Lately I have been working on a number of new testimonial videos of people who have read and used some of our Bible study materials. Here is one from Jolene, a young mother who has been able to share her faith with many of her friends.
One of the things we had talked about this past winter was our desire to make some memories with the kids by going camping in the summer. Then we totally forgot about it until mid June. Of course, with frost warnings well into June, we didn’t miss any camping opportunities. I was reminded several weeks ago by some friends who suggested we go camping together with the kids, and that immediately triggered lots of research and a few expensive shopping trips. So I now give to you, our first camping experience:
We told Ellie and Adelaine that we were going to be camping soon and that Daddy was going to buy a tent. Ellie instantly started talking about the toys to pack and what we were going to do. All week she talked about camping and when some friends came over to play they pretended to be camping in our tiny hallway, with books, blankets and pillows strewn about. When Friday rolled around, we started our great outdoor adventure… 15 feet from the house. Back yards are great places to discover what you forgot or if your tent leaks (it didn’t rain, so we still don’t really know). And if the kids get cold or scared, the house is right there.
After the setting up the tent we had a quick supper that was cooked on our new camp stove, showed the girls how to cook and eat roasted marshmallows. I think the girls got to bed in the tent around 11:00 PM, three hours past their usual bed time.
Roughing it in the great outdoors.
In the morning the temperature had dropped to 12C and the girls had retreated inside their sleeping bags. You can just make out the tops of their heads here. Ellie actually woke up at six AM and when I looked over the little divider sheet she was staring around the tent with big eyes and a big silly grin, obviously thrilled to be in a tent. Surprisingly, she went back to sleep when I told her it was too early to be up. Unfortunately, I had been up for three hours by that point. The sun comes up really early this far north… by 3:00 AM it was already getting bright.
Eight o’clock and time for breakfast.
Ethan joined us outside (he stayed inside all night and we listened in with a baby monitor).
The happy camper.
That night I stayed out with the girls again, but this time Naomi slept in the house as she wanted a better nights sleep. I also slept much better that time. The eye shades and ear plugs probably helped. Our first camping adventure over, and we are looking forward to the next one.
A young Naomi and her grandfather.
Floyd Ratcliff: April 11, 1917 – July 11, 2009. Floyd was predeceased by his wife, Doris, by three weeks and three days. They are now together again.
My Grandpa:
While most of my life I lived far away from my grandparents, my memories of my times with them are sweet and full of happy moments. I have memories of grandpa turning out all sorts of wooden creations in his shop in Stouffville. I remember playing Crokinole with him and watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with him and grandma in the den. I remember they would take us to Swiss Chalet and buys us Shirley Temples and Toblerones as treats. Grandpa spent months creating a home in his basement so that my family could live there with them while on deputation before heading overseas. More recently, I am reminded of how he and grandma faithfully prayed and supported me and my husband as we have served in full-time ministry.
My grandpa was gentle, kind, godly, generous, hard-working, a great craftsman, and many other things. I desire all these characteristics to be true in my life and in the lives of my three children.
The greatest legacy of my grandpa, I believe, will be his faithful, godly life. My grandparents raised three children, all of whom continued the legacy through their commitments to serving God in the pastorate, on the mission field and in their communities. His children – Janice, my mother, and my Aunty Lou and Uncle Mal – lived in turn, lives of dedication to the Lord before myself and my cousins. And now we grandchildren are all walking with the Lord, desirous of passing on this heritage to our children and to the world around us. Even all of the great-grandchildren that are of an age to understand the Gospel have chosen to trust Christ as their Savior.
This is an unusual situation in these days: to have an extended family such as ours, in which every member is a believer and is committed to serving the Lord. It is an incredible heritage and it says much about both my grandparents, Floyd and Doris Ratcliff.
It was an amazing, bittersweet moment when, on May 28, 2009, I had the opportunity to talk about my grandpa to my four-year old daughter, Ellie. I explained to her that he would be going to Heaven soon. This led to a conversation about how one can get to Heaven. I explained that when Grandpa was young, he realized that he couldn’t go to Heaven by just being good. He was a sinner. But he also realized that Jesus had died on the cross in his place for his sins. He knew that if he simply trusted in that fact and relied on Christ’s provision for him, then someday, when he grew old and died, he would go to Heaven. Ellie expressed a desire to go to Heaven someday too. That day, while saddened to hear the news of my grandpa’s soon passing, I was able to rejoice as I listened to my daughter express belief in her Savior.
Ellie only met her great-grandpa as a baby and won’t have any of her own memories of him in this lifetime. Yet because his faithful life spilled over into other lives, she will meet and walk and talk with him at a later date, in Heaven.
And this, I think, is the legacy my grandpa would desire to leave above any other.
Floyd looking at photos of his newest grandchild, Ellie.
This has become a familiar sight for me this past year or so. When the van was in the shop a couple months ago to get the winter tires off they pointed out to me that all four of my summer tires were different makes. I told them its because I keep replacing tires and nobody has the same ones in stock. I think I have now replaced 5 tires since moving to Alberta. It makes me wonder if the local tire shops are driving around the country roads dropping nails..