Dance Dance Dance

What an amazing day this last Saturday was for our Matinee Dance. The day began with an out pouring of volunteers arriving early in order to assure a good time be had by all. To start it off, Rudy and Don arrived at the church at about 9 am to begin making approximately 140 ham and turkey hoagie sandwiches, along with a boat load of mac n cheese and baked beans, along with the other items being served. Other volunteers then began arriving at about 11 am to begin the set up and decoration process, with Wendy bringing the lovely assortment of table decor, and Barry and Diane overseeing the photography area, which the final pictures for it are soon to come. Veda, just loving to see our guys dance, came to serve although just having a recent surgery - and as she printed pictures during the dance, the participants anxiously waited. But the the highlight of the day, was watching them all dance, and WOW!!!! can they dance. The enjoyment that they each have is enormous and what a true blessing it is to be able to serve in such a way that would provide a safe environment for them to be able to do that which they all love doing - DANCE DANCE DANCE . . .

A Brand New Journey

The Word of God is just so dynamic, and no matter how long or how much one studies it, the wealth of information that it provides for us is endless, and I am just so excited about this brand new journey that the Tuesday Night Friendship Club has just begun. But even before this, they actually amazed me when they completed a study on the entire book of Acts. I mean WOW!!!! What an accomplishment. And now, because we don't believe in letting too much grass grow underneath our feet, we are on an even greater adventure now. We have just begun to study the missionary journeys of Paul, and my hope is that as we travel with Paul and study where he went, we are also going to study the epistles in a very unique way. That is, when Paul wrote an epistle, we are going to stop where Paul stopped, and study the epistle that he wrote. This will include not only just reading it, but seeking to understand why he wrote it, where he was when he wrote it, and how the challenges that he was addressing apply to us even today. Then, once we are done with the epistle, we will pick back up with Paul, and continue traveling with him. This study has me so excited that in order to keep it interactive for our participants, I am creating passports for each of them, so that as we travel, their passport will be stamped each week. We are also hanging up an entire world map, along with a then and now map, that charts out Paul's travels. Overall, I think I might be so excited about this study that I just might have to create a passport for myself. I love learning, and even more so, I love seeing our participants learn. The only thing, is that learning can and ought to be a dynamic experiences that touches on all of our five senses, which helps for every one to learn in the way that God created them to best learn. I am thinking though, that this study may just take us over a year to complete . . . But I know our Tuesday Night Group is up for the challenge, and we are going to have an amazing time through out the entire process - :))

A Servant's Heart!!!!

One of the greatest joys within the disABILITIES Ministry is being able to see how God moves within the lives of each and every one of our participants. One person in particular that I would like to take a moment and high light on is Judah. When I first met met Judah, not only was it difficult to understand him because of his limitations with speech, he was the "class clown" who through humor, would down play his disability. He never made mention of it, but I am certain that because of his limitation with speech, his self-esteem and confidence level were compromised as well. He wouldn't raise his hand in class and participate, he wouldn't want to read, and often times he would just sit there. Today however, that is not Judah. God has done amazing things within his life, and because of the patience and love that all of our volunteers have poured into him, he has grown immeasurably in all areas. He is often times now the first person to raise his hand and want to pray, he finds it absolute joy now to read, although limited, it is no longer a barrier, but a well received challenge. Other areas that Judah has grown in is in his heart. He has a servant's heart that often times just blows my mind. On Sunday mornings he is in charge of making and cleaning up coffee for everyone. He also assists on Friday night's with what ever task needs to be done. Whether it is in the setting up or cleaning up, Judah is always right there willing to assist. But the one thing that really tugged on my heart string was this last Sunday. After Judah had already made coffee, gotten his cup, and sat down, he immediately got up when Frank, who is in a wheel chair, came in, in order to poor Frank a cup a coffee. And then, without any mention, about fifteen minutes later, noticing that Frank had finished his coffee, Judah got up and poured him another cup. I was just amazed and humbled by the amount of willingness that Judah had to serve another person in such a simple way. Because of that, and through speaking with other volunteers, Judah is going to begin receiving some help with his speech each week with a volunteer who is also a professional speech therapist. We have also decided, that because of his heart, willingness to serve, and abilities that God has placed within him, Judah is now not only going to be considered a "participant," but he is now going to be considered a "assistant volunteer." Judah is truly an amazing person, a blessing to be around, and an absolute asset to the disABILITIES Ministry.