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posted by James on 12/10/06

“Temperatures are staying low. Light enough to shoot by 6:45. Snow flurries between 8:30 and 9:00. Breezy. Lots of rustling in the leaves from critters out and about… now that sounds different!” In the next few seconds I experienced the thrill of what hunting is all about. A nice sized four point buck was trotting straight toward the blind I was hunting in. It stopped momentarily within a few dozen feet, dipped to the tier below me, stopped again, turned broadside, and then… No, I was not fast enough. I had the bullet loaded, the gun up, safety off, and the sights on; but this being my first time hunting with the rifle, I did not fire and the opportunity slipped away. I came home empty handed that day but carried with me the thought that next year, the same buck will be a 6 point at least. The incident that morning was enough to get my heart pumping and stimulate the zeal to try again.

Thanksgiving morning found Dad and I up in the woods again. The morning was as normal as ever except the chipmunks, squirrels, and nuthatches seemed abnormally noisy. Then, at around 10:30, I heard some rustling in the leaves again only this time behind the blind. It seemed much too noisy for a small critter. Well, I turned around and what do you know? Two small does stood there staring at me. I forgot about size and slowly got into position. Still they just stood there. I made sure it was a safe shot on the lead doe and still, she just stood there. So I aimed and shot. Well, she stood there no more, but ran to the top of the hill where she dropped for good.

This seems like a good ending to the story, but that was not the case. Seconds after I shot, I realized that there was blood dripping off my nose! Having been in a rather awkward shooting position, the scope was too close to my face and when the gun kicked, it jammed the scope into my forehead. It was interesting having an injury that I did not know what looked like! At any rate, I view my wound as a mark of ownership of the first deer I have ever successfully harvested.

This is only one of three deer we have shot this year. Dad has shot one, Donald one, and myself one. The hunting process continues from the woods to the freezer as everyone helps out in skinning, quartering, grinding, and packaging the meat. We hope to shoot enough deer this fall to supply us with enough red meat to last until next hunting season.

2 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Esther on 12/5/06

There is a secret to getting everything you need from your daily bread. The greatest possible health benefits will be gained from your bread if you have a way to use freshly ground whole wheat. Flour loses almost all it’s vitamins 72 hours from the time it is ground. The nutrition in bread made from flour that is older than that comes from added artificial nutrients. The only way to healthily delay this loss is to freeze the bread, which we do quite often after slicing and double bagging it. We would by all means recommend purchasing a grinder and finding a source for buying wheat kernels so that you can enjoy every bite and experience the ultimate health benefits of fresh homemade bread. 

Ingredients: 

• ½ cup oil 
• ½ cup honey  
• 5 cups warm water (110 degrees) 
• About 15 cups whole wheat flour divided. Grinding 5 pounds (12 cups) of grain yields 17 cups of flour. 
• 2 ½ Tb. yeast 
• 1 ½ Tb. salt  
• 2 vitamin C tablets 500mg. 

In a small container crush vitamin C tablets, add yeast and salt and set aside. In Bosch mixer equipped with kneading hooks, put oil, honey and warm water. Add 6 cups of flour. Jog on medium until lumps are gone. Mix in the yeast mixture thoroughly. Add flour until it looks spongy (probably 3 cups). Cover bowel and let rise 30 min. 

Mix in flour until dough cleans the sides of the bowl (6 cups). Let Bosch run on lowest speed 6-7 min to knead dough. 

Lightly oil a clean counter, turn out your dough onto it and divide into 5 loaves (1 ½ pounds each). Place in 5 none-stick-sprayed loaf pans. Cover with a towel and let rise in warm place at least 30 min or until loaves look as big as you want them.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min. Enjoy! 

You can also use this dough to make cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, buns and pizza crust.

4 Comments » | posted in Recipes

posted by Jonathan on 11/30/06

This year The Buckhannon Chamber Orchestra invited me to play with them. This is the most advanced group I have played with since Esther started teaching me in 2004. 

I really liked the songs that they picked.  In the middle of the concert one of my strings got loose so I couldn’t play it, but at the end of the song I gave it to my fellow 2nd violinist and he fixed it in time to play the next song. I learned a whole lot about playing with others and blending for a fantastic sound. I hope that I can play with them again next year.

2 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Daniel on 11/28/06

This was truly one exhilarating, exhausting, yet encouraging weekend! From around 8:00 Saturday evening when the Wilkes Team pulled in until 2:00 Monday afternoon as they tooted at the end of the driveway, our adrenaline levels hardly gave us a chance to rest. Catching up on the events of the last few months and gathering in the Living Room for an inspiring church service took till noon Sunday. Afterwards, everyone (from Marky to Michael:)) participated in a thrilling game of Bible Runners (where Matthew, Michael and I were the KGB). After roasting marshmallows around the bonfire behind the barn and viewing a slide show of James’ pictures of the 7 weeks of Life Focus, everyone was ready to hit the sack.

The next morning we had several duels over the ping-pong table, ate a delectable breakfast, and played some exciting games of “Around the World”. Knowing they would need to leave around 1:00, we decided, since God had blessed us with such fine weather, to do something outside instead of our traditional Settler’s game. After a vote, we chose Capture The Flag. The sides were just too even. With Matthew and Daniel Wilkes on the opposing team, our defense was kept constantly on guard. Early in the game both flags were found, but stopped after only being carried a few feet away. For quite a while each side kept attempting raids, with no success. Then Daniel Wilkes managed to get up higher on the hill behind James and I. Suddenly, when both of us happened to look away at the same time for a split second, he darted in. Grabbing the flag, he attempted to change direction. But it was on one of the steepest parts of the hill and instead he just slid. James and I slid down on top of him in a second, but somehow managed not to touch him. Realizing too late our mistake, we watched him dash across the line only a few feet away. Everyone exploded in a victorious uproar and we could hardly believe it. That was one of the best games of Capture the Flag I’d ever played. 

Then watching them disappear down Buffalo Calf through the leafless tress, we all agreed this had been one of the best visits we’d had with the Wilkes. Distance dosn’t devide the fellowship of those who are of like faith!

2 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Robert on 11/28/06

Right now I’m in the Philippines with a Character First! ministry team headed up by David Waller. So far it has been quite the exciting adventure! We are teaching in quite a few different schools and ministering in several local churches. If you would like to receive periodic prayer updates or a link to the team website, please let me know. Thanks for your prayers!

1 Comment » | posted in Ministry Reports