Several of Our Kids Enjoyed a Week of Church Camp This Summer
Summer is here and it has been busy! We started off with a couple of slow weeks right after school ended and then jumped right into work groups. We enjoyed visiting with each church group and seeing so many of you in person! It always fills my heart with joy to connect and share stories with new friends and friends of old. We may end each week physically fatigued, but we are satiated spiritually seeing the body of Christ in action week after week serving the Lord and loving on our families.
June looked a little different this year as we had a free week between the first two work groups. We used that time to head to Kentucky and visit the
Ark Encounter and Creation Museum. It was a fun-filled adventure creating memories with the kids. Everyone loved the animals at the Ark and enjoyed the unique gardens and plants at the Creation Museum. The “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made” exhibit was phenomenal in instilling a sense of awe for God’s loving design of each of us. It was an amazing experience to see Biblical accounts brought to life in various ways. Our final evening there was one we won’t forget, as the tornado sirens went off at midnight. We took shelter in the basement until after 1 a.m., when the worst of the storms had passed and we were safe to go back to bed. We are immeasurably grateful for your support that enables us to go on family trips and enjoy such fun and meaningful outings with the kids!
Several of our kids enjoyed a week of church camp this summer. It’s very convenient to have camp right next door, so the high school kids could come home and share a few meals with work groups and not miss out on seeing many friends from Broadway and Dover churches. Camp is a huge privilege, so while not everyone was able to go this year, those who went had a blast, and those who couldn’t go have a good goal to work towards for next summer.
Emerie is the newest member of our family. She joined us at the start of June, and although she was very quiet at first, she has been coming out of her shell more each day. She loves the kittens and cats and helping with the chickens and collecting eggs. She also enjoys drawing and crafting. Emerie celebrated her 12th birthday with us in July.
We also celebrated Emmalee’s 14th birthday in July. She has been filling her summer days with lots of crochet projects. It has been so fun watching her learn and seeing what she creates. Hope, Riley, and Emerie have joined Emmalee in learning to crochet, and our living room is often overtaken by yarn! Emmalee got in an extra week at camp as she volunteered as a camp counselor for one week and had a great time.
Evie has added a few more animal responsibilities this summer, as she adopted a couple of goldfish and a snail from the Kolars’ house. She was thrilled to get the tank set up in her room, along with the possibility of adding a few more fishy friends in the future. Evie also enjoyed getting to watch a few World Cup soccer games this summer. She is a huge soccer fan. Another new experience for Evie was getting braces put on. She was nervous, but did great!
Hope has stayed busy this summer with animal chores, camp, NYR, and the start of job searching. She is looking forward to earning money to save up for a future vehicle. Hope has done an awesome job helping me meal prep for work groups this year. The girls also received a horse saddle this summer that Hope and Emmalee worked hard on cleaning up and conditioning the leather. They are all very excited at the prospect of Shiloh getting a horse again!
Riley has also been a big help in the kitchen this summer with lots of vegetable chopping. Her most recent crochet project was making a stingray. She is looking forward to getting her sewing machine out and working on a cow-print pillowcase. One of her favorite adventures is frog-gigging. Brian took the girls one night and the boys another night. All in all, they harvested 10 enormous frogs to go along with our next fish fry.
Reese has spent his summer so far helping Brian during work groups, playing basketball, shooting bows, and getting in some time riding bikes. Mr. Stark took him and a few other boys to ride trails in Quincy, as he completed a goal they set during the school year. He is really looking forward to his 14th birthday in August and has been planning his cake and meal choices for a while now!
Ronnie continues to care for his growing bearded dragon, Catfish. He has done quite a bit of reading this summer, as well as bike riding, fishing, and playing on the huge dirt hills with Paxton and Kendall. His favorite animal from our family trip to Creation Museum was a gray parrot that laughed.
Paxton loved his first time ever at summer camp and cannot wait to go back again next year. He’s been making more friends at church and is looking forward to the upcoming week of VBS. Paxton is always on the go — riding bikes, playing with Kendall, roller skating, digging in the dirt, fishing, and swimming. He is a ball of energy!
Hunter has filled his time this summer volunteering at camp as a counselor and leading worship for a couple of weeks, attending NYR, gaining more construction skills during work groups, fishing with friends, and starting a side venture of lawn mowing/property upkeep with Ethan. He is looking forward to his senior year of school and launching into adulthood.
Our immediate family traveled back to Mattoon at the end of work groups to celebrate the life of our dear friend, Bill Witsman after his recent passing. He played an integral part in our journey to Shiloh, and we are the better for having known him. Bill devoted much of his time to pouring into the next generation, and he wanted others to know how invaluable it is that we continue to invest in the next generation.
Brian and I pray that we are investing well into each of our children so that they know and love the Lord and, from there, submit their whole lives to Him. You may never know the impact you have on someone’s life, but faithfully following the Lord and pouring into the next generation is always worth it. Please continue to pray for us to have wisdom as parents, to invest well into each child God has entrusted us with, and to proclaim God’s truth with love and gentleness every day that He gives us.
To God be all the glory, Brian and Hannah Ellermets