Where Did August Go?

It's a good thing that blogging isn't my job, I'd be fired!  Let's play catch up, shall we?

 

We flew to Indianapolis on August 2nd for the wedding of Claire and Alex.  The days leading up to the wedding were filled with family and decorating.  Les and I did sneak off on Friday to spend the day at the Indy Zoo.

We were fascinated watching one of the orangutans.  He climbed up and was outside the enclosure - approximately 80 feet above ground.  This is a planned part of the exhibit called the Hutan Trail.

 

Saturday, August 7th was the big day!  Les' entire family was there.  Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of all of us.  The wedding photographer did, so hopefully someday we'll have them.  We had a perfect seat as Lance walked Claire down the aisle:

The ceremony was beautiful.  Mr. and Mrs. Alex Perry:

Claire's sister, Hannah, was maid of honor.  She gave a beautiful speech during the reception and I somehow managed to get Hannah, Claire, Lance and Dolly all in one shot:

After a bunch of hugs, the newlyweds were off:

Our night was far from over!  Clean up from a beautiful wedding is work and we were happy to help Lance and Monica get it done.  Sometime late into the night I enjoyed a chat with the wedding coordinator, Sis. Stephanie Gallion.  Sis. Gallion's parents (the Marshalls) were missionaries to the Philippines in the 1980s and they were there when a group of young people from California invaded!  It was such a neat connection to make.  Here we are after several hours of cleanup:

I did not dress like that for the wedding!  I brought work clothes for the after party!

Les and I were scheduled to fly home early afternoon on Sunday, so we didn't make it to church.  We were in the hotel lobby when Les' parents got back from church looking quite snazzy: 

We spent the rest of August here at home.  Les has been hard at work, both on the job and with a major sound equipment project for our church.  We celebrated his 58th birthday on August 19th with a wonderful date at Duke's in Malibu.  Free Hula Pie for the win!

We have been having incredible church this summer!  More than a dozen have been baptized in recent weeks.  Sunday morning a young couple was baptized and Sunday night an entire family (mom, dad, and two sons) were all baptized!  It's an exciting time in God's kingdom.  I finished the month off teaching in the Youth Sunday School class.  God is doing great things in our youth group and I'm so happy to be a part of their lives.

We've already zoomed through the first third of September.  Our annual Youth Alive conference is this week and it kicks off the time of year that just flies - the holidays!

VT Youth On Air

As we continue staying home, our church has gotten very creative.  We have our Sunday morning service at 11:00, Wednesday night Bible study at 7:30, Kids Power Hour on Saturday mornings at 11:00, and VT Youth on Air on Saturday evenings at 5:00.

Last night's VT Youth on Air was something special.  It started much like our monthly Youth Service with songs, prayer requests and announcements.  They then played Bible Scavenger Hunt.  Sis. Vivian and Bro. Gary gave 20 Bible verses and each contained a key word such at bed, milk or bread.  The young people were given 7 minutes to find as many of those items as they could, take a picture with the item and text it to Sis. Vivian or Bro. Gary who continued encouraging the young people as the time counted down.  The winners were Jason Wilson for the guys and Caitlin Flores for the girls.

After the game came a sweet part of the service.  Testimonies from two young people.  But these were not just any young people, but two sweet young ladies from the church in Lucena in the Philippines!  One was a prerecorded testimony and the other was a letter that Sis. Vivian read.  Oh how my heart was touched by these precious young ladies!  Such faith, trust and hope!

Sis. Divine Grace

Sis. Marisol

After the testimonies, there was a song by a brother from Lucena.  During this time of social distancing, Pastor Pabanil challenged his young people to create Bible lessons for their Sunday school children and to write an original song.  The song was an original, and again my heart was touched.  I wanted to jump on an airplane for that 14 hour flight to Manila and then spend another four hours in traffic to be back in the church in Lucena!

The service ended with a message from one of our ministers, Bro. Laster.  I realize there are many church services you can listen to online these days, but this one was special!  It is available on our church website (along with all our other services.)  Go here:  VT Youth on Air - Holy Ghost Power Hour. 

Sunday afternoon update:
I had church at home this morning while Les was in Burbank running the sound for our live stream.  Since today was the first Sunday of the month, it was Missions Sunday at Victory Tabernacle.  It was a pleasant surprise to hear that Bro. Nathan Weidner was our guest speaker.  We enjoyed spending time with the Weidners while we were in the Philippines.  They are ready to return to the Philippines as soon as they are able to fly.  We're praying that this pandemic ends soon so they can get back to the land of their calling.

Youth Alive 2011

Another great Youth Alive has come and gone. Both services were outstanding! Bro. Jason Calhoun preached anointed messages both nights. Young people worshiping during song service and flooding the altars at the conclusion of preaching is a sight that never grows old!

Both messages were somewhat connected. Thursday night was about the Brook Kidron ~ where the people of Judah would take their false gods. The brook would then wash the false gods away into the Dead Sea ~ buried and forgotten. That's how God views our repented of sins.

Friday night was about choosing what lives and what dies. Best of all, one of the boys from our church got the Holy Ghost that night! I think Ricky is about 10. He's been praying earnestly and it was with great joy that our church learned about him receiving the Holy Ghost.

My one and only picture is of the wonderful Sis. Mary Ginty! If you haven't read her blog ~ you need to! (Sis. Meagan Rowell, you were just a minute too late, I didn't get you with my camera!)

Looking for Goat #3

At a high school in Montana, a group of students played a prank - they let three goats loose in the school.



But, before turning them loose, they painted numbers on the sides of the goats: 1, 2, and 4.

School administrators spent most of the day looking... for Number 3.

You're Smarter Than Them!

We had an excellent speaker at our monthly Youth Service last night - Pastor White! He started with the old quote: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog" and talked to our young people about needing to have the fight in them to live for God.

He ended his message with three verses from Psalm 119:

98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.

I love these verses! Pastor White told our youth to put them in their backpacks! What great promises for anyone attending school with unbelieving teachers or professors. His Word makes us wiser and gives us more understanding than any degree man can bestow upon us!

The Excitement Continues to Build

Sis. White, Bro. P.J. White and I went to Knott's Berry Farm yesterday for a walk through of the Charles M. Schultz Theatre. Our appointment was at 2:00, but not knowing what traffic would be like we decided to leave Burbank at noon. We got to Buena Park very quickly so we decided to grab lunch. We ate at PoFolks, just down the street from Knott's Berry Farm.


While we were eating, our waitress, Karen, asked Bro. P.J. if he was a Pentecostal or Apostolic preacher. Bro. P.J. said yes. Karen went on to tell us that her father was a Pentecostal preacher at one time. Then with tears in her eyes she said, "Pray for Karen, she needs to come home."

We were so touched by her request. Sis. White invited her to Alive at the Park and we're praying that she will get to come. Three young people received the Holy Ghost at last year's event, so there's no telling what God has in store for this year!

Youth Alive...

Is just around the corner!!


I'm making a trip to Knott's Berry Farm today. Lots to do! This has been a great event for many years and with the addition of Alive at the Park last year it just got better.



Y'all come join us, ya hear!

PCC 2010

I want to start my "review" of camp with the best part - the preaching! I won't try to tell you every message, but I will tell you that Bro. Robert Davis and Bro. Gary Howard PREACHED the Word this week! They truly connected with the campers. Campers who "refuse to be a part of another generation." Campers who came to camp with hungry hearts and went home full. Campers who would flood the altar before the altar call was given.

Of course those same campers did everything in their power to beat the staff at whatever game they played! This included wiffleball, volleyball, basketball, softball and flag football! I do believe the staff won more than they lost, but the campers still had victory!


My part of camp is to schedule all the musicians, praise singers and soloists. To anyone who helped me this week - THANK YOU!! We had awesome talent at camp, but thankfully no one who thought they were better than anyone else - just lots of willing people! This is my fourth year with this responsibility and I am blessed each year by the good spirit I feel.

Sis. Pam Gregg directed the choir and it was fabulous!! I had a sneak preview of the songs because Les played the bass and I knew it was going to be good. There is nothing like 75 campers singing their hearts out. Again, the talent was outstanding!

We had a special treat on Thursday night - a brass ensemble. Bro. Larry Allred, Bro. Jonathan Kendrick, Bro. Kendrick Preston, and Les on trumpets along with Bro. Mike Truck on the saxophone. They played "How Great Thou Art" and it sent chills up my spine. It was beautiful!


Of course there was wonderful fellowship. I won't start naming names because I know I'll forget someone. I am SO blessed with the many friendships I have developed over the years. I definitely got in my quota of laughter for the week. Tuesday through Friday nights Bro. and Sis. Neuman and Bro. and Sis. DeAro prepared a feast after service. It allowed us to do what Apostolics love to do - have food, fun, and fellowship! All three were wonderful.


Yes, there is a story to these Dr. Peppers! One that I will not divulge, but one that brought much laughter! Laughter with one of my long time friends, one who is unforgettable!!! If these cans could talk...


One of my favorite comments of the week came from a sweet young lady from our church. On Thursday morning she said I looked tired. "I've never seen you with bags under your eyes before." Oh dear! Yes, I was tired but I didn't realize it showed so much! That's Youth Camp for you! But I don't regret a minute of lost sleep.

In case you didn't make it this year, you can plan for next year!

Youth Service Memories

Last night was our monthly Youth Service at Victory Tabernacle. We did something we hadn't done in a long time that brought back so many memories from my youth! Two of our young men gave short thoughts. I remember so many Friday nights at Truth Tabernacle, being nervous if it was Rod's turn or excited if it was the boy I liked that day! There were deep thoughts, nervous chuckles, and long pauses as they tried to speak in front of their peers and parents. I also remember hilarious times, dreadful songs, and hidden talents that would somehow be drawn out by our youth leader.

Last night was no exception. We had a skit, with the actors coming in about 5 minutes early. One "devil" decided to go to the platform while the Wakefield girls were getting ready to sing...

Our two young men both brought great thoughts. Elias talked about putting God first. He has worked the same job for the past three years, but they have been pressuring him to work every Sunday. He didn't want to miss church, so he began praying for God to open a door for a new job. He started that job this week and will not only be able to be in Sunday services, but is also going to start teaching a home Bible study!

Gary, who will be graduating this month, gave his testimony about living for God during his high school years. One story that stands out was when he wanted to go to a party with some friends. His parents said "No." No matter how much he begged, pleaded, and cried, their response was still "No." The following Monday he found out there had been quite a bit of "partying" going on, including drinking, and was very thankful for parents that would not back down.

I was so proud of both of these young men. I'm also thankful for the pastors and youth leaders of my past who instilled a desire in me to live for God while I was still young. I have no regrets!

Alive at the Park

Alive at the Park was amazing!! It exceeded all expectations.

Something of this magnitude takes A LOT of people to pull off - I won't begin naming everyone who had a hand in this event because I'm sure I'd miss someone. Sound men, musicians, singers, choir directors, back stage, emcees, Knott's employees. The list could on and on! Huge props to Bro. & Sis. P.J. White, our youth leaders, and their committee - they have worked on this for months and it was fabulous!

About six weeks ago, Pastor White made an announcement to our church. We had committed to Knott's Berry Farm - no matter who showed up, we were responsible for 500 tickets. Last I heard, we sold over 1400 tickets!!

I spent the entire day in the Wagon Camp Theater. Les was the sound liaison working with Terry Stewart and his crew. We had a great group of guys that showed up at 7:30 a.m. and stayed until after 11:00 p.m., helping unload, set up, tear down, and reload. This same crew also helped set up and tear down at Liberty Hall on Friday.

What can I say about the singers and musicians? Every group, choir, soloist did great! One of the Knott's employees told Les how impressed he was with the band. Les told him it was multiple bands, musicians changed for each group, and that just blew his mind! It's great seeing talent being used for God's glory.

There was standing room only in the theater for both "performances." Thankfully, this wasn't a talent show - but a time of praise and worship by young people and adults from as far away as Texas and Arkansas!! I assisted backstage and I think I was a little too stressed during the first set at 4:00 to feel what everyone was feeling. But the Spirit of God was so strong during the second set at 7:00, everyone backstage was worshiping and praising God!! After a very long day, my tiredness disappeared for a while as I was able to just enjoy the beautiful presence of God. It kept building with a finale that brought the house down because the Holy Ghost showed up in a big way!! They could hear us all over park!!

The greatest testimony I heard came when it was all over. The sound crew was waiting for the park to clear so they could bring their vehicles in and load up all the equipment. While waiting, some of us had funnel cakes. The young man who gave Bro. P.J. his funnel cake told him that his grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher and he hadn't felt anything like that in a long time!

Big thanks to Sis. Chris and Bro. Nembro for taking pictures while I was back stage!

In the midst of all my busyness - I did get to meet Jen and Michelle from Dallas, Texas! I also saw Bekki again. All three were at church with us Sunday morning. I'm always glad to make more friends!

Youth Alive 2009!

Youth Alive 2009 has come and gone and it was a tremendous success!! We made the move to a larger building last year and promptly filled it to capacity of approximately 750. We moved again this year and were full again - this time the crowd was close to 1200!! If you have a great thing going, young people are going to show up.

Our scheduled speaker for the service, Bro. Joel Holmes, was unable to make it due to illness in the family. Bro. Jerry Rowell, pastor of Yuma Pentecostal Assembly, stepped in and did a great job. Earlier in the service the Mass Choir sang "Jesus Said It." Bro. Rowell wrote an additional verse and sang it! He also did a surprise solo with the choir at Alive at the Park!!

After a time of worship and singing, Bro. Rowell preached "The Land of To and Fro." His text was Amos chapter 8, verse 11 and 12. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it."

It was a sobering thought - we are such a busy people, going to and fro, but in the Land of To and Fro, the word of the Lord cannot be found. There are those who are constantly looking for some new thing or some new pastor. The altars were flooded for a time of consecration.

After service we had a crew to help take down all the sound equipment because it was headed to Knott's Berry Farm. Les was part of that crew, so I stayed with him. We finished there at about 11:00 and headed to our church where there was food for ministers and their families. I thought we would eat, fellowship a bit but leave pretty quickly since we were to be at Knott's at 7:30 Saturday morning. I was wrong!! My ping pong loving husband proceeded to play ping pong until after 1:30! While I enjoyed the fellowship, it was after 2:00 before we got to bed - much too late for this lady!!

Upcoming Events

I am so excited about our upcoming weekend! Friday night is our annual Youth Alive. Bro. Joel Holmes from North Little Rock, Arkansas is our speaker this year and we're expecting God to do great things!


Saturday is a BIG day! Alive at the Park!! Two singspirations with choirs, chorales, soloists, musicians! It's gonna be great!


Followed by a long nap on Sunday...

Belize Bound

A large group of young people from Victory Tabernacle (along with Pastor and Sis. White and P.J. and Megan White) are headed to the country of Belize today! Bro. Joiner, missionary to Belize, was the speaker at our Missions Conference last year and the trip was born from his visit. I am so excited for them. There is nothing like leaving the good old USA to have your eyes opened to the needs of the world around you.



Most of these young people were at camp last week. They will be get home next Tuesday and some of them will be going to Donkey Rock Teen Camp on Wednesday! That's enjoying summer vacation to the max!