Author: immanuelmission

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Message from the Office

There are no gas lines to the Mission (or phone lines, or mail delivery, or trash pickup). We all have tanks of propane outside our homes and huge ones for the school. I call and order a truck to come and refill them when they get low. When the prices for propane went up I was tempted to call the bills profane! Please pray with us for the Lord’s provision. We are not allowed to have a partial order without an even bigger per gallon price. So we must order the whole truck and put it in various tanks. We had to order for the school tanks in August. The bill came to over $6000. It has been exciting to watch God provide this need. Many have given more than usual to help cover this added expense. We are so thankful to God and to you.

Ruth Bloom

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Converting to Diesel

Immanuel has been bussing students to school and home again for 29 years since the dorms burned down in 1979. We have always used gas busses. Our yearly gas bill is around $20,000. Gas busses are getting hard to find because since about 1995 the industry has only manufactured diesel busses. So last year we made the decision to go diesel. We bought two diesel busses on eBay for around $1,500 each which was a huge savings over previous purchases. We have been pleasantly surprised that even though the price of diesel is higher we are saving lots of money because the diesel busses get better gas mileage than the regular gas busses and they take less maintenance. We believe that the diesel busses will pay for themselves in the first year. So, we would like to purchase two more. They come up fairly regularly on eBay but we do not currently have funds for bidding on one. If you would like to contribute to this project indicate your gift is for the “new bus fund”.

John Bloom

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News from Becky

Hey All!
School’s IN!  I have 18 kids in my 5th/6th grade classroom.  They do pretty well trying to get the hang of mathematical principles (sort of), letter formation, biblical concepts (somewhat), etc. until 1:35; then, it is unbearably hot in our room and it is a struggle to concentrate.  I keep 2 fans running from 6:30 A.M. till 3 P.M.  ‘Ooo-da-lolly,’ I’ll be glad when the Fall temperatures show up!  I believe just 2 or 3 of my new-to-me 5th graders do not know the Lord Jesus Christ personally, while the others seem to have at least a passing acquaintance with JESUS.  Do pray with me for Tomika, Justin, Laqueta, Lashaunda, DeBryanna, Brianna, Cleandro, Angel, Crystal, and Amanda.  My sixth graders could actually use your prayers, too, so here we go:  Rheyland, Micah, Jaqueta, Vandelia, Terence, Brandale, Joshua, and  Ethan.  Thanks and Amen!Our new staff members, Hannah Barr (2nd grade), Cindy Lauersdorf(1st grade), and Becky Allen (H.S./Jr. High Science, Spanish, and English) are doing well.  They are welcome here, and stay very, very busy.  They have an amazing confidence that comes from being good friends with God!I am gung ho on collecting Box Tops for Education this year and Mel Meinzinger is gathering Campbell’s UPCs (aka bar codes)

Let’s talk dental, shall we?  I am having to have not one, but two crowns replaced.  So, already having paid $600+ per crown, I now get to pay again – $850 each.  [Do not complain, do not complain, do not complain, Numbers 11:1]  So, I asked the LORD GOD to provide that money for me from un-‘usual givers’ and I tacked the dental bill on my bedroom wall (to remind God, y’know)   I have been writing in amounts as they come in.  The first tooth has been paid for as of last Thursday, and I ‘merrily merrily’ walked in to the office and forked over that whole amount!  I am amazed afresh at my God’s ability to provide – I don’t know why . . . George Muller isn’t the ONLY one with a direct line!  Still, it excites me – which is odd, because what do I have that God hasn’t provided, after all?  [Can you spell nothing?]

Thank you again and again for your support of the work at Immanuel Mission.  Maranatha!

As usual, I am struggling with getting out of God’s way and letting Him get on with His work.  [We both like to lead, we both have plans for Him to carry out, and we both have a time schedule in mind]  Do pray for me to let God lead.

I wouldn’t be out here if it weren’t for God working through you,

Thanks, Becky Knopf . . . Psalm 52:9

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September Newsletter

Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who paid infinitely more than we are worth to purchase us back for Himself.
Our school year is now in full swing, I’ve given tests in every class, hosted two fundraisers for the Jr. Sr. trip and am planning on a field trip with the high schoolers to the Grand Canyon this Wednesday for a music festival.  I am thrilled to be teaching high school kids most of the day with a general music class for each elementary class in the afternoons.  I try to stay ahead of the kids in geometry, by doing the lesson I’m about to teach, Consumer Math is a breeze as I’ve taught it before, and I read the government book about four times so that I’m ready to lecture on the topic each day.  When I taught elementary school, I had no appreciation for the preparation that goes into teaching older students.  It takes a lot more work to be sure I know more than the students about the topic I’m teaching.  I actually have a little more free time in each day this year and it is fun to see how the Lord is filling it up for me.  One of my seniors is taking Navajo govt. and language on line and stays after to work on the internet.  I read over her shoulder and am learning a lot too.  I mostly drive the bus only in the mornings so am able to work with her several days a week.  I’ve filled in minimally for Ruth Bloom these last few weeks while she’s in Iowa with Davey and Katie.  That involves making deposits and paying the staff who get weekly pay.  I’ve gained an appreciation for what Ruth does and am eager for her return around the 22nd.
Our women’s craft class is going to start in October and we hope to do some cooking together for a while.  A Navajo brother, Gerald Harvey, has cooked for the school and also at Grand Canyon and Yellowstone.  He plans to teach the class.  I am excited to have a Navajo teaching it, but another Navajo believer wonders if our grandmas who come will be as receptive to a male.  It is something to pray about.
Please also pray for our high school students.  We are looking to the Lord for a revival this year among the teens.  There are several who are Christians but so far haven’t been able to stand up to peer pressure and be bold about their faith among their classmates.  I’m praying that we will see the Lord work powerfully through them and change the pressure at our school to be more like Jesus, not less.  I think since my school work load is lighter this year, I may have more energy for extracurricular activities.
We’ve all been enjoying the idea that the Lord will return this fall at the feast of the Trumpets—Rosh Hashannah.  It falls on Sept. 29-30 this year.  So I close with this variation on the traditional Jewish expression;
Next year in Heaven,
Anne Denny
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Bloom Newsletter – August 2008

Dear praying friends,

School has started for another year. We have 82 wonderful students enrolled. There are 10 kindergartners which is good for the future of the school. We have three new teachers; Cindy Lauersdorf comes from Phoenix and is teaching first grade. Hannah Barr is from Longmont CO and is teaching second grade. Becky Allen is from Manhattan, KS and is teaching HS English, Science and Spanish. Please pray for these new teachers that they will have a minimum of problems adjusting to another culture and living in a mission community. We praise God He has once again supplied what we needed for the year. Their stories of how God called and led them here are really neat and you will be able to read about them in the fall mission newsletter. By the way, if you want more IM news you can subscribe to get all the news at http://www.immanuelmission.org/.

Please be praying about the great expense of bus gas and propane. We run two buses everyday on 30 – 40 mile routes getting about 5 miles to the gallon. We have gas delivered about 5 times a year. A truck full of gas is around $5,000. A load of propane is around $7,000. These are our largest expenses. For many years we have been adding insulation to all the buildings to conserve heat but the cost of propane keeps going up.

We had a great summer with six work groups coming. The new Vo-tech building is almost ready. Please be praying God will provide a teacher for that program. We were able to do a lot of work in the community as well as hold many Bible clubs. We enjoyed having three new groups this year from Tulsa, OK, Portland, OR and Woodland Pk, CO.

As most of you know on July 18 our daughter-in-law Katie (Davey’s wife) had a severe headache. When taken to the ER they found severe bleeding in her brain. Immediate surgery was performed to relieve the pressure but they gave little hope that she would survive or recover. But God has seen fit to spare her and she is doing great. She is still in the rehab center but her progress is remarkable. You can follow this miracle on the internet at katiebloomprogress.blogspot.com. We spent a week in Des Moines in July praying for the miracle and watching the kids so Davey could be at the hospital. Davey has been on the radio and TV in Des Moines giving God the glory for what He has done. We know many of you have been part of the prayers for Katie and we thank you.

I turned 60 this summer, got false teeth and began an oral chelation regimen to reduce plaque in my arteries. Because of the new teeth and perhaps the pills I have lost over 30 pounds and feel great. I was able to go backpacking again this summer and plan to climb 14,000 ft. Mt. Wilson again this fall (maybe not to the top).

Johnny is in his senior year at Emmaus and is the student body president. He seems to be in all their promotional materials.

Again, we thank you for your faithful prayers and support.

John & Ruth Bloom

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Eager to move in

Christian Friends, after a year of working everyday on the house, Greg is looking at the finished product and the family eager to move in. Thank you so much for your help in making this new home a reality for Ilene and her four children.

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New Responsibility

Dear Friends of the Mission,
Hello, my name is Sarah Sun. Ruth Bloom has recently asked me if I would start taking on the position of going through boxes and distributing the items in which they contain. This is a new responsibility and I am excited to be part of it. It has been so worthwhile seeing how much people care. It is also very nice to be doing this as something I can do at the same time as I watch my three year old daughter. While Solomon teaches fourth grade, I stay at home with our daughter, Eden and since it is our first year at Immanuel Mission we have plenty of extra time on our hands during the day. It has been a blessing to be able to help Ruth this way. I truly never realized how many boxes Ruth went through each week until I started helping her. It is so encouraging to see how so many people across the country think about and support the Mission. We see God working in many lives and we thank you for your contributions this past year. May God bless you and your families.With thanks and love,

Sarah Sun
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News from Becky

Hey all!

Here I am on the ‘past tense’ side of our class restaurant, praising God for how it turned out.  I always fight worrying about it, and at the last moment, I fling myself on God and let Him do it His own way.  [Wisdom in action, huh?]

This year, we tried something that worked well:  People paid for what they wanted when they first came in and were given tokens.  The tokens were then redeemed at various places around the edge of the gym.  We had tablecloths and flowers (and salt) on all the tables, which were in the central area of the gym, so it still had the feel of a restaurant, but the kitchen itself was not a ZOO!

The sweetly superb Sarah Sun sang ‘saintly’ songs, serenading ‘supping’ spectators throughout the evening.  Anne Denny was our cashier, Miss Kelly was at the dessert table, Mr. V was at the Mutton Stew & Frybread table, Melissa baked Pizza, Mrs V. grilled burgers, Miss MEgan started the Navajo Tacos/Burgers on their way, Kathy served 120 drinks, the staff baked cherry pies, helped with set-up and tear-down, and Flash made a short DVD of it all.  Everyone here helped.  God brought in $700!  You can look at a video about it on the Mission website: www.immanuelmission.org

None of it was ready to go at 6 P.M. when we opened our doors [!!!!!], but one great thing about Navajos is that the same character trait in them that brings frozen hamburger patties and frybread dough into the kitchen at 5:50 P.M. [!!!!!] is also willing to patiently wait around for the food to be cooked – with out so much as a single complaint.  When will I ever remember that?

At 7 o’clock, the frybread crew in the kitchen, having served their time, merrily waved good-bye.  At first, I panicked.  Then I began scrambling through the busy restaurant, approaching every Navajo woman I knew, begging her to come to the kitchen and pat out frybread.  Three of them gazed up at me, mouths full, and nodded “OK”, and the restaurant continued.  Thank you for your support in prayer!

We have 1 month left of school.  It amazes me how God brings us through year after year.  It’s a delight to Him, but it ‘floors’ me.  The Valdois’ and MEgan are leaving I.M., that’s 3/5 of the Jr. High/High school faculty AND 2/4 of the bus drivers!  Help!  Come!  Drive!  Teach!  Pray on, if nothing else! [I’m talking to you]

THANK YOU for being a part of the work out here where “God is with us”

Because HE is, Miss Becky Knopf

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March Newsletter

Hello Friends and Family,With the approach of spring, students and teachers alike are getting spring fever. I know this is definitely true in my classroom. Last week in an effort to combat the spring fever, I rearranged my classroom. I am hoping that this will give us a fresh look and will renew our vigor until the end of the year.

The first week of March, a group of Emmaus Bible College students came down. They were a great group to have. They did various things around the mission. Two students helped out in the school and one, Alyssa, was in my classroom. I remember being in college and rearing to start teaching, so the week Alyssa was here, I let her teach and do all my work!!! It was great! It actually turned out to be a blessing because I had to leave Wednesday afternoon to go as a chaperone on the state basketball trip. Alyssa was able to take over my classroom as the sub while I was gone. It is so neat to see the Lord supply a solution even before the problem arises.

By the way, our basketball teams did great. The girls got 5th place and the boys got 4th. There were a couple of really, really close games that were heart-wrenching. But overall it was a great trip.

On Saint Patrick’s day, Ruth Bloom, our bookkeeper and close friend was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. They thought it was appendicitis, but when they went in they found something totally different. Even though I’ve had it explained to me, I don’t think I can tell you exactly what they found, but they patched her up. Later that night around 3am, they had to go back in for another emergency surgery. There was internal bleeding and they took out a quart and a half of blood from her abdomen. Praise the Lord that she is back home and doing wonderfully. She is still mending and getting her strength back. Ruth is such a testament to the Lord’s power.

Over spring break, I accompanied Megan Thurston and her four dogs to their home in Ocean Shores, Washington. It was my first time to see the Pacific Ocean (although I didn’t really see it until Thursday because of the clouds and rain.) It was a great trip, even though it was wet, and cold, and rainy the entire time (expect an hour or two!)

A major prayer request: We are losing three teachers and two bus drivers this year. We need a Jr. High teacher, and two high school teachers. It will be neat to see how the Lord provides for this need. Please partner with us in prayer as we ask that he will send the right people at just the right time. Let us know if you are interested of filling some need out here or know of anybody who would be interested. Thanks again for your prayers.

In first grade we have been learning about Jesus. He came to earth as a baby, grew up to be a man, died on the cross. But he isn’t still dead: he arose and now is in heaven. Today we learned about how one day Jesus will be coming back to take all of his friends and followers back to heaven with him. Lord—how I am looking forward to that day! But I am also reminded to pray that my students and their families will understand their need for a savior before He returns.

Till his return,Kelli Wilson

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Bloom Newsletter – April 2008

Dear praying friends,

I trust you are more faithful in praying than I am in writing. I think this is the longest time in 35 years of ministry that I have gone without communicating with our friends. Please forgive me. I could use busy as an excuse but really it was just procrastination. There is lots to update you on so here goes.

Of course the BIG news is that on Mar 23 on our way back from San Francisco Ruth began having severe pain in the abdomen. We arrived home at 2AM and at noon on Monday the pain was worse so we went to Farmington to the emergency room. They took a CT scan and thought it was appendicitis so scheduled surgery for 8PM Mon night. During the surgery they found a healthy appendix but also found some twisted tissue around the colon that had cut off the blood supply and was causing the pain. It is called a torsion of the omentum and is fairly rare but can be serious. The operation seemed successful and we were sent to a regular room in the hospital. At 3AM on Tuesday the nurse noticed that Ruth’s blood pressure had dropped to 45/35 which is very serious. The room was immediately full of doctors, nurses and who knows who else. They rushed her into surgery again to stop internal bleeding. This time there were no problems and we came home Thurs. She has been steadily improving each day but it will take about 6 weeks before she is back to normal. Thanks to all who are praying for us and forgive us if you are just now hearing of this. God is so good and we are thankful that God is healing her. Through it we strongly felt God’s protection and care.

We are already planning and looking toward next years staff. Megan has decided to go back to school so we will need a 7/8 grade teacher. We have a young lady, Hannah Barr from Colorado, interested in teaching 2nd grade. We still need a maintenance man. Two families are praying about that position but still no firm leading of the Lord for them to come. Dave and Margie Meinzinger have been here for a month helping out with maintenance and a host of other things.

Several other needs to be aware of. One of our Christian young ladies is planning to go to college in Kansas and needs a small car. If you have one you could donate or sell cheap let me know. We also need mechanics tools for the new shop program or funds to purchase them I try to buy many things at auctions to stretch the dollars. We are hoping to begin operation in fall of 2008.

Please remember to pray for and support our Navajo workers. There are eight on staff now which really eases our burden.

The most exciting news is that a young high school student, Uriah Haskie, professed salvation a month ago. Pray he will want to grow and continue in the faith. He is not from a Christian home and has a lot of issues to deal with. It is very rare for a high school student to come to Christ.

Thanks again for your love and friendship. We are rejoicing in God’s goodness and care.

John & Ruth Bloom