Wild Game Feed

It was a coolish evening on January 21st when I went to the Sandy Creek Baptist Association’s Wild Game Supper and set my Missions Table up. Thankfully there was no snow in the forecast and it was below freezing. That made it better for parking on the grass at the association’s campground tabernacle where the event was held.

This was the first event that I had attempted to sell some of my primitive lanterns to try and support BFTW. I had attended the event last year as well and it seemed to me that this year’s attendance was down from then. I’m guessing there may have been about 85 there this time.

The food was great and there was plenty of it. I wish I had taken some pictures of all the varieties of wild game but never thought about it till it was all over. I did see venison, groundhog meatloaf, a number of versions of noodles with some type of meat and I even saw water buffalo. I settled for the old standby’s and really enjoyed the fish.

I got very little in way of donations but I did enjoy fellowshipping with my fellow brethren in Christ. There was good music, lots of giveaways and the main speaker was Ronnie Wyatt of Crosseyed Ministries. I was allowed a small amount of time to talk a little about BFTW, Living Waters and my ministry. I had an enjoyable evening and was blessed.

Now to try and find my next event.

Our Lord and King, first served.

The Lanterns

One of the hobbies that I and my family take part in is Colonial Reenacting. I have did this since the mid 1990’s and, though it took a few years to get them all interested, I finally got my wife and three girls to participate. There are a number of our close friends that are in it as well.

I found it was great fun, and helped in learning more about our countries history, if I made most of our accoutrements, weapons, camp gear and some of the clothing.

One item that we found was quite useful and cheap to make was our candle lanterns. From what I have been able to learn, they cover a time period for both the 18th and 19th centuries. I started making them in 1999 and they became quite useful at home when our power would go out due to storms.

The first ones that I made were quite rough looking, but over the years, I’ve been able to make them a little more appealing and nicer looking. Some people that I’ve either gifted or sold them to don’t even use them for the light. They just set them on a shelf and decorate them for holidays.

I just now am attempting to mass produce the lanterns. I have a basic style that utilizes a candle pull, or lift, to change out the candle. I can alter it by routing the square edges which makes it look a little nicer. I prefer to make them with clear pine wood but, I also make some with hardwoods occasionally, usually Ash. The hardwoods have more grain design but, take longer to make of ‘course.

I also am playing around with a couple door designs. One would have a hinged door and another would have a sliding glass panel that will lift up making the changing of the candles easy. The hinged door design is fun to make but takes a lot of time since I make the hinges and door latch instead of buying them. Plus, there is more wood and frame work involved. I think they look the best though.

I serial number and date each lantern and also sign my name and put a scripture verse address on the bottom. I get my candles off the internet by a lady that makes grungy, grubby scented ones. They are fairly priced if I get them in bulk. They are suppose to have about a 4-5 hour burn rate and I think they look quite nice compared to the cheaper, plain white ones I used to buy.
I’ll be offering these for sale at local businesses, at special events, word of mouth and at churches I speak at. All of the proceeds will go to Bibles For The World and their ministries. They will range in price from $20 to around $40. I have only shipped one in the past praying it would make it without breaking. It did but cost about $15 thru UPS.

I have found that making them is quite fun and relaxing. I usually turn on some Colonial or Christian music that seems to help the work go by faster. I’ll be posting pictures of the different styles and individual lanterns as I make them, plus some of the process I go thru in making them in more detail in the future, just in case you’re interested.

Thanks for reading and have a great day in the Lord.

The hinged door model #40. Pat claimed this one straight away.

A progression of lanterns L-R: The first one I made, the second, #18 and #35.

Prairie Land Heritage Steam Engine Show

I had the opportunity to set up at a popular local event that happens every year. From September 23rd thru the 25th I had a table amid traders row at the Prairie Land Heritage Steam Show in Jacksonville, Il. We had great weather and it was a lot of fun.

I shared a space with a retired couple that I had known for many years and also was next to an acquaintance that I had known thru work. He and his wife had a flea market set up. I could not have asked for better neighbors and we had a great time visiting.

It was a little tough on me because I needed to set up and tear down my table and area each day. But, it was worth it with all the people I got to share with besides handing out a lot of BFTW information and Living Waters tracts. I also had my cross country bike on display and had a lot of people ask me about it.

My youngest daughter Heather helped me the first day but I had to fly solo the next. Then on Sunday Pat came and helped. It was a lot of work but we were in a good spot and had good exposure to foot traffic.

It went well enough that we went ahead and reserved a space for next year but will be set up in the craft barn instead of outside in the traders area. To get in there, you need to sell a craft item. This will be the topic of one of my next posts.

Enjoy the Steam Show pictures below.


Donnie and Sharon

Margaret and Ron

Bluffs Baptist Church

On Aug. 21st, 2011 I was invited to speak in the morning service at the church that I grew up in, Bluffs Baptist. Pat and I got to sit in a Sunday School class taught by Norma, one of our dearest friends and past teachers. It was great.

I have many fond memories of that church and my parents still attend there. Even though there was, once again, a small crowd that showed up, I really enjoyed see my old friends and fellowshipping with them once again.

Thank you, Bluffs Baptist, for allowing me to speak about my mission’s trip and what God is doing thru Bibles For The World. Your support and prayers are dear to me.

Bluffs Baptist is without a pastor at this time, so please pray that God will lead His man to them soon. Thank you.

Woodson Baptist Church

On June 6th, my wife Pat, youngest dauther Heather and I, visited the Woodson Baptist Church in Woodson Illinois. I spoke about my 2010 bicycle Missions trip to Colorado Springs and the home office of Bibles For The World. Heather played a couple piano specials before I spoke.

There was a small crowd of about twenty people but everyone seemed to enjoy our time together. The temperature was very hot. We enjoyed a time of fellowship and snacks in the church basement after the service.

Pat’s sister Linda’s husband, Doug, is the Pastor there. We really enjoyed our time with them and, since this was actually my first formal speaking engagement representing BFTW, it was good experience for me. It also gave me an opportunity to set up a display table with information about BFTW. I have discovered at later events that I need a bigger table.

Thank you Woodson Baptist for your support and prayers.

A Light In A Darkened Place

Welcome to the Lanterns of Light blog. In 2010, I created a blog called Manna For The Journey. It chronicled my training and eventual bicycle ride from my home in West Central Illinois to Colorado Springs in September. The ride became a missions trip to raise money and awareness for a non-profit organization called Bibles For The World whose corporate office is in Colorado Springs.

I rode thru Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado, a total of about 925 miles. I did this also as a vacation and to celebrate my 50th birthday. You can read about my training and the complete trip at www.mannaforthejourney.blogspot.com.

When I arrived at BFTW’s office in Colorado Springs, they had arranged a wonderful celebration for me. I was so impressed with the staff and all those who support BFTW who welcomed me. Even some of my family was there. It was a very emotional time for me.

Even though I had accomplished most of my goals during the trip and had raised a goodly amount of financial support for BFTW, I wanted to do more in the future. It is very easy to see the impact that BFTW is making in the lives of people all over the world and especially in Northeast India. They are winning souls for Christ but also ministering to the physical and educational needs of thousands of people every day. You can read all about their many ministries at www.bftw.org.

This is a new blog that I wanted to start to help follow my work while representing BFTW where I live and the surrounding areas. Bibles For The World has graciously supplied me with material so that I can visit local churches and speak about the importance of Missions work, my bicycle missions trip and the ministries of BFTW. I’ll be posting about the churches and other local events that I speak at or set my promotional table up at.

Along with the BFTW material that I display, I also give away a lot of evangelism material from Living Waters. This is a ministry that is founded by Ray Comfort out of California. Kirk Cameron is also a partner in this ministry. They have some of best resources for evangelism that you’ll ever find and they are so easy to distribute. You won’t find any better courses for witnessing than theirs (in my humble opinion).

I run out of their tracts often because many people ask for them. Their Million Dollar tract is my favorite and easiest to hand out. You can visit their websites at www.livingwaters.com and also www.wayofthemaster.com.

The name of this site is significant for a number of reasons. For one thing, my family and I are Colonial reenactors. I love pretending to be one of our family’s relatives who served in our countries war for independence. I don’t have a lot of talent at anything, but I do like to make colonial lanterns which we utilize at our camp sites. These wooden lanterns are cheap to make, don’t take too long to make and people seem to really like them. A few of the people I’ve gifted them to don’t even utilize them for light, but only for decoration. I’ll be selling these at local events, businesses and churches to help raise money for BFTW.

The most important reason for naming this blog Lanterns of Light is, as Christians, we need to be lights in a darkened world. That may be where we work, in our homes, at school or where ever; we need to not hide our candles (light) under a bushel (cover). A born again Christian represents God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son and the Holy Spirit. We must live a life that illuminates the light of God’s grace and love.

God’s Word is full of scripture that relates to “light”. The most important one I believe is found in the book of John, chapter 8, verse 12. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Do you have the light of life in your life?

As I try to continue to update this blog I’ll mention Scriptures that refer to “light”. I pray that you may get some benefit from what I write and that you’ll be in prayer for me as I continue to try and be an ambassador of Christ and also a representative of Bibles For The World. Any support you can give to BFTW will be greatly appreciated. May God richly bless you.

Our Lord and King, first served,

Mark Bentley