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We Are Cooking! 6.10.14

For the first time in our lives, we wake up in the earliest hours of a day and think, "How soon 'til we can get up and dive into the next (12 – 15-hour) work day?"

If we were any happier, we'd burst.

I love making up recipes inspired by customers' feedback, my whims, and available, fresh ingredients. We both love talking with visitors from around the world.

Those of you who have been part of a United Methodist Church for longer than six years remember when our membership vows included four areas of commitment - "presence, prayers, gifts, and service." If you're like me, you repeated those four words often enough that they became second nature.

Your opinion is needed to help identify community needs and the strengths and gaps in the current health/human service delivery systems in DuPage County. Many changes are continuing to take place in the County - more poverty, more diversity, and an aging population, just to name a few. Add healthcare reform and state and federal fiscal crises.  It all adds up to increased demand for human services. The People's Resource Center and many other organizations have come together to understand and address the needs facing our communities.

This Sunday, October 5, we will share in communion as part of our morning worship services - and it is World Communion Sunday, so we'll be breaking the bread and sharing the cup with an awareness that Christians all around the world are doing the same - and thinking about and praying for each other as they do.

In addition, we'll be dedicating the beautiful new Communion and Fellowship stained glass window, which depicts the chalice and bread of the Lord's Supper.

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful September Friday! The trees are getting anxious for fall as the lightness of green turns to reds and yellows. Stepping outside brings an instant lift of joy.

This month, we've been focusing on  the Book of Philippians, sometimes described as "a Letter of Joy."

Come to worship this Sunday, and hear about something Paul calls "humility" in Philippians 2:1-11. Paul also calls it "the mind of Christ."

Two grade-school aged brothers brought their Imagine No Malaria (INM) can to me last Sunday, Rally Day. It was filled to the top with coins they had collected over the summer, and they were eager to turn their money in so it could begin to do the life-saving work for which it was intended.

There are many other children, teens, and adults in our congregation who share that eagerness of pooling our saved incidental money for INM. This Sunday, September 14, we'll do just that!

The art of portraying perspective is a difficult one, especially for me. But I’ll give it a go. First and foremost, I will attempt to portray my sincere thanks for you—the DGFUMC congregation—and your support. Financing my plane ticket to Guatemala City is a generosity that I, as a college student, have immense gratitude. Even more importantly, I want to thank you all for your prayers and kind words. It was so special and uplifting to hear that I have been in your hearts and minds this summer. There were brief moments while I was in La Esperanza and I felt either unimportant or discouraged or alone that were pacified with kind words that were passed along by my mother. It is amazing how a mere awareness that there is even just one person (let alone an entire network of people) thinking about you can soothe the heart and ease the mind. For me, solidarity is its own form of bliss, particularly while living in a slum of Guatemala. And for this piece of peace, I sincerely thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I still remember it - don't you? - the smell of new gym shoes, the fragrance of a fresh box of crayons - these were the unmistakable marks of a new school year about to begin. As a grade school child, those purchases, waiting to be carried to school on the first day of class, were a a sign that something was expected of me. Those supplies, as ordinary as they were, took some budgeting for my family, and they were given for a purpose - to help me learn so that I could become more and more competent, more independent and responsible, more able to give back as I grew up.

Hola a todos! I’m here writing from a lovely café I discovered today, it’s only a short transmetro ride away from my Guatemalan residence. While I’ve got stable internet access, I wanted to take the time to give you all an update about what I’ve been doing at UPAVIM for the past month (time has flown by!).

My time with these kids has reinforced every reason I had for coming to Guatemala. With every “Hola Seño Lexie!” I receive while walking down to the taco guy, and each buenos días beso, or even boquet of eucalyptus leaves (I can’t seem to shake this cough/sinus infection), I feel God’s presence in a place where one may not think it could be found.

Tour 2014 Connections: We continued our DG connection in Frankfort last night. We met Mrs. Crowe last night. She has 2 grandchildren in the DG school system in junior high and grade school.

Please join us for our complete home concert Sunday at 4:00 PM.