Combined Sabbath with the isolated brethren from Ladley, Queensland – 5 September 2015
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25.
The 5th of September 2015 was a beautiful Sabbath Day when our Pimpama Church group once again headed out to Laidley to spend a Sabbath day with the isolated members and friends from the Lockyer Valley region. With the intention being to share our usual Sabbath meetings with them, it was an early start by some to travel the 1.5 hours to the Laidley Culture Centre to setup and be ready for the 9:30am Sabbath School bell.
It was wonderful to have all our regular Pimpama members able to attend. We thank God also for the many visitors and friends who came to fellowship with us on that day. With both children and youth making up over 40 in number the Sabbath school, teachers were given a challenging task of leading out in both activities and discussions.
The morning’s study was taken by Bro Jacob D’Souza entitled, “The Workings of The Holy Spirit”, where he enlightened us on the importance of not only listening to what the Holy Spirit says to us but to act on what He is teaching us.
Lunch was a big family affair as per the usual Pimpama spread, with a wonderful variety of flavours from the many cultural backgrounds. From beans and rice, pasta, curries, patties and of course the Big Bowl of Salad, everyone had plenty of physical food to compliment the morning’s spiritual bread. With a number of visitors in attendance, it was also a great opportunity for many to share in discussions and experiences from the many walks of life.
The afternoon program was one of praise and sharing of God given talents in various activities. One of the highlights was the opportunity to have an African Choir from one of the Adventist Churches in Toowoomba come down and share their love of praising God in song with their amazing voices and arrangements. Personally, there is something about African acapella singing which I have always loved, as it expresses a powerful message of hope, joy and unity through its harmonies and arrangements. It was a blessing enjoyed by all in attendance to have heard this singing, and it was wonderful to get to know these African Christian friends after the meeting. Many thanks to Jasmin McMicking (Reyes) for having the connections to make this possible!).
With close of Sabbath came another opportunity to share a delicious fruit and sweets meal with the many who remained for the evening.
We praise God again for not only the beautiful weather he gave us for the day, but for the many blessings we received in this outreach program amongst the Laidley region. These blessings included the free use of this wonderful venue, the many people we got to meet and the safe travelling mercies granted to everyone who came. We pray that God willing we can have the opportunity to do it all again in the near future!
~Fredy Reyes