Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 133, Number 11, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 17 March 2011 — Page 4

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> Advance News • Thursday, Match 17,2011

MiSSiOII, cont. tram Front seven motorcycles to pastors fat Haiti and deliver school supplies. In over three decades of CMA mission trips, nothing like what eventually happened to Bontrager and his fellow travelers had ever happened before. Bontrager's group was staying in Cape Htutien, a city of close to 200,000 on the north coast of the island, which escaped the horrific destruction of the January 2010 earthquake. On Monday, Nov. 15, they awoke at their hilltop hotel to see a city in chaos, as residents rebelled against the United Nations peacekeepers, which some blamed for a cholera outbreak. Smoke from widespread car- and tire-fires clouded the landscape as Haitians engaged U.N. troops. "They were throwing rocks, and you could see the UN. guys shooting tear gas grenades, and sometimes they'd pick diem up and throw the back at them," Bontrager said. The situation altered die group's humanitarian mission, which was replaced Tuesday by plans to get out and across to die Dominican Republic. Arranged transportation was on the other side of town, and with the streets closed or too dangerous to traverse, the group waited. By Wednesday, the roads were cleared enough for a bus to make it to the hotel. When word came that the bus was on its way, Bontrager and his group scurried to get ready. After loading up, the bus took off, but was stopped short of its final destination. "We almost made it out of town, then people on the street threw a barricade up in front of us," Bontrager said. "Then they started throwing rocks at the bus, broke the windshield out, broke the side door and drug the driver's helper off the bus. There were people running along side shaking their fists and waving machetes." The scene had a profound impact on some of the bus' occupants, but Bontrager remained steady. "Some of them were pretty shook up, I think," Bontrager said. "I had a peace about it the whole time. 1 was in the back of the bus with a couple others taking pictures. "It was pretty intense, but I had a scripture verse I clung to a little bit there Psalms 46:1 that says, 'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.' That was pretty powerful at the time." The bus driver backed up and darted around a barricade that was placed behind the vehicle. The bus hit something, started leaking oil and the engine died. The driver was able to get it going enough to make it to the front of a U.N. compound gate, where it coasted down a hill and inside. After getting some rest, the group loaded up into an armored personnel carrier (APC) on Thursday. With a couple truckloads of U.N. peacekeepers leading the way, they took off once again. The passengers couldn't see what was going on outside, but could hear rocks smashing against the sides. Then, mechanical failure struck again. "The APC broke down shortly after we got out of town," Bontrager said. "The lieutenant came back and said we were safe. They set up a perimeter around us. We had 12 people crammed in to a vehicle which normally holds six to eight. It was pretty crowded." The caravan eventually made it to Another U.N. compound. After being ordered to wash up to reduce the risk of contamination, the group passed out in the barracks, where they stayed until heading to the border on Saturday. "Through it all, we could see how God had a plan for us," Bontrager said. "We were safe at the hotel and had everythingqwjvided to us at all of the compounds. We didn't get to acioilfaplifih-ianything we set out to do, but we touched lives along the jway, and our lives were touched also. God was just in control of the whole thing." The motorcycles, whiqh were being stored in a local ice factory, were eventually delivered two months later, and the school supplies were also distributed. Before leaving, the group attended a church service and helped in painting a storefront for a businesses which employed former prostitutes. Bontrager made it home the day before Thanksgiving, which had a little more meaning than usual. "They don't have anything there compared to what we've got," Bontrager said. "It makes you thankful for what you have. Even the people here on unemployment, it's more than what they make down there. There's a lot of people a lot worse off." The wild journey didn't sway Bontrager away from future mission trips. He plans on going to Paraguay to deliver motorcycles in the fall, and could return for CMA's scheduled trip to Haiti next year.

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Perfect scores moxo suomima In January and February, upper-level Woodview Elementary students went through a special, school counselor-led six-week curriculum. The curriculum is called Student Success Skills and it is designed to help students develop the academic, social and self-management skills they need to succeed. Some of the strategies and skills taught are: keys to mastering any course; keys to high energy and positive mood; creating a caring, supportive and encouraging classroom community; memory skills; performing under pressure; managing test anxiety; and creating and maintaining healthy optimism. At the completion of the six hours of study, students are given a final exam. There were 100 students who participated in the course and 11 earned a perfect score on the exam. Fifteen more students were only one away from a perfect score. Students scoring 100 percent were (front, from left) Connor Lane, Sawyer Warren, Ben Yoder, Nathan Smoot, Dawson Bley, (back, from left) McKenzie Lincoln, Karen Miller, Alexis Martindale, Avery Bontrager, Meredith Yoder and Alyssa Merryman.

Match is National Nutrition Month

National Nutrition Month is a nutrition education and information campaign to encourage you to eat healthy. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing healthy eating and physical activity habits. The National Nutrition Month campaign reinforces the importance of nutrition as a key component of health, along with physical activity and goes along with MyPramid.gov. One key item that you need to keep in mind is that healthy eating helps you get the most out of life and is also an investment in your health. A healthy lifestyle is the key to feeling and looking great and being your best every day. Bottom line: this all begins by having a healthy eating plan. Many of your individual needs and preferences were determined when you were a child. So, needless to say, the eating habits you are helping to establish in your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews are extremely important. Adults and children need to match their food choices to their lifestyle and individual

Gasoline safety tips

For most people these days, gasoline is a routine, almost benign part of our lives. We all have time to complain about how the price is rising, but we rarely think about the dangers it can present to us and our family if misused. Most of the risk of handling gasoline has been "engineered away" for us, to decrease the chance of accidental exposure to flames or static electricity. That's a good thing, for the vapor from just one gallon of gasoline in a 250-gal-lon fuel talk has as much explosive energy as 83 sticks of dynamite. On a warm day, an uncapped gasoline tank may release several gallons of fuel. Those lingering vapors can be easily ignited by nearby items such as water heaters, welders, static electricity from getting out of your car, or even sparks

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Purdue Extension Elkhart County By Mary Ann Lienhart Cross Extension Educator, Consumer Favuv Sccnce requirements, choosing enough to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. We have known for some time the importance of physical activity. Physical activity is more important than most people realize. We need to be active so that our bodies will make the best use of the food we consume and deliver the nutrients your body needs. We need to get up and move or move more in our chairs. Besides being more physically active, you should actively pursue variety when it comes to healthy eating. Work at expanding your range of choices and exploring new tastes within and among the various food groups, especially vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Eating a wide variety of foods is so important. This not only promotes optimal nutrition, it provides some of

Purdue Extension Elkhart County By Jeff Burbrink Extension Educator from mowers and trimmers. Diesel fuel is much less dangerous than gasoline. The flash point of gasoline (the temperature at which it becomes explosive) is minus-45 degrees Fahrenheit. The flash point of diesel is 100 degrees. Gasoline will vaporize at 0 degrees, while diesel vaporizes at 100 degrees. Unsafe practices such as smoking or using power tools are not very forgiving around gasoline. Other tips for using gasoline powered equipment

the pleasurable aspects of eating. Many of you could help yourself by making moderation ypur goal myself included. Think of it this way, you decide how much you eat and how often you eat. Healthy eating does not and should not mean feeling deprived or guilty. Learn to look at the big picture, what and how much do you eat over several days, not just one day or one meal. If you are really serious about changing your eating habits you might want to try keeping a food journal. A food journal simply entails writing down everything you eat. Besides eating a variety of foods in moderation, you need to develop a personal fitness plan that fits your lifestyle. You might begin by planning to walk outside since warmer weather is just around the comer. The key to increasing your physical activity is to find a variety of activities you enjoy and then create a plan so you do it. You don't need to have expensive equipment or a complicated fitness program. The bottom line is you just need to move more every day, eat healthier and don't forget to drink your water!

include: • Store gasoline far away from spark-producing equipment such-as welders or grinders. • In trucks with plastic bed liners, put gasoline cans on the ground before filling. Static buildup from the bed liner can ignite gasoline fumes. • When filling a gasoline tank, put the fuel nozzle against the tank inlet. This will prevent a static buildup in the fuel hose. To extinguish a fuel fire, use an ABCtype dry chemical fire extinguisher. Trying to extinguish a gas or diesel fire with water will lead to disaster. The water converts to steam and spreads the fire quickly. Safety experts suggest one five-pound ABC fire extinguisher in every truck, tractor and vehicle on the farm.

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574-291-8460 [email protected] Derate F. Weaver 5134 Canton Street Licensed, Bonded and Insured South Bend, IN 46614-9804