The Paine Family

    The Lord has greatly blessed our time away as a family.  He provided a place for our family revival way down  in the big state of Texas.  It was a wonderful time of fun and family bonding, we are so grateful for the opportunity.  We stayed at a large campus that was directed by a program called ALERT (this program supports the ministry that we are involved in right now).  The weather was beautiful and signs of Spring could be seen everywhere. 

     We enjoyed a number of different activities as a family together such as hiking, swimming, fishing, playing different games and much more.  The following are some of the highlights of our trip together. 

  Thankyou for your prayers and may you be blessed!!

                            Roads of SAND

  We spent many hours building roads of sand down at the lakefront.  We had a blast!!         It was neat to watch the creativity of each family member.   ”It was fun to play in with the trucks in the sand and to make roads with our little bulldozer”, remarked Josiah.   With the occasional help of an older sibling, Josiah, Daniel and Johnny had a great time in creating a network of roads and tunnels.

                                             Swimming…

   Along with fun in the sand, the Paine family also enjoyed fun in the water. We also paddled around in the lake in Canoes and paddle boats.  The water was cold but very refreshing.  We pracitcally had the entire lake to ourselves, we greatly enjoyed the peace and beauty of it.

                                                      Fishing…

   Lake Loma was the lake that we spent most of our time at.  It is a large lake that has an abundant supply of Bass, Crappie, Catfish and large bluegill.  All the Paine brothers jumped at the opportunity to go fishing.  All of the guys love fishing even down to Danny and Johnny.    Every time we go fishing, Dad reminds us of the fisherman who seeks out a much more costly “fish”.  It’s the type of fisherman that Jesus made while He was on the earth…a fisher of men.  “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19).  Do I have the same enthusiasm and eagerness to be a witness for Christ that I have for fishing for fish?  Thoughts to ponder.  We had encouraging fellowship as we fished and the Lord blessed the time.         It was fantastic!!

               The Low ROPES…

  Towards the end of our stay at Big Sandy, we were able to go through a rope obstacle course called the “Low Ropes”.  This taught us to work together in many situations towards a common goal.       

This was an exciting experience of balance, teamwork, focus and many other aspects that were needed to get through the course.  It was great to see the family have fun and work together at the same time.                                       All of us loved it.

                                  One on One…

One of the objectives of the whole trip was family unity.  Dad had set aside time with each of us privately to share our hearts with him.  Relationship is  a key to family unity.  It is interesting that upon our return home, Mr. Gothard sent out his newsletter entitled “The key to Power and Unity among believers”.  If we could use a theme verse for this revival trip it would be Ro 15:6,  “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  That is our heart’s desire as a family.

                       Summing it up…

  We were blessed to be able to take this trip and experience this time together.  It knit our family together and helped us step back and see where God is taking us as we serve at the Indianapolis training center.  As we worked through heart to heart talks and shared as a family unit,  God revealed truths to us about ourselves and how we interact as a family unit.  We realize there is much room for growth, but we have willing hearts.  If you think of us, please pray that God will indeed empower us through His wonderful grace to be a living sacrifice for His Kingdom, His Power and His Glory.