Dear family,
I had been concerned. Before our trip, I told the High School group not
to TP our house while we were gone. This was met with lightbulbs and
plans seeming to be made! Bobby said, “Don’t give them ideas!” I felt
shame and chagrin. Did I? My prayer request for that night was,
“That no one bothers Seth.” The person who prayed was confused.
“And Dear God, please help whoever is bothering Seth to stop.” I didn’t
mention it again. I am very glad no one bothered Seth by Toilet Papering
our house while he was the only one home. Phew
Our house and cat were well cared for. Seth did marvelous while we were
gone for a week at Disney land.
Bobby is a great leader in new places. He worries for 3 people, so I
don’t even have to look up when crossing the street. I noticed he looked
about 3 times, always aware, alert, and guarding.
Middle School group had excitement in the air. This group is seriously
ecstatic to be together. They love gutter ball so the teens get there as
early as their parents will let them and then it’s fun to see they also want to
stay late. I remember telling my mom to come late to pick me up when I
was a teen. Socializing can be super fun. During the lesson, Bobby
was talking about prayer and used Matthew 6:5-8. He asked the definition
of Hypocrite and one student mentioned, “It’s hypocritical to say, ‘Don’t tell
people what to do.’” This brought speculation and only ¼ of the people
got the joke. It took them a while. Later the fill in the blanks
were: Present your r_______ and r___: instead of r_______ on (vs. 7-8).
Requests and rambling were easy enough. The middle word was harder.
Bobby hinted, “It’s something you do every night.” One student said,
“Reek?” That’s silly. I hope they don’t all stink at night, that’s
when we meet. No, the answer is rest.
Anyway, back to Hypocrite. We aren’t supposed to pray like
hypocrites. Back then those were actors. So, we aren’t supposed to
put on a show. I found that very interesting. I didn’t know hypocrite
was the word for actor back in the day.
Wednesday night brought laughter, fun, and excitement. The High School
group has such amazing people in it. When we were getting ready to read
the Bible one person felt frustrated about finding the passage. “I’m
trying to participate! You all are moving at the speed of fast, hold
up.” And another old person joke. “Rich is so old he sat by Moses
in the third grade.” I delight in the people we work with. I tell
them but I don’t know if they truly can ever know how loved they are.
The Pastors Conference at Seaside was a time of networking, discovery,
and thankfulness. In the elevator with Scott and Hal Washburn Disneyland
was brought up. Hal had to tell us that when he asked his grandchild what
their favorite part of Disneyland was the boy said, “There was this guy named
Bob.” Goodness, how fun, that’s our Bobby.
At a West Hills gathering during the conference, we went around the room giving
shout-outs. I loved when Mackenzie said how glad she is for the AWANA
leadership. “I don’t have to do anything, they come with the lessons,
they do the work” etc. A fourth grader followed this. He said, “I
enjoy AWANA a lot and Mackenzie – you said you do nothing but that’s not
true. You do so much,” He went on with more, but I couldn’t hear because my
eyes were leaking too much. That touched my heart immensely!
I truly enjoyed meeting with the group of North American Baptist churches this
weekend. The music was fabulous. The speakers were amazing, and the
fellowship was superb. I am thankful that I was able to go.
My heart is full and glad to be alive. May you also count each breath as
a blessing. May you rejoice in how much you are loved by the one who
sacrificed His all. Hugs, Cristy
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