Beacon Blog

Thankfuls - February 26th

2010-03-01T19:06:00.002-05:00

Music Evaluation Class
Mercy Coming Back
Friends
The Birthday Girls and Boy - Larissa, Erinn, and Aaron
Roller Blades
Street Hockey
Watching the Olympics
Woman's Meeting - On Meekness
Choir
Library Work
Spring Cleaning
Pasta Making Class
Heart Group
Snow
Birthday Dinners
Jean Skirts
Youth Weekend
Apartments for Family
Letters from Family
Girls Singing for Sunday Service
Ice Hockey
2 Months of Good Ice
Ice Bringing Families Together
Singing
Keeping Track of Thankfuls Daily
Attitude Book Assigned for Dan's Class
for Being Thankful
Coals of Fire
Daily Presents
Going to NYC
License Renewal
Gerry Plowing
Answers to Prayer for Abby's Plans Next Year & Meredith Getting to Go to Her Grandma's Funeral
Mary & Mary
Mentoring
Diane
God's Healing
That God is Powerful
Protection
Health & Support While Unhealthy
Town Trip
Phone Calls from Family
Supportive Friends
Long Walks
Seeing Family
Daniel
Free Weekend
Birthday Party
Interacting with Classmates - Getting one on one time
Jumping off of the Roof
Tony
Bobby's Perfect Snowball - And the Recipient's Back Still being in One Piece
Many Other Things

HOCKEY!!!!! and other exciting activities of the week

2010-03-01T14:32:00.001-05:00

This week began with the closing of the annual winter youth weekend. Though numbers were few, everyone had a fantastic time fellowshiping with one another and drawing closer to God. Everyone felt God's protection as numerous black-eyes, bumps and bruises were received through a variety of games and activities.

On Saturday, the planned activity was to enjoy some ice skating on Stone Pond. However, upon inspection, it was discovered that there was a large hole in the ice and the pond was no longer suitable for the favored winter activity. But necessity is the mother of invention so they say, or in our case, creativity. Therefore, instead of ice skating, the youth enjoyed building a number of fascinating snow sculptures on the front lawn. Also, due to the lack of ice, several members of the Bible school have taken up street hockey in the gym. After scrounging up several pairs of roller blades, the students have had an excellent time honing their hockey skills on the gym floor numerous times this past week.

On Monday, Sarah invited her boss, Mr. Del Rossi to come teach the girls a vocational class in the art of making pasta. We were each able to mix together our own pasta dough and form a variety of noodles including ravioli, linguine, fettuccine, and tortellini. We were able to enjoy consuming the fruit of our hard labor the following evening.

Tuesday brought the excitement of early class and spring cleaning. We divided up into teams, took our cleaning caddies, and set out to conquer the world...or at least three of the buildings contained therein. Adrenaline was flowing, spirits were soaring, and laughter was exuberant as the teams raced to complete their assignments in as thorough and efficient manner possible. The evening was enjoyed with some well deserved Ultimate Frisbee and Volleyball.

We now come to the middle of the week. Wednesday brought with it the usual schedule of classes, meeting, and work. In the evening, several students participated in an optional Hebrew class taught by Craig. Then it was off to heart groups. This included more skating in the gym, singing with guitars, fellowshiping, and many other exciting activities designed to bind our hearts more closely to each other.

Throughout this week, we have enjoyed taking the Music Evaluation class taught by Craig. It has been excellent and very thought provoking as we looked into the ways in which we discern what music to listen to or avoid. We worked together to learn how to answer the question, does the music enhance my walk with God? Overall, the class was very enlightening and practical to our everyday choices and needs.

Thursday brought about more street hockey in the gym as well as watching the Olympics. Other than that, the day followed a relatively normal routine.

On Friday, everyone bustled about in an effort to finish their work so they could dive into free weekend. By three o'clock, most of the students departed in a variety of directions, visiting friends and family in the nearby states. This particular free weekend was unique though in that a number of students remained at Fairwood over the weekend. But not to fear, they were quite up to the daunting task of hanging out, relaxing and generally amusing themselves in a large variety of ways. Whether they were watching movies, building snowmen, or snowboarding, a grand time was had by all.

This week was also very exciting because we were able to celebrate three Bible school birthdays- Erinn, Larissa, and Aaron. We enjoyed lots of fun, fellowship and food. We are so privileged to have these three awesome people as our friends.

It was a bittersweet moment when 8:00 came Sunday evening. Many of the students returned to school an hour and a half earlier than normal in order to participate in choir practice. But not to fear. We still were able to have fun singing. It was definitely worth the time in order to perfect the multiple pieces of music in preparation for the March feast.

P.S. Our heart goes out to Team USA and we mourn with them the loss of the gold medal in the men's hockey game Sunday afternoon.

Photo of last Week: Youth Weekend!

2010-02-28T11:35:00.003-05:00

Don't go poking any eyes out!

A Week of Survival and Excitement!!

2010-02-15T14:12:00.003-05:00

Greetings once again from the Fairwood Bible Institute! We hope you are well, happy, and ready for another update!

It's been an interesting week without the third years here. They call the senior year students the "mighty third years" but the first and second years have wholly earned that title of "mighty" this week! Both the men and the woman, first and second years, stepped up to the plate with work assignments, prayer meetings, and sports! In fact, the entire class response from the underclassmen was several times more responsive than when the third years are here. It was encouraging to all to see those whose faith is normally quiet be put into words.

Saturday the 6th, Diane treated us to a special Sabbath meal of enchiladas! Now that was really good food. She set the tables beautifully, which included goblets. After enjoying the good food together, we had a little symphony of goblet players! We filled each goblet with water and ran our finger around the rim, creating a cacophony of noise. What joy it brought to our hearts.

Several of the students successfully passed the Third Level Test and are now graduated from the second to the third level. On 3rd Level the students are granted greater freedoms and the option of leaving Sunday afternoons. Congratulations to each student who is triumphantly exercising his 3rd Level privileges!

Unfortunately, the week began with three of the students still feeling under the weather. Htee Khu, Larissa, and Abby all found themselves bed ridden with a stomach bug. Fortunately for Htee Khu and Larissa, their bout with the sickness came to an end early in the week. Abby was out of commission until Thursday. But! They each recovered, thanks to God and His healing, and are currently bringing a great deal of energy, personality, and life to the student body. We are so glad to have them back.

The first years and second years each started a new class this week. Mr. Tim Murray is teaching the two week class of Revelation to the first years, and Mr. Dan Murray is teaching the second year class about the Life of Moses. The first years are being inspired by the enthusiasm of their teacher and the intriguing facts of Revelation. They are thankful for the sobering reminder of the end times but as well as the joyful reminder of the outcome of those times. The second years have enjoyed learning about how God proved Himself great to the children of Israel, despite the strength of the Egyptians and the unbelief of the Israelites themselves. They are both excellent classes and have prompted extra thought and fodder for discussion and testimonies!

It has been a week blessed with rich and powerful meetings. Tuesday morning, Brandon spoke on the song "How Firm A Foundation." He gave us five minutes to see how many allusions or quotes to biblical references we could find in the verses of the song. He had seventeen references, to which we found several more as well! These were uplifting and encouraging reminders from scripture such as Isaiah 43:2: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the fire burn you." Some of the references were shorter and simpler: "Do not fear for I am with you." Isaiah 41:10. We were each thankful for a song which directly quoted God's scripture.

Sports on Saturday were unusually upbeat! One of Larissa's friends (the identity of which we will not reveal due to her safety) had a sudden lapse of discretion and bought her an energy drink. Acting as a battery for the rest of the students, Larissa along with a few others cheered and shouted enthusiastically throughout the evening. You would have thought each of the students had his own energy drink. The general atmosphere was very noisy and hyper, but not chaotic or unorderly. This extra boost of energy prompted much hyper yelling and frenzied running after the ball. It was not just an evening of silliness, though. The light-hearted spirit seemed to bring those students present at sports closer together, thus enabling them to work better as teams. The result was the longest volley of the school year!

On Sunday, Gerry provided the opportunity for a skating trip to Stone Pond. Stone Pond, just a couple miles down Lake Road, is completely frozen over, with only a few snow patches or bumpy sections marring its surface. Fun was had by all, as beginner and more seasoned skater alike played hockey or just enjoyed gliding over the pond. Thank God for those winter sports which alleviate the boredom and make the cold more of a blessing than it would be without them!

We are excited for this next week and to see what God's plan is for each of us. Looking forward to the third year students' return, the youth weekend, finishing up current classes, and whatever else this week will bring! We hope each of you has a good week as well! May God be with you!

~Written by Cara and Htee Khu

Pictures of the Week

2010-02-11T18:45:00.004-05:00

Taken by Erinn

Weekly Update: Life continues...

2010-02-08T13:27:00.003-05:00

This last week at Fairwood has been great and we've had several interesting events!

On Tuesday the guys received a well deserved break from afternoon work. Gerry very generously treated us guys to an afternoon of swimming at the Monadnock Bible Conference, which they opened just for us at no cost! And skating and playing hockey on Stone Pond and much fun was had by all the guys.

One of the most notable things that happened was that on Wednesday morning at 6:45 the third-year students (also including Mr. and Mrs. Sandford)drove away, bound for Georgia on a class ministry trip!
Therefore, the rest of us students were left here to hold the fort.
Which meant the responsibility of praying in meeting and work (among other things)was no longer on the mature third-year men and woman.

Also on Wednesday, Dan's 9:00 meeting was really incredible, he encouraged us by talking about "closing ranks", referring to the fact that some of the 'elders' had left, also "stepping up" and "be still".
It was a really encouraging meeting.

On Thursday morning the men's dorm was suddenly awakened by the intense screaming and bright flashing of the fire alarm.
Tony ran out of his room yelling at the of his lungs to "get out of the dorm!"
Because of Tony's warning shouts, some of the guys were convinced that the whole dorm was in flames.
It ended up that it was just smoke from the furnace room.
Relieved, the men resumed their morning duties.

Also on Thursday, Larissa and Htee Khu fell victim to a nasty stomach bug, which made them quite unable to attend normal duties.(Even in to the weekend).

So, guess that wraps up the update for this week. Make sure you come back next week for some more exciting episodes of life at Fairwood!

Weekly Update: the Commencement of a New Semester

2010-01-19T22:56:00.007-05:00

On January third, the students of Fairwood Bible Institute returned with pounding hearts and bated breath, ready to charge into a gripping new semester. Okay, it might not have been quite that dramatic, but all the same, we were ready for more.

Bright and early Monday morning, the students cheerfully dragged themselves out of bed in hopes of quickly readjusting to the humdrum schedule. Success was ours, and by the time class came around we were all thrilled to launch into our new courses. The first and second year students were privileged to learn about the awesomeness of God's handiwork in Creation vs. Evolution, while the third years dug into some treasure troves in the writings of Frank W. Sandford.

On Tuesday afternoon, we piled into vans to go to Concord and attend an indoor press conference in support of getting the right to vote for the definition of marriage. Of course, having been led to believe that we were attending an outdoor rally, we nearly suffocated under the weight of our layers. Thankfully they were removable.

Wednesday night, everyone was eager to recommence heart groups. These pursuits included movie watching, honing nerf gun skills, and getting chlorine poisoning. (The guys might prefer to call this last activity swimming.)

The next day, we ventured forth to the nursing home on outreach, where the elderly had the joy of enduring our musical talents. Fortunately no glass was broken, despite our best efforts. If for some reason they didn't adore our singing, we redeemed ourselves with the hearty conversations we held with them thereafter.

On the arrival of the weekend, the guys found their numbers sorely diminished, since most of the gentlemen were gone to celebrate the life of a fallen friend, Mr. Harry Gates. Not to be outdone, our celebrations included a Lyceum, also known as a talent show that requires no talent. But talent was certainly exhibited, and even those who didn't participate contributed their laughter. These skills partially consisted of chipmunk vocals, work out programs, high kicks, and the desperate need of water . . . for your hair.

To finish the weekend, we all glided over to Aaron and Cara's house to have a jolly good time on their icy pond. Slipping and sliding about, we managed to remain upright the majority of the time, however ungracefully. Even though the weather was bitter, we succeeded in fending off frostbite by exploring new territory in the swamp, roasting our dinner on the fire, and racing wildly about in an intense game of hockey.

Upon our return to Fairwood, we were greeted by two prospects: the less exciting one was the mad dash of the first and second years to finish up their Apologetics notebooks (the copiers in the office were rather unappreciative) while the other was the delight of seeing the lovely young lady, Abigail, who had arrived again in our midst.

Monday, after a thought-provoking and highly amusing video talk by Otto Koning on yielding our "pineapples" to God, all of us students gathered in the large classroom to begin our study on the Life of David, taught by Mr. Murray. However, while we might have been expecting to immediately embark on the life of this great man, our Teacher had better ideas. Instead, the Holy Spirit spoke to us through Mr. Murray by inspiring us with fresh encouragement to sign up for the White Cavalry, to be a spotless Bride of Christ, and to pursue "Only Thee," without being distracted. This first class was only the beginning. Since then we've gleaned many gems from the life of this incredible man after God's own heart.

What happened on Tuesday, you might ask? Not much. Of course, breakfast, nine o'clock hour, class, lunch, work, dinner, and sports are always delightful, but not unusual for a Tuesday. Work was slightly different in that we spring cleaned our rooms and did a lot of library work.

Come Wednesday, in nine o'clock hour Shawn reinstituted "coals of fire." This is simply a chance to share what God has given us in our daily Bible reading. It was rich and thought-provoking, and, overall, lovely.

One oddity of the day was the fact that two of the girls appeared to be having an identity crisis. That is, Mary had adopted the charming wit and attire of Klara, while Klara had attained the unceasing kindness and garb of Mary.

When the evening rolled around, the surprises were still coming when nearly half of the young ladies descended upon the dining room in "formal wear," already prepared for that night's heart group. This smashing group of gals invaded Panera Bread with their extraordinary elegance, avoiding the stares of bystanders when possible. One man, however, was difficult to ignore. Wondering if this were the norm, he rendered us speechless with an offer to appear on his television show. Back at Fairwood, the rest of the girls were less properly inclined. They were engaged in a fearsome nerf battle in the dark depths of the church basement. At the same time, the guys sedately sipped hot drinks while they tried to figure out what their spiritual gifts were.

For nine o'clock hour on Thursday, Mr. Murray held an uplifting service in which all we did was blast our lungs out in many a glorious hymn. Although we may have exhausted our vocal cords, we did not exhaust our faith. Later on, we were again blessed with fabulous men's and women's meetings, led by Dan and Gretchen, respectively. We don't know about the guys', but the girls' message was excellent, and we assume that the guys' must have been too because they were all five minutes late to the following meeting. Hence, "2 o'clock meeting" became "2:05 meeting." In this meeting, Brandon enlightened us on some of the intricacies of healthcare by assigning roles to some of the students. Throughout this illustration, we learned little-known facts, like how Erinn is a surgeon who doesn't know the difference between an appendix and a stomach, how Tony is the government, and how Aaron weighs four hundred pounds. Then we prayed that "Tony" would deal with this whole situation according to God's will.

We were relieved when the Sabbath at last fell into our laps. As usual, after a peaceful meeting we ate dinner and the guys did the dishes. Yay! Next, we relished the opportunity to gorge ourselves on pineapple upside down cake and popcorn before settling down in the parlor with a crackling fire to listen to Mr. Murray read us a soothing tale of Samwise Gamgee slaying Shelob. The arachnophobes among us were unable to fully appreciate this passage, but the story moved on and they were comforted.

The next day was just like any other day, except this day was Saturday, which is unlike any other day, because it's Saturday. This particular Saturday, most people decided to take advantage of New Hampshire's glacial climate by going sledding, snowboarding, or skating. To round out the week that evening, Craig started teaching us how to avoid butchering Hebrew. Naturally, we all are excited to learn more, and if not, we should be.

And now, our dear reader, you have reached the long-awaited ending of our verbose account. We hope we have not discouraged you from wanting to tune in again.

(This post was written by Erinn and Kayla.)

The Grand Return

2010-01-18T15:11:00.000-05:00

Greetings, friends! It's a new year and a new semester, and to keep up with the theme we have unveiled our new domain name for the Beacon. We still have some work to do to get the site up to speed, but at least the address is no longer obnoxiously long and complicated. Because of a technical complication, most of the Photo of the Week posts from the past were deleted, but there will be plenty of new ones in the future.

The biggest news of the new semester is that we have two fewer students: in accordance with announcement last semester, Josh left to join the military; and Joseph left to finish his high school education at home in Michigan. For more news from Fairwood, you'll have to wait for more thankful lists and updates. But don't worry: they'll be here soon. Stay tuned!

-- Aaron S.

Thankfuls-Jan 3-10

2010-01-14T12:31:00.007-05:00

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lam. 3:22,23
Class on Apologetics
Christmas break
Protection while traveling
God's provision over break
Dearly beloved, recently deceased hamster
Higher ground over vacation
"Its nice to be back and have to use my brain again"--to slightly misquote a student
Great classes: Creation Vs. Evolution and Life of FWS
"Faith can climb any difficulty, or if it is tired of climbing, it can level it." FWS
Outreach at nursing home
"Hang on to your Jesus because he won't let you go." -Resident of nursing home
Talking with some of the guys about cars
classical music
Diane and Fritha are here!
Life is better, I got a letter!
The blood of Jesus is effective

Friday thankfuls!!

2009-12-11T15:44:00.003-05:00

"Joy to the world! the Lord has come!... He comes to make His blessings flow..."

As usual on a Friday morning, the students gathered at nine o'clock to report and bring praise to God for the blessings that He has very abundantly dumped all over the bible school!

We are thankful for:

God
Thursday night basketball
Thanksgiving break
Aaron, who is a really good math teacher
Good music
Christmas is a time of focusing on Jesus
We have a very powerful tool: God's word
Men's meeting - courage
Josh, who is a man of courage
Being at Fairwood
Htee Khu
Angels and earthlings
Lots of beautiful snow
Snowmen
Jane and Amy and their willingness to help
Family
Mary's dad
The progress on the play for the dessert banquet
Women's meeting
Jaybeth- trapping mice
Heart group
Sledding
All the girls in the dorm
Morning devotions
Amy making dinner for Jane
Homework
Class (all the students are studying apologetics together)
Beautiful weather
Finishing the woodsheds
Participating in the Messiah sing
Prep for Singing at the dessert banquet
The girls wrestling in the snow
God knows us - and the beginning and the end!
Joy
Jesus' image stamped in Adam's place
He is able to do far more than I ask of think
Peace
He is willing and able to help us
Time of prayer with heart group
Working at the Hansens'
Aaron getting accepted at Geneva College
Aaron being the bowling champion of the dorm
Sports on Tuesday
Lee Strobel's videos in class
Christianity makes sense
The song "Hark the Harald Angels Sing"
Classmates
Friendships
Progress and transformation in our lives
Parents' blessing on call to the army (Josh)
Seeing the transformation of Jesus in our classmates' lives
God doesn't force us to believe

The meeting was ended with Bobby and Daniel also stating that they were thankful.

Praise the Lord!

2009-12-06T16:04:00.003-05:00

Thankfuls from this past week:

Thanksgiving break
Wood drive
Angels and Earthlings
Apologetics Class
Mrs. Murray's womens meeting on "Sanctification"
Mr. Sandford's meeting on the Holy Spirit and how He can work through you
Special devotional time on "sanctification"
Keeping our focus on God during the busy Christmas season
Third year guys' college trip
"Sticking to it...not giving up"
Beautiful weather
The Karen students adoption going well
Htee Khu's back healed
Gift of the Holy spirit
Memorable conversations among the students
Special prayer time for Israel
Heart groups
Erinn's new double-bed
Mentors
Special meetings
Cooking
Jane and Amy singing together
Resting in Jesus
Reminder that we can get as much out of Bible school as we want
Playing music together
Victor Abram's quote, "If we take a stand today, the devil will lose."
Htoo Eh passing his driver's test
Christmas lights
No melodrama in Bible school
Protection in various areas
"What I believe, I have assurance, I know I believe."
"Following God means going where He's going"
The book, "Mere Christianity"
Completed college applications
Aaron's waterproof boots for wood drive

All thanks to God!

2009-11-23T21:50:00.003-05:00

God has been very good this past week. On Fridays we take time to express our thanks to Him for all he has done. Here are a few of the ways he has been working throughout this past week.

God's help in repairing the Fairview generator
Youth weekend - God is working in their lives as they take a stand for God to turn the world upside-down, activities went well. God blessed the time.
Our anchor (Christ) holds - makes us keep going straight in the storm
Thanksgiving break coming soon - gas money for trip home
All the people who aren't here - remind us how much we miss them
Mountain climb with Mercy on Sunday - safety
Ability to thank God - He is good all the time
People who take care of you when you are sick
Heart-group
Morning devotions - we are disciples of Christ!
Playing the piano
Class presentations - Rely on God
Angels & Earthlings
Rain
Walks
Meteor shower - creativity of God
Kingdom History trip - Shiloh, Mr. Murray's stories
Sabbath coming
Excellent weather
Being at Bible school
Good teachers
Good friends
Playing mini-golf
Beacon article - Holy Spirit's help and inspiration
Meeting by Mr. Murray - sowing to the spirit
God's help doing meals - things went smoothly
God's help during a very hard week (2 weeks ago)
Good prayer times
2 o'clock meeting "Jesus is on the throne alone"
Variety throughout the week
Working on maps for class (Paul's Life and Letters) - Helps understanding what is going on in Acts
Zeal, energy, protection on wood drive
new guys learning how to use different tools - protection
Isaiah 43:10-11 - good reminder
New door at Dan's house
Aaron and Ben's trip going well
New insights in Psalms
All 10 fingers still there in spite of several encounters with large pieces of wood and the splitter
Lisa's friend, Melissa is feeling better - thanks for praying
Gift computer from 5 years ago - God's faithfulness to meet our needs
Being here for 9 o'clock hour
God is a bountiful giver - out gives us
Sermon by Dave Bugbee (15 years ago) - cast all your cares upon him for he cares for you.
God is still on the throne - God takes care of all our problems
Mr. Murray having the opportunity to share about Coronet in Newport.

All The While Praising God

2009-11-08T21:54:00.006-05:00

The title of this post has been somewhat of a theme for this past week. Following are some of the highlights. Beware, this is by no means an exhaustive list. Neither are they in any particular order of importance or chronology.

We officially started "heart-groups" this past Wednesday. This is a time when we break up into small groups and do things together to "bind our hearts together." This first meeting was spent by brainstorming different activites we might do on future dates. From playing games, to assisting others, to having a Bible study together, it can be safely said that all are looking forward to what is in store.

One of the most memorable events of the week was when the small laundry was transformed into a hair salon. Bright lights were set up and hair clips and combs were assembled as the Bible school girls took it upon themselves to experiment with different products and styles. Sweet fellowship was enjoyed by all.

On Friday, in an effort to avoid the notorious Swine Flu and other various plagues, a mini spring cleaning drive was put forth. Classes and meetings were canceled and all worked vigorously to accomplish the task at hand. As the sun set, the Main House fairly glowed with cleanliness while the Bible School students and staff made their way into the library to welcome a much desired and needed Sabbath rest.

This past week has been one of many trials but also of many victories. Through them all, the Bible School has become more closely knitted together and even more importantly, to Christ.

Oft times the day seems long,
Our trials hard to bear,
We're tempted to complain,
To murmur and dispair;
But Christ will soon appear
To catch His Bride away,
All tears forever over
In God's eternal day.

It will be worth it all
When we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small
When we see Christ;
One glimpse of his dear face
All sorrows will erase,
So bravely run the race
Till we see Christ.

Weekly Update Oct 25-Oct 31

2009-11-01T21:35:00.006-05:00

This week we have really felt God's blessing. Sunday night most of us returned from a free weekend. Many of the students stayed here on the campus, but several went home or to friend's houses.

Monday morning, around 5:30, the second- and third-years here at Fairwood left with Neil Sandford to head to the Suttons' house in the Catskill Mountains of New York. The first-year students rose to the challenge of running the student and Fairwood responsibilities without the upperclassmen. The first year had so much fun this week; we worked together to do a lot of jobs. The first couple day we raked the leaves.

Then the upperclassmen returned and life went on. Read the snippets from the thankfuls post for more specific information. :)

More Expressions of Gratitude

2009-11-01T20:31:00.002-05:00

A record of things we Fairwood students are thankful for this past week, as recorded by Aaron:

A whole lot of things
Free weekend
Amy and Jane going to Maine with Mary
Getting to drive on free weekend (Erinn)
Getting a positive reaction from her niece (Erinn)
Free weekend being a good thing (Kayla)
Visit with family, her nephew kept on staring at her (Heidi)
A bunch of Karen students visiting a friend in Connecticut on free weekend
Chance to go to Boston
E. Sandfords' hospitality
Cara and Jane, whose birthdays were this week; life would be sadder if they were not born.
Alden's sawmill, cutting boards
Leaf-raking
Class discussions
"Nice cold, windy weather."
All the friends here
Breakfast with mentor
Help with vocabulary
Learning Spanish from Josh and Cara (Htee Khu)
Aaron, Uncle Neil, and Mrs. Homer teaching math
Erinn cooking with Meredith
Frisbee - Tony is amazing, flies over the wall, is so tall; Htee Khu is like Zacchaeus, wants to climb the tree. "I get hurt; so fun!"
Playing Frisbee, Shawn joining
Two teams in volleyball
God's $6 billion heart
Upperclassmen's trip to the Suttons' - God was in it, everything came together really perfectly; we were able to both be a blessing and be blessed.
A girl Amy met at the Suttons - they hit it off together and God gave Amy the things to say
New stove for Suttons
New farm vocabulary words: "Hay mow," "Hay elevator," etc.
Excellent weather in NY - practically perfect
Getting a lot of stuff done; using the wood splitter, getting a bruise
"Jolly, mature, passionate upperclassmen" back; when they first left, "Freedom!" but then thankfulness when we returned
Things went well with upperclassmen gone, glad to have them back
Jesus is nearby; we don't have to go far to find Him
First-year class projects finished
Fun with class projects; being able to do them as an expression of thanks to God, giving some of our time and effort back to Him
Project room - empty room in women's dorm for art, etc.
Chance to see each other's talent (artwork, song, stories)
Passion of the Christ - a reminder that God was willing to die for us
Women's meeting: tools to use in our walks through daily life. We can't help the birds that fly over our heads, but we can keep them from making nests in our hair
Thursday night basketball
Amy's external hard drive
Frank T. because he helped Amy fix her Synergy program
The return of Mary S.
Going to bed early
God has a plan and it's way deeper and more intricate than our plans: Even though Andy lost his Bible with his FBI notes, God used those notes to deeply impact someone else's life.
Heidi being on dinner with Klara
Yesterday's 9:00 hour - God can do amazing things with people who have had rough pasts
Profitable town trip
Cast iron skillets
Heidi brings laughter
Class on Lord's Supper - class by candlelight; new outlook on that time, more real; Jesus knew His disciples would betray Him, but still He gave them hope, prayer, and comfort
Dan's object lessons and analogies
Grafting - the cut in the vine is Jesus' dying on the cross
Chance to talk to Amanda from Australia on the phone (Kayla)
Fruit and extras
Beautiful morning on Friday
Harvest party
Jesus said, "See, I make all things new."
Sabbath

Warning!!!! The Harvest Party Happened!!

2009-11-01T14:07:00.006-05:00

This week's thankfuls

2009-10-23T15:09:00.006-04:00

Music
Girls helping throw and stack wood
Answer to prayer
The second and third years class
Guy's afternoon work
A beautiful sunrise
Two new students Josh M. and Zack W.
The driveway crew
Radio going so well
That Kimberly is here
The dark room
The Beacon
Kayla's volleyball was found
Klara and Ben climbing the mountain
The Aldrich family is back
Progress in assignments
Beautiful weather
Snow
Larissa getting to take a walk with Bobby
Aaron being able to teach the Karen students U.S. History
Good Books
Awesome week of classes
Clothes pin tag
Good week of meetings

Photos of the Week: Life at Fairwood as a Child

2009-10-21T16:18:00.005-04:00

Last Week's Thankfuls

2009-10-20T15:02:00.005-04:00

Great weather
Snow
Mentors
Rich quiet times
The reminder that we're temples of the Holy Spirit, and if God thinks it's so important to describe His temple in detail in the book of Ezekiel, how much the more does He think of us! (Jane)
New shoes (Tony)
Classes
Writing down Bible verses from devotions
The upperclassmen's video of Joseph Tson. He was actually excited when his communist guard threatened to shoot him for refusing to deny Christ: "If you shoot me, I go to glory!"
Bushwhacking through the swampy woods
Singing in the culvert
Apple picking! (& eating them)
FREE apples!
Apple Sauce Day!
Survey evangelism: the excitement of sharing the Gospel with others, the Holy Spirit's help, and the privilege of getting to work with God in that way.
Kendra's testimony/meeting on witnessing
Erinn's cookies
Living the heart of the Law is pursuing God's nature
First radio spots
Singing at the nursing home
Not just snow, but snowballs - getting hit by the first one and anticipating sweet revenge
Stephanie's visit
Town trip
Mr. Murray's driving making town trip more fun
Cider & cider pressing
The first years' quiz; learning the Beatitudes
Josh and Zack coming (answer to prayer!)
Pecan cracking party
Pecan pie
"Do you read the Bible for fun?" an incredulous kid who sat next to Bobby on the plane
Guys' basketball
"The green grass turned white." (Philip)
"Everyone is so thankful for the snow and I'm so thankful for the heat!" (Mercy)
" 'My name is Htee Khu,' and so she called me 'Tattoo.'" (Htee Khu at the nursing home)
"At the nursing home we finished singing and then we went over to talk to the ol - um, residents." (Meredith)
Talking about faith in class
The balloon/wineskin object lesson
The first student meeting
Basketball during Tuesday night sports (something besides volleyball and soccer:)

Fairwood Update #1

2009-10-13T14:41:00.000-04:00

Greetings, friends! It's a new school year at Fairwood Bible Institute, and the Beacon has been newly updated to match. Kayla and I, the co-editors of this website for the school year, have made some pretty significant revisions to the site, and with a much larger student body than last year, we have high expectations. With the amount of creativity and willing cooperation that we have to draw on, there is no reason that this year's Beacon should not be more interesting, more relevant, and more encouraging than ever before.

One of the significant changes we have made is to turn the Beacon into a set of blogs rather than a list of individually designed and created article pages. This blog, the Updates blog, is primarily designed to be a window into life at Fairwood, a glimpse into the everyday life and events on our campus. There will be weekly updates similar to what we had last year, a photo of the week, and a bullet list of "happy things" - things we are grateful for, quotes that edified or amused us, and any memories from the week that made us particularly joyful.

This is the first of the weekly updates; and coming as it is a full month into the school year, there is a lot that could be covered. For the sake of brevity, however, I will attempt to be brief.

The biggest, most noticeable difference between this Bible school year and last is the size of the student body. Last year we had a grand total of ten students. This year there are twenty-four. This makes quite a difference in a lot of ways, but I have neither the time nor the energy to enumerate them. Plus, I'm being brief. I will leave the changes to your imagination.

The first big event of the year was the Feast of Ingathering, or the Feast of Tabernacles, which we celebrate from September 24 to October 2. The theme, which testimony after testimony revealed was used by God in a significant way to touch people's hearts, was taken from Psalm 46: "Be still and know that I am God." It was a great time of focusing on God and dwelling on His character. The testimony service at the end, which was scheduled to take an hour and a half, ran a full hour overtime as person after person gave God glory for what He had revealed through the various meetings and the times of fellowship and prayer.

That brings us to this past week - the week ending on October 10. During this time several of the students helped out at a dinner for Christian Aftercare Ministries in Manchester, we celebrated Meredith's and Tony's birthdays, and this new website was designed. On Thursday, during the timeslot when we usually hold a prayer meeting, we were given instructions in fire safety - a yearly one-hour class in which we are told everything we need to know in case of a fire at Fairwood. This year's fire safety class was especially memorable in that the fire alarm happened to go off right in the middle of it. The kitchen had been allowed to get a little too hot, and the warm air made its way to the heat-sensitive fire alarm just outside the kitchen door. A number of people were suspicious of the coincidence of a false alarm occurring just as we were learning how to respond to alarms of any kind, but their suspicions proved unfounded.

Friday morning, from nine to ten o'clock, found us enjoying our first official Friday Thankfuls Service. Every Friday morning, this time slot is set aside for students and staff to share what they are grateful for from the week, and it is a time that many of us look forward to with eager anticipation. There was not a moment of silence from the time the opportunity to testify was given until five minutes after the meeting was supposed to be over, and more than once three students stood up at the exact same moment, forcing two of the less forceful students to dolefully resume their seats and wait for another opportunity to leap to their feet.

One thing that was new about this week was that Gerry was on duty for the first time. For those of you unfamiliar with the duty system at Fairwood, each week a different duty couple (or man, in this case) takes the responsibility for answering student questions, overseeing meals, work, and sports, and granting or refusing permission for student requests. One of the couples at Fairwood who was part of the rotation last year decided that it would work better for their family this year to concentrate on their family, and Gerry took over for them. He did a good job.

When Gerry is on duty, Craig and Kendra are responsible for weekend activities, and they did good jobs as well. Friday night we played Samurai - a game in which a blindfolded swordsman tries to keep all others from attaching clothes pins to his clothes. The samurai is not allowed to swing his sword (which was made of soft foam, by the way) unless he clearly hears a noise, and thus the sneaking clothespin-bearers are motivated to be as silent as possible. Either role presented an interesting challenge, and the entire game made quite an interesting show to those on the sidelines.

Finally, for Saturday afternoon activities we made jack-o-lanterns. The creativity demonstrated was pretty amazing, but rather than try to describe it I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. (Pictures coming later...)

- Aaron