More Pics From The Missoula Fair!

I forgot to add some pics from the misuli fair! :0  Here are some close ups of the shirt I had signed by Tyler Barham:

This is the symbol on the front of the shirt

And the back where it's signed :)

Here's a close up

Me and mom!

Yes...I took a selfie :P

That's all - but I really wanted to get them on here :)

Missoula Fair And Pro Rodeo

Yesterday me and mom went to the misuli (my way of saying missoula) fair and pro rodeo.  The fair grounds were way smaller than I thought they would be for misuli.  We had so much fun tho!  Tyler Barham was singing there (he is sooo good!!!) and we watched him for quite awhile.  I bought one of his shirts and he signed it for me, then we got some pictures together :)  He is actually from Florence MT and I thought that was pretty cool that we were from the same place (4 years probably makes me a MT native)!  He lives in Tennessee now.

The pro rodeo was pretty awesome!  There were some good riders too.  It was way too short tho :(  Here are some photos and videos of the bull and bronc riding:

I love how the picture captured that one horse in mid-prance (the one in the back) - that horse was fun to watch!

"I'm flying!"

A guy gets stomped pretty bad in this video:

Hospitality

Hospitality can be defined as “the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.” In the New Testament, the Greek word translated “hospitality” literally means “love of strangers.” Hospitality is a virtue that is both commanded and commended throughout Scripture. In the Old Testament, it was specifically commanded by God: “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt” (Leviticus 19:33-34, emphasis added).

During His public ministry, Jesus and His disciples depended entirely on the hospitality of others as they ministered from town to town (Matthew 10:9-10). Likewise, the early Christians also depended on and received hospitality from others (Acts 2:44-45; 28:7). In fact, travelers in ancient times depended heavily on the hospitality of strangers as traveling could be dangerous and there were very few inns, and poor Christians could not afford to stay at them, anyway. This generous provision to strangers also included opening one’s home for church services. Hospitality was indeed a highly regarded virtue in ancient times, especially for Christian leaders (Titus 1:8; 1 Timothy 3:2).

The writer of Hebrews reminds us not to forget to “entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). In the book of Genesis we read of Abraham’s humble and generous display of hospitality to three strangers. Wealthy and aged, Abraham could have called on one of his many servants to tend to the three unannounced visitors. Yet the hospitable and righteous Abraham generously gave them the best he had. And, as it turned out, he had entertained the Lord and two angels (Genesis 18:1-8).

Christians are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10). As followers of Christ, we emulate His love and compassion when we show hospitality, not only to fellow Christians, but even more so to strangers and the less fortunate. In fact, we honor God when we are kind to the needy (Proverbs 14:31; 19:17). As Jesus said, “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed” (Luke 14:13). Christ also taught us the second greatest commandment, to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), and the Parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that “neighbor” has nothing to do with geography, citizenship, or race. Wherever and whenever people need us, there we can be neighbors and, like Christ, show mercy. This is the essence of hospitality.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus discusses the hospitable behavior of those who will inherit the kingdom: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:34-36). In these days we often don’t think much about entertaining strangers, but hospitality is still an important part of Christian ministry (Romans 12:13; 1 Peter 4:9). By serving others we serve Christ (Matthew 25:40) and we promote the spread of God’s truth (3 John 5-8).

Although we are required to have hospitality we need to learn to have discernment in who we bring into our home and expose ourselves and our families to.  There are many people in our day who are very lonely and may get shunned because of their intelligence, appearance, poverty, age, disability - things that aren't their fault but that people would rather shy away from.  It really doesn't matter what someone looks like or what their bankroll is...God loves them just as much as a rich person.  And if we are trying to be true Christians and emulate Christ, we need to seek them out and show them love...even just a smile can make a big difference in someone's day.  Hospitality doesn't always even mean having people over...there are small way of showing it...bringing someone a meal, smiling and saying "hi" to someone who looks like they aren't having a good day, carrying an elderly person's groceries...in doing that you are showing someone the love of Christ.

Ride and Showing To The Town Of Downing

Yesterday was a pretty busy day! :)  Me, mom and Tikvah went on an 8 mile ride (we were guesstimating that number - it was somewhere around 8 miles).  We went up Jenkins and cut across some property and went up to Soft Rock, then back down the road way - Soft Rock road to Summerdale and on :)  Here are some pics - the ones of my back I didn't know Tikvah was taking - I guess she was getting me back from doing that to her a few times :P

Mom on crunch

Me and Tikvah

Showing for "To The Town Of Downing"!!!
Then in the evening we went to the showing for the movie I was in - "To The Town Of Downing"
I thought we would just eat dessert and watch the movie, and visit a little - but they sprung it on me that I was going to have to go up on stage with the rest of the cast.  Luckily I didn't have to give a speech, but I didn't like it much :P  Then I had another surprise when I was already up there - they had planned to sing a song (that I didn't know), so I was up there trying to keep up but finally gave up :P I found out later that most of the people didn't know it either....lol

But the movie was amazing!!!  I laughed through almost the whole thing! :)  You can buy it HERE

Josiah Van Kirk

Left to right: Promise, Elisa, Naomi, Shanae, Hannah, and Tikvah

Tikvah and Naomi trying to hid behind their hats :P

LOL

The boys

Ephraim on TV!

Our friend Ephraim was on TV a few weeks ago! :)  Look at this awesome video!

Fall Ball!

Our church had a Reformation celebration - ya know to celebrate the Reformation.  Our elder's wife, Mrs. Lavaida, made an excellent dinner and dessert for everyone.  And then we had a family dance with a Square dance caller.  We had so much fun!  We did all sorts of dances including, the Virgina Reel, the Hat Dance, Square dancing, and all sorts of other interesting things.  My mom had on the wildest outfit of anybody :)

Mom and Miles

Andrew and Mom

Mom giving Dad instructions :)

Hannah and Noah

Dad, Mom, Noah, Hannah, Nick and me

Mom and Pastor's wife swinging little Sarah

The caller helping Caleb dance with the littles

Me and Michael

Dad, Lizzy and Sabrina

Andrew and Hannah

Caleb and Suzie

Nick and Hannah