NTCP Western US: Weekend in Twentynine Palms, CA

We have had an amazing weekend here in Southern California! Saturday morning we met with the Pastor and another man in the church named Bro. Vic and had a time of prayer prior to going out on visitation. We were able to visit many houses and meet many people who live in this area. There were a few people we were able to spend some time speaking with, letting them know about the church and inviting them to come out for a service. We are praying that God will do great things and work in the hearts of these people, that they may come and hear His Word preached. Many people in the Anderson's church are military families, which is awesome. However, this means that most families are only able to be in the church a maximum of three years before they are stationed elsewhere and have to leave. We are praying that God will send some very strong and faithful families who permanently live in this area to be an encouragement to this Pastor and church!

After visitation we were invited to lunch at the Booth families house. We had an amazing lunch and then they took us out to Joshua Tree National Park to do some sight seeing, exploring, and rock climbing! It was so much fun. We climbed up some scary precipices but were rewarded with amazing views. The only scary part is when you get up on top of these huge rocks and the wind starts blowing really hard through there, but it was great for our prayer lives! :) We were able to climb up a mountain and see an amazing view for hundreds of miles. Joshua Tree is a great contrast. You can go from flat plains where you can see or miles, to magnificent mountains, to tree-filled forests, and then back again, all within a five minute drive. It's truly awesome to view God's handiwork and the imagination of our great God. It was so kind of the Booths to drive us all the way out there and patiently deal with our daredevil ways and endless photographs.

The three of us with a Joshua Tree at the top of a mountain in Joshua Tree National Park

If you look very closely, you can see two tiny grey and black specks at the top of the rock in the center of the picture. That is Jen and Rebecca! We climbed our way up the side of the rock wall to get up there.

In a hole in one of the huge rocks

We enjoyed a great Mexican meal out with the Booths after our excursion and then met the Pastor and his family at the church to clean in preparation for the Sunday services. We were able to help vacuum floors, organize chairs, clean bathrooms, and otherwise straighten up to have everything looking as nice as possible for church Sunday.

Sunday was a very wonderful (and very busy) day here. Rebecca and I went first thing that morning to help with the Soldier's breakfast that they hold on base on Sunday mornings. We helped set up food and really enjoyed meeting the Marines and hearing Bro. Booth's Bible study lesson out of Hebrews 1. After the Bible study, we cleaned up and hurried to get over to the church for the morning service. While we were at the base, Hannah had the opporunity to teach Sunday School at the church. She taught the children the Ten Commandments with the motions, and I know they all enjoyed it. In the Sunday morning service, Pastor Anderson asked us to sing and give our testimonies. We would sing a song, give a testimony, sing another song, and so forth. We were very winded and out of breathe when we wished, but we had a great time doing it. I'm so thankful we had a chance to share with this great church a little bit of what God is doing in our lives.

At Freedom Baptist Church, everyone stays together for the song service and then the children split out for Junior Church. I had the amazing privilege of teaching the kids in Junior Church. We sang some fun songs and I shared with them the Bible account of Jonah and the great fish. After the lesson, I talked to them about obedience to God and asked them to give mesome ways they could be obedient to the Lord in their own lives. I know they were listening to Hannah's Sunday School lesson, because they all proceeded to quote the 10 Commandments to me! It was very cute and encouraging. They were all so well behaved and listened so well, and I am so thrilled that I had the opportunity to spend the time with them. Rebecca got to work with the 2 and 3 year olds during the second hour, and she had a great time as well with the children. She taught them about creation, and it was so cute to see all the kids walking around afterwards with their little rubber animals that she had given them.

After church Sunday morning we were invited to what is called the Warrior's Fellowship. It is a Sunday afternoon lunch that they hold for all the single Marines at different church member's houses. This week it was at Mrs. Irene Foster's house, and she cooked an amazing Mexican lunch that everyone enjoyed. The Foster's have a 2 year old little boy, so after lunch we all watched Winnie the Pooh. It was very funny but a great time.

The Sunday evening service was also wonderful. We were able to sing again, and Hannah played the piano for the service and also the special music for the offeratory. After the song service, I was able to help in the nursery with the children 2 and under, and they are such a joy to work with. It is the true that the most fertile ground we will ever find is in the hearts of children. We must never forget or overlook the influence that we can have on eternity just by spending time teaching children to love the Lord. There is a family in the church who will be leaving due to being stationed elsewhere, and after the service we had a fellowship in honor of them (with lots of food, of course, since we are Baptists!) It was encouraging to see the whole church family being together and showing their love for this family that will be moving elsewhere. After the fellowship, it was again time to say goodbye to many people we have come to care for so much. Though we say these goodbyes every week, they do not seem to get any easier. We have had a truly wonderful time here at the Freedom Baptist Church in Twentynine Palms, California, and we are so thankful to the Pastor, his family, and all those who fed us, drove us around, and were such a blessing to us! We know that God will continue to bless this Pastor, this church, and the members here for their faithfulness and love to Him.