The Beacon. 100 Years as A Light in the Hills. Student Council told You re called to lead.

Transcription

1 The Beacon 100 Years as A Light in the Hills NO. 1 RIVERSIDE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL LOST CREEK, KY SEPTEMBER CENTS Student Council told You re called to lead. Leaders train for pain... By Angel Fugate The new Student Council members had their official induction to begin the new school year on September 1, To begin the induction, Rebecca Barnett led with prayer. After the prayer, Mr. Monroe introduced the members of Student Council. They are: President Bethany Butters, Vice President & Junior Representative Patric Haddix, Secretary & Junior Representative Rebecca Barnett, Treasurer & Freshman Representative Erin Butters, Chaplain & Eighth Grade Representative Michelle Barnett, Senior Representative Angel Fugate, Senior Representative Lacey McGuinn, Junior Representative Jeremy Student Council members light the way. Southwood, Sophomore Representative Jammie Napier, Sophomore Representative Deanna Noble, Sophomore Representative Kristian Patrick, Eighth Grade Representative Katie Haddix. This year we have five seventh graders who will be in Student Council as part of a newly instated internship program. They are: Jacob Baker, Toby Campbell, Tyler Hudson, Tiffany Johnson, Beacher Noble After the members were introduced, Lacey McGuinn read Psalm 19. Then Erin Butters read a poem titled, Take My Life. Miss Kiser sang Adoni and then Bethany Butters, the Student Council President, had a message to share. The guest speaker was Rev. Tom Lorimer, pastor of the Front row, l-r: Jeremy Southwood, Lacey McGuinn, Angel Fugate, Michelle Barnett, Erin Butters, Rebecca Barnett, Patric Haddix, Bethany Butters; back row, l-r: Beacher Noble, Tiffany Johnson, Tyler Hudson, Toby Campbell, Katie Haddix, Kristian Patrick, Deanna Noble, Jammie Napier. Five Mile Community Church. He shared with the Student Council a great message about the young king Josiah and the book of Daniel. He stated three important facts he wanted to get across to the Student Council. 1) The importance of investing in what others consider to be important. 2) The importance of learning to stand alone. 3) The importance of training for difficult times. Rev. Tom Lorimer said, You can serve the Lord now. You can t lead when you re following the crowd. You re called to lead-so lead, especially in times of crisis. Leaders aren t called to an easy life. They train for pain. He stated that Daniel was born during Josiah s time. When Josiah got killed, Babylonians took over. Young people were captured and taken to Babylon, including Daniel. Daniel wasn t a rebel; he was a servant of God and he stood up for what he believed. After Rev. Tom Lorimer finished his speech, the Stu- dent Council members each lighted a candle and then they formed two rows where people could exit walking through. ALUMNI DAY EVENTS October 15 & 16 See page 3 for details

2 2 THE BEACON September 2010 Meet our new teachers at Riverside By Brian Baker Amanda Gross is an RCS graduate from the Class of 2002 who is now teaching here and also coaching. Miss Gross attended classes By Lacey McGuinn Her home town is Burlington, Indiana. She went to high school at Kokomo Christian School and then attended Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. Her name is Cassie Carter and she is a new addition to the Riverside faculty. In high school she played volleyball, basketball and softball. Her favorite subjects were speech class and history. Her least favorite was math. She likes to take walks, go hiking and spend time with friends. Her favorite animal is a cheetah. Her favorite color is yellow and her favorite T.V. show is Grey s Anat- omy. Her favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 17 verses 7-8. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. She heard about Riverside from her church in Indiana. The congregation referred Riverside to her. She said I had a lot of peace about coming to Riverside. I believe God called me to come to Riverside for a reason. One of the features that she likes about Riverside is being able to have a close relationship with the students. Some of the things that she thinks could be improved at Riverside are a little more school spirit, and more emphasis on student leadership. She plans on teaching here As long as God wants me here. She teaches middle school social studies, high school history and Spanish 1 and 2. at Morehead University, Eastern Kentucky University and Lees College. She majored in English and took a number of educational classes. At Riverside she teaches 7th By Bethany Butters Mr. Richard Ralstin is a new face here at Riverside and already well into the new year. He is from a town called Rushville, Indiana. He has attended around 25 different colleges, but graduated from St. Louis Christian College, Northern Arizona University and Glendale University, earning a Bachelors, Masters and a PhD. and 8th grade grammar and English 9 and 10. I like helping with the elementary basketball teams. I like to watch movies and spend time with family and friends. She also like to read biographies. Miss Gross like to coach sports. She is the assistant coach of the elementary girls and boys basketball teams. She wanted to teach here at His responsibilities here at Riverside include teaching the third and fourth grades, driving a bus, coaching elementary basketball and helping out with high school basketball as well. He has taught in Arizona and California. I ve taught most of my adult life, he said. He hasn t really had a career outside of teaching. Not unless you call coaching Riverside because when she went to school here she loved it and she taught some P.E. a couple years ago. The school year is going excellently, Miss Gross said. I plan for the students to learn good grammar and learn to appreciate literature. Her brother Joey also graduated here and her mother is Barbara Gross who teaches art and junior high literature. another career, he answered chuckling. He learned about Riverside on the internet. He was going to work at a school in Vermont but because he was unmarried he wasn t able to do so. He then found Riverside, talked with the administrators and said, It seemed like a good match. Cont. to p. 6 RALSTIN

3 Open House mixes business with pleasure Parents of Riverside Christian School students didn t know there would be a unique treat at the end, but they came to Open House anyway. First they walked through the school, greeted familiar faces and met the new teachers. They had the opportunity to see the newly decorated Discovery Room. In the science room Mr. Monroe demonstrated some of the features of the new smooth boards. Lots of newly painted areas were eye catching. Many new books and new Accelerator Reader prizes were on display as well in the library. After the walk-through our parents, faculty and staff gathered in the cafeteria for the first PTF/Booster Club meeting of the new year. Upon arrival there, they were greeted by a counter full of unique treats, some put together in clever ways. They were prepared and hosted by John Paul and Jill Neace. On of the main topics of discussion with the PTF was Riverside s participation in the Honey Festival. Besides having a food booth they will be managing the Honey Run/ Walk Monday morning. Also parent Roger Voth asked about the curriculum currently being used at school. A number of teachers spoke about the text and other materials the are using in their individual classes. During the Booster Club meeting Mr. Ernie Roberts explained the new regulations for the school hosting our cross country meets. Bruce Huxhold and Phil Stephens made a special trip from the Oakville Brethren Church in Indiana to bring clothing that the WMS had collected and school supplies collected by the congregation. Choir plans for new year Lower Lights is back and ready for the new year. This time the theme is The Different Attributes of God, What God is Like. Mrs. Keck, the advisor of the group, is prepared to get the program going. Her main goal for this year is to Have all the participants to work together, practice hard, get closer to God, and sound good. Quite a few students and staff members have signed up for the school singing group. Vanessa Noble has been in the group for five years. Is she excited about the coming year? She replied, Yes, you get to go on trips, sing and have fun. A new comer to the group Toby Campbell was asked what he enjoyed most about being in Lower Lights. He didn t hesitate to reply Singing, what else is there? He and Vanessa would also encourage other students to join Lower Lights. Lower Lights plan to have a trip next spring, and also plan to visit the local churches. They currently are in the process of learning the program and its songs. Members are as follow: 1st & 2nd Grade-Landen Hostetler, Avery Voth, 3rd & 4th Grade-Curtis Watts, Malin Voth, Wesley Voth, Brianna Cody, Anthony Clair, 5th & 6th Grade-Emmanuel Wilson, Vanessa Noble, Rose Haddix, Taya Spencer, Jimmy Strong, Judah Voth, Frank Claussen, Toby Fugate, Kaleigh Smith, 7th & 8th Grade- Tiffany Johnson, Katie Haddix, Toby Campbell, 9th Grade-Erin Butters, 11th Grade-Patric Haddix, 12th Grade-Bethany Butters, Staff- Mrs. Wanda Noble, Miss Cassie Carter. Come take a walk down memory lane. If you graduated from Riverside Christian School or even attended there, you are invited and welcomed to come take that memory walk on Saturday, October 16. T he annual Alumni/ Homecoming Day will be held on Friday and Saturday, October 15 & 16 on the Riverside campus. There will be many different activities. On Friday the Alumni will be sponsoring a Ram 5K Run and 2 Mile Walk at 6:30 p.m. The pre-entry fee $12 or $15 on race day. Each participant will receive a t-shirt also ribbons and trophies will be awarded. On Saturday there will be a Show & Shine Car Show from 10:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. A Burn Out Contest is from 1:00 2:00 p.m. Also there will be an Auction THE BEACON September Take the scenic route Alumni plan Homecoming at 11:00 a.m. Anyone is welcome to donate new or gently used items or donate funds to purchase items for a theme basket. There will also be concessions, games, cake walks, awards, yearbooks, t-shirts and some treats for Alumni. For more information call Notice: A reunion for the Class of 1990 will be held at 3:00 p.m. in the cafeteria. The schedule for the evening is as follows: Elementary Girls Basketball at 4:00 p.m., Elementary Boys Basketball at 5:00 p.m., Lady Rams vs. Alumni Women at 6:00 p.m., Rams vs. Alumni Men at 7:30 p.m. The Alumni Association announced that the proceeds for the day will go toward the purchase of a van for the school. A group of five came recently from St. Luke s Brethren Church in Woodstock, Virginia. They came in three pickup trucks, each one packed full of clothing for the sale room. The clothing came from the congregation, and from Liberty Brethren Church, also in Woodstock, friends and coworkers. Pictured above are, l-r: Rhonda and Ronnie Rau, Herbie Lutz, Roy Alvarez, Gary Smith. They also brought a special love gift that came from the VBS program headed up by Meredith and Pat Sine.

4 4 THE BEACON September 2010 Alumni Corner Meet the Tinchers...Brandon, Brenda, Breanna and Brady When a Riverside graduate has been out of school several years and can reflect on those earlier days, does she have any advice for high school students today? Yes, she does. It is Do all you can do. It flies by. When it s gone, it s gone. It s something you can look back on with no regrets. Those words of wisdom came from Brenda (Neace) Tincher, Class of And she walked the talk. In high school Brenda played basketball and softball and was a cheerleader. She participated in drama, Student Council, and National Honor Society. She was consistently on the Honor Roll and listed in Who s Who Among American High School Students. She also added that some of her best memories are math and Advanced P.E. with Mr. Ho and chemistry with Mr. Monroe. That commitment to in- volvement stayed right with her after graduation. Brenda married Brandon Tincher and began taking classes at Lees Junior College. She considered nursing and physical therapy and worked at the Jackson Hospital two years. Then there was a chance meeting with Breathitt County teacher Barbara Deaton who encouraged her to get into the education program. She did and her involvement quickened the pace. Brenda continued taking classes at Lees, and at the Life Skills Center she was able to take classes from Morehead University on the computer. Four semesters Brenda carried 21, 23, 21, 19 credit hours and received straight A s. She also did some substitute teaching and graduated in Brenda did her student teaching at Marie Roberts/ Caney in 3rd grade and 5th grade. Her first teaching position was at Beattyville Ele- mentary where she had 25 in her kindergarten room; 13 of whom needed speech therapy. She enjoyed the year and the school wanted her to return. They were so good to me at Lee County, and I signed a contract for the next year, she said. But then a job opened right here at Jackson City. I prayed about it. They interviewed me in July. Lee County agreed to release me from my contract and I became a first grade teacher with 25 students. I just love teaching, Brenda said. Working with them, seeing them grow. They are like little sponges. The hardest part is you can t get everything in and it s hard to accept that some children are limited. I wish I could do more one on one. Brenda s husband Brandon works for CSX and has some skills working with horses that he does on the side. The couple have two children, Breanna, 6, and Brady, 5. The family attends the Providence Pentecostal Church near Quicksand. How does she balance being a wife, mom and teacher? She says it helps that they are enrolled in the same school where she teaches. Being a mom helps me to be a better teacher, Brenda says. She already has 15 hours towards her Masters Degree and was enrolled in the Mountain Writing Project this summer at HCTC. This was a three week class that earned her six more hours towards her Masters. Looking further ahead, Brenda feels she would absolutely like to continue teaching, especially in K-2. As Brenda was leaving from this interview, there were two noticeable signs of her loves in life. One was the smile on her face and the enthusiasm in her voice for her work. The other was the writing on the back of her shirt: Brady and Breanna s Mom. By Kayla Noble Brian Baker is our first senior to be put in the spotlight this year. He lives at Chavies in Perry County. He has been at Riverside since the third grade. So this is his tenth year at our school. He also has a brother who goes to school here. His name is Jim Jacob Baker, nicknamed Snake. He is twelve years old and likes video games and loves poke mon. Brian s hobbies are playing video games, going to movies, playing basketball, and spending time with Beth. When asked if he was playing sports this year, he said, Basketball. When asked can you believe you are a senior or does it seem strange? He said, The time flew by but I am excited. He expects great things from this year, like driving, and also said, It is my last year then I go into the By Kayla Noble Senior Spotlight We have three new students at Riverside. Two first graders are girls and a ninth grade boy. We would like to welcome them to the school. We will start with Tina Hudson. She, 6, is in first grade. Her favorite thing to do is read. She also likes playtime. She likes everything about Riverside. She has a dog named Emmy Lou which is a black pug pup. Avery Voth, 6, is our other first grader. She likes everything about Riverside. Her favorite thing in first grade is playtime and playing with friends. She has a pet cat named Galaxy. Her cat is black, brown, and white. real world. The school year has been good for him so far. His career of choice is either auto body, auto mechanic, or computer technician. When he is remembered at Riverside he would want to be remembered for behaving well and always being nice to people. New students welcomed Brandon Whitaker is fourteen and in ninth grade. His favorite part about ninth grade is Video 1 class. He thinks Riverside is nice and fun. His favorite pastime at school is basketball after lunch. At home he likes basketball, the internet, and listening to music. When asked what he was looking forward to this year, he said ball season.

5 Class News First and Second Graders We are off to a great start in the 1st and 2nd grade. We are making new friends and sharing with some old ones. Our new classes are challenging and fun. We have had our first visit from the librarian from Jackson. She read some stories about bees and we had a beehive craft. That was fun! She will return in October and we are looking forward to her next visit. We have been learning about God s creations, Adam and Eve, and now we are learning about Noah. The Bible stories are really exciting. We are learning and growing with God. Our days are full and busy with our classes. We are looking forward to more stories and learning in the coming year. Freshmen and Sophomores The sophomore and freshman classes have been working on quite a few things. We have been thinking of banner ideas. Also we have scheduled donkey basketball to be held in January. Juniors The junior class plans on working at the Heritage Fair in October on the first and third of the month. The junior class also plans on helping the sophomore class in early January with donkey basketball. On Spirit Day there were numerous activities for students to participate in, such as the human pyramid, and a class cheer. The winner of the activities would be the keeper of the spirit stick until the next Spirit Day. The juniors are currently the keepers of the spirit stick. An election of officers was held. President: Jeremy Southwood, Vice President: Heather Neace, Secretary: Rebecca Barnett, Treasurer: Tommy Moore, Chaplain: Cody Cundiff Seniors The senior class elected their officers for the new year. They are President: Bethany Butters Vice President: Brian Baker Sergeant of Arms: Jared Robinson Secretary: Bethany Butters Treasurer: Angel Fugate Chaplain: Kayla Noble Senior Class Reporter: Lacey McGuinn On Thursday September 23, 2010, the senior class took a sneak field trip to the Kentucky Coal Museum. We also took the Portal 31 Mine Tour. We actually got to ride on a miner s cart into the mine. They had mannequin miners throughout the mine talking about each of the specific jobs that they had to do. The museum was very interesting. Also it had different sections of the building made like it was back then. Like class rooms, doctors office, a store and Indian scenery. There were coal mining replicas of coal miners hats and what they used in the mine and what they had to wear. They also had a Loretta Lynn exhibit where you could actually see her clothing that she wore on stage and some of the paintings that she did. They also had a replica of what her house would have looked like. This legal sneak trip was fun and educational. What do you like best about school? Audrey Clemons-Combs Playing, having friends Jesse Daniels Everything, doing homework, going to P.E. Skyler Fugate Play time, P.E. class, reading books Landen Hostetler Recess with legos and battleship, lunch, reading and taking Accelerated Reader tests Avery Voth Recess and legos, snack time, lunch THE BEACON Published by the Riverside Christian School Journalism Class, bi-monthly September through May Staff Brian Baker, Bethany Butters, Angel Fugate, Lacey McGuinn, Kayla Noble, Patric Haddix Photography and technical support Becky Baker, Nancy Hostetler, Larry Monroe Tina Hudson It makes you smart, you learn new things every day and you learn about Jesus What do you most like to do when you are at home? Audrey Play with legos Jesse Make my Granny breakfast, do homework, watch TV Skyler Play video games, help Granny with dishes Landen Play the Wii, Wipe Out the Game, be with my Who do you look up to? Erin Butters: My step-dad Matt Kayla Noble: My Papaw Vanessa Noble: My mommy Brian Baker: My daddy Colton Smith: God Curtis Watts: God Tyler Patrick: God Landen Hostetler: God Anthony Clair: God Zack Miller: Travis Pasterana Brianna Cody: Jesus THE BEACON September Getting to know you...1st & 2nd graders L-r: Tina Hudson, Audrey Clemons-Combs, Avery Voth, Jesse Daniels, Landen Hostetler, Skyler Fugate. What did the cannibal have for supper? Baked beings. little baby brother Dalen Tina Play with my Barbies, do homework, put on a puppet show Avery Play the Wii, especially Mario games, play outside If you could have any animal in the world as a pet, what would it be? Bethany Butters: Snow leopard Rebecca Barnett: Horse Katie Haddix: Monkey Tiffany Johnson: Tiger Toby Campbell: Snake Lacey McGuinn: Black panther Wesley Voth: White Bengal tiger Malin Voth: Squirrel or chipmunk Angel Fugate: Frog Jammie Napier: Squirrel Patric Haddix: Cheetah Kaleigh Smith: White Bengal tiger

6 6 THE BEACON September 2010 BIG QUESTION...BIG ANSWERS By Brian Baker What on Earth is This World All About? That is the theme at Camp Nathanael for this years version of Wilderness Wanderings. But what is Wilderness Days some may ask? This is a program where Camp Nathanael staff with many helpers bring in group after group of students from area schools to help them learn more about physical sciences with many hands-on experiences. It was a day with inside and outside activities that included eight different workshops. They were Magnet Mania, Which Way is North?, A London Paddy Ride, In Orbit, Earth Upsetters, Puzzle Center 1 & 2, Harnessing the Elements, Body Mechanics. Grades 5-8 had their day at Camp Nathanael and grades 1-4 will go next week. Vanessa Noble and Frankie Claussen both said, I liked the tractor ride the best. Emmanuel Wilson said, I liked the jail the best. Jacob Baker said, I liked the souvenir shop the best. Patric..Jeremy..Jordan..Cody Cont. from p.2 RALSTIN What he enjoys most about Riverside is the students. I really enjoy working with the students, he says. His main goal for this year is settling in, getting to know the people and the students. His one piece of advice he would give the students is to Become lifelong learners. He also encourages them to strengthen their relationship with the Lord. It s not enough just to know of God, but to know God personally. It s not enough just to know the facts. His favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians is my favorite book, Mr. Ralstin said. One of his reasons is because of its emphasis on rejoicing. He smiles a lot and his students already think fondly of their new teacher. Bethany..Kristian NOTICE!!! MUCH USED CLOTHING IS NEEDED FOR THE SALE ROOM. Beacher..Kayla..Tiffany..Katie Pictured above are cross country runners standing by their lockers that were decorated in appreciation of them.

7 SPORTS Front row, l-r: V. Noble, E. Wilson, K. Watts, R. Haddix, middle row, l-r; B. Noble, J. Southwood, K. Patrick, E. Butters, K. Haddix, T. Johnson, B. Butters; back row, l-r: P. Haddix, J. Daniels, C. Noble, S. Hughes. By Patric Haddix Another cross country season has begun. This year the team has a full varsity boys and a full girls team. The running Rams are coached by Coach Andy Keck with help from Darren Fisher and Miss Carter. The Rams have many new faces along with a few veteran runners. We have run two meets including our first home meet. On our home course our varsity girls team came in first place. Our team has run in the hot sun and in the cold and rain, but they give 100 percent effort. Most of the team and the coaches, also ran in the Honey Run, a six mile road run, which for many was their first run of that magnitude. Here are the times for the meets at Riverside and Red Bird: Vanessa Noble 17:02, l8:49, Emmanuel Wilson 15:01, (did not run), Rose Haddix 17:23, 18:55; Varsity Tiffany Johnson 29:22, 33:04, Beacher Noble 26:23, 25:42, Kayla Watts 34:26, 38:48, Katie Haddix 24:21, 24:15, Erin Butters 28:01, (did not run), Kristian Patrick 26:23, (did not run), Jordan Daniels 29:28, 27:25, Cody Eight students and two adults represented Riverside in the recent Honey Festival 10K Honey Run. This annual event takes place in Jackson on Labor Day and brings in runners and walkers from north, south, east and west. Some of the runners have already run marathons and others were running their first ever road run. Two of those from Riverside, Coach Andy Keck and seventh grader Tiffany John- son, have run that 6 mile course around Panbowl Lake before. The others, part of the Riverside cross country team, were taking that challenge for the first time. They were Katie Haddix, Kristian Patrick, Bethany Butters, Jeremy Southwood, Patric Haddix, Cody Noble, Beacher Noble and Coach Darren Fisher. Junior Jeremy Southwood THE BEACON September crossed the finish line fourth overall in a fine time of 41:51. He was only seconds behind the second and third place runners. Coach Keck finished 9th overall out of the nearly 50 runners. His time of 43:34 was a minute faster than his time last year. Coach Fisher finished in 17th place in 47:14. He was followed by three other first time open road racers: junior Patric Haddix, 65:06, sophomore Cody Noble, 65:07, and 7th grader Beacher Noble, 65:11. Eighth grader Katie Haddix was the first RCS female across the finish line. Her time was 55:37. She was followed closely by sophomore Kristian Patrick in 55:39. Tiffany Johnson ran the course in 59:42, five minutes faster than her time in Bethany Butters, a junior, finished the 6.1 miles in 88:50. Noble 26:28, 26:04, Patric Haddix 26:16, 25:40, Jeremy Southwood 21:03, 19:37, Bethany Butters 34:25, 34:51, Sean Hughes (did not run), 27:24. The team has struggled with injuries and weather, but we have a good group of runners and have seen improvement. Looks like we are going to have a good running season. We are excited about hosting the Regional this year.

8 8 THE BEACON September 2010 Four from Virginia and five from Iowa They meet and repeat Front, l-r: David Raynes, Meg Gooden, Lani Koons, Ben Koons; back, l-r: Greta Koons, Carl Gooden, John Riddle, Nate Riddle, Thomas Koons, Mari Ella Koons, Terry Koons If your full time job was driving a tractor trailer and you got a few days off, what would you do? Probably not more driving. Then meet Carl Gooden. For probably the ninth time he made the 7 hour trip from his McGaheysville, VA home to Lost Creek.to work. As always he brought others with him. John Riddle and his grandson Nate were first timers to Riverside. David Raynes and Carl s daughter Meg made the trip before. Once again this venture was in part a reunion. From Iowa came the Koons family, former members with the Goodens at Mt. Olive Brethren Church. They, too, came to help, to work. Members of the Beacon staff interviewed members of this combined work team. First, the Virginia team. Carl has a heart for Riverside and just thoroughly enjoys being here. He also gets involved with service projects around the church and at the church camp. Meg works at Wal-Mart full time and helps with the youth group at church. She said, I Riverside Christian School -A Light in the Hills- Lost Creek, KY RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED have a heart for here and I love coming here. I especially enjoyed how God showed up this week and the nice weather we had to paint. If I could stay a year I would like to work with the 1st & 2nd grade class. She has also been to New Zealand, Guatemala and Mexico. David, a computer programmer and now network administrator, said, I just put this trip on my calendar. He also has been to Mississippi twice to help since Katrina. It s always fun to come here. I look forward to it, he said. If he could stay a year, he would like to work with maintenance. John is a retired door mechanic and construction worker. I felt in my heart that I always wanted to go on a mission trip. David encouraged me and I jumped in with both feet. I m really glad I came and will probably come back many times. I enjoy meeting people and doing things with my hands. Nate, 12, said, I ve always wanted to go on a mission trip. I ve heard about Riverside and I wanted to come to help the kids. He likes helping people and he likes to paint. Next the Iowa group. Members of the Koons family have been making trips to Lost Creek for about seven years. Terry Koons is now the pastor at the Hammond Avenue Brethren Church. We love the people here and we love coming back to the mountains, he said. He has been on multiple mission trips, to places such as Ireland. If he could stay a year, he would like to teach history, economics, ethics, Bible and go fishing. His wife Lani has home schooled all six of their children. I enjoy coming here and I always feel a warm welcome. She was also looking forward to going on to Washington for the wedding of their oldest daughter. Ben, 17, said, I like coming here. It s pretty much a tradition now. I enjoy hanging out with the kids, playing soccer with them (the kids love it), and eating lunch with them. Ben is considering some area of ministry. I just like coming back, said Mari Ella. If I could stay a year I would like to play in P.E. with the kids. Greta, an eighth grader, said, I love it here and I love helping out. This week I especially enjoyed playing soccer with the kids. If she could stay longer, she would follow after God and listen to what he has to say. Thomas, a fourth grader, said, I ve enjoyed helping NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID LOST CREEK, KY PERMIT 1 with the P.E. classes, playing soccer with them, and helping Virgil. The two groups together held a special chapel for the student body. That included Mari Ella playing her violin (a traditional favorite), a choral reading and a message by Terry Koons. He stressed the importance of not just knowing about God, but truly knowing Him. Know Him with your heart, not just your mind. Some of the jobs accomplished by this team were multiple tasks in staff apartments: installing a hot water heater, fixing AC units, fixing a drain, etc. They also installed doors and painted in the new outdoor concession stand. They did painting and other work in Wheeler Home, worked at school and, of course, helped with P.E. classes.