Today I may be sleeping through Mark’s sermon. I trust you will not be doing the same. I am writing to you on Monday, trusting that my surgery on Thursday will be routine and that I will be resting (?) comfortably (??) at home and perhaps watching live via the internet. I do thank you all for the many words of encouragement and the promises of prayer. I honestly can feel your prayers when you gang up on God. I plan to be back with you on June 2 and I can assure you that I am looking forward to it.
Now, at last, I can tell you about a very special event. Last Sabbath afternoon I had the awesome privilege of performing a simple, but beautiful wedding ceremony for Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Mize. In case you don’t know, that is Clayton and the former Ruth Jayne. They kept it very small with mostly immediate family and it was a beautiful day and the bride and groom were marvelous. Congratulations to both of you on this happiest of occasions! Just in case you are worried, I included in the vows that Clayton was moving to Napa.
There are so many things that capture our attention as we come to the end of May. We have graduation ceremonies on the schedule and so many summer activities to work around. I am especially looking forward to July, when John and Cristina will arrive to complete our pastoral team once again.
I still have seven weddings on my schedule over then next few months. I just have to tell you about one of them. On the Tuesday evening after I returned from Romania I was at the SF airport to pick up some cousins from Germany. While Hanna and I were waiting for them to come out at the international terminal I noticed a young man with a bouquet of flowers and he was hiding behind a large pillar. After observing him for a few minutes I couldn’t resist talking to him. I said, “Let me guess. You’re not waiting for your father.” He smiled and assured me that I was correct. He was indeed waiting for his fiancé, who he met while stationed with the Air Force in Spain.
We talked about his situation a bit and then I asked the question I ask every couple I meet with wedding plans, “Do you have a preacher?” He told me that they didn’t have much money and they were just going to have the ceremony done by a Justice of the Peace. I told him that I was a minister, that I loved to do weddings, and that I wouldn’t charge him a penny. He just kind of looked at me funny and smiled. Then I asked him where he lived and he told me he lived in Fairfield. “Great,” I said, “so do I.”
Well, the end of the story is that I gave him all my contact information and left him to talk with his fiancé about it. He called me last week and we met together here at the church with Shirley Strecker on hand to translate and I will be performing their marriage on June 6 in their home. Please pray for Curtis and Roxana. Who knows what an initial contact can result in? They both believe that our meeting was not an accident. I believe that too. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Part of my reason for sharing that story is to simply encourage you to talk to your neighbors, your work associates, the people you do business with, and yes, even strangers. You don’t have to be as unbearably sanguine as I am and you don’t have to be “preachy.” Just talk to them and engage them in conversation and find out what’s going on in their lives. It is amazing how many people out there are looking for something that we already have. Let’s share!
Once again I want to ask you to be praying for Mark Blue, our Conference Secretary. As of last Sunday he was in the hospital and on a ventilator. Jim Pedersen and John Rasumssen flew up to visit with him and his wife on Monday. Mark is such a precious man and faithful worker. Just pray that both he and his wife will sense the very presence of God right at their side.
Have you noticed the increase in the numbers of young adults and young couples in our worship? I like what I am seeing in that regard. Is it just that I am getting older and everyone else seems younger? I don’t think so. We need to continue to encourage them, engage them, and involve them in areas of leadership. We need to help them “own” the church, know it is their church, and trust that they will support it in every way. I would like to encourage everybody over sixty to find some members under forty and build a relationship together. I believe there will be a great blessing in that relationship for both of you.
Also please keep Nancy Tikker in your prayers. She almost certainly needs some back surgery. Fern Tikker has also been down for several weeks now and while she is showing good improvement she still needs your prayers. Gordon Mathe has received his hip replacement and is back in Piner’s Guest House. There are others who need your prayers and encouragement. Kenny Bliss in at Napa Nursing and would love a visit from anyone who would take the time. Visitation is a wonderful ministry that many of you can do. Prayer is something that we all can do.
For next week’s VIP I am taking a huge risk. I have a couple of things to share with you, but then I am going to turn the keyboard over to Ingrid. I know that the one time I asked her to preach she did such a fantastic job that many commented as they went out the door that they would like to hear a lot more from her and a lot less from me! But, I know I won’t be up to writing next week so I’ll just have to take a chance.
Thank you again for being the wonderful church family that you are. We love you!
