LAWRENCE LETTER FOR 2008
It’s been a few years since I have written a newsletter so I figured I’d better get one out this year!
Bobby is still enjoying youth ministry though he is moving into working with young Adults now as ‘our’ teenagers are growing up on us! Our basement has become a favorite hang out for many young men and women. Much laughter is heard around our new pool table! The basement enjoyed a face life this summer and we enjoy spending a lot of time down there! Bobby also just started a new job. He is no longer behind the wheel of the big trucks. He is working for an oilfield company as an indoor sales person and safety coordinator. The regular hours are nice and we have our weekends back! Yay!
Susanna was blessed enough to speak at 2 bible camps this summer. It was such a great privilege to see God move in the hearts of so many children. Susanna is still babysitting and is now a Synchro Mom! With two of the girls in the sport, it was inevitable that she would get involved. It is great fun. Her other highlight of the year was to catch her very first fish! We had a bit of a holiday up at Turtle Lake, SK and on our last boat ride She caught a beauty! Had to throw it back though ;-) Bobby says he is very glad to have a wife that honestly loves football and fishing…. He’d love her anyway but this sure makes it easier! Haha!!
AnnaRose was very excited to receive her STAR level 2 in Synchronized swimming recently. She works very hard at her sport and it has given her so much self-confidence and joy. She is doing well in 6th grade and is enjoying the perks of being old enough to go to youth group and join in the youth bible study! Anna was baptized in October and already we can see how that has become a pivotal place in walk with Christ. She has made up her mind to follow Him whatever the cost. We are proud of our girl for taking this step. Anna also had the amazing experience of having a lead role in the Missoula’s Children’s Theater production of Robin Hood. She played Maid Marion! It was such fun for her.

Emily hasn’t found her ‘thing’ as of yet but she loves her friends and loves to play around on the computer! She enjoys her piano lessons and is doing well in 5th grade. She really broke out of her shell this year and tried out for a part in the production of Robin Hood as well! She played the part of one of the palace guards. Emily also stayed busy helping out at the kids club at our church. We are sure seeing her servant’s heart developing!

Brenna has discovered the world of Synchronized swimming as well She is in the beginners program. Next year she will join Anna in the Estevan Mermaids! She can’t wait! Grade 3 is going along fabulously for Brenna. She looks forward to school and playing with her buddies. Piano is a fun activity as well. Brenna continues to keep us on our toes with her often-unexpected deep questions! Brenna exercised her acting abilities in Robin Hood as well. She surprised everyone with her portrayal of King Richard!
Quite the Cutie!

We had the privilege of sharing our home with one of our ‘boys’ this summer while he was home for the summer. Our girls loved having a big brother! Their joy at seeing Moose is only surpassed by a visit from Uncle Freddy!
Our family enjoyed a good year. It had its ups and downs and all arounds as every year does. We went to many weddings and welcomed new babies and made new friends. We said good-bye to the dearest of men early in the summer and as Christmas approaches we still grieve the loss of a mentor and friend. Teddy really was one of the good ones. Christmas just won’t be quite the same without him but we will find joy in the holiday as family and friends and the love of our Savior surround us.
Merry Christmas one and all and Happy New Year too! Anytime you find yourself in our neighborhood feel free to drop in for a cup of tea or a game of pool!


Much love,
The Lawrence Family,
Bobby, Susanna, AnnaRose, Emily and Brenna
Rocky, Sandy, Ginger and assorted fish ;-)

Camp...

I don't think I can finish writing about Dad D just yet. His name will probably pop up in the post whether I mean for it to or not however...
LBC July 8-13. Mom and I left for Kindersley at 8:00 am on Monday July 7, (my 34th bd). We traveled fast and got to spend most of the afternoon with my sister and her family. We even managed a bit of a birthday party. Mom drove Anna and me out to LBC Tuesday. It was an experience I'll tell you, the whole week I mean. I will forever be changed by those 5 days.
Here's the highlights... Dylan, Kaitlyn, and Ian. Those will be the three names and faces that I will always remember. Anyway. Tuesday and Wed were kinda rough for me. Chapels went well but my heart was torn. I so wanted to be home with the Dirpauls.
Thursday morning I woke up at 5 am to the sound of a downpour. Now if you've ever been to bible camp (or any camp!) there is nothing worse than trying to make a rainy day FUN. By Staff meeting at 8, it hadn't really let up and all of the staff was feeling down. Our director asked us where we were on a scale of 1-10. When my turn came I said "It doesn't matter what I am now by chapel I'm gonna be a 10." and I shared with the staff how my heart was torn but how I wanted to see God work in amazing ways that day and I believed he would if we just got out of his way and let him!
We came out of staff meeting and all around us there were clouds but right above our camp was a big patch of blue sky and sunshine! All day long when we were inside it would rain and when we needed to be outside it would be sunny. And that evening just before chapel there was a double rainbow that went ground to ground right over the LBC chapel building! That night I was sharing the Gospel message. God moved in such a mighty way. There were about 40 campers there and about 3/4 of the way through my message I asked them if they were ready to say yes to Jesus. Spontaneously about a 1/3 of them looked up at me and yelled YES. It was incredible. I gave the alter call and about 25 children ran for the front. My first reaction was to panic! I'd never had this happen before! It was evident that God was in control. I prayed with the kids and then some left, some stayed and prayed with councilors.
I got to pray with Ian. I asked him what what his heart was telling him. He replied "That this is right." How simple and how true. He was so excited b/c he had just learned how to use his Bible that day. Now he could look up verses all on his own! I loved watching Ian the rest of the week. He praised God with everything his little body had! Dance and sing like nobody was watching.... and really nobody was except for me and all of heaven who was rejoicing with him!
Dylan was a pudgy little guy who came up to me after and said "My mom's gonna be real happy that I did this. She said it would make me a better person. And my dad's gonna be happy too cause he said accepting Jesus made HIM a better person!" My heart smiled...
Kaitlyn was a girl that you could tell just didn't quite fit. You could just see that she was bullied and unaccepted. We talked for a bit and she said 'I'm 90% decided and 10% scared. I'm scared this will be just one more thing I will get teased about.' We talked and prayed some more and then she asked me to leave her be for a bit. 'Come back and check on me in 20 minutes.' she said. I left smiling I knew it wouldn't take that long. Sure enough about 10 minutes later, a little arm snuck around my waist. I looked down into Kaitlyn's eyes. "you've decided?" She smiled and nodded while a few gentle tears rolled down her cheeks.
Yep there is nothing like seeing a life changed by Jesus' love. And what a privilege to be God's instrument. Yeah I'm forever changed...
my hands hurt. I'll tell you all about EBC next time...

Summertime news

So July has been crazy. Ups and downs and all arounds!
July 1st was fun, we did all the usual stuff, the parade , the play park and the fireworks. Oh and we spent some time with Dad Dirpaul as well. The Third Anna was in the parade and their was a float dedicated to dad Dirpaul. The Heart and stroke foundation rides a Big Bike every year (one of those HUGE bikes with like 30 riders... call themselves the Medical Maniacs) Every year they dedicate their ride to someone who has had heart trouble and this year they chose Dad. I took lots of pictures and as soon as the parade was over I went up to the hospital to show Dad. Little did I know that would be the last time I would see him.
The 3 and 4th were spent getting ready to head for camp.
The morning of the 5th my day started with a phone call at 8:30 from my dearest friend in the world. " Dad's gone Susanna, he's gone."
The first thought that went through my head was HOW AM I supposed to leave for camp now? God what are you doing?. This thought was quickly followed by Of course I have to go to camp, Teddy wouldn't want it any other way and besides, God wasn't surprised by this. HE KNEW this was going to happen. He wouldn't call me to camp and then change his mind... so I spent as much time as I could with the Dirpaul's over the weekend and come Monday morning, Mom and I headed out...
More coming later

why am I not surprised

Hollywood rarely takes me by surprise these days. The news of Heath Ledger's death saddened me greatly as he is a fine actor and seemed to be a pretty decent human being. What I wish surprised me was the callous and depraved way that the media is handling this news. Do we really need web video of the man's body being taken by the coroner? I mean really, are we as a people that callous? I guess the answer is yes we are.
I cannot help but wonder how much lower our society can go? I wish it surprised me but somehow it just doesn't. It does make me very sad. I pray that I can rise above it and not be sucked into the black hole that seems to be swallowing us whole. No more Brittany watch for me, no more ET. It's time to focus on other things and try to make a difference in this world while we still have a chance...

Come and gone

So 2007 has left us and we're already well into 2008! Life has been full of changes this past year. I don't think I coped very well... But it feels as though the veil has lifted and I can once again breathe deeply and look forward to tomorrow. Praise God for that!
So in 2007, we bought a new house, we left our church, friendships changed, some grew, some died, but none stayed the same. I cannot think of one thing in my life that is the same today as it was only one year ago. God is the same but our relationship is different...
What will 2008 bring? My babies will turn 8, 10 and 12! Bobby and I will celebrate 14 years of marriage. My parents will go away for two months! We'll travel to at least two family weddings. Anna will compete in her first Synchro competition. While there are no major plans in the works, I can guarantee it will be a busy year full of, if nothing else.... change.