The Last Wednesday (With a Twist!)

You've all heard the saying about the horse once it smells the barn?  Well, that was me today, but first let's look at today's two appointments.

I rode from Eugene down to Grants Pass.  This is a fantastic facility.  I met with two associates. You will see Chuck Austin on the left and Glen Chinn on the right.  Chuck is a local hire Pastoral Assistant and Glen is a "retired" Associate Pastor. The Sr. Pastor, Marvin Clark was out of town as was the youth pastor, Ed Nelson. Grants Pass has a TV studio operated by BLBN (Better Life Broadcasting Network) which is affiliated with 3ABN and is reaching a wide area.  This ministry is bringing many new faces to the church. The Grants Pass Church is very active with health programs such as CHIP and NEWSTART and they have a beautiful Community Service Center, Thrift Store, and meeting/fellowship hall. They have a very active youth ministry and are working hard to include the youth in the worship service. This is truly a beautiful church!

Next I rode down Hwy 199 to the coast and on down to Fortuna, CA. Our family has strong ties to the Fortuna Church because of a large number of German families that used to live there. Our brother-in-law, Victor Neufeld, grew up in that church. Dave Perry is the new pastor there now since last September. One effective thing he initiated at the first of this year was switching the Sabbath School and Worship times.  They begin Worship at 10:00 am and have Sabbath School at 11:30.  This has resulted in a 40% increase in SS attendance and no loss in the numbers for worship.

Dave, along with some local leaders has also presented a series of meetings that convenes on Friday evening, Sabbath morning, and Saturday evening.  Dave and two others each preach a short message at each meeting and the theme is "Christ For the Common Man."  The atmosphere, dress, and format is more casual and I think this is a great idea.

Since the local campmeeting was cancelled this year they also initiated a creative idea.  The Red Cross Bloodmobile always came to Redwood Campmeeting and so Dave has invited them to come and set up for donations after church on Sabbath. That may have some interesting responses, but I believe this is the kind of creativity and outreach that we need to be exploring. Keep it up, Dave.

Now, I was supposed to stay in Fortuna and finish up on Thursday with Ukiah, which will be a very special stop since that is the church where I became a Seventh-day Adventist and was baptized. But I talked with Ingrid and we realized that I could make it home on Wednesday night.  That would allow me an extra day to get ready for this weekend (preaching and a wedding) and I can get with the Ukiah Church and have more time a bit later.  Ingrid's sister lives there and we visit often. I am anxious to include Paul Hawks and the Ukiah church, but I was also anxious to get home so away I went.

I arrived at the house a little after 11 pm and the final total was 11, 393 miles.  Thank you, Jesus, for a safe journey. It was so good to sleep in my own bed and be with my sweetie! Now I have mountains of things to catch up on, prepare for, and wade through.  The book writing portion will be a daunting task and so I ask for your continued prayers.

I do thank all of you who prayed me through 30 states, districts, and provinces as well as through all kinds of weather and challenges.  I will continue to put up some blogs on afterthoughts and progress, so keep checking back. I am a very lucky man to be able to return to my wife, my home, and my wonderful church family. I am also thankful and appreciative for the opportunity given by the Northern California Conference to take this Sabbatical journey. I pray that the results may be a blessing to the church across North America and elsewhere.

Now, I gotta get to work!