Sunday, October 6, 2019

October 6 – “October ministry action event 1 of 3 … check”


It was an early start for us yesterday.  It was the day for the big craft fair at Jamaica Beach Park.  Seaside was asked to provide food for the event, so Lauren kicked into her special high gear.  We were up early so we could swing in and get some kolaches, particularly for the vendors. 

The plan was to serve baked potatoes and pulled pork sandwiches.  One of our ladies also made a big bowl of cole slaw, which, by the way a lot of people were putting on the sandwich instead of eating it on the side.  Yuk.  We had a table full of sweets and several big ice chests full of soft drinks.  Seasiders came through in a big way.  And speaking of big way … at least ten of those brave souls braved the heat and stuck around most of the day working in the booth and serving people.  We offered the food at whatever donation the folks wanted to pay.  Proceeds were designated to go to the Humphries Family, a missionary couple with three kids who live and minister in Alaska.  They are in the process of adopting a fourth child.  Elliott will be their second child with special physical needs, so there will be some expenses to overcome.  We will announce how much we received at church today. 

The event itself went really well.  The only complaint was the heat and humidity.  I never checked the heat index.  I was afraid to.  I just know it was really hard to find a breeze.  We had one of those big fans set up in the kitchen, so we could at least get some respite in there, but natural breezes were hard to find.  I spoke to lots of folks once again.  Many of them approached me and knew who I was.  They wanted to let me know they appreciated the food, but also the church in general, and the people of the church specifically.  They had a hard time understanding how the whole donations only thing worked.  And they affirmed all the hard work that Seasiders do in the community.  Sure made me proud to be the pastor of a group with that kind of reputation. 

One of the vendors was an ice cream truck.  She came over to us as everyone was setting up and asked if there was anything we didn’t want her to sell, like soft drinks or anything else that might be in competition with us.  That was the first time anyone has ever done that.  We assured her that she could do whatever she wanted.  Hey, God was in charge over our stuff.  We figured he’d draw enough people to what we were doing to get the Humphries just what they needed. 

I met the parents of one of our fire fighters.  We talked about our respective first-time cruises to Alaska this past summer.  They were just as awe-filled as we were.  And speaking of cruises, one of the vendors and her husband got to talking about the upcoming cruise they were anxiously anticipating.  I listened intently as they described their planning and excitement, and finally I couldn’t stand it.  I had to find out where they were going.  Sure enough, they are headed out of Galveston to the Panama Canal Zone.  They are on the earlier October cruise, though.  That didn’t make it any less difficult to share our mutual excitements, though. 

I gotta say, we were plenty tired.  Next up … next Saturday is our Fall Festival at the church.  Big chili and hot dogs and games event for the community.  Praying for everyone to get a second wind.  Oh, by the way, we made it back home in plenty of time to catch the Astros playoff game.  Of course it lasted until after eleven.  The last inning was intense, but they held on to win game two.  One more and they advance to the next round …

Philippians 2:5 says, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”

Father, thank you for the Lauren and the other Seasiders who worked so hard yesterday.  Bless their efforts.  And be with the Humphries Family.  Give them another opportunity to connect with Seth’s family.  Amen.

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