visit Anthony and we able to meet his 12 yr. old son, his mother and his niece.  Anthony has to stay in the hospital another week, but he said as soon as he gets out he is coming to church!!  We invited his mother to come but she didn't say whether she would or not.  Anthony is really "warming" up to Doyle more each time we visit and we're praying that Doyle can help him grow in the Lord and keep him on the right track once he gets home.  It will be a struggle for him because his old friends and unsaved family members will give him a hard time.  Please keep Anthony in your prayers. 

Looking forward to a good day tomorrow.....will keep you posted.......Sis. Sheri

Yeaterday we went back to the hospital and visited Arvala and Anthony.  Arvala is being released Friday and is excited about that.  She said she would be at church Sunday morning.  Pray that the trip home isn't too much for her physically and she will be able to attend.  Anthony was surprised but happy to see us again.  He had been reading the Gideon Bible in his room.  We took him a Bible and when we gave it to him he said "My very own Bible!!"  It was good visit with him and we tried to encourage Him in the Lord.  Our Pastor is sending a Discipleship Course for Anthony to complete which we told him about and he was excited.  The other lady, Dorinto, was still not alert enough to have visitors.

    We woke up this morning to quite a surprise......no water!!!  Both here at the Parsonage and at the church....and that is NOT good news!!!   It means there is a problem between the church and the main source.  I called the Head Start down below us to see if they have water just to make sure that it wasn't a problem with everyone's water...which it wasn't.  So...looks like we have a line frozen.  Bro. Parker said there is one section that they could not bury 7 feet deep because of some rock they could not get through..so it was only 4 feet deep...and he has had to replace it a couple times before....so they (Parker and Doyle) have decided that must be where the problem is.  With that conclusion...looks like we are going to be out of water until the ground thaws.  Right now Doyle has gone to Bismarck to get some Water jugs so we can keep water to wash dishes and flush the toilets.  We will have to go to Bismark for showers and to do the laundry. 

 A part of me wants to just sit down and cry....that's what the devil would like for me to do....get depressed....but I refuse to do that!!  Things are not always going to go smoothly and some day we will look back at this time and think...."That wasn't so bad!!"   The Lord will see us through and will bless during this time....I've heard it said "It's always darkest before the dawn."   Help us pray that the water line doesn't burst...that would present an even larger and very expensive problem!!

Sis. Sheri

I posted a few photos of our "make-up" party along with a couple pics of the Eagle.  The Eagle photo is a little blurry but I posted it anyway.  He was a beautiful sight!!   The party photos are in the New Life Mission Felllowship Album and the Eagle is in North Dakota Wildlife Album.  Hope you enjoy them.

We had our first Choir practice last evening and I had  7 girls here!!  We'll have another one Thursday and I should have an 8th girl (if they all come back).  They seem to be really excited about it...pray that the excitement stays with them.  Our Easter Cantata is titled "I Love You, Lord" and has 9 songs in it.  Most of them are short, but have alot of meaning to them about the Lord Jesus and what he has done for us!! 

Praise the Lord for all he's doing here!!       Sis. Sheri

(If anybody out there wants to help out with the funds to purchase the material for the choir skirts/shirts it would be greatly appreciated...I know the Lord will provide....pray about  it)

We had two really good hospital visit yesterday.  The First visit was to a Lady named Arvala Fourth.  She is the niece of Ms. Angie, the elderly lady that come to church on crutches.  Arvala got saved the first part of Feb. and is supposed to be getting out of the hospital on Friday.  She's been in there since the first of January with some sort of Infection,called Merces, that spreads into the bones which most people don't recover from with the ability to walk.  But she has done very well and can now walk with the help of a walker.  We had a very good visit with her, gave her a Bible, and she is planning on attending church as soon as she gets out. 

Then we visit a man named Anthony Ironroad.  Anthony is the grandson of another elderly lady that has been coming to church on Sundays with Angie.  Anthony had one of his legs amputated from the knee down back in November and I think it must have been infected which was the cause of his hospital visit this time.  He had been reading his Bible and Doyle began talking to him about Salvation.  Anthony said he thought he had been saved before and knew now that he had not been...but he wanted to be saved.  Doyle talked to him and explained what repentance and salvation was and then ask Anthony if he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart.  Anthony said yes.  So Doyle prayed and Anthony prayed and he ask the Lord to save him.  Praise the Lord!!   We aren't sure when he is getting out of the hospital but are going back to visit him again tomorrow.  He lives here in the village and wants to come to church when he gets out. 

The third person was Dorinto Monclaire.  She had just gotten out of ICU and we were unable to visit her.  We found her room but she was still under so much medication she did not know we were even there.  She definitely needs out prayers.  I am told she has Sclerosis of the Liver and from what I could tell from seeing her...it doesn't look very promising for her.  We will try to visit her again tomorrow. 

We had a busy weekend.  On Friday and Saturday we made several visits.  We visited Tex and Marie and they said they were going to start coming back to church soon.  Then we visited Mr. Tomahawk across the road.  His grandchildren had come 2-3 weeks ago.  He works for the road department and he said he would check on getting a price for some gravel for us from the DOT.  We also visited Angie's Mother (she is the girl that I spoke of last week that had run away and was chased by the demons).  Her Mother got out of jail on Tuesday and Angie and her brother are back at home with her now.  Saturday afternoon I had a "Make-up"  party for the girls and had 9 present.  They really had a good time and I enjoyed it.  I took several pictures and will try to post them on picasa tomorrow.  Then 4 of the girls came back and spent the night (Doyle spent the night at the church again).  I had a very good time of devotion with them and we talked about what it means to be born again and how to be saved.  We also talked about Heaven, Hell, Satan and they brought up the subject of Demons and we discussed them at length.  It was really a good devotional time. After the subject of demons, I was able to bring the discussion back to salvation and LaShay asked how somone could be saved so we talked about that again. I did not try to "force" her into praying because she wasn't ready, but I know God is working on her so please keep her in your prayers along with the other girls.

This morning we had 20 in service.  Mr. Tomahawk's 3 granchildren were back again...Praise the Lord!!!  Then this evening we had 12 present which included Angie's Mother and her brother!!!    We all stayed downstairs and Doyle preached a good message from Acts 16 about Salvation.  I know God is working on the hearts of some of these kids that have been coming and we will soon see some of them trust Christ as their Savior.  

I am starting a Childrens Choir.  Our First "Cantata" will be Easter Sunday Morning.  The girls (hard to tell about the boys) seem really excited about it.  I am going to make them all skirts alike and get them shirts to match.  The boys will have pants and shirts to match also.   We are going to practice 2x a week for the next few weeks until Easter.  Please pray that this will be a blessing and the parents/grandparents will cooperate with me as far as the practices go. 

Please help us pray about Gravel for the parking lot.  The snow is beginning to melt and it is already a mess!!  With the snow we had to be think about getting stuck in it...now we're gonna have to think about getting stuck in the mud!!!   We checked with one place in Mandan and it was about $450-500 for 1 load of gravel!!!   Pray that Mr. Tomahawk can get us a better price!!!

Tomorrow we're going to Bismarck to make some hospital visits.  Will  let you know how those go.              Sis. Sheri

Contrary to what we were hoping, March brought us a very cold winter storm with more snow and 2 days of very high winds and extreme wind chills.  We wanted to share some of this with you so I added a new Album to our Picasa website titled "March 2009 Winter Storm".  It is hard to explain just how tall our snow drifts really are, so maybe this will give you an idea.  The snow is really beautiful and it reminds me of the song, "Whiter Than Snow" and God's promise that our black sinful hearts, will become whiter than snow, when we receive Christ as our personal Savior. 

I also have added a "North Dakota Wildlife" album in Picasa. There are 8 photos in it.  I think the Pheasants are beautiful (especially the males) so there are several pictures of them and one photo of a deer.  I hope to be able to add more deer photos and maybe even some of an eagle.  There is one area between here and Mandan that I have seen a huge Bald Eagle flying but both times have not had my camera with me but hopefully I can get a photo of it soon!!  

The New Life Baptist Mission Fellowship Album has 6 new pictures in it.  I took photos of the girls when we had our sleepover.  They really enjoyed that and we plan to have another one real soon.  The boys want Doyle to Camp out with them....but of course that will have to wait for warm weather. 

It is supposed to be in the low 40's on Sunday....what a nice break that would be!!   

But until the warmer weather arrives....I am loving the sight of the beautiful white snow......Sis. Sheri

Contrary to what we were hoping, March brought us a very cold winter storm with more snow and 2 days of very high winds and extreme wind chills.  We wanted to share some of this with you so I added a new Album to our Picasa website titled "March 2009 Winter Storm".  It is hard to explain just how tall our snow drifts really are, so maybe this will give you an idea.  The snow is really beautiful and it reminds me of the song, "Whiter Than Snow" and God's promise that our black sinful hearts, will become whiter than snow, when we receive Christ as our personal Savior. 

I also have added a "North Dakota Wildlife" album in Picasa. There are 8 photos in it.  I think the Pheasants are beautiful (especially the males) so there are several pictures of them and one photo of a deer.  I hope to be able to add more deer photos and maybe even some of an eagle.  There is one area between here and Mandan that I have seen a huge Bald Eagle flying but both times have not had my camera with me but hopefully I can get a photo of it soon!!  

The New Life Baptist Mission Fellowship Album has 6 new pictures in it.  I took photos of the girls when we had out sleepover.  They really enjoyed that and we plan to have another one real soon.  The boys want Doyle to have Camp out with them....but of course that will have to wait for warm weather. 

It is supposed to be in the low 40's on Sunday....what a nice break that would be!!   

But until the warmer weather arrives....I am loving the sight of the beautiful white snow......Sis. Sheri

We had another good weekend with 14 in the morning service and 10 in the evening service.  There is an 8 yr. old girl that comes whose name is Angie that we would like for you to remember in prayer.  Her mother is in jail right now for Child neglect and she and her older brother are under DCS and in a home.  Saturday they ran away and were picked up by the police and taken back to that home.  She told us that when she was running away that these "little men about 1 1/2 feet high with little hats on" were chasing her.  They wanted her to stop and talk with them.  She ran to her grandmothers house and stood by the door that had a little cross on it and the little men left.  Now you may think this is some fabricated story...but this is very common up here and not the first time we have heard of these "little men".  They like to let you invite them in so they can possess you and control you (even the Indians admit they are demons!!) because the Indians worship many different spirits.   Today we are going to visit a man in the hospital that had a stroke Saturday night because he said he saw a ghost....his little 3 year granddaughter walked into his room and they heard her saying "Get out of here, leave my grandpa alone" and when they went into the room, no one was there.....and right after that the older guy got sick and had the stroke.   We request your prayers as we try to tell them about Jesus Christ....he is the only one that can set them free from all these demonic spirits. 

Love and Prayers,   Sis. Sheri