Anna has been working on another set of matching jumpers for us girls. When I came in the house after being outside for a little while, I found Honey laying on the fabric. 
My camera was nearby, so I grabbed some pictures.
Meanwhile, the bus work continues, and other ministry projects! Life is full and busy. Dates are still being added to our September trip.
Honey on the fabric
Sarah
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalms 90:12).
On Sunday, July 26th, we will be giving a concert at Calvary Baptist Church (in Leavenworth) at 7:00 p.m. If any of you live close enough to join us, we would love to see you. We have learned several new pieces that we are excited to begin using. Plus Nathan is able to play with us when we are singing in town.
The Maxwells
Sunday, July 26th, 7 p.m., at Calvary Baptist Church, Leavenworth, Kansas
We were blessed by another chance to share at an assisted living facility yesterday! It is always our joy when we can share Jesus with those people there through music and testimony. We look forward to this time of singing every month! It was a special treat to have Nathan, Melanie, and Abigail with us also. Normally, on the road they don’t travel with us, but since this was in town they were able to join us. Abigail brings a special delight to the faces of the residents! Below you will find a glimpse into our time with the residents.
This elderly lady was a cheerful delight!
John talking to one of the sweet "farm ladies!"
Mom talking to one of the ladies that used to live at the nursing home where we have church. She now is living at this care facility.
Singing!
Dad has been learning the bass, and he is doing a great job!
We each share a testimony between songs. Here it is Mary's turn!
Yes...there was a bit of whispering/communication to fill in the details needed!
Family harmony!
John
Christopher
We sang "Be Thou My Vision" for the first time in public.
Miss Abigail enjoyed listening to the music!
Chatting
Sarah and I with an 100 year old lady.
In Christ,
Anna
“I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.”
(Psalms 9:2)
The boys have been working hard on Uriah’s conversion! We’re excited to see this week’s progress. See below for pictures.
Joseph and John
Jesse working on sound/heat proofing the engine. Yes, you do see Jesse wearing a sweatshirt. We had record-breaking cool temperatures this week--it truly felt like Colorado. We are thoroughly enjoying the cooler temperatures! Perfect bus-working weather.
I couldn't believe how much progress was made this week in the bus.
Anna helping to clean up the construction mess.
Another clean up support team member!
Jesse
Looking toward the back of the bus.
Cutting wood for the walls.
Joseph has been building the bunks and installing them. Amazing progress.
The bunk you see is the middle bunk: we'll have one below it and one above it. We will have two sets of bunk beds plus another bed either above or below the clothes area.
Joseph--our master craftsman
Rejoicing in Jesus,
Sarah
“In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God” (Psalms 62:7).
One of our neighbors generously shared some of their fresh, homegrown zucchini with us! We had not cooked with zucchini before, so Mom looked on the Internet for some recipes that used zucchini. She found a few, and we tried this one first. With a bit of modifying, this beef/zucchini pot pie turned out excellently, and every one greatly enjoyed it!
Beef/Zucchini Pot Pie
Beef/Zucchini Pot Pie
Pastry for 2 crust pie, homemade or purchased
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
1 rib celery
5 mini carrots
1 small zucchini
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup tomato sauce
½ cup (heaping) Parmesan cheese
1 scant teaspoon dried leaf thyme
2 tsp ground garlic
1 tsp garlic powder/to taste
1 tsp onion powder/ to taste
1 tsp cumin/ to taste
1 tsp chili powder/ to taste
1 ½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Prepare pie crust; divide dough in half for top and bottom crust. Wrap dough portions in plastic wrap; chill for about 30 minutes (a little longer is fine). Prepare filling. In large skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef. In a mini food processer chop/grind onion, celery, carrots, and zucchini (I put in a little of the tomato sauce to help it grind better!) Drain excess fat from meat leaving a few teaspoons (there wasn’t much fat when I made ours so I just left it). Add ground onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and zucchini, into the pan with meat. Cook, stirring often! Add spices. Cook until softened – about 10 – 15 minutes. Stir in flour; stir and cook for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese. Set aside while rolling dough.
Roll half of chilled dough out on a floured surface to a circle about 12 inches in diameter; place on an ungreased pie pan. Spoon beef filling into the dough circle. Roll out remaining dough to a circle about 11 inches; place over filling. Fold edges of bottom crust circle over the top circle; pinch to seal all around.
Bake beef pot pie at 400˚ for about 50 minutes. After cooking about 30 minutes, cover with foil for remaining time if the crust is becoming too brown. Cool 5 minutes before serving.
In Christ,
Anna
“He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth” (Psalm 104:14).
Almost every year, Nathan and Melanie host a July 4th neighborhood breakfast picnic. This year due to certain circumstances they changed the picnic to July 11th! Also it was a little different in that many of the neighbors who had been invited weren’t able to come, but we had a delightful time with those who did!
Nathan and Melanie provide sausage and drinks, and everyone else brings a favorite breakfast dish. This year Sarah offered to decorate the table. She did a very nice job, and since she bought some of the decorations the week after the 4th she got them 50% off. We always look forward to this special time each year!
The food tables
Talking
It was a bit warm and humid, but well worth the heat!
Abigail is growing VERY quickly, and we aunts and uncles enjoy every minute with her!
Eating
Here Abigail is petting one of the neighbor's puppies!
Grandad and Grandma are getting better every day!
Melanie talking with some neighbors.
John relaxing after "tear down".
Part of the clean up crew!
In Christ,
Anna
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:35-36).
John, Joseph, and Jesse have been spending a fair amount of time working on the bus conversion. As it stands now, it’ll be semi-converted by our September trip and fully converted, Lord willing, by the January/February trip. We’re excited! Here are some pictures of the recent work.
A dad had written us and said that the only way they stopped their RV windows from leaking was to take them out and use butyl tape. As the boys were doing it, it became obvious that was indeed the correct solution to our leaky window problems.
John has not complained working even on the hot days...
Jesse has been a great help as well.
Jesse painted the new flooring for the bus bays.
If you remember the leaky window saga from last fall's trip, something had to be done about those windows. So, the boys have been taking the windows out and doing (according to Dad) an INCREDIBLE sealing job! There will be no more leaks.
Each window took quite awhile to do.
Joseph and John have been grinding out some of the sprayed-in foam insulation to make room for what we need in the ceiling. The bad part? Once ground out, the little yellow bits cling to EVERYTHING! I didn't stay long in the bus with my camera.
No, it's no snowing "snow" inside the bus but rather insulation. I overheard John say that Joseph does the best at grinding--he can last a long time John declared.
Dad has spent many hours as well working on the design, layout, and details for the bus. The water tanks will soon be on order, which is another big step in the process. Little by little, it’s coming along! We will be excited to have a “home away from home” where we can all be together.
Sarah
“Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field. . .” (Proverbs 24:27).
Sometimes, getting a Moody book picture ready for the artist takes a little more time and effort than one might think. Ever since the first Moody book, part of the “sketching” process for each book involves us taking a picture of what we want sketched. This one was a little unusual!
It took three photographers... (Joseph, Anna, and I)
Mom, comfortably watching the process.
Preparing for the smoke effect.
It involved smoke balls...(only available near the 4th of July)
Joseph
John and Dad
We won’t give away anything more .
Sarah
“O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory” (Psalms 108:1).