keeping it real

What a big week.  With four undergrad classes and two master's classes being taught at the same time, all the first week of school, it's been HOPPING.

We kicked it off Sunday with a great service at Belony's church.  Ben looks like he's 2 years old here to me...goodness.  NO MORE church clothes for this boy!!  He slept through 90% of church except for the loudest of the music parts, and Matt preached a great sermon on simply being FAITHFUL from 1 Samuel about the life of Hannah. It was so good to be in church, and we had Rick and Carol, Mark and Marybeth, Rob and Lori all with us, so it was a full morning!

If Sofie's not holding Ben, she's wishing she was, so expect more storm-cloud pictures :)

The road's been washed out since hurricane season last year with still no repairs, so Belo's is now a bit of a walk, too!

Monday morning, Matt was up to preach first and preached 1 Samuel again but from a totally different perspective for our Christian leaders...it was a great way to start the year and it was just GOOD to be back in chapel!

Dr. Paul, who was here last week teaching for Indiana Wesleyan University, and his class, five of whom are senior staff members here at Emmaus, and the rest of whom are 90% alumni...it's a great class and we were so glad to have Dr. Paul!

Belony's wife, Angeline, missed EBS Family day, so she was excited for a family pictures with Benny-boy, too :)  Please be praying for this dear family, who are truly in the trenches of ministry with all it's small advancements and continual discouragements.  We are grateful to say and know and find Belony faithful again and again and always full of the hope he finds in Christ.  Ministering and living in Flavil has many challenges, and he shares and lives the Word with passion and faithfulness. So grateful to pray for him, to worship with him Sunday, and to have him on staff here at EBS.

Meanwhile, our undergrad classes can't use the library until after 6 pm every day because the master's class is too big to meet in a classroom...SO THANKFUL in the midst of this problem to hear forms being built and gravel being shoveled and see pours being set up on the NEW classroom building. We needed it when we started funding for it and we need it now more than ever!  

Meanwhile, pray for our girlies as their precious kitty has to be put down today.  He's been suffering for quite a long time ago with some kind of nasty flesh eating something, with us trying lots of things and consulting lots of people and nothing working.  It's beyond time to put him down (which you have to be a lot more actively involved in here than taking him to the vet at home), but Lily is just beside herself over her beloved Caspian.  

She has already written her speech for his service this evening with an awful lot of tears and with many hints towards the Pledge of Allegiance, which she learned last week :) 

These are a few hairs from Caspian, who died on Wednesday the 22nd of August, 2018.  Our most honored cat was put to sleep by a good friend while we were gone at prayer meeting, and his mother, Lily Sue Ayars, is very sad from this day on, and he is buried on the EBS campus. 

I pledge allegiance to the cat of the Ayars family and as the mother of honored Caspian, for which he stands one cat, under God, very loved, with love and honor from all.

Oh dear girl.  Thank you for your prayers for her heart (and for her father's, too, who this cat has particularly loved.)