Newsletter

Hi Everyone!                                                            August 1, 2024
The thought of being in August used to put chills up my spine because I knew school was starting soon. I absolutely loved my job as a kindergarten teacher but I didn’t love August because of all the work I had ahead of me getting my classroom ready. Working with new kids was great but the starting over was challenging for sure. Let’s keep kids and teachers in our prayers this month. (and always)
We are ready for our School Supply Fair which will be this Saturday morning. The shopping is finished and as always you came through with the money. Thanks to many people, the items are organized and in the classrooms. We seriously are so grateful for all of the help you always provide! If you are bringing cookies and/or volunteering, please arrive at the church no later than 9:00. The doors will open at 10:00 and we feel better about the way we are handling the crowds this year. If you have a church shirt, wear it but if you don’t, it’s fine. Let’s do this thing!
We have a wagon at church that is used a lot but it has an ongoing problem of always having flat tires. I’m reaching out to you to see if anyone has expertise with tires and can offer advice or even taking it away and fixing it for good if that’s an option. Please let me know if you are this person!
Glenora received great news that she has a new great granddaughter. Sophie Marie was born on Tuesday and mom and baby are fine. I saw pictures and Sophie is perfect! Congrats to Glenora.
The United Methodist Men will not have their monthly meeting in August.
I have some bittersweet news about someone very important to us. Our own James Boesch has accepted a position with Nampa UMC as their Music Director. He will be worshipping in Nampa now. His last Sunday with us will be August 11th. I appreciate what James has brought to our church and will miss him. He will continue to be our “go to” for social media and tech issues and will help with special events. Please let James know how much we appreciate him before he leaves!
There will be no Monday Afternoon Coffee With the Pastor this coming Monday, August 5th. It will resume next week. 
We have some prayer requests this week. There was a tragedy on our golf course last week. Linda Brown was stung repeatedly, was life flighted to Boise and passed away. Many of our folks knew Linda and golfed with her. Please keep her husband Gary and family along with her friends in your prayers. Our church will be hosting her funeral on Friday at 4:00 p.m.
Heidi Kittlemann Clarke’s brother-in-law Jake passed away suddenly in his home last week. He was only 41 years old. He had diabetes and it is thought that it contributed to his death. Please pray for Heidi, her husband Ben and girls along with Jake’s whole family.
Continue to pray for fire fighters and everyone affected by wildfires. Glenora’s ranch was severely affected in many ways along with many others. They are making good progress on our fires but now California is ablaze and we are getting smoke from there. We could sure use some rain around here!
We heard from Deanna Carr that John Sandquist is doing okay after his knee replacement. She reports that he and Jeanie are in good spirits but that he is still in quite a bit of pain. Keep the prayers coming!
Mari Lynn Ogburn asked us to pray for a friend of hers who is having cataract surgery soon. This friend is 82 and asked us to pray for them.
I have a special request for prayer for a family friend. Years ago, I asked for prayer for Lexi whose kidney was failing. Her dad was a perfect match and all was well until it wasn’t. She received another kidney and now it is failing. She is currently in an induced coma in ICU and they are trying to find her another kidney or put her on permanent dialysis. She is 18 years old. Please pray for Lexi, her mom Lori, her dad Matthew and brother Nathan.
Karen Sagehorn asks us to pray for her friend Linda and husband who are getting ready to evacuate their home due to severe fire danger only seven miles from their home in Colorado. Pray for safety for them, their property and the firefighters as they protect lives.
Continue to pray for the Taylor family, Irene Jeffries, Lis Williamson, Doris, Jana and Julie, Grace Hammon, Mark Hershey, Peyton, Anne DeBord, Noah Howard, Jerry Hall and Clarity Farmer.
I won’t do this the justice it deserves but I’ll give it a try. In her sermon last Sunday, our pastor said we should view our lives like a cluttered attic. We should declutter it. Clean out the things we don’t need so we can make room for love and focus on what should be there. Are there things that clutter my mind and soul that just need to be thrown out? You bet there are. I plan to work on that.
Have a great rest of your week and we hope to see you on Sunday!
Blessings,
Cris