Easter Weekend Debrief

I hope that all of our friends from around the country had an encouraging resurrection weekend. At different times during the day I had flashbacks to other Easter Sunday moments that we have had with friends in St. Louis and in Phoenix over the past several years. I would like to have been able to see the faces of our many friends so that we could have reflected together on the incredible news of Jesus' resurrection.

This year, though, we had an amazing afternoon with several of our new friends. Eric and Annette Phillips hosted a lunch in their home after worship. The nearby park served to be a great venue to an Easter egg hunt. I've posted the group picture. Before walking over to the park Eric gathered all of the children and used the "Resurrection Eggs" to again tell the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. He did a great job!

Somebody made a sweet potato dish with brown sugar and pecans. It was so good that I skipped desert to finish the potatoes. I'm hopeful that Maria will give me her recipe soon.

Our worship yesterday morning at Findlay Middle School was also incredibly encouraging, and I trust pleasing to our God. A few more musicians joined "dangerous" Dan McCaslin to provide a very full accompaniment as we sang.

There were too many guests in worship to recount. Needless to say, we hope to see many of them back again for worship next week so that we can begin the process of building relationships with them.

We've just sent out our first quarter newsletter to update folks from around the country on our progress. I probably should have waited to send that out until after Easter so that a few more photos could have been included. I just didn't want to put it off any longer. I know that many people pray for us regularly--prayers that are being answered in ways far exceeding our expectations.

Along with our update we've included a brief word about the remaining financial support that we have yet to raise for this year's budget. I'm hopeful that God will be pleased to help us meet the remaining budget needs soon. As I reflect on the desire that I have to be free from worries about finances for this year I'm immediately reminded that Christ is the reason I can be free from those worries, not our bank balance, or pledge commitments. God is our provision! Growing up is hard to do!