FAITH MATTERS Teacher Sees Gift In Pupil

REMEMBER OTHERS THIS SEASON

I was a shy, skinny, 12-year-old boy in Mrs. Kendrick’s class. She taught the junior boys at our church. It was a rowdy group except for one and that was me. I was very timid and withdrawn. Yet Mrs. Kendrick took a special interest in me. She went out of her way to draw me in. She had a gift to see potential in the rough and to encourage purpose in a young life. I will never forget the magic she worked in my life during that year. Years later, my wife and I were pastoring our first church in Houston. We got the news that Mrs. Kendrick was quite ill and might not have long to live Something stirred in me that I had to get back to Arkansas to thank her for her special touch on my life.

Sites Offered For Operation Christmas Child

Two collection sites are available Nov. 16 through 23 in Springdale for Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project. Volunteers pack shoe box gifts for children in more than 100 countries suering from natural disaster, war, terrorism, disease, famine and poverty. From Northwest Arkansas, the shoe box gifts will be sorted and sent using whatever means necessary — sea containers, trucks, trains, airplanes, boats, camels, even dog sleds — to reach suering children around the world. “Operation Christmas Child is a unique opportunity to do something as simple as packing a shoe box that will have a lasting impact on a child a world away,” said Alescha Massey, Operation Christmas Child dropoff site coordinator, in a news release. Operation Christmas Child uses tracking technology that allows donors to “follow your box” to the destination country where it will be handdelivered to a child in need. To register shoe box gifts, individuals can use the EZ Give donation form found at www.samaritanspurs

SPRINGDALE BIBLE TRANSLATION TOUCHES LIVES

WYCLIFFE ASSOCIATES BANQUET HIGHLIGHTS NEED WORLDWIDE

Mark Thrash is an information technology specialist, not a linguist or translator. Yet he knows how to speak the language that matters — the language of the heart. “I’m a computer geek. But I speak human,” said Thrash, keynote speaker Monday during the Wycliffe Associates banquet at the Springdale Holiday Inn. Thrash spent a couple of years as a missionary in Malaysia, managing computer operations for the Summer Institute of Linguistics. The institute is a sister organization to Wycliffe Bible Translators, a nonprofit group dedicated to making Bible translations in every living language. Thrash shared his experiences with 85 banquet guests. Some were longtime supporters of the work Wycliffe does. Others were hearing about it for the first time — some with an eye toward possibly volunteering with the interdenominational organization.

Novel ideas

ASPIRING WRITERS SHARE THEIR STRUGGLES AND SUCCESSES DURING MONTH DESIGNATED FOR FOSTERING FICTION

“Novels,” said Molly Giles, “are daunting.” She would know. As a published novelist and a creative writing professor at the University of Arkansas, getting students — and herself — motivated to write is a day-to-day or minute-to-minute activity.

Something funny is going on, and it’s a good thing

I once saw a TV interview with actor Will Smith (who starred in “Men in Black,” “Independence Day,” etc.), and he mentioned that he cuts his kids some slack about breaking the rules if they happen to be really funny in the process.

Northwest Arkansas FACES

Grants worth $52,675 awarded to local projects

Northwest Medical Center — Springdale Auxiliary’s Fund with the Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation recently granted $52,675 to community projects.

Insect-proofing helps keep bugs out

Now that cooler fall temperatures have settled in, Arkansans should take care to insect-proof their home, said Van Banks, an extension agent for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.

There are clues to predicting a frost

Question: Is there any way to predict a freeze?

Oh deer: Collisions with cars on the rise

They may look cute and appealing as they graze on the roadside, but don’t be fooled — deer can cause injury and even death for Arkansas motorists.

Engagements

Lindsay Brooke Green of Little Rock and Alexander Richmond Hover III of Springfield, Mo., plan to marry at 4 p.m. Nov. 21, 2009, at First Baptist Church in Fayetteville.

Weddings

Demeropolis-Bateman Meredith Ann Bateman and Nicholas Joseph Demeropolis, both of St. Louis, were married Sept. 5, 2009, at Graham Chapel at Washington University in St. Louis. The Rev. Robert Rose officiated the double ring ceremony.

Crafts and music combine: The Ozark Folk Festival will begin next week

The longest continuously running folk festival in the country is returning to its roots by bringing back more arts and crafts, along with its folk music lineup.

Four days of film: Fayetteville festival celebrates silver screen

Call it the missing art. It was something that Rowland McKinney and Cassie Self noticed. While Fayetteville is rich in music, art, theater and literature, they said they recognized something lacking in the mix: film

A tuneful trifecta Noted pianist switches fluidly between three musical styles

It’s just one piano, likely a 9-foot Steinway. And it’s just one man, George Winston.

Scary times ahead: On the eve of Halloween, frightful events abound

It’s so close, you can almost taste the candy corn. Halloween is only a day away, and here are several events to see the holiday in properly.