Category Archives: Feature

Walter Sylvester reports from Cambodia – Life on the Growing Edge

Walter Sylvester reports from Cambodia – Life on the Growing Edge
Walter Sylvester of Lynnville took an extended mission trip to Cambodia and Thailand Jan. 12-26. Due to political unrest in Bangkok, Thailand, he returned home to Iowa earlier than planned. Following are edited emails and photos he sent while he was gone. Part 1 of 2 Parts Jan. 14: I am presently in Southeast Asia. The trip...
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The Wooden Spoon by Shelly Rankin – Feb. 20

Valentine's Day has come and gone! I hope you and yours were able to do a little somethin’! It was on a Friday after all! We sure had a wonderful evening! We made plans to go to our favorite restaurant and reserved the corner table. Yep, little unknown fact, we’re that cheesy couple on Valentine’s...
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The Wooden Spoon by Shelly Rankin – Feb. 13

This week I made a mildly to moderately offensive remark to a store clerk {completely unintentional}, another mildly to moderately offensive remark to a coworker {completely intentional}, and walked into a coffee shop with my zipper down. I guess that serves me right for my unkind words. In my defense, everything I stated about my...
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Perseverance leads to personal bests after accident for local gymnast

Perseverance leads to personal bests after accident for local gymnast
Eleven-year-old Kennedy Roland’s smile lights up a room, and it is easy to see that her bubbly personality would overflow onto the gymnastics floor. She has been practicing gymnastics since she was five years old. Now in sixth grade, she trains for competitions four hours a day, three days a week at Prairie Fire Gymnastics...
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The Wooden Spoon by Shelly Rankin – Feb. 6

This week’s column begins on a somber note for our community, one, thankfully, rarely seen here. The last couple weeks. Huh. No words. My heart heavy. My thoughts anxious. For those mourning, for those hurting, for those supporting, for those overcoming, please join me in prayer, my humble attempt anyway. Dear Heavenly Father, As our world feels as...
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The Wooden Spoon by Shelly Rankin – Jan. 30

How about that wind, ‘ey? Wind makes me hungry. Cold makes me thirsty. Actually, just thinking about wind makes me hungry; thinking about the cold makes me thirsty. This week was full of cold and wind. What did we do? We ate. We drank. A lot. Probably too much. You’ll see what I mean. There are...
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