www.arcticoutreach.org --- e-mail rinker@arcticoutreach.org --- phone 403-989-3715
Dear Friends,
The month of August carried on with our busy summer load of activities which loaded Karen down with non-stop work every day and night all month! All the while I was passing this time recuperating from my knee operation in the parsonage of the Mt. Top Holiness church, in the area where I was born and raised in the States. So much kindness was shown to me by friends, churches, relatives, and new acquaintances back home. It was the longest by far that I spent back home since I left for Bible School in Kentucky at age 17. Spending days with childhood friends, relatives, and Christian fellowship was truly overwhelming to say the least. The Frostburg "Shaft Methodist" Church", now independent, the Flintsone "Prosperity Global Methodist Church", the Martins Mountain "Mt. Top Holiness Church", and then being reunited to the church I was born and raised in, which is now renamed as the "New Covenant Global Methodist Church". For those not familiar, the Global Methodist is a conservative denomination that took in many Methodist churches that left the United Methdodist denomination when it renounced the Scripture and forsook the faith of my people back in the mountains.
I was able to spend time getting to know folks that occupy our old Rinker home place in the hills below Junction, West Virginia. Amazing to me, was the steadfast loyalty and love the churches back home have shown, even though I've been so far away and with so limited contact for the last 60 years! I was embarrassed how they sacrificed to help me, and their generosity was amazing. The heart and spirit of the people hasn't changed in spite of all they have been through. I'll let the pictures below tell the rest of the story.
The Child Evangelism Fellowship organization sent a couple to work with Karen in holding three VBS's in our area of Alberta. Here is a class on the O'Chiese Reserve.
Another of the Child Evangelism Fellowship VBS's was held out in the mountains at the Big Horn Reserve with the "Stony's". This lady was the local coordinator that helped set things up, posing with her son.
In this picture, The CEF couple, Julia in the pink, and her husband Josh, with the beard are conducting a class. They have only been married two months, and they came from Saskatchewan.
The last VBS Karen directed was at the Nazaren Church in Rocky Mt. House. Here we see pastor Gary and a volunteer helping with a craft class.
This is the team of workers Karen directed at the Nazaren VBS. She had a lot of great help.
It is a huge job preparing for these crafts that are related to the lessons. No one knows the sleep Karen lost getting this ready. The theme was 'The Christians Armor.'
The last event, just before I got home was a Ladies Retreat held here at the mission. The theme for the retreat was 'Walking With Jesus'.
A special music team came to supply music for the ladies.
These are workers who came to minister for the Retreat, with some of their family. Karen was so busy with it all she didn't get any group pictures.
Our regular youth night was carried on through the month as usual. Here are some of the youth doing crafts.
The Sunchild public school has a number of Christian teachers. This is a family from Nigeria, Africa. The mother is teaching in the school and this is the whole family visiting us in our home for supper just before school started. Their daughter is taking the picture, so couldn't be in it.
This is Justice and her little boy. She lives next door and has always been part of our family.
Here Karen is spending the day teaching a visiting friend to make cookies. Just a normal part of a normal day here at the mission. So hopefully the pictures will help you to have a little idea of our life here at the Sunchild Mission.
