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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

 

Saying Goodbye to Trinidad

Jul 15th

Posted by Ashley Ramsey in Uncategorized

We have had an awesome last couple days.  We spent 2 days running a summer camp for the kids at the children’s home. Tuesday evening we did another street meeting and went to see the huge sea turtles! We even got to see baby turtles hatching!  Wednesday we did our second day of summer camp and left for the team debrief in Port of Spain. Last night we heard from Ronnie and Meela. Today we spent the day on a boat swimming and fishing. Then we returned to the church for a farewell dinner with the church (A very touching experience).  We will give you much more detail when we see you late on Saturday.

 

Our flight is scheduled to land at Dulles at 11:20 pm. We are planning on students being picked up at the airport.

 

Thank you for all your prayers! God has definitely answered them and many more.

 

Trinidad Update #6

Jul 11th

Posted by Ashley Ramsey in Uncategorized

Summary of the weekend:

On Day 8 (Sat), we went to Toco Beach, ate Fish Broth which is a stew that they cooked using a propane tank right on the beach, played football, and climbed trees.

On Day 9 (Sun), we went to an Evangelical church that Bob had helped out when he came here last with an RBC missions team, Ryan and Dan spoke, Emily gave her testimony and then we repeated our “package” at Hope Community Church at 5:45 pm and Joseph gave his testimony.  We finished out the night having some fun with our Trini friends, especially our awesome maxi taxi driver Dale (last picture with Dan).

 

Blog from the weekend:

DAY 8: Well, it was bound to happen. We got roasted. The team spent much of our day Saturday on Toco beach. It was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. I think at times we all felt like somehow we had been placed into a post card. We spent our day running around having fun, spending some time with the local Trinis we have come to know and love, some who we are growing beside and some who we are witnessing to, and just praising God for his beautiful creation. After our time on the beach we stopped briefly at a lighthouse that was unlike anything we had ever witnessed before. Beyond a small beaten path we found enormous boulders and cliffs that at this moment I struggle to even describe. Aggressive waves plummeted toward us, crashed onto the walls of the cliff we sat on and flew up upon us in the form of this delicate mist. God is so beautiful. We went back to the Heerah’s house to find an abundance of awkward tan lines and crazy sun burns. I have never felt so white before in my life. After changing and showering, we headed back to Hope Community Church to lead a parent/teen event. There, we were given the opportunity to meet with community members and discuss with them what the Bible says about what a parent-teen relationship should look like. Courtney shared her testimony with the ladies and Bob spoke for the men. The turn out was certainly smaller than other events we have hosted, but we praise God for the intimacy that comes with that.

 
DAY 9: I cannot even tell you how fun it has been spending a full Sunday in Trinidad. We spent the morning at a nearby church that still had strong connections to the Heerah’s. Ronnie used to pastor there before being led to start Hope Community Church and many of the Heerah’s relatives are strongly tied there. It was a church
flourishing with life and life in abundance. Every face we saw was welcoming and loving toward us for no reason other than the fact that we are all truly members of a single body. We were given the opportunity to run the morning service, but we were blessed in that we did not take over their church for that day, but rather we walked
beside them that day. The worship they provided for us was beautiful and  motivating. I was so encouraged to witness such a lively congregation. After their worship, our group sang a few songs, performed “In the Light,” and spoke before them. Emily Mooney shared her testimony from the pulpit in a way that genuinely seemed to capture the hearts of her audience. After Emily, Bob Shull, Ryan Swisher, and Daniel Shull tag-teamed a sermon, which was absolutely saturated in wisdom and in truth. It was encouraging to see our men step up to the plate into such a role of leadership. Not a single person, Trini or otherwise, left the building uninspired. After the church service, we were given lunch as a team as well as some awesome “meet and greet” time, where we were able to really speak with any church member that was willing to share with us. Little girls in dresses played hide-and-go-seek with our members and little boys played “ninja” while everyone else seemed immersed in conversations varying from the basics of getting to know each other, and deep  discussion over what we all believed God was at work doing. After lunch, we met back at the Heerah’s house for a bit of liming, encouraging, and team time. Our time was good and reviving, but not long lived because we were soon off to Hope Community Church to prepare for the evening service ahead of us. As always, many songs were sung, and as strange as it is to stand on a stage and sing worship songs at a congregation, it is incredibly rewarding to see how the congregation began to worship along with us. Even witnessing one person worship with a heart full of adoration for God is enough encouragement to uplift us all. After worship, “Silence” was performed, and Joseph Choi gave a heart-felt testimony. We then all dispersed between the adult service and many children’s classrooms to teach Sunday school. Everywhere the team served was blessed. Our evening ended on a high note when we ate a late dinner with the community around us and simply spent some time in fellowship. The love we have developed for one another, within the team and within the community, never ceases to amaze me.

Please pray for our ministry at the Bridge of Hope Kids Camp.  We will be hanging out with 45 kids and will need lots of energy and enthusiasm.

VIDEOS FROM WEEK 1:

Click this to watch- Jesus is a Winner Man

Click this to watch- Bob sharing the gospel with elementary kids

Click this to watch- In the Name of Jesus- Trini Style

Click this to watch a Minute to Win it Challenge Game

 

 

 

Trinidad Update #5

Jul 10th

Posted by Ashley Ramsey in Uncategorized

DAY 6: Thursday was an incredibly full day, which is something we were all thankful for. It is always neat to have days just full of opportunities. The morning consisted of going to a high school with a reputation of being full of troubled teens or teens that ended up there due to doing poorly elsewhere. The students we talked to were
far more interested in getting to know us than I had anticipated. I think we all expected for them to be “rough around the edges,” but at the end of the day, whatever they seem to be, they are all simply people, just as relational as the rest of us. Worship songs were sung, “King of Hearts” was performed, and Tucker shared his testimony with the students in a way that was conversational and relatable. After performing there, the team headed back to our work sight to finish the house we had started earlier this week. Lots of priming, painting, and sweating took place as well as the unexpected opportunity to meet and speak with the single mother who owned the house we were working on. In the midst of that work, three of the guys left early to dig a trench most diligently at the Heerah’s house. Naturally, their work ended with a massive mud fight that could not have been more fun. The team spent the rest of the afternoon in the word and preparing for the evening we were about to spend in Vega, a more rural area that is about twenty minutes away from the Heerah’s house. Once there, we broke up into groups and walked through the area meeting locals, attempting to stay away from stray dogs, and inviting the people we met to our upcoming street performance. Our street presentation in Vega was worlds different from our presentation in Sangre Grande, but we saw God at work nonetheless. Our crowd was in no way enormous, but they were certainly a crowd in need. After some worship “In the Light”
was again performed (giving me goose bumps, as always), Emmy Weeks shared her testimony, and Ronnie Heerah shared his testimony and the gospel. The response was overall very positive and we all enjoyed
spending the rest of the evening dining with the locals in Vega getting to know them, sharing with them, and never ceasing to pray for them.

 

DAY 7: Today was a day that we have long been anticipating. We have been advertising an upcoming free car wash to the locals since we arrived here and finally, today was the day. Every person had their job, be it washing, waxing, rinsing, or absurdly jumping and screaming “free car wash” to cars that passed by. All morning we worked with strange flows of one or two cars at a time or tons all at once. The single commonality between every person we saw, whether or not they agreed to get their car washed, was that none understood why anyone would give up their time to serve the community with no strings attached. Most did not understood why some American kids would give up their summer to serve. God truly seemed to make an impression on the people we came across. After the car wash we had a late lunch of…wait for it… pizza! Granted, pizza here is certainly different from back in the states, but either way it was pretty great to have a taste of America again. We spent our evening at Hope Community Church running an outreach that we called the “Minute to Win it Youth Rally.” It was fun to see a mixture of new and old faces showing up knowing nothing of what the night would hold. We started off the night by splitting into groups led by each of the RBC team members, who each shared a condensed version of our testimonies as well as attempted to get to know the Trinidadians on at least a basic level. Daniel Shull emceedthe evening, keeping the event full of fun and excitement by running the games and interacting with the Trinidadians. They all adore him. For the first time the skit “Silence” was performed, and Joshua Johnstone shared the gospel. I am thrilled to write to you that five hands were raised in indication of accepting Christ when Bob ended the event in prayer. And just like anything in Trinidad, the evening ended in “Trini” time. We had no real schedule for the end of the evening, so we all just “limed” (hung out) playing games and conversing with everyone we could. It was, most certainly, a successful event that was full of truth and love.

Please continue to pray that we help represent the church in this area and ultimately our God in ways that encourage the community.

(by Hope and Ashley)

 

Update on Pastor Mike

Feb 6th

Posted by RBC in Uncategorized

As many of you know, Pastor Mike Minter had a bout of arrhythmia this morning and was unable to teach during the 10:00am and 11:45am services. Pastor Mike spent the afternoon resting and has recovered nicely. He is deeply appreciative of your prayers and is looking forward to speaking at the men’s Summit tomorrow evening.

We are also thankful to God for RBC elder Ray Shoaff, who took the pulpit with literally three minutes notice. Pastor Mike’s teaching on addiction from 8:15am and Ray’s teaching from Titus 1 from 10:00 & 11:45am are both available online at http://www.restonbible.org/sermons