Anamosa, Iowa

Amanda and I had an amazing trip to Iowa for the annual UPC Deaf Conference. It was a week of fun and learning that we will never forget!

Tonya, my long-time friend and maid of honor drove over with her husband to see us Sunday night at my parent's church. I was so honored.











My dad lent us his convertible for the week, and this added a very fun aspect to our trip. We drove with the top down almost exclusively, and we have burned foreheads to prove it!




A few of us went to visit the state park, and took some pictures on the bridge. Some of the brave girls explored the ice cave. We had a beautiful afternoon getting to know each other better. The best part?? Amanda and I were the only hearing people in the whole group!



Here is a picture of all the Texas registrants. Bro. Wesley Swanson, the Texas Deaf Director,(standing above me) was the special speaker Thursday night.




As always, the Deaf Choir was the highlight of the week. About 60 Deaf people comprised the choir this year. The anointing that fell on them while they were ministering was overwhelming.

Sis. Libby is one of my all time favorite people. I hope one day I can be like her. An added bonus that I was not expecting was to see my very first ASL teacher/mentor, Esther Henry. It was so cool for me to introduce her to my present teacher/mentor, Amanda.



What I was not expecting was when on Wednesday night, one of the leaders turned to me at the altar service and asked me to relieve the current interpreter. I was wearing a black suit, and apparently, that is all the qualification I needed. With Esther pushing me on one side, and Amanda pulling me on the other side, I walked as in a daze up to the platform and did my best. I had Amanda feeding me signs from the floor, and Esther taking video. You can't imagine the intimidation of being a beginning student, signing in a room full of about 100 skilled interpreters!



This must be the most beautiful working prison I have ever seen, right in the middle of downtown Anamosa. We opted out of the tour.



These are our new friends, Melody and sweet Luke, the pastor's daughter and grandson. Doug and Melody opened their home to us, and their hospitality made us feel at ease. I thank God for allowing us this opportunity. The church services were poignant, the fellowship was sweet, and the presenters were knowledgeable. So many more things happened that I won't detail here. Suffice it to say that it was certainly a rich experience.

Tulsa, OK

This past weekend we went to Tulsa, OK for a prophecy weekend. Pastor Martin put us in the DoubleTree right downtown. Because we had two adjoining rooms, Tiffani and Jeremi had their own beds and bathroom. With the down comforter and myriad of pillows, it was delightfully comfortable!


Sunday morning I opened the curtains, and had this view of the church as I was ironing. (Of course this was not our church.)


Had it not been for the complimentary vouchers, our breakfast would have cost $75. It was an incredible buffet: biscuits & gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, you know, all of the things I would eat... They didn't leave me out, don't worry. There was a chef cooking made-to-order omelets, granola, and a huge fresh fruit bar!


Not even the fire alarm that went off at 1:15 a.m. forcing us all to evacuate onto the muddy lawn in the rain could dampen our spirits on this trip. What a great weekend!

Tiffani's Tutoring

It is so rewarding for me to see my children using the skills that I have taught them. All of the effort we have put into our language skills is paying off now that twice per week Tiffani is tutoring two Hispanic/Iranian boys.

Jeremi Turns 14!

He is changing so fast--I cannot keep up with him!! Jeremi turned 14 on Sunday. We were blessed to have my parents in for the weekend, and enjoyed a lovely Saturday. Here is a picture us at Steak & Ale.

Beware of this book!

This is a copy of a blog entry from Crystal over at "my church." I concur with her for you to spread the word about this deception. Here it is:

If you have children or grandchildren, work with children at church, or you
have neighborhood children whose parents you know, please take note of the
information below and pass it along to others. Schools are distributing this
book to children through the Scholastic Book Club.

The name of the book is Conversations with God.. James Dobson talked about
this book twice this week. It is devastating. Parents, churches and
Christian schools need to be aware of it. Please pass this information on to
church/e-mail addressees, Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins,
friends.

Please pay special attention not only to what your kids watch on TV, in
movie theaters, on the internet, and the music they listen to, but also be
alert regarding the books they read.

Two particular books are, Conversations with God and Conversations with God
for Teens, written by Neale D. Walsch. They sound harmless enough by their
titles alone. The books have been on the New York Times best sellers list
for a number of weeks, and they make truth of the statement, "Don't judge a
book by its cover or title."

The author purports to answer various questions asked by kids using the
"voice of God". However, the "answers" that he gives are not Bible-based and
go against the very infallible word of God. For instance (and I paraphrase),
when a girl asks the question "Why am I a lesbian?" His answer is that she
was 'born that way' because of genetics (just as you were born right-handed,
with brown eyes, etc.). Then he tells her to go out and "celebrate" her
differences.

Another girls poses the question "I am living with my boyfriend. My parents
say that I should marry him because I am living in sin. Should I marry him?"

His reply is, "Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you have done
nothing wrong."

Another question asks about God's forgiveness of sin. His reply "I do not
forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing
as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone, do
not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong,
because the rule is "'judge not lest ye be judged."
Not only are these books the false doctrine of the devil, but in some
instances quote (in error) the Word of God.

And the list goes on. These books (and others like it) are being sold to
schoolchildren through (The Scholastic Book Club), and we need to be aware
of what is being fed to our children.

Our children are under attack. So I pray that you be sober and vigilant
about teaching your children the Word of God, and guarding their exposure to
worldly mediums, because our adversary, the devil, roams about as a roaring
lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We know that lions usually
hunt for the slowest, weakest and YOUNGEST of its prey.

Pass this on to every Believer you know. God bless! And, if you are in
doubt, check out the books yourself.

Bethani's Cheerio Art

TSID 2008

Well, the TEP is behind me. I just got the email that says I passed. Thank you to all who prayed for me. That is one test down, now one to go. I am scheduled to take the performance test in Austin on Friday, August 8. I'm sure I will be calling on all to fast and pray for me. :)

We had a wonderful girls trip to the annual Texas interpreter's conference. Stephanie drove us to Houston, and feeling like royalty, we stayed at the Hyatt Hotel for 5 days.





Our group of 4 interpreters was not totally complete until Heather joined our group. She is so very witty--never a dull moment with her around! Here we are dining at Benihana's


All weekend people were asking if these two were sisers.







The grand finale?? Todai's of course. Can you believe we 'camped' 4 1/2 hours in this restaurant? What a deep Bible study we had!