Live to Shine

The only way to fight the darkness is to turn the light on. There is plenty of darkness in this world. Wars, political turmoil, illness… We often get sucked into these black holes. All we see and talk about is darkness. As Christians we can fight the darkness by turning the lights on. It can be the light of kindness or forgiveness; the light of caring words or a simple smile. The darkness will retreat. Turn on your light today.

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Galena and I are grateful to God for bringing us safely home just in time for the Thanksgiving celebration. We didn’t have our family with us yesterday. They all went to spend the day with their in-laws or other members of the extended family. We didn’t mind because we’ll get a special treat of having them at our place for Christmas. Honestly, the two of us needed this one quiet day. Just the two of us. After our trip to Uzbekistan, this was the first day when we could slow down and count our blessings. We talked about the blessing of our church family. We love each one of you and are grateful for your loving support. We did not deserve it and consider it a huge blessing. We are thankful to our church elders for their active ministry. We sincerely appreciate our deaconesses and deacons. They give so much of their time to the ministry of our church! Church departments and ministry leaders keep our church vibrant and our members active in action and in spirit. All we can say is Thank You, Jesus, for blessing us with this wonderful church.

This Sabbath morning Brass for Worship will uplift our spirit during both services. Those of you who come for the first service will also hear Jaime Jorge play the violin right at 9 am in the Sanctuary. I am looking forward to worshiping with you tomorrow.

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Our trip to Uzbekistan was not easy. It takes at least 48 hours to get to your destination each way. Time change, local food options, and lack of sleep weakened the body but our spirit was high. We met very kind and hospitable Seventh Day Adventists who worship the Lord in the predominantly Muslim country. They were faithfully attending our nightly meetings. I was very glad that there were several non-Adventists who joined the meetings. I plan to share more this Sabbath during the worship service, but below are a few photos from the meetings. Please continue to pray for the pastors who serve the Lord in that part of the world. There are many challenges they are facing daily.

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Thanksgiving Simulation is one of the best annual events at OAKS. I received hundreds of awesome photos. I wish I could share all of them, but below are at least a few. What a great program for our children!