Memorial Day

As our nation celebrates Memorial Day tomorrow, we encourage you to take a moment to remember the brave men and women in the armed forces who have pledged their lives, fortunes, and honor to give us the freedom we cherish so dearly in America. We have several family members who served in the armed forces, including our grandfather who was a tank commander in the Korean War, three great-uncles who fought on the European front during WWII, and a fourth great-uncle who was just nineteen years old when he died fighting for his country on May 20, 1945 on the island of Okinawa. We also have many friends who have served in the armed forces, in places such as Vietnam, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan.

Please take a moment to thank a veteran for his or her service to our great country. Such service should be acknowledged every day, for without their sacrifice and dedication to preserving our freedom, our nation would be vastly different than it is today. As someone once said, freedom is never free.

We can also remember the greatest sacrifice ever made for mankind: Christ's death on the cross where He purchased salvation and eternal life for us with His own blood (Acts 20:28, I Peter 1:18-19). Furthermore, the Scriptures tell us that the Lord is the ultimate creator and author of liberty. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (II Corinthians 3:7). We truly have much to be thankful for.

Blood Bought My Freedom

by Reagan Riddle

Land of the free,

Sweet home of liberty.

It came at such a great cost.

Our soldiers, brave and true,

Gave their lives for me and you.

Thank God for the red, white, and blue.

Blood bought my freedom,

Someone had to die.

Someone freely took my place.

Blood was the price for supreme sacrifice,

Someone died that we might be free.

Over the sea,

On an old rugged tree,

A battle was fought for you and me.

It won't be fought again,

We have victory over sin,

Thank God for Calvary.



Spring

"For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth;

the time of the singing of birds is come,

and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."

-Song of Songs 2:11-12

Spring has finally arrived in full force here in the northland. A month ago, this was the view outside our windows (that is, the ones we could see out of :). It was an all-night ice and snowstorm that left the area a winter wonderland...only it was April and supposed to be spring. We had already put our dock in and were preparing our gardens. Thankfully, the sun came out later that day and the snow soon disappeared.

Since our last update, everyone has been busy practicing instruments, going to rehearsals and concerts for adult and youth orchestras, studying for finals, finishing classes, beginning summer term, spring cleaning, mowing lawns, and working on various other projects. Our most recent concert was at Maple Hill Hall in Hibbing, MN. We had a great time sharing our music, meeting new friends, and seeing old friends. Many thanks to Shirley for all her hard work and for providing us with supper before the concert!



In the last few days everything has turned green and our tulips and daffodils will soon be blooming! I went outside last night and had fun taking pictures of all the lovely blossoms on the trees in our apple orchard.



"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

His greatness is unsearchable."

"The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion;

slow to anger, and of great mercy."

"The Lord is good to all: and His tender

mercies are over all His works."

"The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up

all those that be bowed down."

"The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and

holy in all His works. The Lord is nigh

unto all them that call upon Him,

to all that call upon Him in truth."

- excerpts from Psalm 145

- Kate for the Ophovens

MACHE Annual Convention

Our family was in St. Paul from Thursday through Sunday for the annual Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators (MACHE) annual convention. Dad and Mom are responsible for all of the host and hostesses for the conference workshops, so they recruit over sixty volunteers during the months preceeding the conference and then oversee them during the actual convention, making sure all the workshops run smoothly. At the convention, I helped Dad and Mom, John worked in security, and Aaron and Elizabeth attended the teen track.

As usual, we all had an amazing time. We had a wonderful group of volunteers and everything went really well. John enjoyed working security and making new friends while Aaron and Elizabeth had a blast at the teen track listening to Bill Jack of Worldview Academy. All of the speakers this year were excellent, and we especially enjoyed the keynote speakers, Phil and Susy Downer. We also loved shopping at the used book sale and the exhibit hall. After all, one can never have too many books! The four of us siblings played a string quartet arrangement of "Great is Thy Faithfulness" before the keynote session on Friday night as well as accompanying the congregational hymn. Another highlight was visiting with the many friends and relatives at the convention, and the opportunity to encourage and fellowship with other homeschoolers. All in all, it was another great conference, and we learned on Saturday night at the wrap-up dinner for committee heads and the MACHE board that there were over six thousand people in attendance.

A few photos from the weekend...

The quartet before the keynote session.

Walking over to the RiverCentre through the skyway.

Looking back towards our hotel and the cathedral beyond it.

Looking down on the exhibit hall.

More of the exhibit hall and the coat check.

Bill Jack speaking to a room of over five hundred enthralled teens.

We found out later that four teens trusted Christ for salvation. Praise the Lord!

Clusters of homeschoolers eating their lunch in the skyway.

 On Saturday evening after the convention was over, we went to the dinner for the committee heads, MACHE board members, and their families. It was held on the top floor of the St. Paul Crowne Plaza Hotel. The view was amazing, but unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I had to make do with my iPhone.

The mighty Mississippi River.

On a even level with St. Paul skyscrapers.

Dad and John enjoying the view.

The center part of the restaurant rotates, making a complete revolution every 45 minutes.

Reflecting back on the weekend, we were so blessed by the opportunity to minister to fellow homeschoolers and reminded yet again of how precious the freedom to homeschool is. May we never take that freedom for granted.

"Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all

thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with

all thy might. And these words, which I command

thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou

shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,

and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in

thine house, and when thou walkest by the way,

and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

-- Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Buckman, Minnesota

Last Sunday night we played a concert at Dad's cousin Mary Lou's church in Buckman, Minnesota. Both of Dad's parents grew up in the Pierz/Buckman/Little Falls area, so there were a lot of relatives in the crowd that evening, which was really neat for us. Many thanks to Auntie Shirley for taking pictures during the concert!



"Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:

sing forth the honour of His name:

make His praise glorious."

"O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice

of His praise to be heard: which holdeth our

soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved."

"Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will

declare what He hath done for my soul."

-Psalm 66:1-2, 8-9, 16

As we celebrate Christ's resurrection tomorrow, may you be reminded of how God demonstrated His amazing love towards us by sending His Son to die on Calvary to pay the price for our sin and providing a way for us to spend eternity with Him through faith in His finished work on the cross.

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel...

how that Christ died for our sins according to the

Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He

rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."

- I Corinthians 15:1, 3-4

Manitoba

On Friday morning, we packed up the truck and headed north to Canada for our first international concert! It was our first time using passports and crossing the border. The Lord was merciful and the crossing was uneventful. We arrived in Morden, Manitoba later that evening, checked into our hotel, and went out for dinner. On Saturday we drove to the nearby town of Winkler, where the concert hall was, and spent the afternoon exploring. Saturday evening found us performing a concert in the P.W. Enns Centennial Concert Hall. It was a lovely building that was formerly a church and then renovated into a concert hall. The acoustics were amazing! The concert went so well, and we really enjoyed meeting all the wonderful Canadians that came out to hear us!

Approaching the North Dakota/Canadian border.

 Canadian customs.

Manitoba welcome center.

The restaurant in Morden, MB. The food was amazing!

Driving into Winkler.

The Country Kitchen in Winkler where we crashed for a couple hours before the concert.

The concert hall.

The crew heading to view the stage.

Looking out from the stage.

Looking towards the stage.

The beautiful designs in the frosted windows in the stairwell to the balcony.

Kate pausing in the stairwell to smile for the camera | Photo by Mom

Looking down at the stage from the balcony.

Sunday evening found us back in the states and playing for the lumberjack supper at Grace Bible Chapel in Grand Rapids. The theme was lumberjacks, so we all broke out our plaid shirts and denim for the occasion. :)

Liz testing the microphone.

The guys tuning.

It was a full weekend, but an enjoyable one. We were so thankful for both opportunities to share our music, the gospel, and the love of our Saviour.