Exploring

After getting an energy boost at In-N-Out for Wednesday lunch,

...we starting exploring a couple blocks from our hotel.  We decided not to rent a car on this trip and do everything by foot.   We took a tour of the "Jeremiah O'Brien" Liberty Ship.   It was used at Normandy and is one of two surviving vessels of its kind.  It is still taken on voyages and takes you back to a different era while on board.

There were several "General Purpose" Vehicles loaded onboard, or "G.P.'s" or what was eventually shortened to "Jeeps"!  I have had a number of Jeeps in my time, so I found this to be interesting.

We ended up on Pier 39, the tourist trap!  It was fun, though.  We had to stop and watch the stupid sea lions bark and fight for their turf! You can tell who has the camera most of the time and thinks of taking pictures! I am going to try to take it away from her more often...wish me luck!

Arrival

We actually arrived ahead of schedule around 6pm and grabbed a taxi to the hotel. 

After checking in, we took a stroll to the wharf and ate dinner at an italian seafood restaurant.

As you can tell, I was already relaxed!  My eyes did not want to stay open.  Cameron chose a crazy dish , a seafood stew with the shells and everything.  He enjoyed it, but it was definitely not for me!

Ready to go...

We are sitting at Gate 16 in the Will Rogers "International" Airport waiting for our plane. Our bags are packed and checked-in. We left the house cleaned and the yard trimmed. The dog is at Grandma's.

It is crazy how our dog, Cookie, knows we are leaving! When she sees the suitcases, she gets this look in her eye and follows me everywhere. Her ears are lowered and she sinks as low as she can go into the carpet. When she sees her food and dish set out, she begins to dance and her ears perk up! She knows she's going somewhere, too!

I kind of get that same feeling about God's plan for His church! I sense that it is moving ahead and there is no way I want to be left behind. I intend to follow Him around so close that He cannot forget me! I wasn't expecting to learn anything from my dog today, but I guess you could say she talked to me.

Stay close because we're going somewhere!

People are starting to eye the gate here, so I better go...

Wow! What a service!

We had an awesome time in the presence of the Lord tonight including a one and a half hour prayer line!  I had felt it building all afternoon, but didn't know how it would play out.  I just knew that God had something great for the church tonight.  There were some mighty victories of deliverance, refilling of the Holy Ghost and I believe that we are going to hear of healings as well. 

Sis. Kassie got an injury on the job and asked if we had workman's comp!  LOL!  She broke a fingernail playing the keyboard during all of this and it was jabbing up under the rest of her nail while she played!  Ouch!  God bless her and all the singers for their sacrifice.  :)

All the minister's and their wives are wore out!  You never realize how much work a prayer line is until you work one!  The intensity of it all is incredible.

There was a intense washing that came through near the end of the evening as everyone was dancing, it was like an eruption and we were released into a new dimension!  I believe God is getting us ready for a new thing.  Now, I can't wait to get back from vacation!

Vacation

We are looking forward to our vacation in 3 days! I found some low-cost tickets to San Francisco and a room at Fisherman's Wharf. We have been checking the temperature there daily and drooling! It is just about half of what it has been here! It has been about 3 years since we have taken a family vacation and we are really ready to enjoy some time off together.  We leave on Tuesday and will be gone for a week.  We are planning to do some tours and just relaxing.  Now, just pray that there are no earthquakes! YIKES!

More office pics...

Here's some more pictures of the remodeling going on in my office:

Harvest

We had the privilege of baptizing two new followers of Christ yesterday morning!  One of them is pictured above.  He received the Holy Spirit two weeks ago and was just glowing last night.  We also had at least one backslider pray back through last night.  God is working in the lives of those who once knew Him.  Some have attended here before, but most have moved in from other places and are now coming back to God.  

One of our new couples has faced a fight since making the decision to turn their life around and were not able to be in service yesterday morning due to sickness.  But they told me that they listened to the service live on our website and felt the presence of the Lord strengthening them in their own home!  She was crying and worshipping God along with the message.  I was also told that we had a listener from Amsterdam yesterday morning.  That is a far cry from Wichita Falls...

The harvest begins now and we are so excited about it!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Just wanted to say a great big, "Happy Birthday" to a totally awesome Mom and Grandma!  We enjoyed a leisurely dinner Saturday afternoon with her at Red Lobster.  I will not give attention the number of years, but will honor her faithfulness to the Kingdom of God and to her family.  May you have a wonderful birthday!  It was two years ago today that we were unloading our UHaul in Pflugerville, never dreaming that life would throw us this new curve and we would be back here for your birthday this year.  We love you.

Spanish Satellite Update

We had four first time guests at Tabernaculo de Vida tonight!  Two are visiting from Mexico and speak only Spanish.  The other two have moved here from Mexico and know very little English. They would have never been at our church without this ministry!  The Lord was there in a mighty way and a great spirit of unity.  We added a keyboard to the worship service and it was a wonderful addition.  

We are excited that someone donated the money to purchase a system for translating in our regular services.  It is on order and should be here shortly.  It will also help our people practice their translating skills and help our Spanish-speaking guests enjoy the great services on Sunday and Wednesday.  Tonight we used our third translator, Gloria Pursel.  Teresa Gaitan and Victoria Pena helped in previous services and we will use others in the future.  Next week we will be having a home fellowship at the Ojeda's.  It will be a great time with lots of good food, I'm sure.

Outreach Activity...

Our Faith Mission outreach night was this Thursday.  The people, homeless or "down-on-their-luck", came early and signed up to be a part of the dinner we served.  To receive dinner they have to attend the worship service before.  We had a great time of worship to a full house and J.D. Barnes spoke about "Gettin' Real with God."  They were very appreciative for all that our church did for them.  The VBS kids created centerpieces and placemats for this outreach during their week of activities.  Those who joined us for dinner also took some of the artwork with them.  It was great!  They loved the bright and cheerful look.  THANKS kids for your hard work to make the meal look so nice.  The food was great too!  Thanks to all those who make this outreach possible.

Another outreach that we had this week, as I mentioned above, was Vacation Bible School.  Thanks to Bro. Joseph Ouellette, our Children's Minister, and his team for the great job.  We had the greatest turn-out ever!  We will have a Kidz Service next Wednesday to review this week and to introduce some new kid's programs that will be starting on September 7th.

Dignity Memorial came and presented their "Escape School" program.  It explains how they can escape in the case of a kidnapping.  It is a shame that our kids would have to even consider this, but in the world we live in it is important!  The representative was actually our own, Lynn Dutton.  They gave away two bicycles as a part of the program and the winners (below) could not believe it!  We want to say a great big thank you to Dignity for their donation. 

Somehow, Andrew and myself got roped into donating our faces for the cause!  The kids' teams got points for the number of pies that got mashed into our faces!  Here they are getting ready....

And here we are after getting hit a few times....

I will have to say that the most rewarding part of getting the pies in the face was getting to wipe it all off into a pan and smearing it in Joseph's surprised face!  He arranged us to be a part of this game, but left himself out for some reason.  I just thought he should be included...