"You have to see this"

"You have to see this".  These are the words that Sarah said to me when she showed me this video of Dylan.  This is a project that he and his group at school did...I think it turned out great (I love the exaggerated facts of their report!)

Click this link to see Dylan's Video :)

We pray you are all doing well and enjoyed your Thanksgiving Celebrations!

Love,
Ben and Sarah and the kiddos

Our October Update and Ministry Video

We have sent out our October 2012 Update!  It is amazing to look back and see all that the Lord has done in the past year, and to look ahead to see all that He has promised for the future.  You can see a full version of the Newsletter by clicking the following link:

October Cline Update

In addition, we have finished our new ministry video!  The video is too large of a file to post directly on this blog post, so click the link below to take a look...

"The World in Your HANDS" ministry video

Thank you all for the part you play in our ministry at TBM's Home Office!

continued...Anniversaries Abound!

Last month we wrote about our Wedding Anniversary and gave a hint that there was soon another Anniversary that was about to happen!  August 25th marked the 1st anniversary of our move to LaGrange to work with the TBM Home Office.  No pictures this time, just a quick thank you (first to God for His amazingness) and to you all who have prayed and supported and helped and encouraged and taught and been so generous in ALL of these things and more!  We look ahead and look forward to another year of God's provision and love and challenging us and refining us and growing us.  Thank you for the part you play in our lives and ministry!

Ben and Sarah 

Anniversaries Abound!

I (Ben) had the great privilege last week to celebrate with my amazing wife our 13th Wedding Anniversary!  We kind of had to look back at this Anniversary because the real day was the end of June, but being able to get away for a week was worth the wait!  We enjoyed some time with Sarah's parents and then traveled on to Glenwood Springs, CO to stay at the Hot Springs Lodge and swim at their pool (the largest Hot Springs Pool in the world)!  We also got to ride a gondola to the top of a nearby mountain where there is an amusement park and tours of the Glenwood Caverns.  We took in wonderful scenery and were reminded of the beauty of God's creation, but more importantly I got to spend time with my beautiful wife!  I titled this "Anniversaries Abound" because there is another Anniversary that I need to write about, but that will come next month! 

Thank you all for the joy you give us by praying for and supporting the work that God has given us to to for Tentmakers Bible Mission.  There are many years to come and many joys to be had!  Some pictures from our trip...enjoy!

This picture was taken from a landing directly above the Colorado River...we entered the cave on the West side of the mountain and exited here...this is more like the East side of the mountain.  This is overlooking Glenwood Springs, CO about 1,300 feet above the city.  In the upper right corner is a "swing" that takes you out over the edge of the cliff...too bad it was broken that day :(

Inside the cave were all sorts of formations.  In this picture there are stalactites, "soda straws" (you'll have to look up how these are formed...amazing work of God!), and "cave bacon"...yep, I said bacon!  All of this, 140 feet underground.  Can you say "God is Amazing"!!!

COOKING!

"Cooking" seems to be the theme of the last few weeks in LaGrange for our family.

At our house we have been working on getting some sort of entrance to our house that doesn't involve dirt and concrete blocks...so we took some time planning and ended up with a deck patio both on the front and back of the house.  The "cooking" part comes in because that's what happened to us while being outside in the near 100 degree weather while completing these projects.  We cooked and now our project is done (for the most part).

The other "cooking" is happening in our new compost bins that we built out of scraps left over from the deck projects.  Sarah did some reading up on the idea of composting and the "cooking" happens when all of that fun stuff you put in the pile is warmed by the sun and uses that energy to speed the decomposition.

We also have been "cooking" up some ideas at the TBM Home Office that will make small advances in how we do things.  All said and done, we now enjoy sitting on the deck in the cool of the evenings reading and talking through the events of the day.  Then, next Spring we will be able to reap the benefits of the compost when we plant our garden for the 2013 growing season.  At the Home Office we will be able to start rolling out some of our ideas during the last months of the Summer.  Thank you for your invaluable prayers and your faithful support of our ministry that allows us to be a support to TBM Missionaries around the world.

A Weekend of Birthdays

Our family visiting Great Grandad and Grandma Cline for Grandma's Birthday!

This past weekend we had the great joy of celebrating birthdays!  When the final school bell of the year rang on Friday, we loaded up the minivan and headed to Colorado Springs to visit Sarah's parents and celebrate her Mom's birthday.  Saturday we were joined by Sarah's sister and her family and Sunday we celebrated the birthdays of their two oldest children, Rachel and Hunter.  Then Monday we headed up to Loveland to celebrate my Grandma's Birthday!  We rejoiced for the many birthdays and saw many gifts opened, but we were given a great reminder of the gift(s) that God has given us in each of our family members!  We love you all...and Happy Birthday (when yours arrives)! 

Ahhhh....We Are Moved In! Praise God!

Since our last post, it has been loads and loads of construction!  We have worked a little over 3 months to get our house in a state where we could move in.  We wanted to share some of those pictures with you.    We are all moved in now and settling down!  Thank you for your prayers and support during these past few hectic months.

Foundation is built, waiting for house

House has arrived!  This was right before they finished placing
the house on the foundation.  Talk about anxiety...watching
your whole house get winched over a big hole...but it went smoothly!

Original Kitchen.  We moved the island to make a U shaped
kitchen and it opened up the whole room!

Kitchen in Construction.  You can't see it in the pictures,
but we had to repair a lot of water damage under the old kitchen
sink, so all of the cabinets there were removed.  We replaced
the cabinets, but also the subfloor and parts of the outside
wall of the house...oh, the things you find when you start digging!

Kitchen Finished

Original Dining Room.  We removed all those cabinets and
re-purposed them in different parts of the house.

Dining Room under Construction

Dining Room Finished

Original Master Bath...took out the old tub and shower to relocate
and  have no tub, but a larger shower

Master Bath under Construction.  The bathrooms were a huge part of the work on this house.

Master Bath Finished

Original Kid's Bathroom...we took that door on the left out,
it was a 2nd door to the same bathroom.

Kid's Bath under Construction...added a window that wasn't there before...that was a new adventure in DIY!

Kid's Bath Finished.  Nice to have a sink and tub and toilet that all work!

Yep, that's a bathtub in our Living Room!

Mostly unpacked Living Room, but finished!

This is the Boys' room...all set up.

Megan's room...she loves all her little trinkets!

Our bedroom...yep, I'm still looking for that perfect place to
store my tools...in the meantime, there they sit at the foot of the bed!

I know this was a long post, but that's what I get for waiting so long to update the blog!  Anyway, our family is able to breathe deeply and press on to do what God really sent us here to do!  We'll update you soon!

Ben and Sarah and the Kids