Sunday, July 17, 2016

Church and Picnic Potluck



Day two is done!
Did I say long? Yes. Long.

We started the day by running the church service. Joshua Salmon lead the praise team of Erin Williams, Jared Smith, and Randi Lanum, and they did a great job. I preached on 1 Corinthians 15 about the Resurrection of Christ. A team of students took up the offering, others led the youth, and others helped with the children’s church.

The thing about a church service at Salmon River Community Church is that the words “Community Church” aren’t just a name. At SRCC they really are a community. There are only about 60 people in an average Sunday service, so they take time to do “popcorn praise,” visitor introductions, and prayer requests. Pastor Jim starts every service with the phrase, “If you remember nothing else, know that we love you” and it’s definitely true.

After the church service, we went to the Fish Hatchery for the Annual Church Picnic. We have great food cooked by the members of SRCC and spend the afternoon playing games, throwing Frisbees, and catching up with friends we haven’t seen in a year. This year we played kickball.

After the picnic, we came back and decorated for VBS. Not only did we decorate however, because about 15 teens from the town of Riggins helped us decorate. It was unbelievable to see our team double in size, as local teens joined up with our teams and they will all be running VBS together. Quite a humbling and wonderful experience to say the least.

There are two kids in particular who have made an impression on many in our group. The first is a sweet girl named Arianna. She came to VBS for the last five or six years and struggled with physical handicaps and slight mental impairments. She had braces on her legs, and severe spine deformities. She also had a smile permanently on her face. She passed away earlier this summer, and it’s been a death that has wrenched the heart in this town. It is bitter sweet to know that she is no longer with us, but she is with her king. Dealing with the first VBS without Arianna’s encouragement is at the forefront of many peoples’ minds.

The second kid is Ricky. Last year Ricky had a bit of a reputation as “the one who was going to be hard to love.” Ricky was a bit of a bully and a brat last year. In particular, one story from last year stood out, when he was making fun of Arianna because of her handicaps, and Zach Richard made him run laps for doing so. He complained quite a bit while running. Well, this year, the talk of the Texas Team was that Ricky is a completely new person. Erin Hoover mentioned that Ricky had said Arianna’s death had seriously affected him. He realized that he no longer had an opportunity to take back the things he had said to her. It changed him. The first description I heard of Ricky from a team member this year was, “full of joy.” He was actually helping Erin Williams put up VBS decorations, and encouraging her while she did it. If you had told anyone in the group that this would happen in one year, no one would have believed it.

All in all, we were surprised at how much we’ve seen and VBS hasn’t even started yet! We know that God works all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. We’ve been called according to his purpose, for salvation and to preach that salvation for others, and the good for which all things are being worked together is blatantly evident.

Public Prayer Requests:
-       - Energy. It’s day one and we’re already pretty tired.
-       - That we will forget ourselves and allow Christ to work through us.
-       - A few of us are a little dehydrated or feeling some other illness/fatigue. Pray for recovery and diligence in taking care of ourselves.

-       - For those dealing with Arianna’s death to receive ministry this week and work through their grief in a healthy way.

No comments:

Post a Comment