This past Sabbath, I assisted Kalvin Follett, my "boss" at Christian Record Services, in doing an offering call at a church in Beatrice, Nebraska, about an hour south of here in Lincoln.
Kalvin asked me about doing this a few weeks ago and I eagerly agreed. Naturally, as the time got closer, my excitement built. I so firmly believe in what Christian Record does, I was glad to help in this way, being part of the presentation to raise both awareness and money for them.
It wasn't until Sabbath morning, however, a bigger surprise was sprung on me. It turns out that half of the members of this particular church are hispanic, and therefore, we would be speaking with the assistance of an interpreteor, translating from English into Spanish. I immediately prayed for God to give me not only His words, but simple words that could fit neatly into a short sentence or two.
After Kalvin picked me up, we went back to his house to pick up the rest of his family: his wife, Kristine, and two children, Jannah and Nathan. It was fun getting acquainted with them all. I observed Kristine, Nathan and Jannah playing a fascinating variation of "Go fish!" that involved cards with letters, and each letter had four number cards, all with various birds and other animals. It looked like fun.
The church in Beatrice was, actually, fairly small. The sanctuary seemed comparable to a good portion of my apartment. You could easily hear children in another room singing during their Sabbath school class. It was kind of nice, actually.
The presentation went very well! Kalvin asked me a few questions after we let someone try to use my cane after I gave a brief explanation of how to use it.
After the service, we had a wonderful Sabbath meal with 3 kinds of lasagna, some other pasta dishes, fruit, juice and cookies, among other things.
The day was very warm, and as it turns out, in Lincoln, itself, we set a new record for a high temperature that day. I don't know about Beatrice, but I would assume this to be true for them as well.
Afterwards, the Follett family and I went to the Homestading National Monument just outside of Beatrice. This monument has audio descriptions for the blind. It is my understanding that all the national monuments are being (or already are) equipped with audio description like this. This was especially cool in the homesteading cabin that describes the living quarters of the early homesteaders. I really enjoyed this tour.
After that, I completed my day by getting home in time to attend the Evangelism series at Piedmont Park SDA, the Seventh-Day adventist church I've been attending.
It was a very blessed, very rich day for me, and I look forward to other such opportunities to help Christian Record in a similar fashion in the future.
As for those now wondering why I am attending an SDA church? Well, my explanation of that is yet to come in a future post on this blog. I have very valid reasons, first and foremost having to do with the importance of the fourth of the Ten commandments and my new understanding of this commandment. But, as I said, a further explanation is yet to come.
Blessings,
Alan
