Monday Reflections...what I did over the weekend!

What you are looking at is a picture I took from the balcony of the Machias Valley Baptist Church of Machias, Maine.  The couple up front is doing a final run through of the songs that we will sing in the morning worship service.  Their names are Ted and Terry and I was forever calling Ted, Terry but I never called Terry, Ted.  With the morning sun coming through the large windows it makes the walls look blue but they are actually a light gray to match the carpeting.  The sanctuary is set for the morning adult Sunday School class.

My weekend consisted of a flight from Sanford/Orlando, Florida to Bangor, Maine.  It started at 2:15 a.m on Friday morning and the rest of the day was spent flying, meeting the lead elder, Rob at the airport and a 90 mile drive to Machias, Maine.  We stopped to meet the local CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) chapter on the way to Machias which is a ministry the church supports.  I got settled into an "in law" apartment at another elder's home, Ted pictured above and then to Elder Rob's home for an evening meal with him and his family and another young man who has recently started attending the church.  I think I accomplished my goal this weekend of listening and asking questions more than talking but I still did a fair amount of talking.

Saturday started with some conversations with Elder Ted and his wife around the breakfast table and then an opportunity to see possible living quarters if called.  Another young man of the church, Matthew, is renovated his mother's home who recently passed away.  It is a nice 3 bedroom home situated just outside of town.  Following this we made our way to a graveside service for the mother of the third elder, Dave, and I was part of the gathering who gave respects to this dear saint of the Lord.  It was a beautiful setting at an old family burial plot in the woods overlooking Indian Lake.

On Saturday evening there was a meal with the elders, their spouses and some other ministry leaders.  It was an opportunity for me to share about our family and ministry and also give a formal presentation of the IPM (Interim Pastor Ministry) 5 step intentional transitional process.  Many questions followed and I felt pleased on how this went being the first time I officially presented the material.

Sunday was a full day.  My duties included teaching the adult Sunday School class and we zeroed in on how Jesus noticed people and how we could mimic His actions.  Next came the morning worship service and I preached from Luke chapter 16 and verses 1 through 13.  

"What will you do with the worldly wealth that God has entrusted to you?  Will it be solely for your comfort or will you think of the Great Commission?"  

I will attach the link to the video at the end of this post if you would like to view it.  It was one of my longer ones at 45 minutes.  The sanctuary was fairly full and I had many conversations with members of the congregation that had all the ages represented.

It was Father's Day so I was treated to a lunch at the famous Helen's Restaurant of Machias.  I had some fish and chips and topped it off with a slice of their infamous blueberry pie!  Machias is surrounded by blueberry fields.  The afternoon included a two hour meeting with the elders continuing to dialogue about the potential future and asking questions of each other.  I introduced some elder training that I have used recently as a possibility to grow in the Lord and also to transfer to the men of the church.

The evening service came around at 6 p.m. and another good size gathering came to sing, pray and hear the word.  We look at the account of Achan and asked the question, 

"Is there anything buried in your tent?"  

The evening ended with more conversations with people I missed in the morning and another call to Stephanie about what was happening in Maine.  

This morning I am up and typing but waiting for my ride back to the airport in Bangor.  I will have another opportunity of conversation with another man of the church, Jeff, who works in the forestry industry and plays the drums at the church.  So I have another opportunity to listen to this man's story of Christ and his recent involvement in the church.

I will board the plane and Lord willing be back in Florida at about 2 p.m. for a 2 hour drive back to home base and Stephanie.  I would say the weekend has been full.  Intertwined have been a couple of texts from the children to say "Happy Father's Day" and opportunities to work on radio broadcasts.  

I want to thank you for your prayers.  They were much felt and needed.  I will leave you with a picture I took of the Machias Falls in the center of downtown.  I wish I would have taken a video of it so you could hear the sound.  Maybe that will be a reality in the future.

Adam