What a Great Hawaiian Buffet

This is a good looking group, huh? On Friday evening our fellowship area was turned into a Hawaiian Buffet. The ladies worked real hard to decorate (some decorations were borrowed from Grants Pass), people brought "Hawaiian" food, and we all provided the entertainment. Well, some did -- it was doing the limbo and the hula! Even if it was cold and rainy some of us wore our Hawaiian garb and the whole evening was a lot of fun. There were 25 in attendance, including our friends, Mike and JoAnn, from Grants Pass.

And speaking of them, it was loads of fun to have Mike and JoAnn visit for the weekend. We did a bunch of tourist things and talked a lot. Just fun to get together. Sunday afternoon, we all left for Grants Pass together. Mike drove our car, JoAnn drove the van, and I drove the pickup. The purpose of all of this was to get the pickup to Grants Pass and leave it there until we need it to move our stuff back. When we got to the freeway we departed company and Joyce and I went to Salem. Remember Will and Anna, my nephew and wife who live in Anchorage? Well, they were down for a wedding so we met them at his nephew's house in Salem. There were a bunch of relatives there, we talked fast, and got to visit for a little bit.

Our drive home --Grants Pass home -- was fraught with rain, sleet, and snow. After we got home we found out they closed the freeway at Sexton summit about an hour after we passed. When we went over it was a perfect evening! I guess it deteriorated real quick. It snowed here last night and again this afternoon but it is too warm to stick. It's nice to believe that spring is coming!

Sunday was a fun/serious day. I think worship should always be fun. But it also contains serious things. Sunday we introduced a new focus on missions and the missionaries our Conference supports. We also began an emphasis on "40 Days of Prayer and Fasting." This is the traditional Lenten period and I suggested we give God a portion of ourselves such as food for a period of time, or a food item, or something else that represents a sacrifice. Then we ask God to give us something -- maybe a special blessing, a closer relationship with Him, or what might commonly be called a miracle. I think this holds promise of being a very important 40 days in the life of our church.

Hey! Did you see us on TV? You had to look quick but you could see Joyce and I in the audience on Wheel of Fortune tonight. There were a couple "pans" across us and also some from behind. Watch Tuesday and Wednesday because they taped 3 shows while we were there. The Jeopardy shows will be on later in March. I'll let you know.

Friday we head back home -- Agate Beach home. I'm looking forward to Sunday. I think it will be a good day.

PS - Wheel of Fortune

I almost forgot. Be sure to watch Wheel of Fortune next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (26, 27, 28). Joyce and I are sitting in the 3rd row near the center. They pan the audience very quickly so don't blink!

Maybe It's The Rainy Season

It's raining -- good old Oregon coast weather. We had a great time with Beth and Doris last week. Didn't do much, but still a good time. Our worship times are good with a lively spirit but the attendance is staying about the same. The visitors from a week ago were not back. I think it will take some very special people -- maybe people the Lord sends -- to catch the vision of building up a church and stay with us. The surveys are going slowly -- partly because of the weather and partly because of the hesitation to knock on a stranger's door and ask them a few questions. But we'll get some of them done. I'm looking forward to the Hawaiian Buffet this coming Friday. It will be a lot of fun. We'll wear Hawaiian clothes even if we have to wear thermal underwear under them! It is also an event that we can invite visitors to. Hopefully we will.

Tax time will be coming soon so I'm gathering all the necessary paperwork together. The dining table is covered so I better get back to clearing it off. Take care and keep praying.

Settling In?

It has been a good week. Beautiful weather -- a little rain, but still beautiful at the Oregon coast. I was struck the other day by the though (not a new one!) that is never "just rains" on the coast. It seems it is always accompanied by wind so the weather is either "nice" or "stormy." And it can change in an instant. I'm beginning to like it (that's dangerous!!!).

Illness has struck so our attendance was down. However we had a visitor yesterday who talked as if she will return. The "survey" forms, maps, popcorn, and instructions were ready for people to take yesterday. They will use these to find out people's needs and interests. The popcorn? Packages of microwave popcorn with a sticker that says, "Pop on over. Agate Beach Community Church" -- and the address. All the surveyors got a sample and were asked to buy their own popcorn and put the stickers we supplied on them. We will see how it goes.

Sisters Beth and Doris are coming today and planning to stay about 3 days. However, Joyce and I have to go to Salem tomorrow. Joyce will do laundry at Ginger's and I have a meeting at the Conference office. Beth and Doris know that and will just hang out until we get back.

This morning I hung up a bird feeder so Joyce can watch the birds. Seems like we are settling in, doesn't it? Well, gotta go. Am meeting a guy at the church to work on the projector system -- see if we can make it function a little better.

Oops, Missed a Week!

We were in Grants Pass last week. Always busy. It seems there is so much to do and so few days to do it in. Some praises, however. One is that our house pipes did not freeze as I feared they might when the temp dropped to upper teens. Another is that we took the pickup home to see how it performed. We were very happy with it and it got good MPG. I won't tell how good until I have a chance to check it on more than one tank. Now, if it will just pull the RV with the kind of torque I hope it has. But I won't know that until I have the 5th wheel hitch installed and that won't happen for a couple months. Of course the canopy will have to come off and I don't want to do that just yet. We brought a pickup load of stuff back. I think we live in Newport now!!! We brought a bed back so if you want to visit.... It is an extra (actually the one is the spare bedroom that is now my office so no room for it) so we will give it away when we leave here. We had a great visit with the Superintendent on the way back and he is very interested in keeping the church open and seeing it grow. He will give us all the help he possibly can. And, he is looking for a pastor for Agate Beach.

Our attendance is running about the same. Last Sunday was down because some people were ill and some were out of town on family business. Today was good but no new visitors. We are laying plans to do some outreach into the neighborhood. Joyce begins teaching a ladies Bible study this coming Wednesday. It is based on a book titled, "When A Women Discovers Her Dream." Of course it is for our ladies but is also a good study for the ladies to invite a friend to.

While we were in Grants Pass the fellowship committee met and decided to not have a Valentine's Dinner but rather to have a Luau a week later. That is great and they are doing these things on their own. A Valentine's "something" presented problems because the day falls on a Wednesday and the weekend before or after is so far away you just as well do whatever anyway. We knew they were thinking about a Hawaiian theme so we borrowed decorations, etc. from a lady in the Grants Pass church. Thanks, Janis. It will definitely be fun!

Okay, I'll try to add something each week but sometimes I forget until midweek and then just decide to wait.