Ministry of work!

The title to this page is not a sarcastic remark however we did ministry by working at the Hawaiian Gardens Way Out Ministries in Hawaiian Gardens, CA this past week. A group of 7 people came from Central Reformed Church in Sioux Center on Saturday night and joined us Sunday morning at the Way Out Ministry. We began by all having breakfast at our RV and then we attended the Gathering, as their service is called. We did our share of eating throughout the week but we were totally aware that the object of the mission was what was spelled out in bold letters on a sign that hung on the outside of the Way Out building. Way Out's mission is to show the love of Christ and how it impacts lives in spite of the fact that the people live in an area that has more then it's share of opposition to the gospel. Still the staff of Way Out are bold in sharing the gospel and in making a difference in the lives of people of all ages. As I mentioned last time they run an accredited school for grades 7-12 but the programs offered are for all ages. The positive message of the Bible is sometimes difficult for people to believe when one lives in the shadow of lawlessness so the sign is significance in that it "shouts" out to the people that God does love their city.
Barry and Tarryl Bruce started this ministry about 20 years ago. The school was started 8 years ago. The small sanctuary they have had the last few years was getting too small so a group came the week before we came and took a wall out in preparation of adding the extra room to the sanctuary and our job was to do the finishing work like mudding, sanding, painting, finish a utility room, improve a sound room, replace ceiling tiles, clean carpet and clean and clean after the dust had settled all over the place. Yes, some areas were covered with a plastic drape but sanding dust seeps in all over the place. We worked hard but it was so fulfilling to know we were making worship more accessible with the additional space and the other rooms we worked on would make preparation and maintenance more "enjoyable" because of the improvements.

The two ladies in the picture are the office staff. They not only do office work but act as nurses when students have health concerns, they welcome everyone who comes through the door with a smile and a warm welcome and they even teach some classes. Tarryl's mother, Beverly, opened her home for the Central group to stay. Her house is big and nice and has a pool in the back yard which was really welcoming to the group after a hard day's work. Beverly also taught some classes.

Another family member contributed by adding music to each worship service as well as going out with his band to witness in various places. Ryan, Barry's son, was the musician and sang and played the Sunday we were in their Gathering. He is the one on the right. He and his wife are both active in various other areas of the Ministry. Two daughters of Barry and Terryl are also involved in some way. Terryl is also the Principal of the school and very good at "going to bat" for those who encounter "problems" in the community.

The day we left Hawaiian Gardens they were setting up for a community open house called SI SE PUEDE. Wilmer and I are pictured under the sign which announced to the community the special day. Wilmer was responsible for designing and constructing the framework on which the sign hung so we took special "ownership" in it. For SI SE PUEDE they had ministry tables, entertainment areas, (does a dunking booth qualify for entertainment?) vendors such as Starbucks, facials, etc., food, free clothing, Ryan's music (can you image he was singing about Blue Suede Shoes, just our song as Dad wore such shoes when we got married), etc. We would have liked to stay for the entire day but we had to leave as the group from Sioux Center had a plane to catch and we had to get out of the parking lot so booths and cars could park in the parking lot. Getting out of the lot with the RV wasn't as difficult as getting parked in it a week earlier but it still drew a lot of attention. We pray the day brought lots of people and many seeds were planted in the hearts of those who attended. That, after all, was the reason for the day, for Way Out Ministries and for our being there for a week. The people were very open to us and we had opportunities to share why we wanted to be at Hawaiian Gardens for a week.

I will admit, our bodies did rebel a little because of all the physical work but it was worth it to see the smiles and kind words given to us as we left.

Today we again went to URC with Gary and then Gary, MariaElena, Andrew, Hannah and Renee came over for lunch. Andrew leaves for his Air Force training July 21 so we were really glad we had the opportunity to spend time with him.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of you as you experience the joys and challenges which each day brings.

God is good, we are Blessed!

Love you all,

Mom and Dad, Wilmer and Marilyn

What Fun!

This week we had the privilege of spending some evenings with Gary and MarieAlena again. On Wednesday Andrew, Hannah and Lucy joined us for the evening. Andrew is leaving for the Air Force in 4 weeks so it was good to talk to him. We hadn't seen Lucy, Gary's granddaughter, for a year so she had really grown up. She will be 2 in Aug. She does love her grandpa. Hannah, MariaElena and I had fun shopping at Home Goods, a unique store with prices even a Dutchman can appreciate. Hannah was a help in picking out the couple things I wanted/needed. We had a good "girl" time. On Friday night we celebrated Gary and my birthdays and Andrew and Hannah came too. The picture is of their house. MarieAlena loves flowers and has been busy putting out many different kinds in front and backyard. They are beautiful.
We spent one day viewing and walking on the beaches. We were at Newport and Huntington Beach and also several others. The weather here has just been amazing perfect. It sprinkles a few drops occasionally but the temp is just right. The ocean was just right for surfers and that was fun to watch. And, of course, having a new camera I had to try out the 24X zoom. It is all I had hoped it would be and could take non-blurry pictures of ships way far out.

We also spent time at El Dorado Park Church. It is the church Brian and Donna attended and Brian worked at when he was at Fuller Seminary. The church is very attractive but the picture fails to show how beautiful the grounds are. Four retired men spend every weekday morning tending to the many flower beds and other landscaping spots. The roses were beautiful but so are all the other types of flowers.

While Brian was at this church Barry Bruce also was at the church. Soon after that Barry and his wife decided to start a mission in Hawaiian Gardens which has a different address than El Dorado Park Church but is basically just a block down the road. Barry's ministry is called "Way Out" and it is an outreach to the mostly Hispanic people of Hawaiian Gardens. They now have a church, a school for 7-12 grade and many other ministries in the area. They had the 12th grade graduation ceremony on Thursday night which we attended. It was held in the Japanese Gardens at a University near here. The gardens had the unique characteristic only a Japanese garden has. I got shutter happy and took a lot of pictures of the gardens. Only 4 students graduated but there were quite a few people there. They had chairs scattered around the pool and the graduates marched across a little bridge to get their diplomas. It was impressive. No Japanese Garden pool would be complete without a lot of colorful fish and this one was no exception. Don't know just how the background got to look like this because it wasn't that full of fish but it must be the reflections through the water.

Saturday we moved the RV from Anaheim to our new spot for the week, the parking lot in back of the Way Out church. The parking lot is fenced and gated for safety which is great but it made parking rather tense. I think Wilmer lost sleep trying to imagine how he was going to maneuver the RV into the gate and still not be in the middle of the parking lot. Well it was with a little sweat and tension but he did do a terrific job and did turns and maneuvers with the pickup and RV that he nor I had ever seen before. Yes, where there is a will there is a way. Just glad the RV wasn't 2 feet longer. It looks mighty strange to see a pickup move a RV at a 90 degree angle. We learned it can be done. Or maybe we were too proud to say we couldn't do it. Take your pick.

Anyway tomorrow we start working on the project of Way Out. This is not an RVICS project but a project of Central Reformed Church. We will be sanding, painting, removing linoleum (oh no) and other such jobs. We have 9 in our crew and I think the job description doesn't look too difficult for the 9 of us to handle. Today, Sunday, the crew had breakfast at our RV and also a hamburger fry. It is so convenient because we are right outside the back door of the church. After the church service we had many little kids who wanted to "tour" the inside of the RV. They couldn't imagine a home on wheels. They were so polite and appreciative of the attention we gave them. Hope we see more of them throughout the week.

That's it for another week. We are grateful for all you dads out there and pray you may continue to be guided by the Spirit as you continue to be the Dad that your kids need.

Love and best wishes for the coming week.

Mom and Dad/Marilyn Rensink

More Family Visits

This week finds us in Yorba Linda, CA. We are here to visit Gary and MariaElena and family. What a joy for us to be able to spend more then a day or two with family members. Seems like through the years we counted hours instead of days of visit. Retirement really has it's advantages! How privileged we are.

We are parked at the Anaheim RV Resort Campground and it is clean and has large sites with cement pads. To non-campers that may not mean much but cement usually means level sites and cleaner (no dirt or mud) access to the RV. Internet comes at a cost but it is very dependable and fast. And the TV is good so we can finally get Fox News - is that a blessing or bane?

Catching up a little on weeks past some of you have wanted a picture of Jason and Shasta's house. We have many of various stages of repair but this is a picture Jason sent just this week and shows the house a "few" months ago after the huge amount of snow they had just had. We, thankfully, came after the snow had melted but the thawing of the snow in the mountains was still evident as it flowed down the mountains through their property. They are now laying carpet in the rooms upstairs and are buying appliances for the kitchen. What a joy that house will/is for them.

We are so glad we can spend time with Gary and MariaElena. Gary is working overtime again for a while so we appreciate the time he is taking for us. We went to Christ Reformed Church yesterday and then they came over for a hamburger fry. Interesting that we think we have a lot of kitchen supplies but when we try to do a little extra cooking we have to be a little creative with our pans and bowls but no one ever said a pie can't just as well be in a rectangle dish as in a round pie plate. Some other things I was sure I would not need such as several bowls for baking but after mixing up a cake mix in a pot it just seemed a little ridiculous so when Kim and I went to the thrift store in Ridgecrest I "invested" in a .50 bowl. Pretty good for a dutchman, right?

Actually we have a lot of stuff along but not a special bowl or pan for everything like we have at home, us spoiled Americans.

Gary and MariaElena have done a lot of redecorating in their home. The house is large but they have most every room done and even the backyard. What a beautiful home. To give you a glimpse of the style of their home I took a pcture of Renae and Hannah's bedroom. What a special place for two girls and they both really appreciate it.

The backyard also has many plants and accessories. It is a quiet place to spend in family time or just to relax and meditate among all the special little coves of angels and rest places. The picture shows MariaElena and Renae.

We will be spending until Saturday morning in this area and then we move on to the next part of this trip. Today we plan to meet the people coming from Central Church in Sioux Center at Hawaiian Gardens for a work project. Again, don't have a clue what we will do there but it will be a good project. Hawaiian Gardens is a place near here that is a needy community and we hope to help in some small way to help the people who have taken this community as their mission. If they have need for us in the following week we will stay with them else we will continue to do other things.

This week we thought about Disneyland but decided we could do more good with the amount of money it would cost to go to Disneyland. And, face it, we may not feel up to a lot of the entertainment the park has to offer. One thing we can always do is eat so we will have the chicken dinner at Knott's Berry Farm, and at the time they offer a senior discount of course. Friday we will celebrate Gary and my birthday with a party, looking forward to that time.

We are doing well, enjoying the weather here and especially enjoying the extended time we can spend with family.

Hope this finds you all well. Glad travelers are home or coming home, surgeries are over and successful and plans are going ahead with insurance coverage. Busy family, many issues, great opportunites and we are so thankful that we can be a part of the events in the lives of our children, grandchild and even great grandchildren.

Love to all and God's Blessings on you all.

Mom and Dad/Marilyn and Wilmer

mjrevmom6@aol.com

More Fun

Our fun experiences continue into the month of June. June 1 we toured the Grand Canyon. We had been before, as we had to most of our stops, but this is one spectacular scene that bears repeating. We decided not to take our own vehicle but to take the shuttles that run to various point of interest every 15 minutes or so. It was the ideal way for us as we could spend as much or little time at each stop. Interesting, at these high tourist area that we almost feel like we are in the minority speaking English. Last summer when the economy was low and the gas prices high the visitors as such places which came from this country was way down but the foreign visitors was up so the year was at least as good as any other year. The value of the dollar, or lack thereof, made spending time in our country a good deal.
This year attendance is down.

Tuesday and Wednesday we drove to Ridgecrest, CA. The last miles into Ridgecrest were VERY windy but it was cool and we appreciated that because Ridgecrest is in the desert and they already have had days with temps over 100 this summer. Still driving the RV is tricky when the wind is so gusty but we made it okay.

Harlan and Kim have added to, redecorated, enclosed, and in all ways improved this house in the years they have lived here. The flowers and shrubbery around the house continue to amaze me, of course, they have milder winters so flowers we would have to re-plant each year carry over in this region. None the less, there are many kinds of flowers. Each plant has it own little hose and nozzle so it can be watered automatically every day. This is definitely desert and even skipping one day of water could be disastrous to plants.

The main reason we came to Ridgecrest at this time was to see Maddie graduate from Immanuel High School. Here she is receiving a award, and she got many. She will be going on to Dordt and got a very nice scholarship from Dordt as well as being a Kuyper Scholar which really makes me proud and happy

Harlan and Kim hosted a graduation party on Saturday night. They made their prize-winning, in my eyes and many others, tri-tip steaks on the grill. Not even a smidgen was left of all the meat they had done even though we had a plethora of other things to eat. It was a fun time.

Here Maddie and her fellow graduate are enjoying the goodies. Both girls are a bundle of giggles and smiles.

Maddie's other grandpa and grandma, Harlan and Sybertus Kooima and Harlan's sister, Marla also came for the graduation. And Gary, MariaElene, Renee and Hannah came Thursday night and stayed until after the party on Saturday. The little girls and Tony all had a blast with the trampoline being the main attraction. So busy we seldom saw them except for a bite to eat. The weather continued cool so that helped keep us all more comfortable.
The week was made even sweeter as we got to celebrate the 3rd birthday of our oldest great granddaughter, Amanda, the daughter of Marie and Rick. She seemed to enjoy all the activities but her cake was definitely a high lite for her.

The week was a round of fun parties and milestones. Memories were also a part of our thoughts, and that is good, but we did make more memories celebrating with the events of the week.

We leave for Gary and MariaElene on Friday in Yorba Linda, CA. Looking forward to spending time with them. Hope you are all doing well, God's blessing on each one of you as you face the opportunities and challenges life has a way of offering us. God is Faithful!

Love, Mom and Dad/ Marilyn and Wilmer