A Need for Change!!!!!

Thinking about the last few years, it is quit amazing to see where all God has taken the disABILITY Ministry. We have so much going on and I am always filled with so much joy every time I get to be around our participants within the ministry. Reflecting upon this, I began considering how our Friday Night Live Bible Study has truly evolved. It started off with about five volunteers and maybe two or three participants who would come regularly, and when there were more, we were all so excited. Each week, we would serve dinner for a small donation to offset the cost of the pizza, then do a light Bible Study, that would go from 6:30 - 8:30. Well, just last night, as I was standing back watching the dynamics of the evening flow, I just felt the presence of God ever so clearly within our room. God has taken us from a room of maybe 3 participants each week to now over 20, and about five to six volunteers who each week give of their time and poor into the lives our guys. But more amazingly, is that because of the level of growth, and the fact that a couple years ago we were burned out on pizza and began doing the cooking ourselves, time has become our greatest challenge. By the time we worship with Impact and get everyone back into the room and fed, the time left for Bible Study is definitely left wanting. Therefore, we have decided because learning God's Word should not be something that just gets squeezed in, starting in April, we are going to extend our study and go until 9 pm. I am so excited for this change and can't wait to see how God continues to move within our midst each week. And of course, I am definitely praying for a cooking team to be put together soon - LOL

The Planning of Events

This is a picture of most all of our volunteers from last years Pirates for Praise Day Camp for the disABILITIES Ministry. What an amazing day that day was. Many of us dressed up and interacted with the participants in such a fun way as they moved about the campus doing crafts, singing praise songs, and learning about Jesus. But one of the things that just gets me so excited is the planning of the day. And this year is no different. I am just so excited about the new level that God is taking us to in order to provide amazing events for such an amazing group of people. With each day that goes by, God reveals more and more of what we are able to do in order to shower His love upon each and every one of the participants that come. And not only that, the volunteer team for this event has grown so much, that it is hard to believe that I now have to have a waiting list for the volunteers. I mean really . . . what a great problem to have. That rather than running from an area that the world would typically have us do, here at Crossroads, people are flocking to it in order to serve. The hearts that people have here is amazing and I just stand in awe as they each continue to serve at such a level, in order shine God's Light, God's Hand, and God's Love, upon the ministry as a whole, and the events that we are so privileged to be a part of. So when we hear how much better it is to give than it is to receive, coming into this ministry truly reveals the fine truth to just how real that statement is.

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.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

It really is hard to believe that it has been ten years since the y2k dilemma, and even more so, that another year has past. The one thing however that truly hit me over this Christmas Season was how much I truly missed seeing and being around our Special Friends. That is because Christmas and New Years landed on a Friday Night, we didn't meet. And then because the church office was closed between Christmas and New Years, our Tuesday Night group didn't meet either. The nail that then drove it really in, was that because I had a wedding to attend in Vegas on the Sunday after Christmas, I missed the Sunday Morning Study as well. Now, the volunteer team we have is amazing and everything last Sunday was covered. I also did have the chance to visit another church, but really, when I consider that there is no place like home, being away from my church family at Crossroads and away from our Special Friends within the ministry, my heart ached and longed for when I would return. I think it was about Tuesday or Wednesday then when I really began counting down the days until I would see them. Two weeks doesn't seem to be that long of a time span until you realize just how important the people and the relationships that God has truly allowed you to have are. I am blessed beyond measure within the ministry and am so thankful that today was the day that I was able to be back home and around these wonderful people. My only longing now, is to see all the beautiful faces on Tuesday Night and then on Friday Night. A vacation is sometimes nice and necessary, but being connected is really what keeps me grounded and keeps me going. And so in this time away, experiencing the absence of all of our participants has truly caused my heart to grow even fonder and miss everything about who they are . . . their innocence, their smiles, and the amount of unconditional love that they each have and unconditionally share with those around them-:))

Tis the Season

There are many things that I love about the Christmas Season, but one thing that has grown to be one of my favorites is seeing how God moves within the Christmas Events within our disABILITY Ministry. For instance, this last Friday Night our Friday Night Live Bible Study performed their rendition of the Nativity Scene for the Impact Ministry. And WOW!!!! Was it amazing. With only a few weeks of practice and minimal planning for costumes, I have to admit, many of us were over the top nervous with how it was all going to go. Boy did God put us all in check with our lack of faith here. God moved from beginning to end. Pastor Tim Booher who heads up the Impact Ministry began by introducing me, and then I had the privilege to thank Impact for their love towards our guys and then introduce, Sharon, who was to be our volunteer director for this skit. As Sharon began introducing each segment of people, as they were walking up the audience began to clap. I was thrilled. And then, as if it couldn't get any better, after ever person said his or her line, the audience clapped, whistled, and shouted out with love, encouragement, and support for our guys. And it didn't even end there, once the skit was complete and all of our participants had taken a bow and began exiting the stage, the audience stood, giving them all a standing ovations. My heart was so touched in that moment that it took all I had to hold back the tears, and as we all made our way back into our room to begin our study, the over powering emotions of our participants with enjoying themselves so much, wanted to go back out and perform it again. The night from beginning to end was nothing but God filled and Holy Spirit led.
          Now, one might think that just that would make the weekend great. And yes, everything about it was great. However, we still had a Dinner and Dance to make our way through for many more of our participants on Saturday evening. The volunteer team that stepped up to make this happen was more than what I could ever ask for. I am just so grateful to be surrounded by such amazing people. And although there were several glitches, none of us were going to allow it to ruin the day or the event. For example, our regular Volunteer Santa Claus ended up with the flu on Saturday morning and had to cancel. But God being so good, provided us with another Volunteer who willingly accepted the position. And then, as the rain was coming down, myself and Sharon were getting ready to head out to go and purchase all of the food which other volunteers were going to prepare. Now this would not have been so challenging had I not backed up in a not so perfect way and therefore remove my passenger side front bumper. I mean, this was truly a bummer. But what was I going to do. The bumper was gone, my passenger side door unable to open, and the clock was still ticking, we still needed to get the food, and the event was still going to begin on time. So not allowing this to ruin the day, we happily carried on, thanking God for every passing moment. The tech area had a few glitches, but me know a bit about tech and having God in my corner, was able to get that all working. All of this happening while other volunteers were diligently decorating the Plex, setting up Puppets, and making room F look like an amazing Winter Wonderland, and room G transformed into a portrait studio for pictures with Santa. It was amazing!!!!!!! And as everyone arrived, they were greeted by volunteers, and then moved into room G, greeted by a couple of elves in order to get their picture with Santa, then steered into room F in order to experience the amazing Winter Wonderland Scene, while being surrounded by Christmas Trees, Snow, Snowman, Stockings, and much more. Upon existing room F, they were then greeted by a couple other volunteers where they received a hot cup of cocoa and escorted to a seat. Once all this was finished, an amazing Chicken Dinner was served, and after Dinner, and amazing Puppet Show performed, and then by about 7:15, the Music and Dancing began and went until about 9:00 pm. I mean WOW!!!! What an evening, and then by about 9:30 or so the room was cleared out and everyone who came to experience the evening was headed home. At this time though, there was still so much to do. We still had to now, Clean Up!!!! And what an adventure that was. It was still raining cats and dogs outside and the wind was howling, and between about 9:45 and 10:30, the power went out about four times, and on the last one, it stayed out. Therefore, we had to complete the clean up process in the dark using only our cell phones as flash lights. In the end though, although many of us were just overly exhausted, we were all filled also with an abundance amount of joy.
          Sunday then proved to be an even more amazing day as many of us, although still tired, came to church to hear a GREAT message on "Miracles". And I don't believe that any one of us who took part in the events on Friday Evening or on Saturday within the disABILITIES Ministry was anything less than wonderful little Miracles that God seems to always work and do within our midst while we are serving these wonderful joyous people!!!!