October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and the Silerton Baptist Church membership presented Brother Charlie with a token of appreciation and love. Prayers for Annette Simer’s father (Larry Hooper) and Joe Stack were requested. Happy 13th wedding anniversary was sung to Frankie and Mary Lynn Lambert. A reminder that the church will have its hayride at 5 p.m. Nov. 1. Afterwards, there will be a bonfire and weenie roast with s’mores. Missionary shoeboxes will be filled on Nov. 12.
Melanie James and Joe Seavers spent a week at Fort Morgan, Ala., visiting Joe’s daughter Stephanie. Brandon, Shelley and Eli Seavers joined them for a couple of days of fishing on the pier.
Frankie and Mary Lynn Lambert enjoyed their 13th wedding anniversary at the Paris Landing Lodge in Paris. The lodge is located on the banks of the Tennessee River. The lodge’s restaurant had delicious meals and wonderful service. They enjoyed building a fire in the firepit on the bank of the river, watching the river flow by and the fire burning. Maybe on a future anniversary Frankie will open his wallet and take Mary Lynn to Paris, France.
Piney Grove Baptist Church enjoyed their October whole hog barbecue Saturday night. The evening was filled with activities for the children. The barbecue was delicious. Everyone enjoyed the side dishes and desserts. The night ended with a hayride.
Anita Lambert has the following mission report: On Oct. 11, a mission team of eight members from Sanford Hill Baptist Church went to Los Angeles, Calif., as part of “Send Relief to Serve with Purpose.” This began the most humbling experience of my life. Saturday started our first day with meeting Pastor Danny, his family, other members of the missionary teams. Our ministry began that night. When you read this, I ask one favor – please do not be judgmental of these people. The majority of the people we encountered were once just like us. Maybe bad decisions but also just bad luck, loss of jobs, illness and death of a person supporting the family brought them to their current condition. We rode the subway into LA and entered McArthur Park. I thought I knew what to expect because I have worked in a lot of various situations, and we had online classes, but nothing prepared me for what we were about to encounter. Not anything I was not familiar with, just the numbers of people. People lying out in the open, slumped in wheelchairs, people openly doing drugs, etc. We offered water bottles and muffins. If people wanted to pray and talk, we prayed with them. Sunday, we attended church at Purpose LA. Monday was a day of demolition. We ripped out the carpet and ceiling tiles in the lobby of a vacant church renovation that also has a school. We helped move some heavy items and cleaned an area to be used for a youth room. They were so excited because Sunday afternoon was to be their first service. For now, they will only get to meet once a month.
We moved on to San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission to serve the families there and cooked them dinner. This was a bright spot in the trip. It was like a scene from a television cooking show. I have to say we pulled it off in a proper fashion. We each picked a family and sat with them during the meal. Yes, the same stories, but they had a safe place to stay while getting back on their feet. Tuesday, we had a rest day; it poured rain and was cold. How do you not think about where the homeless street people would go? Wednesday, we started the day with human trafficking awareness training that was very eye opening. The team packed care packages that the After Hours outreach team will pass out to those at risk. We then headed to East LA for poverty training and neighborhood outreach. We shared flyers for LA City Baptist Church Upcoming Trunk or Treat event. As we walked, fake “job” flyers meant to lure teens and exploit them through trafficking were removed from the utility poles. We ended the day packing food bags for the church food pantry and distributing them to families in need. God then sent us the ice cream truck down the street. A sweet ending to a day full of purpose. Thursday, the team hit the streets of Skid Row, sharing the hope of Jesus through street evangelism, offering water and snacks and inviting everyone to the chapel service and lunch at Fred Jordan Mission. In the afternoon we unloaded and sorted food supplies to be used at the mission. That evening, the LA pastor and team had a downtown LA rooftop dinner and commissioning service for our team. The view was stunning. A stark contrast to all we had seen during the week. A reminder that we are the hands and feet of Jesus and should be spreading the gospel. Are you willing to step out of your “Comfort Zone?”
