It has been said that a Christian must be ready to "preach, pray, sing, or die," but Saturday of Easter weekend, we had to add "or serve communion" to the list!
That morning a text from our pastor's wife reminded me that I had forgotten they were planning to take communion to White River Care Center for residents there who wished to participate. Crystal, Hannah and I rushed to dress and gather music. The girls had been practicing an Easter duet, "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" which they played on a very old, twangy piano in the dining hall where about eight residents and two or three nurses had stayed for service. The song was still beautiful, however, and the people enjoyed it very much.
In the end, Pastor Ambrose had a low blood pressure episode and had to sit down after just explaining the meaning behind communion, so he had to ask if Crystal and Hannah would serve the communion!
Easter morning Jonathan and the three children arose early to attend the community sunrise service at the rodeo grounds in White River. With coats, hats, and blankets, a good group of people showed up despite the chill. Jonathan said it was cold but beautiful as they listened to robins and meadowlarks singing and cows mooing in far off fields while reading Scripture, singing Easter hymns, and listening to the testimony of the speaker.
Like my mom, this lady didn't know about real salvation until she was invited to a Baptist church, just like my mother who was raised in the Methodist church. The preacher there shared the gospel clearly, and how this lady's heart did pound when the invitation was given. When she went forward to the altar, she did not know what to do next until a dear grandma came and knelt beside her and asked, "What do you want?"
"I want Jesus!" the little girl said. The grandma led her in the sinner's prayer, and Jesus came to live in that girl's heart "and He has never left," the lady said, who is now pastor of the local Nazarene church just up the hill from us.
We had Easter service in Lakota Chapel with the girls once again playing their Easter duet. Our pastor has been so weak, that Jonathan had to be prepared to fill in, and I helped him prepare a message.
We had checked in at the nursing home to see about bringing a lady to church, but she was not able to come. However, we enjoyed the beautiful paintings on the front windows, done by an activity director and residents for Easter.
A "traveling revival" with Marc and Melodie Sankey had begun Wednesday at Martin Lakota Chapel where Jonathan attended. As SIM maintenance director, he first spent the afternoon fixing a leak in the church plumbing and checking to see what else needed to be done at that church, parsonage, and another building at Parmalee that is smeared with graffiti.
The church at Mission hosted the Saturday evening service where as usual it was beautiful up front, decorated by ones who love the Lord instead of loving to destroy. The love of Christ makes such a difference in people's lives.
Thursday evening service was hosted at St. Francis Holiness Chapel where our good mechanic friend Ron Patton led the service. His wife had invited a dear local grandmother to church who brought her grandson and granddaughter both. She stood up and testified how Jesus had drawn her heart to come to service that evening. A wonderful spirit pervaded as there were several native testimonies.
Good Friday evening the revival was hosted at Montour Memorial Chapel in Winner, SD where Tonweya (Ned) and Judy Sherman pastor. I appreciated the leadership of Tonweya as he applied the truths from the Good Friday hymns before the message.
Sunday evening we took a couple folk from White River to church at Hope Family Chapel that ended up with a full house. After the message, several went forward to pray, including a girl who testified afterward, "The blood of Jesus is flowing through my heart!" I love when young people have original testimonies that reflect what they are personally experiencing in Christ!
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