Impact Website up and Running

Well my pet project the last week or so has been getting the website up and running for our youth group. Last Sunday it went "live" and it has been fun to connect with many of our students online. A special treat has been seeing students who have been gone for a year or two and being able to connect with them in a small way online.

This past Christmas vacation it was fun to see some of the students that were back from college but it was one of the few times when I wish we did ministry in the states because everyone would be back. Those of you from the military community know what it is like to have friends all over the world. After being here for five years it seems like we have said goodbye a lot.

Anyway you can check out the site and even register if you want to get the full effect of what the students see and experience. Click here to go to it.

Why?

I just found out tonight that my friend Mark Palmer has cancer. For those of you that have been on our prayer list the past couple of years, you know that Mark lost his first wife to cancer a year and a half ago. He got married a couple of months ago and has been in pain ever since. He thought it was a bulging disk but it is something far more sinister.

All three George Irvin Rathmell's the world has ever known took a week long trip from the town where both my Dad and I were born; Williamsport, PA and traveled up through NY to Canada seeing the sites and enjoying our time together. We actually stopped and had lunch in Watertown, NY where we ended up living 3 years later. My Dad would often tell the story later of how I, George the III was driving George Sr. (better known as Irvin) nuts with all my questions.

I still wonder why. Why do the little things happen? I don't wonder so much about Tsunamis, Typhoons and Wars. There are too many variables there for me to even begin to get my mind around. I wonder more often about smaller, more personal issues. Why does Jack get sick? Why don't some kids want to follow Jesus? Why does my friend have cancer? I know there is a purpose behind events I just want to know the why. Sometimes I think it might make life easier but mostly I am just curious.

Sneaky Little Boys and the Things they Do

I thought Jack was finally being kind to Megan the other day. (Parents love it when their kid acts righteously all by themselves) His new thing was to take Megan on walks. For someone who views his little sister as something akin to a gnat, this was a big step.

Later as Buddy and I were laying in bed, I said, "I think Jack just takes Megan on walks to get her away from his toys". Buddy just died laughing and said, "you just realized that? Sure enough, my little boy had outfoxed me, having me believe all along that he was being kind, and really, he was just being selfish and sneaky.

Made for a great discussion on Motivation for my class the next day. You can always count on Jack for good stories. He's what they're made of. Stay tuned...

The guys

These are the guys that help lead our cell groups here on Okinawa, where a lot of the ministry actually happens. Last weekend they had the bright idea of getting up at 4:30 AM to make breakfast for the girls who lead cell groups.

It has been fun to work with them and see them grow. In December we spent the weekend, hiking, climbing, repelling and exploring the Jungle Warfare Training Center together. Oh yeah, some of us also got bit by a non-venimous snake.

Dog for a Day

We almost joined the world of Dog lover's yesterday. I found a 6 month old, friendly, great with kids cockapoo in the paper for free. Adrianne and I thought we would surprise Jen with this little bundle of joy. Jen was surprised all right. Luckily for Jen (the dog was too ugly and big for her liking) the dog bothered my allergies too much. We are going to take it back to the family that was getting rid of it. Jack really liked the dog but the dog didn't like him as much. I think it was all the times that he threw the ball directly at the dog's nose or maybe the many times that he tackled it.

More Fun, Please

Jack is always looking at world a little differtly, generally, "How can I have more fun?"

5th Attempt

We have decided to go to a blog instead of our old webpage. Mainly because we rarely update our webpage any more and this will allow us to update the page more frequently.