Our Three Gifts Under the Tree

Greetings from cold, wet Tennessee!! We hope this message finds you Surrounded in the gifts of the Season: Hope, Love, Peace, Joy, Family and Friends. Our tree is up, our programs are almost done, and we have been enjoying all that Christmas brings: the sights, the sounds and the tastes. Emily got involved in decorating the tree this year, but she is a creature of habit. When we stepped back to look at the tree, there was one very low branch we with 5 or 6 ornaments on it. And she also walks around the house with an open book, any book, and sings her own little songs. And the boys are excited about their Christmas parties. Josiah gets to wear his PJ’s to school and have a Polar Express Party. Noah is at the age where anything with his friends is fun.

We have our last two Christmas lessons Wednesday and Thursday. We have been talking about the Christmas Story and what God wants for Christmas. The children were surprised to hear that God wants a Christmas present from us. He wants our lives given back to Him in obedience and love.

Then on Friday the adventure begins as we start our Christmas vacation. We will be in PA for Christmas and NY for New Year’s. And, YES, we are hoping for snow!! So we wanted to take a moment and wish you all a Blessed Christmas. May you overflow with the true gifts of the Day!!

With Love,

The Fladie Family

May you thank God for His gifts as you celebrate this Thanksgiving!

We are in the midst of our Thanksgiving lessons. We are telling the story of the first Thanksgiving. When the Puritans celebrated they put 5 grains of corn on each person’s plate to remind them of when that was all they had to eat that first winter. These kernels also stood for 5 things to be thankful for. Here are our 5!

1. God has provided a wonderful home for us to enjoy! We even had fun playing in the piles of leaves as we raked and mowed our almost 1 acre of property. We love being out of town and enjoy a variety of visitors: an assortment of birds, a family of white-tailed deer, a grey fox, and even a couple of skunks.

2. God continues to provide for our needs!

3. We have all remained healthy so far this season!

4. God continues to give us opportunities to minister and serve Him!

5. We are thankful for God’s involvement in our lives and the promises He gives us through His word! Verses like Jeremiah 33:3 and 29:11 are very dear to us. We must remember that “ He who Promised is Faithful.”

At the end of our lesson, we tell the children that not all Americans thank God on Thanksgiving anymore. As Paul says, “May it never be!” I pray that we will always thank God for the many blessings that He gives us.

May you thank God for His gifts as you celebrate this Thanksgiving!

TFF Update

We hope this finds everyone well. The boys are settled into school and Emily has found a comfortable routine. She naps from 10 AM – 1 PM, and when the boys come home she is right where they are. We have all enjoyed the quieter pace these past few weeks. But we know, in ministry, quietness does not last long. By the end of this month we will be teaching six different Bible Clubs, some with multiple classes. We will also be coaching soccer. Fall ministries will be in full swing at camp and the MOPS Program will begin. Life will go back to its crazy, enjoyable busyness. Pray for God’s strength and guidance until our next lull around Christmas time.

TFF Update

Adam and I are getting reorganized from the summer and gearing up for the start of our fall ministries. We are enjoying our home and yard very much.Well, the kids are settled into school. Noah is loving 4th grade. he has a good teacher and a lot of friends in his class. He is also getting more independent. Josiah is doing well, but does not have the love for school that Noah does. He often asks how many more days of school until Saturday. Emily is fitting into her own routine, but lights up when the boys come home. She is in the school of toddlerhood.

It's Official!!! & Summer's Here!!!

IT’S OFFICIAL!!!

Noah has received his 3^rd grade report card, Josiah graduated from Pre-school, and Emily, not to be left out, graduated from a crawler to a walker.

SUMMER’S HERE!!!

We jump right in with camp the first two weeks of June –

· June 1-3 Wilderness Camp (Girls)

· June 8-13 Sr. High Camp

We will have a few quieter weeks before we are back at camp July 6^th.

We’ll write more then.

Summer-Like and Liking Summer

The past few days it has felt like we jumped right into summer. We have even begun planning six weeks of camp this summer at Galilee Bible Camp. But we can’t look to far ahead. We still have clubs to wrap up – this will involve 13 more classes before the end of May. Just this past month there have been five decisions for the Lord!

Noah is ready for school to be over. It has been a challenging year for him. He also enjoys playing soccer. His team has been undefeated this Spring.

Josiah is almost done with preschool. And he loves this weather, because he can ride his bike, ride his scooter, or dig in the yard. He is all boy and never still.

Emily, who is 15 months, would still rather crawl then try to walk. But she gets around and into everything. She is happy like Noah and always on the move like Josiah. This summer will be challenging with her.

In closing, we want you to know that we thank God for each and every one of you! May God bless you as you seek Him. He is Trustworthy!

Story to Share

In March, 2008, a local high school teacher asked if Adam and I would be willing to work with students to start a S.W.A.T (Students With A Testimony) Club during lunchtime. Of course we were. We picked our date and started a signup sheet. On the day before our meeting we got the total (20) and ordered five pizzas (40 pieces). We were set.

The next day we picked up the pizzas and headed to school. When we arrived we found out that 60 students were now planning to attend. We called Dominos and ordered more pizza. There were 57 students that attended that first meeting.

Since then we have faced opposition from other teachers. We have had to find a new place to meet. We are no longer allowed to announce it to remind the students. We average close to 40 students each week.

Just last week an Asian student (“Kim”), whose family is Buddhist, received Christ as her Saviour. A friend “Mary” invited her to come. “Mary” went to the altar to pray after the lesson and “Kim” asked what she prayed about as they were heading back to school. “Mary” said that she prayed for “Kim’s” salvation. “Kim” then asked to go back with tears on her face. The angels were rejoicing that day!

There's No Place Like Home!

Wow! I know it's been a "few" days since my last post but let me put it this way. Out of a thirteen day period I was home one day. Needless to say I have been a little busy with traveling (about 4,000 miles). No it was not to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, or even Hawaii. I was in Pennsylvania and the wonderful vacation spot of Nebraska. Were they pleasure tours? Not actually - they were work trips mainly. Our whole family went to PA for a Missions Conference and took two days to spend with family. The Missions Conference went very well and we had several opportunities to share the ministry that God has given us here in East TN with the church there. After arriving home for a day I (Adam) then went to Nebraska for an American Missionary Fellowship Camp Leadership Conference. We were able to meet with several other AMF Camp Personnel from all over the United States. It was filled with ideas, discussions, and other camp-related information. Although both trips were good - it is definitely great to be home.

What would you put in your survival kit?

I asked a group of students the other day, "What would you put in your survival kit?"

Some answers were: food, water, shelter of some kind, first aid supplies, some even added their Bible along with other items.

Then I asked them, "If you could only take one item what would that be?"

Answers again varied, but one student answered, "My guitar!" When I asked him why, he said that music was the most important thing to him -- even more than the essentials of life.

Obviously he would need the essentials or he would last very long. That didn't matter to him. He would rather die with his music.

What is most important to you?

I believe the most important AND essential thing to have is a personal relationship with God. No that's not a physcial item -- but the physcial doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what material thing or things you have. If you don't have a personal relationship with God, no matter how long you last on an island or in the artic, when you die your eternal life is all that you have. That relationship with God determines where you are going to spend that eternal life. We are all going to have eternal life! However, where are you going to spend it? It will either be in Heaven with God, I believe, or in Hell without Him.

Which are going to choose?

If you have a questions about what this means or how you can have a personal relationship with God, please let us know. We would love to share with you how you can have it--forever!

TFF Update

Believe it or not, life actually slowed down for a few weeks. It was long enough for us to finally feel settled into our new home. We emptied the last boxes just this weekend and hung the pictures on the walls.

We wanted to take a few moments to say hello and let you know what we are up to this month:

· March 5-7 Galilee Bible Camp (GBC) Board Meeting & Constitution Writing

· March 13-14 GBC Scrapbooking Retreat

· March 18-23 PA Missions Conference

· (March 20-21) (Teen Retreat at GBC)

· March 25-31 Adam will be in Nebraska for an AMF Camping Conference

o Pray for us as we are apart

We will also have 10 Bible Club Meetings this month.

We praise God as He continues to provide for our needs and opens doors for His ministry.

May God’s Blessings shower on you!

Happy Spring!

ARE YOU A BLOGGER?

WHAT IS A BLOGGER YOU ASK?

blog (blŏg)  n.  A weblog.
blogger a person who keeps a Weblog (blog/online diary).

In an effort to save money, stay up-to-date with you, today’s technology, and people’s interest we have started The Fladie Flyer Blog.

The blog will contain updates on the life and ministry God has given us, along with praise & prayer requests, stories, pictures, polls, music, and more...

We hope this will help to keep you more informed in-between our newsletters.

If you have any comments or questions, let us know!

Note:  These updates will still be sent by email as well.  Please let us know if you would like to stop receiving the TFF Update by email.

American Missionary Fellowship Overview