Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Welcome to Grant County

                   
               We went to Grant County to work in unassigned territory of May 2012. And did we have fun or what!!!!. This is the lovely scenery we saw for two weeks. It made me feel free, on top of world; but also made me feel 'watched' all the time. I felt I had to watch my back. I was glad to get back in my mountains and feel 'safe' again. I had my privacy again. Anyway, why run away with my feelings. I'm here to show you what we did in Grant County.



                 An eye level look at the wheat and a cloudy sky. It makes an interesting pic. (Don't ask me why, but I was so hoping for a storm to come sweeping across those blue skies.)
                                   
                 This was our first lunch on our first day of service. Peanut butter and jelly, the best! There was 17 in our group, made up of friends and family. Here in this pic, from left to right, is : Ethan, Misty, Rebekah(behind Misty,you can just see her head), Morgan, Sydney, Caleb, Mama (Kasha), and Jonathan. Daddy, or Darren, is looking over maps in the truck, and I, of course, am taking the picture. So convenient for me:) 



               Here is Daddy, telling us where to go to knock on doors, explaining the boundaries.

                 Of course we had to pick the flowers! They were beautiful! I wish Bachelor Buttons grew here at home. Blue, pink, purple, pink-and-white flowers covered the roadsides.


                  We stayed at the Great Salt Lake. After going out all day stuffed in the truck like sardines with 100 degree + heat outside, not to mention if you were smashed against the window in those 'beautiful' sun rays; we decided to go swimming.


                
                     The cool thing about this lake is that it seemed to never get deep. See those dots in the middle of the lake? Yep, that's us. Don't panic! It's not even up to my shoulders, and I'm only 5'. It was weird to walk way out there and turn around and see how far away shore was. Poor Caleb wanted to be out there, too.




                      But as you can see, he found something to do.


                
                      This is the dam. Our campsite is just on the other side.



This is a good overview of the lake from up on the dam.


                  The top of the dam is colored with bight flowers.





                  Not only did we find pretty flowers, but life waiting to hatch and see the world.



                      Another day in service and look at what we found!

                      The poor truck driver had evidently miss judged the road or the ability of his loaded semi. Misty and Sydney went to see if there was anyone around to preach to, but the area was vacant.


   
               In the town of Pond Creek, we seen a gorgeous sight, a garden of Lupines(if I remember correctly).  The man was very nice and generous, for when Sydney complimented him on his flowers, he said to give him her address and he would send her seeds when they went to seed. And surprise, he sent her a ton of them! She was also very kind and gave some to me. She is a very, very, very good friend. I can't wait to plant my little seeds and see what grows!

                  That day, we had some sisters from the Enid Cong. join us. Very sweet sisters.  The night before we left, in fact, we went to dinner at Kim's house(the sis in the bright blue shirt). Every year, she gathers together single sisters to go on unassigned territory in states such as Montana. Married sisters are strictly not allowed. I hope very much to go some day.
                   Another experience when I myself was present, was also in Pond Creek. An elderly woman had invited Misty and me into her house. She told us about everything, along with her life story, which was hilarious. Poor woman, she had 8 boys. She had an affectionate tom cat, who apparently did not know what his litter box was for. When Misty was finally able to talk and give the woman a 'Bible Teach' book, she was so appreciative. She had us both write our names in the book and had Misty write her address. A few weeks later, Misty received a card from her expressing her thanks. It was great.


                  
                    This is a Round Barn, literally. I was told that the farmer leases it out for free, and sometimes the Witness's get together a barn dance. Sounds fun!


            A view from the front, taken from inside the suburban looking through our dirty windshield. 



                       There were wind mills everywhere up there. I loved it. Another thing I loved was all the old barns. Everywhere there would be a spectacular barn. I've been wanting a barn for a long time now, and it just made so sad to see that half of them was about fall for lack of repair. But then, that almost added to the serene air about them. 




                    There was a huge rosebush out at the campground that was covered in these precious light pink roses. We weren't the only ones who liked them, the bees I think was the biggest fans.




             I think out of all the pics I took, these are some of favorite. This Baltimore Oriole(I think it is anyway) was in the bush-OK fine! He was in the tree next to our camper. He was gathering up sticks, grass, anything that building material. I don't know if he really was building a nest, but he was definitely eye catching. 

              Well, I'm going to get off of here, but next time I'll show you the Glass Mountains. They were pretty cool.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                             Bethany   


Monday, February 25, 2013

Rain!

     That is all! Just rain everywhere. In the pastures you see puddles the size of small ponds, and mud! There is no end to the mud. Mom just made some Ranger Joe Cookies. They are cookies with no sugar, only sweetened with honey and their really good.                Rebekah

Part 3-The Way the West was Built

                                                                   Part 3-Lassiter
The dust swirled as he reined the black in,
They stood before a town,
An old western town.
Dusty manure-filled stables,
A General store stored with tobacco,
Rowdy saloons with no empty tables.

The black urged forward to the waterin' trough,
The cowboy there threw himself in,
Feeling the cool water upon his burning skin.
Upon the cuts and the bruises that came from the outlaws fist. 
Rolling himself out he heard a gruff voice,
"Howdy cowboy, looks like ya came a long way."
The cowboys swollen lip kept him silent,
But he nodded in agreement,
Full agreement.
"Come on in here an git yerself a drink."
The cowboy strode sullenly into the saloon,
His eyes slowly adjusting to the gloom.
He saw before him cowboys,
Rough and unmannerly,
Gambling and drinking.

The sat with a drink in his hand,
Savoring the slow burn of the whiskey,
Warming his worn out body.
As sat he thought ,
He thought about the dusty trail behind.

Suddenly the bar went quiet,
A man strode in,
Not the cowboy kind,
The cowboy thought: "Desperado"
The man big and tall, 
Spurs two inches,
He looked solid as a wall.
He was known as "Lassiter"
All this did not come to the cowboy's immediate attention.
NO!
No, but the gun leveled at his head did.

With slurred speech,
Ungracious and gruff,
Lassiter demanded:
"Who rode the black in?"
Silence,
Lassiter's black eyes pierced in everybody,
They met with the cowboys,
He strode forward,
"Did YOU?"
"What if I did?"Was the ungracious reply.
"What'd ya do with my Pardner?"
"He's down in the desert with his face full of sand 'n' burrs in his britches"
Lassiter's trigger finger quivered.
Yet all that he said was:
"I'll reckon i'll be seein' more of ya later"

That was the way the west was built.

By Rebekah

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Part 2- The Way the West was Built

  A Grueling Death 

Farther and farther the race went in,
The sun burning upon their wrinkled old Stetsons.
Their horses snorting for a breath.
Suddenly the fiery red mustang stumbled,
Flying went the cowboy,
Landing viciously upon the sizzling sand.

From outlaw to cowboy an evil grin was sent.
Fist to jaw,
Knee to groin,
They went rolling in the sand.
Groans escaped,
Blood escaped.

The cowboy gasped for breath as he stood,
Hate beaming in his already swollen eyes.
The outlaw stirred,
Yet never again would he rise.

The cowboy strode to his fiery red mustang,
Only to find that his loyal companion had run his race.
With one last glare of disdain,
Toward the heap of the outlaws body,
And the cowboy mounted upon the outlaws black,
And rode away, 
Into the burning sunset he disappeared.
This was the way the west was built.

By Rebekah

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

A Series-The Way the West Was Built

The poem that you are about to read is one of a series that I wrote. The Title "The Way the West was Built" should explain itself. Here is Part 1.

Part 1-The Race

The silence of the sweltering heat of the desert was broken,
Hoofs beat like thunder,
A rifle cracks out.
A cowboy comes riding furiously across the desert,
Sweat pours from his tan and weathered face,
A face that streaked with sweat and dirt,
A face that showed no emotion.
But with his jaw clenched tightly,
And his blue eyes like icy fire,
Madness and conviction shown through.

With strength he grips the worn out leather of the reins.
And pushes onward a fiery red mustang.
The mustang's hoofs pound hard upon the ground of the desert.
His tail flies wildly in the hot wind.

Across the desert they race,
Winding through cactus,
Sliding down sand drifts,
And climbing up steep cliffs.

Suddenly from behind there's a horrendous Boom!
From a black and shining pistol.
Away the cowboy rides unharmed from the shot,
Onward the enemy rides waiting for another chance.
Both cowboy and outlaw ride furiously,
Both horses hoofs beat faster,
This is The Way The West was Built.

By Rebekah

Snow!

         Everywhere whiteness. There were snowflakes a large as your thumb! Today may be cold but it is certainly beautiful. Sadly it has stopped snowing and started sleeting. But here is one of my poems about snow that I actually wrote last year.

                                                          Diamonds And Crystals 
                                              When snow clouds form in the sky above,
                                           They shower down Diamond's and Crystal's,
                                                In a beauty and glory that we all love.
                                     These Diamond's and Crystal's are sparkling snow,
                                                  That the wind whips up to and fro.
                                                     And though yes it is a bit cold,
                                                   The fun and beauty in this snow,
                                                     Is more than words can hold.

                                       The glimmer and shimmer this snow creates,
                                                           Is a child's heaven,
                                                            And a farmers fate.

                                       But every year when the weather turns cold,
                                Diamond's and Crystal's shower down from the sky,
                                            And every child and farmer will say:
                                                           "It has snowed."
                                                                                                              By Rebekah

Friday, February 15, 2013

Crazy Day On the Ranch

   Last night was very exciting! 1st when we went to feed our cows there were three cows missing, and so we had to go look for them. Then our neighbors pig got out and came to our fields and the cows did not know what it was, so the went CRAZY! Running around, jumping fences, forgetting their calves, remembering their calves and running crazy to find them, and all the while bawling and murring out their lungs. So if you can imagine 75 mama cows doing this you might get a gist of what happened. Not to mention it was dusk. Finally the cows decided that the pig was a danger so they got after it and rolled it in the dirt and it squealed with fear! It was quite a sight! Our neighbors finally came and got their pig, unharmed thank goodness, and we were glad to be rid of the pig.

                                                                                       By,     Rebekah Owens

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Another Of My Poems-Rebekah

                                         In The Hands of the Land
          
In my veins flow the rivers,
In my eyes the sun glows.
Upon my ears the forest whispers,
Upon my heart the oaks grow.
With my feet the earth moves.
Through my fingers the grasses slide.
In the moonlight my hair glistens.
The stars become my guide.
The wind is there to comfort and soothe,
The daises are there to coax a smile to my lips,
And through the leaves I laugh.


I hear the wind call: "I'm Hers"
And at times I feel I own this land.
That I have the power of the river,
To twist and wind and move things as if by command.
Yet really I am helpless.


This place has me in its clutches,
Firmly, Strongly,
And it won't let me free.
To fight it would be useless,
For to pull up the roots of an oak means death to the tree,
Yet to let the oak stay firm in the clutches of the land it stays strong.


So I will not fight this land,
The land I call my home.
For to pull my heart from the soil would shatter it,
And it will leave me as shiftless as sand.
I will stay under the strong hand of the land,
And like the oak I will become strong.
Because I have found that:
I Belong To the Land
Oklahoma
By, Rebekah Owens

The Owens Family

                                                                The Owens Family
Darren And Kasha Owens


Oldest Boy Jonathan
Oldest Girl Bethany

Youngest Boy Caleb

Youngest Girl Rebekah

Saturday, February 9, 2013

a little time away!

Well we had a great weekend!
The week started off like normal,then all of a sudden we decided to run up to see friend's in the N.part of the state.We enjoyed field service on Thur.,and Fri.we helped them clean a house.This was a good experience for the kids.Then we went to Eskimo Joe's! That was fun,since we had never been there.Sat.believe it or not,we had a rest day.The girls chased an armadillo! Yes,you read that right, they chased one.They also dug him out of the hole,holding on to it's tail.Sydney's dog was helping,and then finally got a hold of it and drug it out.Ken shot it.They really don't like armadillo's.They can't run their horses in the pasture.
That evening the girl's made homemade pizza's.Yummm. Next we did the watchtower and watched a movie. Wow!what a rest day!Sunday we went to the meeting and then we came home.That was exciting!
Dad had the house cleaned up,and the boy's room ready for the boy's to sleep in!They were sooo excited!! So was I! We enjoyed being back home with Daddy.

Superbowl Commercial

A rainy Saturday evening outside and a perfect time to settle down with a good book.(Which is what I've been doing.) Yet this morning, rainy or not, we went out in service and got some very good results. Tomorrow though is a day to buckle down on school.
                  I suppose most watched the Superbowl on Sunday, I didn't watch it for the game, actually I didn't really watch it at all. But I did see one commercial that I loved! You may have also seen it, it was the Dodge Ram Commercial that had the Paul Harvey speech of "So God Made a Farmer". You can see it on Youtube. It was rated the third best Superbowl commercial.
A Farmer Doin' His Job
                                                                                                        Rebekah