Barb Ruffner

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Homepage: http://www.restonbible.org


Posts by Barb Ruffner

Conversations 2012: That’s a Wrap

Apr 19th

Posted by Barb Ruffner in Event Updates

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What do you get when you take 80 bakers, 50 coffee servers, 25 ushers, countless food preparers, children’s ministry volunteers, prayer warriors, 2 backstage crew, 38 actors, 7 band members, sound, lights and media volunteers, a director and 3 people willing to be transparent and share about the struggles in their lives and the victory they have found in trusting Christ with their circumstances?  Conversations, that’s what you get!  Conversations is an annual production including music, drama, humor and real life stories that takes place each evening the week before Easter. It is week where our church comes together to share with our families, friends, co-workers and neighbors the hope that we have in Jesus.  This is real hope – hope not based on circumstances or happily-ever-afters, but on the truth of the word of God and His son, Jesus Christ.

 

 

Working behind the scenes, we have the privilege of seeing God at work during the entire process of putting Conversations together.  The ministry that takes place among the cast and crew is amazing.  People of all ages come together to do ministry, connections are made, prayers are answered, and we are each changed through our experience.

 

 

 

Hundreds of hours go into putting on a production like this – writing, rehearsing, building sets, designing graphics and coordinating all the many, many details.  But even the most impressive production is worthless if the congregation doesn’t get behind it and do the most important part – invite and bring their unchurched friends and family.  We named this event Conversations for two reasons.  The music and scenes are based on conversations that go on around us all the time, and our hope is that you would continue to have conversations with the people you brought to see it.

 

 

If you have had a memorable conversation with one of your guests since bringing them to Conversations, we would love to praise with you and pray for you.  To share a conversation or story that happened as a result of Conversations, please email us at stories@restonbible.org.

 

 

Thanks to RBCer Mike Kelly for the great photos. You can see his Conversations 2012 photo gallery here.

Also, since so many of you asked so nicely, below is The Elevator Scene:

 

Food Pantry Update

Jan 20th

Posted by Barb Ruffner in Local Outreach

We are excited to share an update on the Food Pantry ministry.  After barely four months of operation, we have grown to serving over 250 families a week. These are families from within our body, from Guilford Elementary, from our surrounding community and beyond.  We have approximately 30 volunteers faithfully serving our neighbors each week.  Because of your continued generosity, we have been able to work out some purchasing agreements with a few local stores that help us to have enough of the items that are heavily requested available to those who need them.

It can be so easy to read about the Food Pantry or hear an occasional update but forget that this is a ministry to actual people. This story was recently shared by one of our Food Pantry volunteers:

     It was toward the end of the Food Pantry time, and just one table of waiting people was left. An older lady, with torn and worn-out clothes, matted hair and no teeth, was having trouble filling out her form, so I sat down to help her to get through it. She began trying to tell me something and grabbed my arm while repeating the same indiscernible sentence. Since she had no teeth, I couldn’t even tell if she was speaking in English or Spanish.  Perhaps seeing my confusion, she began to use gestures with the words to get her point across. She was pointing up at first and saying “God” and then touched her eye and then her mouth to indicate smiling. As I repeated the words she was trying to say, we got through the sentence, “God is watching us all at the Food Pantry and is smiling down from Heaven at what He sees as we feed the hungry.” Tears filled my eyes as I realized what she was saying, and the lady and I hugged as tears streamed down my face.

     In the midst of all the confusion and busyness of serving over 130 families that day in the Pantry, this poor old lady’s words were a real high point and it seemed that the Lord was confirming his pleasure with this ministry. 

Let me take this opportunity to once again thank you all for your faithful giving. If you would like to give monetarily to support the Food Pantry, you can do so online (click here to access online giving. When you get to screen where you enter an amount, be sure to select “Food Pantry” from the “to” drop-down menu.) You can also leave a check in an offering box (located in the lobby or at the rear of the sanctuary) with “Food Pantry” in the memo line.

If you would like to donate items to the Food Pantry, drop-off baskets are located in the foyer at the front entrance of RBC. Here is a “most wanted” list of items we need for the Food Pantry (click here to download).

If you would like to serve during the Food Pantry (open Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings), please email me. We have an ongoing need particularly for volunteers with Spanish language skills.

Please continue to pray for us as we show the love of Christ through this ministry.

Giving Thanks: Guilford Thanksgiving Dinner

Nov 24th

Posted by Barb Ruffner in Uncategorized

Thanks to all who participated in the Guilford Elementary’s 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Dinner last Monday, November. Whether you came and served, donated pies, or cooked turkeys, all of your efforts resulted in a fun family gathering as the Guilford families enjoyed a good ol’ American Thanksgiving dinner.

This was a real community gathering, with several organizations helping out. Teachers from the school, RBCers, and Little League volunteers all worked side by side to bless these families. For many of the families, this was their first taste of stuffing, which we learned has no Spanish word equivalent since it is not a food they eat in their countries. Maybe it’s a universal thing, but it appears that most kids don’t like stuffing. Also universal is the look of dislike and the shake of the head “no” – but all were polite and said “no thank you” if they didn’t care for any (although their faces were priceless!)

Hundreds of people came out for the dinner. The rain and long walk from where they parked on the ball field didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits. Even though the line of people waiting for their turn for food wrapped around the building hallways, everyone was patient and excited for the feast to come. It reminded me of what the disciples must have felt like with the loaves and the fishes, for as many people as kept coming, there seemed to be more food as the evening progressed. And after all had been fed, the volunteers, at last, took a few minutes to sit down, rest and have some dinner as well.

Due to the abundance, the residents at the Embry Rucker Homeless Shelter in Reston also enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast.

Many thanks for all who helped to bless our neighbors.

- – -

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

- Matthew 35:34-40

 

Giving Thanks: Book Drive

Nov 23rd

Posted by Barb Ruffner in Event Updates

When I came to work on Monday, in my mailbox I found a stack of thank-you notes from the children at Guilford. These notes were in response from our recent book drive, which provided over 2000 books to these kids, most of whom had no books of their own before the drive.  When you give from your abundance, it is so humbling to be thanked.  Some of the kids wrote that they wished they could come to our church (I wish that too!). One even wrote that we must have a good God and a great faith.  This came from a first-grader, just because we gave him a couple of books.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

When you come to services this weekend, we will have on display some of the thank-you notes that we have received from the students of Guilford.  It seems appropriate on Thanksgiving weekend to share these sentiments with the congregation.  Thank you for enriching these children’s lives by putting books in their hands.  In the words of one student “Thank you.  Really, I’m not kidding.”

If you weren’t able to bring in your books this fall, we will be having another book drive in the Spring. Hold on to those books, and keep your eye out for an announcement in March 2012.

Giving Thanks: The Food Pantry

Nov 23rd

Posted by Barb Ruffner in Local Outreach

In the two months since we re-opened the food pantry, we have jumped up to serving more than 130 families a week.  Almost 100% of our food pantry guests are Hispanic – and that has given us some challenges to overcome.  While we have adapted what we are stocking on the shelves to better meet their needs, we are still learning.  In my ignorance I did not realize how different corn meal is from corn flour – and corn flour is the number-one item in demand and that we cannot keep up with the demand!  I am regularly wiping out the shelves in our local grocery stores as I buy every package of corn flour they have.  Oil to cook the tortillas being made from the corn flour is also in high demand.

One of the culturally different things that we have had to adjust to is the need for larger sized diapers.  The tendency in these cultures appears to be to potty-train their children much later than we do.  Again, in my ignorance, I thought that if you are struggling financially that you would potty train your children as early as possible to cut down on the expense of diapers.  But that is not the case, and we are now stocking larger diapers to meet the need.

My prayer as we move forward is that we would have more volunteers, and in particular more Spanish speakers to interact with our guests – not just getting their food for them, but sitting with them and getting to know them.  The Lord has begun a good work, and now is the time to take it to the next level – sharing our hope with these people who need hope.

This past week we had a new challenge, one that I had not anticipated.  Many of our first-time visitors to the food pantry were illiterate.  We have been diligent to have our signs and forms be in both English and Spanish – but that is not very helpful to someone who cannot read either language.  How does that person cope with the challenges of living in Northern Virginia if they can’t read?  The Lord provided some very kind folks who helped them fill out the sign in sheet and their food order form, and all was well for the moment.  But it broke my heart just a little more.

Please pray for our outreach to a diverse group of people with different backgrounds, cultures and challenges.  Pray for the Lord to raise up more volunteers, and in particular to raise up someone who’s heart is to reach these people.  We really need someone who has the time and heart to take this ministry to the next level.  And as you visit with family and friends this Thanksgiving, and eat too much and laugh a lot, and enjoy all that the Lord has blessed you with – be thankful.

If you are willing to donate to the food pantry, consider going to a local Dollar Store, and purchasing several bottles of oil, packages of sugar, canisters of coffee, shampoos, deodorants.  For the same amount of money you could bless multiple families in need. We have recurring needs for staple items like corn flour (not corn meal), white flour, oil, sugar, cereal, oatmeal, dried beans, rice, canned soup, canned chicken, tuna, ham and chili. Smaller size containers of items such as flour and sugar are helpful, so we can assist more people. The hygiene items most needed are: laundry detergent, soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, sanitary pads, baby wipes, and formula (preferably Similac). Due to a generous donation from the Huggies “A Diaper for Every Bottom” campaign we will not need diapers for some time.  You can also donate financially to this ministry by putting “food pantry” in the memo line of your check and dropping it in an offering box during weekend services.

Thank you for your ongoing generosity. Please contact me if you would like more information on getting involved with the RBC Food Pantry.

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