MAY AND JUNE NEWSLETTER
“He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day.”
May and June 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
It seems that every time I turn around, I am turning a calendar page. I was told when I was younger that time speeds up when you are older, and I do think that is the case. We hope that this letter finds you well and that you will soon be enjoying a wonderful summer. Summer is my favorite season, particularly after a long cold winter.
At the end of April, I took a group of kids to the Bismarck Youth Rally. It is always a lot of fun for me.
We are busy planning our 15th annual Dickinson campout, which will be in August. Working with youth, is always a rewarding job. Dean continues to keep busy preaching and teaching. He is doing a study through the Old Testament, which has been quite interesting!
It has been an extremely eventful few weeks, with highs and lows. Both Mindy and Steven ended up at the hospital with Mindy having a kidney infection and Steven a bad viral infection. At least it wasn’t the same week. Steven was glad though, as he had just finished his classes.
Steven had a whirlwind of a month, with finishing classes, and then graduation. We were fortunate to go down. I went down a couple of days before Dean, Mindy and Dean’s mom drove down that Friday. Ian couldn’t get off because of work–driving truck in the oil field. Unfortunately, right before the ceremony started, we received word that our dog of 13 years, Belle, was found dead. Lyn (a teacher from school, who works with Dean) called. It was a very sad time, but we were so grateful to Lyn as she took care of things while we were gone. We didn’t tell Steven until later that day. It was his big day. Dean, Mindy and Dean’s mom had to leave on Sunday, and it was so hard on each of us that first time we walked into the door at home. Belle had been the dog that was always there when the kids were sick. It has been so hard. Mindy and Ian have been letting us “borrow” Dudley, their dog, and this has been a huge help. It will be hard to give him back, but he is a funny dog, so has been good to fill the gap. He and Duchess (Dean’s hunting dog) love to play tug of war.
I was able to stay a few extra days in Omaha. I had a conference in Washington DC, so just flew from Omaha to there. Steven and I had a great time, I think we must have walked a thousand miles. I had flown to Omaha on the Thursday before his graduation, and while changing planes in Denver fell off the steps of the small aircraft, and my face landed smack down on the tarmac. Fortunately, I only had a bruise on my chin, but didn’t think too much about it, as I had just a few minutes to catch my plane to Omaha, but as I was running, my wrist started throbbing. I thought I must have sprained it….so when I landed in Omaha, made a dash to a Walgreens to get a wrist brace. Didn’t want to go to the ER there as it is so expensive, and it would take hours…anyway after 5 days, and it not getting better, I went to a walk-in clinic, and it is broken in two places…which does explain the pain. HA! It was too swollen to cast, and I had to fly to DC the next morning, so they splinted it, and I was to see a Dr. in ND when I returned. Well lesson learned….metal braces will set off the screening alarms…anyway…I finally got to ND 10 days after my injury, and went to the ER in Bismarck when I landed, because I had hurt it again from lifting the luggage. Hopefully it will heal soon. Unfortunately, I have to travel to New Mexico this next week…So could be interesting!!!! When people ask how I broke my wrist, I just say…I fell off a plane! My family just laughs,as nothing surprises them!
Steven has been trying for months and months to break into the journalism industry. With the recession, massive layoffs, and four times the usual amount of applicants for reporting positions, the field seemed nearly impossible to start in as a recent graduate. Steven decided he would apply to be a server at a downtown restaurant in Omaha to make an income while he continued looking for reporting jobs. He applied to many places, and one told him he was OVER qualified, but he keeps on applying… It was May 20th, and he took yet another application to a restaurant 2 blocks from his appartment, and they hired him right then. He was so excited, and then a very short time later he got a call that he got a part time writing position for an online Nebraska magazine called Nebraska Entrepreneur. Needless to say, he was sooo excited, and so were we. It is his foot in the door for journalism. The magazine is an online publication that writes features about independent businesses in Nebraska. He will write 6-8 articles a month but has the potential to write up 15. The magazine is in Lincoln, but he can work from Omaha. He will also keep the server job. He really wanted to stay in Omaha for now as he is established with the church and all, and didn’t have to pay to move anywhere. As with any job, you need experience to apply, but it is hard to get experience if no one will hire you. I was able to keep him under our insurance policy, which costs about $410 a month. Hopefully down the road, he can get a job with benefits, but at this time, we are grateful he has work!
Speaking of work, if any of you are in need of work…oil is booming crazily here in North Dakota. It is really changing things in our state. It has good impact, but the hard side is that other industry can’t keep up with the cost increases due to the oil. Apartments are pretty costly, as well as becoming scarce. Regular jobs are available everywhere, but are having a hard time having comparable salary. It sounds like this boom is going to last anywhere from 20-40 years! So we would be happy to have you here! Ian works 4 days on and 2 days off…but they are really long days. Some work 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off.
Well, we hope that you are doing well. Know that you are in our thoughts and in our many prayers. We hope that your vacation plans include Dickinson :). God watch over you and keep you safe in His care!
Love and Prayers,
Dean and Sherry
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