Thursday, May 1, 2008

Street Preaching Conference Begins!

I woke up at 6:45 a.m. to the sound of the hair blow-dryer. I noticed last night as I went to bed that my allergies are beginning to bother me. I woke up during the night thinking I was getting a cold. Then I remembered that it’s hay fever season. Oh boy!

I got ready for the day and went downstairs, greeting Mom and Lydia in the kitchen.
The Lutricks came out of their room, so I watched the boys as they ate their breakfast. They absolutely love yogurt; Brother Lutrick said if they had it their way, that’s all they would eat. I held Keana, still in her tiny pajamas, as I ate my breakfast. She quietly sat in my lap. She is such a sweet baby! I think I’m going to keep her when her parents leave. =D

Mrs. Lutrick gave me Keana’s clothes, so I dressed her on my bed in Josiah’s room. The baby smiled at me the whole time. She’s SO adorable! Then she spit up all over her fresh, clean clothing and on me. It’s a good thing babies are so cute, because if it was anything else making such a mess… =D Justin came into the room and started poking around at Josiah’s toys as I finished up with Keana.

We all went downstairs and began heading to the door for church. We left the house at 8:45 a.m. Mr. Kamps came to pick Josiah up at 8:30, because he had to pick up some ladies from his church, and he wanted somebody with him.

Upon getting at the church, we began getting things set up. The Lutricks went to practice their special in the room we use as a nursery. Mischa and I began practicing for the song service, while Mom and Lydia set up coffee stuff in the kitchen. The conference started at 10 a.m., and we had a good crowd. Praise the Lord! We had two visitors. Bro. & Mrs. Spoelstra came from Arnhem, and Brother Kamps came with several of his people. Grace Spoelstra, my friend, couldn’t come with her parents, but she gave Mrs. Spoelstra little cards for Lydia and me. That was sweet! I love Grace!

The service began. We sang two songs, and then Dad read a Psalm about praising the Lord. Our theme is “Bless the Lord & Bruise the Devil.” I like it! =) After singing, Bro. & Mrs. Lutrick got up and sang “Just Look at Him Now.” We heard them sing it in Scotland. Then Brother Lutrick preached about Abraham and having faith…giving God the steering wheel of your life and climbing into the truck. I guess the title of the message could be called, “Let Go and Let God.” The message really spoke to my heart. Brother Lutrick told his testimony of how he got called to Germany. When he got called, he realized that he couldn’t hold onto the coattails of his father’s faith. God had to be his God. He had to have a close relationship with the Lord on his own. That got me thinking. I have to have my own intimate relationship with the Lord. He has to be my God, not just Daddy’s God. I know I need to work on drawing closer to Christ.

After the preaching we had a 15 minute break to use the bathroom and get a snack. We sang another song, and then Bro. & Mrs. Spoelstra sang a special. Brother Spoelstra preached the second session. He preached about the woman at the well…good message! The preaching was a blessing.

We were dismissed to eat lunch around noon, and after that we drove the short distance to Central Station. We parked in the parking garage, which is nice and close to the station. The weather was cold and the sky was heavy with clouds. The others went on ahead, but I stayed with the Lutricks while they got the kids in strollers, etc. Dad wanted me to stay and show them the way.

The banner was up and people were passing out tracts when we got to the station. We had a lot of people come out. All the guys preached. It was good. I think we stayed out for nearly 2 hours. I was ready to go home when Dad announced it was time to go. Between the church being as cold as the North Pole and the weather being cold and rainy, I was thoroughly frozen. Brrr!

We had tea and baked goods when we got home. It was nice to sit down and rest. Whew! Mom and Dad had bought gifts for the boys, so we sat them down on the couch and watched them open them. They each got Duplo blocks, Justin got a Duplo police station, and Jackson got a car carrier. They loved them and immediately began playing. Mrs. Lutrick went upstairs to feed the baby, and then I began helping Mom with dinner. We ate tacos.

The boys played with their new toys after we ate. They also made a trip out to the backyard to see the “bunnies.” We only have one bunny, but Justin and Jackson pluralized the word when referring to Cottontail. =D It’s so funny how little kids can’t discern who is male and who is female. The boys kept asking our names. “What’s his name?” Jackson asked, pointing to Mom. =D Mom was like, “I’m a girl. I have a skirt on, see?” Ha, ha! Then Jackson would go, “Oooh!” and let out his funny little laugh. Justin called Josiah “John,” and both the boys kept asking what my name was. They didn’t seem to have a problem with Lydia’s name.

The adults talked late; I think I finally went to bed at 11:30 p.m. feeling rather sick from exhaustion. The Lord was good today. I enjoyed everything, especially the kids. Justin reminds me of my little cousin Thomas. How I miss him! I love kids; they are so much fun, even if they are quite a handful at times.

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