What's the big deal? The chicken definitely came first!

So, in our case we know that the chicken came first, for sure.  We've been feeding the things since before Easter and now, they are finally going to start feeding us!  No, we aren't going to have more meat on the table, but we ARE celebrating because in the last 2 days, our chickens have laid their first 2 eggs.

Yep, fresh "farm" eggs is all I have to say.  The picture on the top is the first egg, laid yesterday...and you guessed it, the second picture is the second egg, laid today.  The funny thing is, I never realized how hilarious chickens would sound when they are laying an egg.  I'm even laughing a little bit right now thinking about it.  But...on to the more important issue...in our case, the chicken came first, then the egg(s).  Also, if you are wondering, yes, those are fake golf balls in there too.  We put those in there, because, you see, chickens are not all that smart...actually to be more accurate, they are downright stupid.  So, we put in these "round egg looking things" to help them to know where to sit when they are laying an egg.  I don't really know if that's what helped them, but one way or the other it worked.  All I know is that my egg sandwiches will taste much better now!  No more Walmart eggs...Yipee!

The Countdown is ON!

First, we wanted to say a BIG Thank You to all who have been praying about our upcoming trip to Guadalajara.  Now, with Memorial Day done and with the kids in their final week of school for the year, we are on the countdown to our trip.  We wanted to give you an idea of what is happening during our time there and some locations that you can look up during the days we are there to be praying specifically for us while we are gone!  First, here are some other trip-related prayer requests:

1.  For smooth and safe travel there and back.
2.  That we have great opportunities to connect with the missionaries who are serving in Mexico.
3.  That we would have great opportunities to reach out with Christ's love.
4.  That God would use this trip to forever change the hearts of each one of us.
5.  That our children won't miss us too much :)
Please take a moment to look over our schedule and pray for us each day in the different places where we will be!
We are deeply thankful and encouraged that God has given us each one of you to be a part of our ministry team!  Your prayers are NEEDED and EFFECTIVE and something that we can't do without, so thank you!

In Service of the King of Kings,
Ben and Sarah

Pray for us each day as we are in these different locations:
June 1 - fly out of Denver at 12:30
June 2 - with church group in Guadalajara
June 3-4 - ministry in Guadalajara
June 5 - visit Los Minerales
June 6 - visit Tequila, Mexico
June 7 - visit Ixtlan del Rio
June 8- ministry in Tepic (visit native Indian village)
June 9 - with church group in Tepic
June 10 - fly home

Chickens, Snow, Websites, and Kansas City!

Chickens

That's right, chickens! We are now the proud owners of 9 chickens. For those of you who care about breeds (3 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Barred Rocks, 2 Ameraucanas, and 2 California Whites). We decided as a family that we needed some animals to take care of so we can learn the value of God's creation and we pray that they will be a great source of provision as well. The picture above is from right after we brought them home. They are much bigger now and we are all ready for their BIG MOVE to the coop!



Snow

I know, it looks like we ran Travis over with the van, but in reality, he buried himself in what was the 4 foot drift that climbed its way over the hood of the van! In the last 2 weeks, we have officially received 42 inches of snow! It seems kind of crazy that as I write this letter it is 70 degrees outside! It reminds me of a line in a book that Sarah read, "There are only 3 seasons in Wyoming, Winter, July, and August"! Here we come, July! Anyway, it has been good to have all of this moisture around because much of this area is agricultural and survives on the water supply. We are very thankful to God that He sent His Son to be the Living Water that never runs dry!


Websites

In 2006, TBM posted it's previous website and it served the Mission well for many years. However, as you know, all things "technology" become obsolete pretty much over night. So around 6 months ago TBM embarked on the adventure of designing and producing a new website. The new site features smoother navigation, higher levels of functionality, and implementation of technology that wasn't available in 2006! We are so thankful for the input and help of all those who put in so many hours to get this completed! If you haven't seen it, please visit www.tentmakersbiblemission.org where you will be able to see the upgraded and updated website. Take some time to look around, see the new features. We praise God for the ability to use this kind of technology to further the work of His Kingdom!

Kansas City

This is not a picture of Kansas City, but rather a picture of a unique landmark on the way to Kansas City from where we live! This landmark is called the "Great Platte River Road Archway". But I wasn't driving to Kansas City to see this archway along the way! I was actually on my way to the Leadership Forum for Association of North American Missions of which TBM is now a member organization. You can visit www.anamissions.org to find out more about the Association. I enjoyed a great time of fellowship, food, and learning as I was able to meet many Missions Organization leaders from all over the country and sit under the teaching of people who have much more wisdom than I have to offer! It was an "iron sharpening iron" kind of week, except the "iron" that I was being sharpened by was much sharper than I am (insert joke here :)) But I am so thankful to have spent time learning from faithful servants! Thank you for your prayers as I was gone on that trip.

Guadalajara, here we come!

This post is a small portion of our most recent newsletter.  Click here to view the full version!

June 2013, Sarah and I will be travelling to Guadalajara, Mexico leading a team of students from Frontier School of the Bible, Cornerstone Bible Institute, and Calvary Bible College for a Summer Missions Trip. The team from Summer 2012 were able to visit Missionaries from both United Indian Mission and Biblical Ministries Worldwide to get a taste of what ministry in that area of Mexico is like. This year, we will continue to help expose students to the needs of Mexico, but also help them get involved in hands-on and teaching opportunities.

The overall goal of these Summer trips is to promote the work of church planting and, if the Lord so desires, to begin planting in the hearts of these students a permanent connection to the Mexico mission field.

Please pray with us that the Lord will provide the necessary funds for Sarah and I to travel to Guadalajara in June. We are about half way there already (PRAISE GOD!) and have yet to raise about $1,200 to complete the funding for the trip. If the Lord puts it on your heart to give toward this specific project, gifts should be made out to Tentmakers Bible Mission and include a note that it is for the Cline's Guadalajara missions trip and mail to P.O. Box 160 LaGrange, WY 82221.

"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

Crash Courses...

First...the last few months have been a crash course in the workings of a Mission Home Office.  It has been such a joy to begin learning all that goes into the “behind the scenes” workings of Tentmakers Bible Mission.  God is good and He is helping us to figure out what needs to get done in order to help this office run smoothly day to day.  As I am writing, we are wrapping up weeks of preparation for our semi-annual TBM Board Meetings and Candidate School.   (Normally our Candidate School is only in the Spring, but due to the increasing interest in the Mission, we are having an additional Candidate School this year!).  We are also in the midst of Frontier School of the Bible’s Missions Conference. At least 10 Missions Organizations have sent representatives, and TBM’s Executive Director, Ron Thompson, is the keynote speaker.  We are excited to see the Lord work in the lives of the students this week.  Tentmakers Bible Mission is holding two roundtable discussions at the home office this week (this is a meeting between Missionaries and students for questions and conversation).  Who knew it could be so busy in rural LaGrange, WY!

Second...we have had a crash course in small town life.  We have been getting to know some of the town’s residents as well as the FSB students and faculty.  The kids have been enjoying a smaller setting at school.  This week we went to the School District’s Board Meeting where Dylan was able to present a song that he has been working on in music class called “The Recess Blues” (you can ask him for the lyrics when you see him next time!). 

Third...we have had a crash course in both the mobile home market and concrete / block masonry.  Praise God...we found a house!  It is a 1400 square foot double wide that we will move to LaGrange from Ft. Collins, CO.  And in the midst of it all, God provided a small plot of land to purchase and put a permanent foundation on!  The house should be delivered in the next couple weeks!

...It seems that crash courses are what God has had for us, but the wonderful thing is that no matter what, God is leading and answering prayer and we couldn’t be more blessed!

A quick prayer request!!!

We wanted to keep you updated on what is happening here in Wyoming. We will have a full newsletter coming out soon, but we wanted to give you an update on one particular item. We began the search for a house here in LaGrange before we moved here and it continues still. We have seen God provide in some amazing ways! We now have the opportunity to purchase a single wide mobile home to bring into town and set up on land here. Our prayer request is 2 parts: First, we need to find the right home. This has been a daily event, looking on the websites that offer used mobile homes and every now and then we are able to find one in our price range many of which are located in Northern Colorado, but we so far have run into the problem that the Mobile Home Parks they are located in will not allow them to be moved (so essentially they are not available for us to purchase because they would have to stay in the Mobile Home Park they are in). The second part of our prayer request is that with additional finances, we could purchase a new mobile home (instead of used) and would not have the problem of the Mobile Home Park not allowing it to be moved. This, however produces a need of about $20,000 in addition to what we have available to us currently. Please pray for God's wisdom in this. God has always provided and we know that He will continue to do so!

We will keep you posted on any updates and you can read more about this and other ministry updates when we send out our September Newsletter soon! Thank you for praying. We covet all of your prayers and truly know that God hears when we pray to Him!

Safe and Sound!

Our new home town...LaGrange, WY

Tonight we are writing from LaGrange, Wyoming!  Whew!  And with many things to praise God for.  We ended up signing closing documents on the sale of our house on Monday evening after a day of packing and celebrating Travis' 6th birthday.  Sarah and the kids headed for Wyoming the following morning early and the kids started school at LaGrange Elementary Wednesday morning.  I (Ben) stayed behind in Utah to pick up the moving truck and get it packed.  With the help of many wonderful Utah friends, we were able to get everything packed away (yes, even the motorcycle!) by about 9:00 Tuesday night.  I traveled to Wyoming with a friend from church who was hauling a trailer full of more of our stuff on Wednesday, making what was, for me, record time from Utah to Wyoming.  When we arrived we enjoyed a nice meal at the Dining Hall of Frontier School of the Bible and were blessed when 16 young men (who have much more energy than I do these days) came to help us unload both the trailer and the truck.  What took us 12 + hours to load in Utah took these Frontier students about 90 minutes to unload (yes, even  the motorcycle!).  We enjoyed some lemonade with the wonderful family who is allowing us to use some of their shop space to store most of our things as we look for a more permanent home.  Thursday, our family moved, temporarily, into the Tentmakers Bible Mission guest rooms until the Lord provides a home for us.  Please pray that God would provide something large enough for our family that will meet our needs for the years to come.  Please also pray for these items:

®     That our support level would increase, we are currently at about 30% of our support goal.

®     That God would begin and quickly increase our ministry effectiveness in our new role with TBM.

®     That our family would settle in here well and enjoy this new place that is very different from where we have lived over the past 8 + years.

In Service of the King of Kings,

Ben and Sarah Cline