Last.Finish.TheEnd.

Hey everyone! 

We were doing pretty well in the beginning, and then yes... We started to fail at this blog thing. 

Sorry. But... Now we only have a few more days till we get commissioned and we're done! 

The next stage is coming up. This blog is ending. 

I don't know if Erin will be making a new one, but I have. 

Please follow it and see what the Lord does in the next couple months here in Montana as I serve at the homeless shelter. 

I'm praying that you're all well! See you in 2 months!!!!!!

Love, Darla Maxine

Here's the Link!!!!!!!!

http://easyorworthit.blogspot.com/

Frozen Eyelashes.

Hey everyone! Sorry we have updated you in a LONG time!
Where to start.... Well I'll start with my title. Frozen Eyelashes. What does it mean? 
Well, my family came up for Thanksgiving week and we went out and I showed them around the area and they decided to go dog sledding. Yes. I said DOG SLEDDING. We first went to check out the place and it was kinda sketchy to get to. 
Hold on. Sorry if this post is ALL over the place. There's just been so much going on!

Ok. First, my family and Erin went to the Olney Mercantile to ... I forget why we went there. But this place. O golly. It's seriously one of the weirdest places I've ever been to! It's definitely culture shock! They don't have much on the shelves, have dolls nailed onto the wall, and 99/100 things are expired. The lady there is nice... It's just kinda sketchy. 
(There's another story I have to tell you guys later about this place!)  
After going to the Mercantile, we then made our way to visit the dog sledding guy. We didn't go sledding that day, but we went to see if it was something we'd wanna do. We left the Mercantile and turned left. All we knew was that at the pole with the colored ribbon, we'd have to turn right. Craziness. We found that stick and turned... We started to go up a driveway and saw a man on a tractor thing that waved at us, like he hadn't seen people in months! We kept driving and started to hear dogs barking. A LOT of dogs barking. We looked to the left and all we could see were dogs. So many Huskies! We get out of the car and meet the man from the tractor and his wife, who both own the business. They were the sweetest. Both told me that they have a husky named Darla. How ironic, I thought. But then after finding out that they have 114 HUSKIES, it didn't seem that weird. Yeah... Ok. 114 dogs. Picture that. Can you? They were ALL over the place. It was definitely a culture shock. 

Thanksgiving Day. Warmest day of the week. It was maybe 10 degrees out. MAYBE. I woke up and started to get ready to head out to go dog sledding. My family got to the place again and heard the 114 dogs bark again. We split up in two groups and went on the ride. All of me was covered, except my eyes. I had mascara on from the night before, that hadn't fully come off, and when we started riding, the snow would hit my eyelashes and cause them to freeze together. I would then have to take my hands and melt my eyes. At the end of the ride, we were invited into their home to have cookies and hot chocolate. It was definitely warm in that house, because I was successful to have my mascara melt down my face.
Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. It was great having almost all of the people involved in the ministry there. My family left a couple days after Thanksgiving, but the craziness didn't stop.
Have you ever been to an orchestra? I have! We had the opportunity to go to a performance of Handel's Messiah with the interns and a few staff members. If you've never been to an orchestra, then I definitely recommend you to go to one!
So ya know that story about the Olney Mercantile that I said I'd tell later? Well here it is... All the interns went out one night, except I stayed back (I forget why). I ended up hanging out with Emily and Kendyl, two of the staff members that are like 19. We started to really crave ice cream, so Em and I ran out to the Mercantile and boy O boy... Sketch-fest. We pulled up and there was a SUV sitting outside of the store, which is weird, cause there's usually NO ONE there. We walked in and strangely enough, it smelt DELICIOUS! It smelt like they just baked cookies! We walked over to the ice cream and got 3 bars and started to walk around a bit. The lady that runs the store has a little boy and he was sitting at a table in the store watching football and eating fries and fried chicken. As we were about to walk by him, he started waving at us (with fries between every finger) and proceeded to tell us about his kittie that is lost. Suddenly a man (who didn't have much teeth in his mouth) was right next to me and started to tell us that they had 2 stray cats, but the one was pooping everywhere and he KICKED it out the door. As he said the word, "kicked", he kicked the air and he was exceptionally close to us. We walk up to the counter to pay, there was a woman and her daughter in front of us selling the Mercantile lady a Santa statue for 40 dollars. Emily and I ended up laughing the whole way back to the ranch and still talk about how weird it was.
Erin and I don't know what has happened the last couple of weeks, but we've been BUSY! We've had normal classes, inductive Bible study, and Pastor Don McClure was here this past week.
Sorry that we haven't been writing... We miss you all, but NOT for long!!!!!! See you all tomorrow! Please pray that we have a safe flight HOME!!! Ok, well I gotta go board my flight!
Love, Darla Maxine
 

Montana.

1. There is approximately 11 inches of snow.
2. In 3 days, there will be 5 loved ones here from Philadelphia.
3. In 29 days, there will 2 Montana girls in Philadelphia.
See you all soon! Love, Darla Maxine

Only with about 4 or 5 inches

This morning's notes.

Science of Ministry
Ephesians 4:11-12
    "And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors, and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of body of Christ..."

• Skeletal = Apostles: 1 Corinthians 3:11, 9:1 

                 - One who is sent out on a mission.
                 - Have a governing ministry.

• Nervous = Prophets: 1 Corinthians 14:3

                 - One who speaks for God.
                 - Have a guiding ministry. 

• Digestive = Evangelist: 2 Timothy 4:5

                 - Bearer of Good News.
                 - Has a gathering ministry

• Circulatory = Pastor: John 10:10-14

                 - Giving the Word by feeding, caring, and protecting. 
                          (Shepherd, Elder, Overseer)
                 - Is a guarding ministry.

• Respiratory = Teacher: Deuteronomy 8:3, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

                 - Is a grounding ministry.
 
God has gifted men to the body of Christ to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.
                 - Equip: To train up, to set a bone, to mend a net, to restore a life. 
                            Perfecting.
                                  "To make one, what he ought to be."
                 - Ministry: Servant
                                  "You don't group to be a saint, you grow up to be a servant."

Why the church exists: 
                 1. Exalt God - Growing love for Him
                 2. Edify His people - Live to imitate Him
                 3. Evangelize the unsaved - Lead people to Him
                                  "Upreach - Inreach - Outreach"


"The goal is NOT to build a big church, 
                              but to build big people with big hearts for the world."


Are you a lost person?
                                  You need Jesus.
Are you a saint?
                                  God wants you to become a servant.
Are you a servant? 
                                  Then GO and SERVE.


- Respond. 
     Participate NOT Procrastinate 

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9

To know Him and make Him known.



   
  

10.23.10

Aka. Cleaning Day At The Lodge.
7:45 - Woke up
8:00 - Breakfast
9:00 - Left for the lodge
9:15 - Got a horse named, Cricket, and brushed her
9:45 - Started shoveling horse poop
10:00 - Pulled cockelburs (which ended all over me)
10:45 - Continued shoveling horse poop
12:00 - Ate lunch
12:30 - Continued shoveling horse poop
1:15 - Cleaned a shed that had a ton of maggots in it
3:30 - Picked up boxes that had rat poop all over them
4:15 - Fed the horses carrots and had them follow us all around
5:00 - Got in the van and went back to the ranch

It was such a cold day! And it rained on and off. We're all super tired....

O and the worst part of the day.... Amy Left.

Glow in the Dark.

We got used to staring at this.

This is a story about...

1 quiet nature country. 

10 girls. 

1 boy. 

11 passenger van. 

2 day drive. 

1 loud cement jungle.

So this is how the story begins... 

One morning all of us packed into a van.

And off we began on our 2 day drive down to Las Vegas. We drove for about 12 hours and stayed over in a Calvary Chapel in Pocatello, Idaho, and then woke up to sit in the van for another 8-10 hours till we hit our final destination...

Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Welcome to LAS VEGAS!

I was once again shown a city and INSTANTLY fell in love! 

(I miss being home in Philly all the time!!!)

Calvary Chapel Spring Valley opened up their guest home to us and it felt like home, because I looked out the window and the first thing I saw was CALVARY.  

So lemme tell you about this mission's conference. 

1. Calvary Chapel Spring Valley is a HUGE church. They have a elementary/high school, a coffee shop, bookstore, and a huge campus (the church/school is two separate buildings)!

2. It was SO amazing.... The worship, the speakers, and just everything about it.

3. They had an International Dinner night! (Which I'll write about later...)

4. The conference is called... the SEND the MEssage, mission's conference.

5. This Calvary Chapel doesn't spell their name normally, but spell it... caLVary chapel. 

(The LV is capitalized for Las Vegas! Isn't that creative?!)

Half of Calvary Chapel Spring Valley.

I don't know how to explain all of the sessions... So I decided to just give some points that stood out and encouraged me.

- "There are the Goers, SENDers, and the DISOBEDIENT."

- "If we feel that people are going to hell, we should feel the need to do something about it."

- "Being a missionary: It's not a profession, but a calling."

- "You can have 110 accountability partners, but you're only as accountable as you make yourself."

- "Until the WHOLE world hears, we are NOT done."

- "Your tongue will follow your heart."

- "God knows and has chosen me for a place that is perfect for me. God has also chosen a place for me that is the perfect place."

- "Be a... Learner, Sharer, Partner, and Minister."

- "Is it MY ministry or GOD's? Is it MY city or GOD's? If it's YOURS, then DO NOT ASK GOD for help. It's NOT His."

On Tuesday night, we had a special dinner at the conference. 2 words... 

INTERNATIONAL DINNER.

There was SO much to try!

In the courtyard, there was about 20 long tables set up and about 12 different countries represented. They had Filipino, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, American, Hawaiian, and many more... My favorite was the white rice and the dried seaweed pieces. It was DELICIOUS!   

Water show at the Bellagio.

Our orphan mom... Dawn Marie.

After a night of wonderful food, Dawn Marie (Mike and Pam Rozell's touring assistant) took some of the girls to drive down the Vegas Strip in our orphanage van. It was such a fun time!

On Thursday, we were able to go shopping (again with Dawn Marie) at the Forum shops. We went to a 4-story Urban Outfitters... I died and bought SO much stuff! At night, the group went back to the strip to the Bellagio and watched the water show. It was the nicest to watch. We also were able to walk through the Bellagio and see the inside. Literally. Nicest thing I have ever seen! Dawn Marie told us 

                                                          and said she saw Brad Pitt... Lies, Lies, LIES. 

I know this is out of order, but on Wednesday, the conference ended at 12 and we had till 4ish to just chill. So we asked Pastor Steve if we could do some kind of street witnessing or an outreach and he got us in with Calvary Downtown to help at their food pantry. We were able to help the group there unload a van PACKED with food so they could hand out boxes the following day to the homeless and unfortunate families. After unloading and putting away the food, Theresa, the lady who leads it up, gave me some information on how to run a food pantry and some stuff about what they do. It was perfect! It literally made my day!

This is the sad part... It's now Friday morning... And again, all of us packed into our 11 passenger van and drove again for 2 days. Over all, it was the best trip. I loved being in the city life.

Saturday, October 9 - Saturday, October 16.

Tomorrow, bright and early, all of the interns (plus Sean) are going to be packing sleeping bags, our luggage, and ourselves in the van. We then will be driving for about 10 hours until we hit a church in Pocatello, Idaho, where we will be spending the night. The next morning, we will again be piling into the van and driving another 8-10 hours to our final destination. At this destination, we will be attending and helping at the Send The Message Mission's Conference. Please pray that this week is a week where we get blessed and refreshed and also are a blessing. 
Miss you all. Love, Darla and Erin

Oi Vey

Hey everyone!! This is going to be super quick but I wanted to give a small update. We've been so busy here. Last night we did a banquet for Hope Pregnancy Center and it was great. I got to serve appetizers on a tray and ask people if they wanted a crab cake. I've wanted to do that my whole life, it was so fun. And tomorow we're leaving for a road trip. I'm not allowed to say our destination because for whatever reason Darla wants it to be a secret. But I will give a hint and say i'm probably too young to go into a (public) bathroom there. I'll be writing a real post when we get back on Friday but I miss everyone and Philly.
Dec. 18 <3

Erin Nicole

Non Stop Crazy

As life goes on at the ranch, we start getting piled with so many things to do. This weekend was the funnest so far, but came at the worst time... With all the girls, we were able to go to Coffee Traders and a couple thrift stores. Then a couple of us had a sleepover at the lodge and watched Enchanted. Today we were off to church in the morning and then went to Pastor John's house to watch some football and eat. 
This isn't the end of the craziness... We still have a 5 page research paper to write, training for the banquet that is on Thursday, girls night, skull church, and packing for our field trip (which we leave for early Saturday morning!!!!) 
If you know where we're going for our field trip, don't say anything!!!!!! I want everyone to be surprised and excited! Everyone here is really excited to be away from the ranch for a week... Including me. 
Hope to talk to you all soon! And hopefully I get around to writing you a letter, if I haven't already! Love... Darla Maxine

Our friend and Penpal.

Today started out awful for Darla, because she woke up with an awful stomach ache and we were both pretty homesick... So off to class we went and did the usual routine, except today we were told that we had a package for us! We instantly were excited and when we asked where the package was, we were corrected and told that there were 3 boxes! We ran to the foyer where we were overwhelmed by the multiple boxes and how they were each pretty heavy. As we started to open them, we didn't know who it was from, but then we realized it was from Hannah Jeanne! We enjoyed the mid-day surprise and encouragement. We got a ton of snacks, school supplies, fun activities, the Prince of Egypt, and other random things. We LOVED it all! Thanks SO much Hannah!!!! 
Love, Darla and Erin

We are all God's creation and all PEOPLE.

Again, I was taken out of my comfort zone and thrown into a van that I'd spend an hour in before helping out with a fall festival at Lighthouse, a home for 12 mentally handicapped men and women. We were assigned to run different games. I was put in charge of the Bouncy Ball game where a child would come and roll 3 bouncy balls down a board and see how many points they could get at the end. So many people came through the games, bought food, and donated money to help Lighthouse run and operate. As the festival started to end, we helped clean up, but then were given nothing to do, but sit. So we sat and talked to many of the residence of the home. There was Jayme, who was super sweet, talkative, and celebrating her birthday... There was Ryan, who loves football, basketball, and hangs out with the cows... There was Sarah, who was quieter but so kind, and loved looking at the pictures through my camera... And then there was Michael. I felt bad for him because he was just sitting there getting hit by the balloons that Jayme was holding and not being talked to, so I went over and started asking him about his day, favorite holiday, his family, and helped him get some candy. Unlike any of the other residents at the home, Michael was even more special in my eyes. He was blind. Normally I would be a little stand-offish when coming in contact with a blind person, because I feel like I act and treat them weird. Who knows... Maybe I don't. Maybe it's just me being insane. Even though I felt awful today from all of the sun, the Lord definitely blessed me and also our time there. Please keep Lighthouse, the residents, and also all of the staff there in your prayers. Pray they continue to get support and keep God the center of the ministry. Thanks! Love you all!!!

they say, First Impressions Are Most Important

(Sorry I know the picture is creepy but you need the vibe.)

I was going to tell you about my day of classes and Albert Einstein teacher but then I met Skull Church and everything else just pales in comparison. Yes, it's as bad as it sounds. So let me tell you about the church named after Golgotha:

One, it's in a movie theatre. I've been to a church in a movie theatre before so that wasn't too bad. It was everything hidden inside that creeped me out. When you walk into the auditorium you're greeted with at least a dozen skulls. Drawn skulls and digital skulls, thank God no real ones. The background of the stage was a picture of a creepy man with half of his face normal and the other half a skull. I wouldn't have been surprised if there were a few skull tatoos going around. Please count how many times I say skull in this post because that's how many there were. The music playing in the background was half screamo half rock. It was so obvious they were trying to be "cool" for younger people because those were the only type of people there. I guess they were too cool for me. It was the weirdest vibe i've ever had in a church. I had to look around and make sure everyone was carrying a bible instead of a copy of Twilight. Then worship began. My ears, head, and heart are still recovering.  And I’m still trying to figure out if the lead singer was talking about God or his girlfriend in half of those songs. But I don't want to make this church sound ALL bad. The teacher though I was skeptical at first seemed to be genuine in the end. He taught on Ecclessiastes.. it was very elementary. I mean the basics of basics almost. But during the altar call I could tell he sincerely cared about people. Everyone at the ranch loves him and said he's not usually so beginner-ish.  A few people did get saved so I will definatley give him another chance. Still  Something tells me there won’t be electric guitars in heaven and angels wearing skinny pants with skulls on t-shirts. It sounds almost blasphemous. So yes that was my Wednesday night experience and now I’m watching Aladdin and eating Special K. I miss everyone so so soo much! I can’t wait to see you all in December and hear some good old Pastor Joe.

<333 Erin Nicole

I felt like I was going to Barf.

Never in my life have I walked into a CHURCH and gotten sick!

1st thing I saw when walking into church...

As we walked into Skull Church, I started to get this weird feeling... The music was hardcore and sounded like I entered a cult church, the podium was metal with a huge skull on it, and there was this man that was half man, half skull on the background. Worship then started... It was definitely NOT worship. I felt like I was at a concert.... The church cared so much about how they looked and how they came across to the youth, but then the pastor started teaching Ecclesiastes chapter 6 and talked about how we shouldn't be vain. I don't know if it was just me, but I had to stop, look around, and think what the church was caring about. And again, I don't know if it's just me, but I felt that the message was kinda hypocritical. They were focusing on looking "hip and cool" and then teaching about not caring and not doing things in vain... Opposites? 
Don't get me wrong... The church taught the Bible and people were getting saved, but it just wasn't for me. But .... Good News! I just found out that I am aloud to sit and pray in the prayer room for the study... That will be good. 
O man... I didn't want to be writing about Skull Church, but I ended up making that what I talked about. 
But today we started our culture class and it was SO good! We have the cutest teacher named, Pastor John Michaels. He's been everywhere around the world and has so many stories!!! I think him and Doctor Pennington would get along well.
Today, a wise friend of a friend said this, "Other people's opinions are none of my business." I just thought that was interesting and something to think about. 
Keep praying for us... Today was really difficult for me. Love you guys! Can't wait for Christmas break!!!!!!!
- Darla Maxine

Contact Us:

How to write us letters!!!!!!! 

OUR NAME
C.O. Potter's Field Ranch
P.O. Box 68
Olney, Montana 59927

And then I met Sid.

Let's drive for 45 minutes through state park and then get lost on top of suicide hill. As we looked around, we got a bit nervous about what we were getting ourselves into. But... Finally we found where we were going, and it ended up being a cute little place called, The Good Samaritan. Walking in, my stomach started to turn. Yes. I got nervous. I always feel like I don't know how to talk and hang out with the elderly. I never want to get to the point that some of them are at and I guess it kinda scares me. Now... Walk around the room and meet everyone! That's what we were told to do. The first man I met was named Sid. He was the cutest little man, and then after I finished meeting everyone I scanned the room for a place to sit and chill and it so happened to be back next to the cute little man named Sid. So I walked over and asked if I could pull up a chair, he of course was so excited and said yes! Michaela and Spencer sang some songs and I started to chat and crack jokes with him. Wouldn't you know he could sing and led the room in singing "O went the Saints go marching in" and played us some harmonica. He told me about the war he was in, how his brother passed away, how he got married to his wife named, Alice Marie, and about his 16 grandkids and 9 great-grandkids! I never felt so comfortable with someone at an elderly home. He looked so young and healthy, but he ended up saying that he was 91 YEARS OLD!!! Ridiculous. He was my favorite. As we left, he gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Just found out we're going to be going back every month. Can't wait to go back and see my new best friend named, Sid. 
- Darla Maxine