HAVING VISITORS - BEING VISITORS!

This past Sunday our church was blessed with several guests. Our family tends to be somewhat transient - sometimes it might even appear we have two different church groups because people come and go, people are busy. I find it fascinating when we have new people come. I'm always curious to where they came from, what brought them to our church - and where they are heading to.

One thing which is strange and wonderful is that quite often while meeting and greeting one can invariably draw some string of 'connection' between them and somebody in our congregation. Sometimes its a loose thread - but once in a while there is something immediate and powerful revealed.

And its always in my mind, the scripture:

Hebrews 13:1-2 says, "Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."

For we cannot know what we might have for a thirsty soul - and what they might have for us too. As a church family {body} we are one, so guests bring in variation, challenge, fresh thought - and they remind us that our mission is not simply to minister among ourselves, rather these people who we are blessed to have worship with us carry a part of us with them when they go out the doors after a service.

This past Sunday, among the several guests we had come were Steve and Eve DeSort, visiting from Bend, Oregon. They had wound up 'by chance' at our church - but they both blessed our congregation with an uplifting testimony and also gifted us with a small interview after the service. While Eve graciously spoke with me I began to realize that she was sharing some thoughts which are right in line with our dear sister Kaye. If you like, you might like to visit back to our March 5, 2009 blog post where I spoke about Kaye - she is a Prayer Warrior for CANADA. And here was Eve, who has never been to our church before, delivering a word about Canada. And I was led to capture Eve's thoughts in sound. And Kaye was NOT able to be with us last Sunday due to a bad back... but how today I was able to play Eve's words to Kaye. Ahhh - chance? I think NOT!

To hear the sound clip interview with Eve just click on the picture of our Canadian Flag. Click on the MP 3 file to play it - and you might consider turning your volume WAY up on the computer as I guess I recorded it on a quiet setting.

Thank you Eve and Steve and to your friends for blessing our congregation. We will lift your journey and ministry in prayer as you follow the bidding of the Holy Spirit on your journey to Alaska. We look forward to another visit on your way home if you are encouraged to visit upon your return. We are looking forward to finding out your adventures and testimony of what the Lord had you do along the route! Thank you for being obedient to the ministry the Lord has called you too. Osoyoos Christian Centre is praying a prayer of safety and protection upon you as you venture forth.

All this is a reminder to us that 'church' is not simply the building, rather it's the blessing of the Holy Spirit within each one of us, within each one of our guests... that we would leave a favourable impression with each visitor - that the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour would be glorified from the mouths and hearts of those who have spent time within our family.

Another way to look at this theme is to know that at some point each of US of the OCC will be a visitor to someone else's church - or even a church TO others {without the building} It comes to mind right away of two of our members - Dale and Florence Archibald.

Dale and Florence are long time members of our church and are very active in our church body. One ministry in particular is Florence's passionate pursuit of making and organizing the drive for the Operation Shoebox ministry. She often has dozens of beautifully decorated and thoughtfully and carefully assembled boxes ready in mid-summer!

But besides this ministry, Dale and Florence are RV'ers and travel out where they minister to others. We are so very proud of the calling they fulfill - so glad they call our church 'Home' when they return from the mission field. Here is some information which they provided me to share with you:

We have spent our tenth season out of the snow and cold of Canadian winters, feeling very blessed to have the opportunity to travel and thanking God for His guidance over our lives.

Dale and I are long time members of the Escapees RV Club, a huge American and Canadian organization. Though secular in nature, the club does have within its boundaries a Christian Fellowship segment that focuses on developing and nurturing strong Christ-centered bonds and relationships among its travelling members. One effective and popular method to do this has been to have regular rallies in Arizona and California. Last winter we were involved with the planning and leadership of four such rallies, the first being a “Put Christ Back Into Christmas” event. In a somewhat remote area in south Arizona we brought our trailers and motor homes together and celebrated the birth of Christ, enjoying the refreshment of Bible study, shared meals, and the uninterrupted fellowship of other believers, making it a true old fashioned Christmas. We plan to meet again this year for our fourth Season.

Each of the four rallies had a different emphasis and was held in different localities, so we move about from place to place, enjoying some of our favorite places in the south. The March Rally was unique in that some of our single Christian Fellowship members brought along a number of their single friends, all being at different levels of belief and un-belief. It was wonderful to see how they were drawn into the circle of love and caring and ministered to by their fellow campers.

The last event we were involved with this winter was held at a very vibrant community church in a tiny town just north of the California/Mexico border. The pastor, a dear friend of ours, who left the travelling lifestyle to become their pastor, invited us to use their parking lot and Church facilities. What a super time we both had with the RV’ers , who were there from all over the USA, and the church congregation who opened their arms to us. We hope to join them again next April.

Between rallies we have time to relax and take in the rugged and sometimes stark beauty of the Sonoran Desert. It really grows on you. A particularly nice time was three weeks spent at Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge near the Mexican border in Arizona. I was able to identify 95 bird species which pleased me well.

Our lengthly stays in Arizona increasingly attract family and friends. In fact, we are getting to see more of my numerous cousins in the south than we do in Canada. It was also nice to have two sisters and one brother-in-law share our dry-camping desert experience for a while. Neither of our two children made it south this winter, but Joy and family have been down 3 times and Rick four times, planning to come again this Christmas.

God bless you all,

Florence Archibald

*****

PRAISE REPORT:

For Peter - who went for an interview this past week and has been hired at a

Luxury Resort in Salmon Arm, BC.  As he told us he'd made a list of three

essential requirements he'd prayed for, a job at the resort, a place to live

and a church where he would feel at home in.  Every one of his wishes were

fulfilled.  You've been a positive and encouragement to our church and we will

miss you here.  We will pray for you that you shine the LIGHT in your new home! 

A few of us gathered at Kaye's home to pray for Kaye a week ago when she

was unable to attend due to severe back pain.  I spoke to Kaye on Monday and

she was feeling much better!  Please continue to pray for a bond of protection

and healing upon her. 

An anonymous donation was received in our church post office box and it

contained funds enough to cover the needed cost to go ahead with our parking lot

curb project.  Thank you to whomever was led to help.  May God Bless you! 

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Cecil: health issues

Nathan: for a back injury which has required him to be off work.

Keremeos church: as they search for a new pastor

Tony Essex, Princeton: healing

Paula: cancer
RCMP - ambulance - firemen

*****

It's close to one week away from our concert with Penny Buhr Johnson.  This is a

free-will concert and we will provide the desserts and beverages.  It will be held

at our Church - Osoyoos Christian Centre {beside McDonald's} 42 Finch Crescent

at 7:00 pm. 

If you are able help setting up, tearing down tables etc.  Please let us know if

you can help.  You can reach our church by calling 250-495-2550.

*****

As always, if you like to chat you are welcome to join our OCC Women's

chat-night on MSN messenger to join us for an hour of fellowship, sharing and

prayer time.  We begin at 7:00 sharp!   Just send me a request - my username

is lalalime.

WORSHIP MUSIC, POETRY and AWARDS

There is so much GOOD NEWS this week its hard to know which to post first, so how about I start slowwwwwly with a lovely poem written and shared with us by one of our own - Marie Primeau. This poem spoke to me of the lovely summery mornings we've had of late - especially after the long winter we just came through. Thank you for sharing, Marie.

The Sun and I

I rise up daily, just at dawn

And gaze out to the east;

The mountains loom like shadowy humps

of prehistoric beast.

And I and nature, all alone

Wait, absolutely still

To watch the sun majestically

Rise o're the eastern hill.

The lights go on, house by house

And another day is here.

The cars go by, the children shout

As time for school draws near.

And I must leave my vigil now,

Tho' how I long to stay!

But I have seen the sunrise

To brighten up my day!

Yet, He who guides the sun by day,

Guides all my moments too;

And if, like the sun, I stay on course

I know we'll make it through!

The clouds at times cast shadows

That made it hard to see;

But we both knew that He was there

To lead, the sun and me!

And now as evening time draws near,

and the sun sinks in the west,

We both know, the sun and I,

That in him we have our rest!

*****

Pastor Jim was away this past week attending a course in Salinas, California and we pray he's brought new wisdom to share with us. While he was absent we were blessed with the worship team from Park Drive Pentecostal Assembly from Oliver. Led by Pastor Bart, the AWAY TEAM of 7 (I'm pretty sure it was 6 or 7 anyhow... it sounded like even more!) uplifted the Lord in music. We have recorded some of the songs to share with those of you who could not be with us - or those of you who would simply enjoy some good praise! Our deepest thanks to each one of you for taking the time to come down and fellowship with us. We look forward to more times together in the future

To listen to the worship songs, just click on the photo of the AWAY TEAM above! It will take you to a site where you can listen to the songs by simply clicking on them, or you can download them to listen to at your leisure.

*****

And for more good news - Penny Buhr Johnson shares this with us:

Hello from Penny!

Just got back from the
Country Gospel Music Association Convention in High River, Alberta. By God's grace and favour of my fellow Canadian Artists, I was presented with these awards!

CGMA 2009 Bilingual, Silver Heart Award
CGMA 2009 Instrumental, Silver Heart Award
CGMA 2009 Female Full-time Vocalist, Silver Heart Award
CGMA 2009 Songwriter Full-time, Silver Heart Award

I am so honoured and so blessed and so excited to share this news with you!

All the best to YOU!

~ Penny

Penny will be performing at our Osoyoos Christian Centre on Wednesday, June 24th at 7:00. Come join us for an evening of music and fellowship. Beverages and dessert provided. Free - with a love offering. You can hear song clips for Penny at her blog - next paragraph.

If you need more information you can visit Penny's website - at www.PennyBuhrJohnson.com or you are welcome to email me at lalalime@hotmail.com or you can phone OCC at 250-495-2550

*****

Events:

Missions BBQ at Pastor Jim and Elaine's on June 13th @ 6:30. Special speaker is Fred Ilyin - Missionary to Russia.

*****

Prayer:

Kaye for back pain

Cecil for health issues

Pastor Tony Essex - Princeton - for healing

Paula - who has cancer

for marriages and families who are under attack by the devil causing seperation, discord, anger and unforgiveness.

the safety of our RCMP members, border security personell, ambulance paramedics and fire department members who keep our community safe.

our District POAC Leadership Team

YOUR prayer needs could be here - why not email us or leave a comment and we would love join together to lift your needs.

*****

Each Wednesday evening the women of OCC join together on MSN messenger for a 'virtual' meeting and prayer time. We would love for you to join us if you are able. All you need to do is have MSN Messenger installed and send an invitation to me. My username is lalalime We meet at 7:00 for one hour.

Thanks for stopping in at our blog. We WELCOME feedback and content. Why not share a poem, song, thought, scripture or local events?

POSTERS and RUNNING THE GOOD RACE

Heaven's Hero's

They're cheering us on

Proudly gone

Before to sit

And ponder it

Why Christ should die

Seeds sown 'lie'

About His cause

But

Heaven's applause

Will bring us through

And pardon too

One final race

To see His face

by Elaine Caruso

When we are faced with an urgent situation our first instinct is to run. Think about it. If you saw someone trip and fall flat on their face, you'd run to assist them without giving a second thought! We run when we are pressed for time, when there's a deadline to meet or an urgency. We run when we greet one another, if its a joyous reunion. We run away. We run to keep fit. One thing for sure, running is not passive in its nature. Running is a lot of work.

We live in a world today where we don't really have to chose to run much, other than in cases like I've listed. Living in this country we mostly have vehicles to take us about, so we get used to driving most of the time.

But we KNOW running is good for us. To choose to run does not just save us money, it gives our bodies a workout and builds stamina and muscle. The added value is the more we do it the more benefit there is for us. We live longer, healthier lives - we can even play with our children easier and live longer, healthier lives. We are given free choice to run - or not.

After reading this poem written by Elaine, I did a bible study on "running" and "race" and I found the bible peppered with reference to these words. I was encouraged to look at our lives as a 'race' - to know that our lifetimes are considered a timeframe in which to do our best with the days we've been given. I considered that some people are unable to ever physically run, so put thought to what 'running' would mean to them. Then I realized to 'run' means to 'live' and we must do it with a passion, a purpose knowing our reward is not here on this earth. The 'race' here means to live for Christ - to win souls for Christ, and our reward is when we join Him in heaven.

When we 'run' the GOOD race, know that your God will be cheering you on. He'll be beside you every step of the way. He will sustain you and give you the stamina - if you'll just call on Him.

Here are some of the scriptures I found which might encourage you:

1 Corinthians 9:24

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

Hebrews 12:1

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside our every weight, and the sin doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.

The following video of Hillsong "Run to You" is sure to inspire and remind us that HE is awaiting us at the finish line! Click on the arrow {middle of video window} to play.

*****

Our church is undergoing a 'facelift' and we have added some new posters to a feature wall in our building. With some track-lighting in the plans for the near future, these three posters should surely light up our foyer!

I designed these using a photograph I took of a mountain in Washington State last summer, while the two bottom posters use a montage of pictures licensed under creative commons. We have a fund started to purchase frames.

Thank you to brainthrill.ca Design for printing these posters out!

*****

Penny Buhr Johnson

Penny is coming to our church on Wednesday, June 25th to perform. This concert will be by freewill offering and promises to be a wonderful time of music and fellowship. Be sure to invite your friends to join us. Please email me at lalalime@hotmail.com for more information if needed. Posters will be produced this week, available for distribution. Please let us know if you can post any!

We will be serving cupcakes and providing beverages. We welcome donations of cake mixes.

We will be online on MSN messenger on Wednesday night at 7. We would love to have you join us. If you cannot make it but would like us to pray for your requests just let us know via email or a comment here.