No, Not Yet!!!

Today is our last day...it was our last day. We are all very very sad. We made some amazing friends: Chantell- one of the twins who plays piano and a mad game of b-ball, Chantee- the other twin who plays drums and also plays some mean b-ball, Keith- the one who wears the skinnys and plays guitar like a beast, Austin- the bass player who always complains about his hamstring, but no really, he's cool, Houston- Austin's younger brother who is SO funny and plays the bongos, Matt- their singing, guitar playing, pianist, Stephanie- Matt and Zach's sister who is just fun, and then of course Zach and Whitney- 2 of the coolest youth leaders I've ever met. Zach has so much energy and has a heart for the lost, as well as a great sense of humor, you gotta have that and Whitney is just sweet and quiet, with a but of quorky-ness. Oh, and we can't forget the pastor and his wife as well as the assistant pastor and his wife.

We've just had a blast this past week. I'm so honored that out of the huge group of people who chose Oregon as their first choice, I got to go, and I think my whole group feels that way too. It has been a blessing to be a blessing to these people and I know God is going to make them grow. We bragged on and on about conference, and some have already said they'll be there. I can't wait now, even more than before!

Well, today was our church service and God was there. In the morning, we had a song service that I got pulled into, and tried to adjust to the way they do things. Their assistant pastor reminds me so much of Henry T. because he is so energetic and full of life and joy. I love it. Every church needs a Henry, and they have theirs. Then Pastor Marshall preached a wonderful sermon, then during alter call, he prayed for the sick. We had legs grow out, eye sight get healed, and broken hearts were mended. This one family was there, and have been going for a while. Their son, who was 24, was stabbed over 20 times and murdered a few months ago. So we prayed for restoration. We then prayed for the dad of the family because his neck had been stiff since 1987. The wife said that she hadn't seen him move it in 5 years and he said that he hadn't have full range in it since 1987. We prayed for him, and he moved his neck! There had also been pain in his shoulder and that disappeared. God is so good! They were estatic, and so were we. They then came again tonight and got baptised, along with their dad. We also prayed for a man with liver problems, people with diabetes, and a man that had broken his neck. I know that God will heal them. They all had so much faith; it amazed me.

For lunch, after trying to figure it out for a while, we went to Wendy's. We then went to the hotel to rest, then got back to the church for practice. We were planning on doing the Cardboard skit, but we didn't have enough people, and some people had requested the "Everything Skit", so without any prep, we did it. We also baptised people, as I said before. Pastor preached, then for alter call, he called down people who wanted to committ themselves to doing God's will, no matter what. Everyone went down and we prayed. After church we headed to Taco Bell to fellowship and eat. We all said our goodbyes :( but we exchanged e-mails to keep in touch.

All in all, this week has been life changing. I'm so honored to have been here. I don't want to leave. I know that God will do so much more in that church. Continue to pray that their hope won't die out, that they'll grow, and for Pastor Tim and Paula in Singapore. I can't wait for conference to see them all again and to hear what's been happening. I know you all feel the same, or I hope so.

We are working on uploading slideshows on youtube from the past few days, so be patient. There are many pics. I hope you all have a good and safe trip home tomorrow. We leave tomorrow, get into Utah, sleep, then leave for CO. We will see you all Wednesday. Until next time,
-Gabby