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ForTheMastersUse
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Name: Ruth
Gender: Female
Interests: I love my husband and enjoy keeping house for him and cooking good meals. Enjoy spending time with my children and grandchildren ... they all moved away so I don't get to do it very often. Reading good books and magazines; sewing ... by hand or machine, embroidery, quilting,crocheting, making clothing and purses; anything to do with nature ... birdwatching, flowers; visiting with friends and relatives; playing games and working puzzles; lending a helping hand; and becoming more Christlike and aware of the needs of people around me and learn how I can help meet some of those needs.
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Member Since:
5/25/2006
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Albino Deer Retreating to the Woods We had a rainy weekend for our Church camp-out, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Instead of playing soft ball and volley ball, we played all kinds of table games. On Saturday afternoon, we divided up into 3 teams and played charades. That was a lot of fun. We acted out such Bible stories as Peter walking on the water, Jonah running away from God, Nehemiah rebuilding the walls, Esther going before the king, and the bears destroying the children who were making fun of the bald prophet. Some of the time the other teams guessed the story before we even had time to act it out, which was a little disappointing, since we were all primed to act out the story ... as in one of our stories, the bears never had a chance to tear into the children. Carson and I had a cozy little cabin, which we enjoyed very much. 
We did a lot of resting and reading. It was too wet to spend much time on the deck overlooking the Staunton River. On Saturday morning we got up early and went for a walk to see if we could see the albino deer which regularly frequents the park. We walked just a short way and were disappointed when we came in sight of the field where he is often seen, but there were no deer in sight. Suddenly, way in the distance, a deer came out of the woods and ran across the road, and then another, and another. The little one ran and frolicked near the woods while his mother calmly grazed. Then we noticed a white deer emerge from the woods on the other side of the road and started across the field while a second deer appeared at the edge of the woods. Suddenly the albino deer stopped and studied us. We tried to hold very still so as not to scare him, but he soon started back toward the woods. I decided that if I was to get a picture of him, I would have to do it quickly. I had to use the 4 X zoom to get him, so it isn't very clear. I marveled at how totally white he was, and I think the picture does show that. We had three meals together, and we only had to help with one meal. For Saturday supper our group served soup, sandwiches, chips and dessert. Betsy fixed Cheeseburger soup, Beth fixed Chili, and I fixed Chicken corn soup. It was just the thing to serve on a wet cool evening. Our shelter had a fireplace at each end, and with a good fire going in each, we were nice and cozy. On Saturday night, while the others sang around the campfire, we drove about 10 miles through the rain to the Ebenezer Mennonite Church where the Mountain Anthems were giving a program. We hadn't heard them for many years, and we enjoyed that immensely. We had to be out of our cabin by 10 a.m. on Sunday, so while I packed things together, Carson carried them out to the car. Our church service started at 10:30, with the youth in charge of the worship service. After a lunch of barbecue sandwiches and several kinds of salads ... potato, pasta, and carrot, with ice cream for dessert, it was time to head home. By the time Carson drove home and unpacked the car, he was exhausted. I'm not sure if he enjoyed the experience quite as much as I did. | | |
|  We have quite a few deer in our area, and I love to watch them. Several months ago, a mother and her twin fawns started coming around. The fawns were quite shy and would hang around near the edge of the woods, sometimes dancing around playfully, while the mother would graze in our yard. The garden had an electric fence around it, so she couldn’t get to our vegetables. After the apple tree started dropping apples, they became regular customers. About a month ago, the twins showed up without their mother. They appeared to be rather apprehensive, eating some apples and then wandering around, all the while staring nervously across the busy road which was at a distance. All at once they took off running across the neighbor’s yard, making a bee-line for the road. They pulled up, nervously before they reached the road, and as they stood there, several cars and trucks rushed past. The fawns turned and disappeared into the woods on the far side of the neighbors yard. As we were coming home from church the next day, we noticed a rather large area of blood on the road just up from our place, possibly the result of a deer/car collision. The fawns continued to visit only sporadically for several weeks. As we drove up the road on our way to church one Wednesday evening, we noticed a very small deer laying beside the road. We didn’t see any deer for about a week, and then one day, one fawn showed up by itself. It seemed so sad and nervous. Finally it started coming around about every two days, then every day, and today it showed up at least four times. When Carson went out on the deck this morning, it ran away. Then a little later, while Carson was still on the deck, it walked up to the apple tree and started eating, but watching Carson all the while. He seemed much more at ease this afternoon, probably spending as much as an hour eating apples and grazing on some tall grass, then he meandered over to the neighbors apple tree and grazing around some out buildings, before disappearing into the woods. Maybe he’s adopting us. I hope so, because I’ve been praying for him. Does God care about a poor orphan fawn? If he cares about a sparrow, as the Bible says, I’m sure he cares about my little deer. I wish there was something more that I could do for him.   I wish I had better photos. They are too far away for my camera,
but if I get any closer, the deer run away. They still have their spots. | | |
| We're leaving at noon on the first leg of our chorus tour. Friday night we'll be at Goshen Mennonite at Latonsville, Saturday night we'll be at Crossroads Mennonite at Richfield, Sunday morning at Womelsdorf Mennonite at Womelsdorf, and Sunday evening we'll have a short program at Blue Ridge Christian Fellowship near Aroda. Walter Beachy is speaking at Blue Ridge on Sunday, and we'll sing before he speaks in the evening. So, if you're anywhere in the area, come on over and say, 'HI.' Last night we had our final practice, so we invited friends and family to come listen. We were surprised to have the church pretty well filled. Carson is going along on the tour, so he didn't go over. He wasn't sure if he should go along since he isn't singing, but he can chaperon. Martin Layman is our director. He comes from a very musical family of singers. He married a beautiful singer, and they have 3 sons with beautiful voices. Their middle son, Nathan, eleven years old, sang a solo at church several weeks ago, and did a terrific job. Our chorus is made up of 30 + people from at least five different churches, and the ages range from 15 up to grandparents. Pray for our safety on the highway, and pray that we will be a blessing and an encouragement to others. We want to bring honor and praise to God. Till next time. Ruth | | |
| We've had a busy week ... in fact, the last two weeks. But it was a good busyness, just tiring for these old bodies. It started out with special meetings at our church, from Wednesday to Sunday, with Brother Phil Hollinger from Pennsylvania. We enjoyed meeting him and appreciated his messages. He brought his wife and two younger sons. His parents and his two older sons joined them on Friday night. Phil has two sisters who are part of our church family, so it was a nice reunion for them. We had Monday evening to rest up. On Tuesday evening, we went to Woodland, our local nursing home, and met with some of our neighbors from the Trinity Mennonite Church to sing for the residents. On Wednesday evening was prayer meeting, and on Thursday evening was the much anticipated evening with Eduard Klassen and his Paraguayan Harp. It was an absolutely enjoyable and worshipful experience. It was hard to believe that he could get that much music from one instrument. Between the musical selections, she shared about his life, and how a missionary came to his remote village in Paraguay and explained to them the way of salvation, and what a change that brought into his life. We were truly blest to be there. I almost forgot that we were supposed to have chorus practice on Friday evening, but when Carson prayed before supper, he asked the Lord to protect me as I drove to chorus practice. So I had to quickly clean up the kitchen before heading out the door. We usually practice twice a month on Thursday evening, but we are preparing for a tour to Pennsylvania early in May, so we have had to shift to weekly practices to get ready. We are learning some beautiful songs, and its really a challenge and a thrill. God has blessed us with so many beautiful songs with which to praise Him. We were to church this morning. Quite a few of our people were gone, but we also had some visitors. The attendance for Sunday School was sixty-one. On the way home from church, we quite often take a map along, and go exploring the back roads so that we are more familiar with our new community. Today, we didn't have a map along, but there are quite a few dead end roads along route 15, so we explored them today. After we got home I quickly warmed up the poor man's steak, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables, and for dessert some chocolate pudding dessert. We didn't have church this evening, so we rested, and watched the wildlife outside our door as we read.
... Of course, the clock has kept on ticking, so it is now early Monday morning. God bless! Ruth | | |
| Eduard Klassen Harpist & Speaker with his Paraguayan Folk Harp In Concert on Thursday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at the Oak Hill Mennonite Church Cumberland Virginia visit his site at www.eduardklassen.com I've heard that he is very good. If anyone would like to come and needs directions, let me know. | | |
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