wow! time flies when you're having fun!

we sure have been enjoying the beautiful weather around here! it's just starting to get a little chilly in the mornings. people are still sporting the flop flops, trying to keep summer around just a little longer. the lake is too cold to swim in but it sure is gorgeous in the morning. i am still amazed that i live on the lake. it has been a dream of mine for many years, there is just something about it, it's so peaceful and calming to me.

our classes are getting ready to change again. we are starting phonetics on monday! there is homework every day for that class and there is a 20 hour homework due in the middle of december, so we will be putting iinto practice our time mangment skills we just learned. funny how that works around here. you learn something and then you start using it right away.

this last month has been filled with plane rides, game nights, iron chef dinner, and good friends. john has been working with the youth group here and they were busy washing cars, raising $ for their retreat in a couple of weeks. Tori will be going but John won't this time. he chose to attend one at our church with a friend from school, so one seemed like enough.

the kids are doing great, the girls had a sleep over last night and tori has been busy with her new friends here and at school.

Here are some pics to keep you in the loop.



Ellie's birthday

John's creation... the light saber cake


"what not to wear" nite at Awana

we are in the middle

Settled in...

The boxes are unpacked, the bedrooms are settled and school is underway!

We have 68 kids on the bus (max. cap. 70) going from New Tribes every morning and afternoon.

Derek is enjoying pre-K along with his 16 classmates. There are about 70 kids in the childcare program from 5 months to 5 years, and a couple more on the way.

Last Saturday we had a Kodiak event at the local airport. NTM had new airplanes built to carry more people and cargo, and take off with less runway needed. The MTC was giving away rides in an hourly drawing as well as selling rides to who ever wanted to go up. They had 12 flights go that morning. As soon as we got there my name was drawn so I got to take a ride!! John did some face painting for the kids and they had a bouncy house too. Local pilots flew in and gave the kids FREE rides throught the Young Eagles program, so Chloe and Ellie took a ride too. We all had a great morning!

The kids have made new friend and we are slowly getting to know our almost 400 new neighbors.

Some we like...

Some we don't...


We have spent the last 3 weeks in orientation, taken a world view class with George Walker, and discovering our learning styles. It is deffinately more relaxed here so there are lots of oportunities to get to know people better.

Thanks for your prayers and support as we continue with our training!

Becki for the Bennetts

The Bennett's "End of the Summer Adventures"

Our trip from Corning, NY to Roach, MO.
Began with a stop in Canada along Lake Erie at Todd and Kelly Duston’s cottage. We spent three days there with them and their 6 kids. We ate, talked, played and swam a lot. I even play “king of the floating dock” but ended up with the worst of it as the picture shows,thankfully there was no damage other than bruising.

After our time in Canada we went to Jackson, MI. to be part of Mitch and Amanda's wedding. I was a groomsmen, Chloe and Ellie were flower girls, Derek was the ring bearer and Tori was in charge of the guest book.

After the wedding, we loaded our moving van and spent one more night in Jackson, MI. We got up the next morning, put our small bags in our van and left for Bloomington, IL. to visit Becki's brother Pete and his family. Becki drove our van while I drove the moving van and the last time we traveled through the Chicago area we sat in a traffic jam for about an hour, but this time we never had to stop, horray!!! That day we drove for about 6 hours and finally arrived at her brother's house and got to see our neice, Ivy, for the first time. Then they took us to the State Farm recreation park were we spent a couple of hours swimming and fun!!!

The next day we finished our trip with a 6 1/2 hour drive to Roach, MO.

We arrived at the Missionary Training Center around 5:45 pm and were greeted by about 9 guys to help us unload the moving van, which took them about 30 minutes to complete.

We are very thankful for their help.

Here is what it looked like after they were done...

...we are living on the Lake of the Ozarks...

...Chloe is quickly getting used to the surroundings...

...and so is everyone else.

This week we have been enrolling the kids in school, settling the house and getting to know our way around Osage Beach, Camdenton and Raoch, Missouri and hope to update this blog again real soon.

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Thanks, John.

Summer time!!!!!!!

No internet, cable or phone; just sky,trees and grass.


Oh and 2 ponds that attract deer and bears and bugs.









We have been roasting marshmallows, climbing trees and chasing snakes. The boys love to skip rocks into the pond and the girls like playing in the mud. yep, the mud...

the 2nd group of girls from the youth group that came over coverd their arms and legs in the mud from the pond. It was much cheaper than the day spa but just as effective.










We found a tree frog







figured out how to make smoke rings off a stick they poke in the fire and




most of all RELAX !!!!!