Year 3, June 3rd, 2018: The Sunday That No One Will Forget!

Wow, what a Sunday! There's three major parts to it, Benaiah drumming at Shelby St., a visit with Brenton Dickieson from PEI, and the church loses power 1 hr before the 4:30pm service begins!  What a whirlwind day!  Let's see if I can accurately describe it.

Part 1: Benaiah drums at Shelby St.

We knew he was drumming with the big worship band for the satellite campus of Indian Creek at the Shelby St. location.  He has prepared for this big moment for a couple of years now.  Remember, he is a self taught drummer, and got started when a friend on PEI gave him a rubber practice head.  He would then practice on the drums sometimes at the Cornwall church during off hours.  But what has really prepared him for this moment was practicing drums often at the Grandparents' house, playing on the chapel band at school every week, and just listening to the drum lines in songs. And of course he has now played for middle school Crave as well.  We are bursting with pride with how far he's come on his own.  He's actually more self motivated now, not just with drumming, but as a whole, than ever.  He knows what he wants and for the most part, he goes after it.  Not with the same vigor as Grandpa or I, but he's certainly not lazy when it's something he really wants.  And now his end goals are much more mature and exactly where I hoped they would be as he turns 16 tomorrow.  We aren't "done" with him yet, but I am at peace and comfortable with where he's headed in the next couple of years and beyond.  I couldn't have said that even a year ago.

So, that being said, at 9pm last night, I had a thought that we should rearrange our idea of transportation for the day and surprise him at Shelby St.  Let me back up for a moment though.  First, Gary and Leah were gone for the weekend, so we had no help with transportation at all today.  And Jared had committed to going up to Upland, Indiana to help our PEI friend get back to Chicago via Indianapolis (see the second part below).  So, I was on my own with all 4 kids.  Originally, Jared was going to drop off Benaiah at Shelby St. before he went north and I was to go to Franklin Rd as normal for the 11am service.  But, I decided to contact our elementary director and ask if Justin could bow out of his responsibility so we could go to Shelby St.  She said of course he can!  Jared dropped off Benaiah as planned at 7:20am for rehearsal.  Then he went to a restaurant to get breakfast and sneaked back into the 9:15am service so he could a)attend worship and b)see Benaiah.  Benaiah didn't see Jared until halfway through the service.  Yeah!  Then Jared scooted up to Upland to get Brenton.  Meanwhile, the other 3 kids and I got to Shelby St. about 10:45.  I got Keturah off to her classroom and then Justin to his middle school class which he almost missed the sign for!  Abishai refused to go to go to class and stayed in the service the whole time with me.  He did very well, especially when he had paci and blankie and snacks.  I was very impressed with him.  Benaiah did well as far as I could tell. I did take pictures and videos and I hope no one thought ill of me.  We sat in the back for Abishai's sake and so that it would only be obvious to a few people that I was recording Benaiah.  I'll write the rest of my thoughts with the pictures below.

Jared took this picture during the service he attended and sent it to me.

Quietly and neatly enjoying his snacks during the song set.  Then we switched to paci and blankie, which he had off and all all day because of the chaos.

This totally looks like he's actually there in person!  But in fact, it's not!

You see, they have a stationary camera that produces the image on the big screen in the middle at the exact height that he would be in real life.  And you know what? It even sounded like he was there in person!  And then the image on the right is the manual camera that we also see on our screens at the Franklin Rd campus and it's the video that is put up online.  And remember, this IS LIVE, or rather a minute or two delay.  I totally forgot that when I was watching though.  Cool!

Abishai got a little ancy but was only off of the chair once.  Three older people sat right next to us, so I'm super grateful that Abishai was pretty chill.  He never once bothered them.

Take note of what the sermon slides look like here because you'll find out why he couldn't use them at the 4:30pm service.  I think I still have that very same exact WWJD bracelet.  I had many different kinds.  They were just as popular as fidget spinners are today!

The next 9 weeks of sermons is on the Holy Spirit and today was the foundation day.  This illustration of putting alka seltzer, still in its packaging in one cup, and then actually opening it and putting the tablet into the other cup of  water illustrates two churches.  When we believe in Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit.  But we need to actually open him up and allow him to be a part of our lives and change it from the inside out.  We want to be a church where it's obvious that the Holy Spirit is within us.  Jesus walks besides us, but the Spirit is within us.  Gary had told Dan that they should adjust their topics for the summer to the Holy Spirit because every issues that the congregation has and needs a solution for is wrapped up in the Holy Spirit.  Quite a neat insight!

Getting tired of watching Benaiah play.  He said he didn't like it.

Big boy playing with the other big boys and girls.  His basic beats sound very similar, but as far as I can tell, he did what he needed to do.  And for those that don't know, Benaiah teased the tech crew that they brought the glass from Franklin Rd. to Shelby St. just for him.  He says it's much easier to control the loudness of the drums if you cage them up and use mics.  Ok, then, that's fine.  So, maybe Franklin Rd. got a new cage.  Either way, I'm proud of him!

Walking out song after service.  I did see lots of familiar faces, so I was happy.

And because mom is lazy and she knew we would need a quick meal, we bought McDonald's dollar menu.  It took forever and I could have made something at home in the time it took to order and pick up our food.  Next time, we'll park and walk in.

Fries, Mommy, fries!  At least he's not throwing tantrums like he has been all day, even after eating.  Fry store, Mommy, 'Donald's!  Please go to "donald's"

Part 2: Brenton Dickieson visits from PEI

Like I said, Jared was helping with transportation so Brenton could get from his Inklings (or C.S. Lewis, or something like that) conference at Taylor University in Upland, IN, to Chicago. He had been in Chicago and gotten a ride to Upland, but we wanted to help in some way, so this is our way. Jared brought Brenton down to our house in Indianapolis for a few hours, which was more wonderful than I had anticipated. I had no expectations of the afternoon because I knew it would be quick. They got here about 1:30 and left to go to Chicago around 4, so the visit was much longer than anticipated. It was absolutely glorious to have one of my favorite PEI people here. Brenton and Kerri are close friends and they have this unique understanding of ministry and life and well, they are kindred spirits! If you don't remember, Kerri teaches kindergarten at a private school and is a very hands on, loving soul. Brenton is the farm boy turned scholar who is getting his doctorate in C.S. Lewis studies, specically how C.S.Lewis faith, or lack of faith, influenced his writings over the years. I know there's a ton more to it, but it's fascinating to hear Brenton talk about anything. He's one of those deep, out of the box thinkers. He loves to contemplate the impact of culture, loves the college and university environment, and has worked hard at making a living between everything. They've been youth ministers before, he's been an elder before, they've done ministry overseas, and just have the same love of education as we do. They see politics for what it is on both sides of the border. They have one son, Nicolas, who is a year older than Justin and is just as smart as both of them. They are the kind of people that you immediately feel comfortable around. Sigh. I miss them so, so much! We spent the second to last night on PEI sitting around their firepit. They understand how maritime church culture is stuck and what more it could be. And boy are they both have very unique and quirky personalities, too. Brenton is in Indiana and Chicago this past week and this next week because of his research for his doctorate. I think the most extensive collection of C.S. Lewis material is at Wheaton College (?) near Chicago. Anyway, the best part is hearing Brenton's accent. Oh how I miss that maritime accent! His is slightly different than others, but you can hear some of his native tongue.

And finally, the best quote I have of him today was when he said that our house was the most PEI looking house in Indiana. You see, he was talking about how it's older and kind of scabbed together here and there. It's not designed like the newest subdivision homes. And he's right. It's got that older, lived in feel where there's always maintanence to be done. Sigh. That comment made my day! Not to mention how cute Abishai was talking to Brenton the whole time and showing him our house, Mr. Extrovert. Benaiah even said on our way to church that talking with Brenton made him want to visit PEI all the more. See, I'm not the only one who misses it! We will visit within the next 5 years, at least I hope so. But for now, we do our best to keep up with social media from our friends.

Here's a few pictures of Brenton's visit. And then, we all loaded up and headed to church.......

Look at me! Look at me!  Abishai was definitely a show off today with Brenton.

I was sneaky and took some pictures of our visit.  Abishai was the ultimate host.

Talking trees and being the lead maintance guys on their homes.  But they did get to talk about the "big ideas" of church and the world as they drove those many miles together.  A total of 6 hrs I think in the car.  They share a common bond of thinking outside of the box!

Abishai just discovered this trick tonight: let's hold onto the rope and swing!  Check out the video below.

Let's talk about everything.  By the way, I love how Brenton naturally took off his shoes, which is such a normal thing in PEI because of all the sand and rock salt in the winter.  And of course, Jared kept his on, which is very American.  We have spent several visits with Brenton and Kerry in both of our homes, maybe on different future and on PEI, but still, it feels so comfortable.

Benaiah and Brenton got to talk about hockey stuff and the cool platforms Benaiah uses to watch other players play his favorite video game in tournaments.  The conversation included talking about how the players have been forced to learn English, even if it's not their native tongue, so they can participate on the top teams.  But it's ironic because a lot of the games and graphics are produced by those in Asia or elsewhere.  Again, thinking outside of the box, how global culture is affected by something as simple as a video game.  Deep thinkers.

"I come get you bad guys with my potty book, helmet, and excavator, roar!"  Always playing hard!

We let him have some tablet time so we could catch a break from all his talking.  He talked non stop with Brenton and was not shy at all, which is interesting since he was super shy at church today.   Abishai obviously doesn't remember Brenton, but, after Brenton left, I told him that he and Brenton were born on the same Island.  Actually, I know Brenton grew up on PEI and his parents had a farm but sometimes Islanders aren't actually born there.  But then they can't be called native Islanders, even if they have lived there their whole lives.  Anyhow, Abishai and Brenton share a common bond: they are both Canadian!

 

Part 3: The church loses power!

On the way to church, I receive this text from our nursery leaders:

Interesting text to receive as you are driving to church.  It was a fun and crazy evening!

 

Say what?! Jared was going to show Brenton the e2 office, and I was supposed to be in the nursery. Well, we walked in and there were a couple of lights on, but the majority of lights were not on, includin g everything in the sancutary. They had just made the decision to start stepping up chairs in the atrium area and have an acoustic service in the round! No electricity means that we can't check kids into nursery so most of the kids were with their parents in service. And they all did so well! I finally got Abishai to go to nursery with Keturah, so they were both occupied. We just used the visitor nametags so we had some kind of tag number for check in and check out. The funny thing is, the same adult that Abishai used to love, Miss Betsy, was at Shelby St. in the morning in the nursery and then she was there again this evening. He took one look at her both times and hid behind me. I think he's going through a clingy, separation anxiety phase. And that's ok. That's why I kept him with me in the morning, but it was nice to have the break during the 4:30. So, Keturah and Abishai were in the nursery and Justin and I sat through the service. Benaiah sat with Ethan's family during the service. He is at Ethan's house for a sleepover because it's his birthday tomorrow! Happy 16^th birthday!

It was quite a welcome change actually to do the service this way. As the pictures show, the band was in the middle and we could hear them fine. There must have been other singers in the crowd, too, because I heard lots of harmonies. And remember, with no power, you can't have mics for anyone, including the pastor! But we all were able to hear everything without excessive shouting. I think the songs were different, but the message was 95% the same. He used the same illustrations even when he couldn't bring any verses or slides up on the screen. But man oh man. To actually hear the voices of the people around you versus just the band was awesome! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE our normal worship stuff, but it was just so neat to see that we could worship even when things changed so rapidly. I did feel a little chaotic as I was taking pictures and videos of this fun impromptu acoustic set.

Esepcially at the end when I collected the kids, a dad and son were baptized in the dark, and then having to whiz off to drop Justin at his middle school pool party at the Chick Fil A's owner's house. He had a blast! It was a difficult drop off because it was a single lane driveway. It's a huge propety but the youth leaders weren't quite prepared for the onslaught of cars. But they quickly figured out a solution and have plans to make it better next time. Abishai fell asleep on the way there, stayed asleep as I carried him inside, and was still sleepy and sleeping on our way back to pick up Justin. Then they all stayed up until 10pm because Mommy had a mini crisis with some chemicals. Thankfully, Abishai wasn't difficult to put down tonight. Usually I have great difficulty with him when Jared's gone. I did set a timer and said he couldn't have the tablet until it went off and that worked! He still asked for it, but when timer went off, he knew what it was for. Hm,...I bet this will work for potty training, too.

Jared is due to arrive around 1am, so I'll wrap this up here. Enjoy!

Everybody got to work quickly setting up chairs and finding acoustic instruments including an acoustic bass guitar!  Sweet!  BTW, those chairs match the ones at Shelby St. and were used in "the box" which was our extra sanctuary until they turned into the Kidustrial Park area.  Indian Creek is a very frugal church.

It was promotion Sunday in Kidustrial Park and the other student ministries, so they already had balloons to celebrate it.  That means that everyone moves up to the grade they will be in the fall.  So, they placed the balloons here and that's where Dan stood for the sermon.

Quick thinking on the worship team's part.  And they sounded awesome!

Grandpa's mini me pulled out his pen and his calculators.  Sorry, Grandpa, if you find your desk a mess.  And, he actually said a lot of the numbers as he was pressing them!  Say what?!  You are a genius kid!  I probably won't need to teach you much because you are so observant and absorb everything around you.

Nearly ready.

Panaroma shot from our point of view closest to the nursery in front of the ladies's room, which had electricity!

Worship in the round!

Check this out from amove!  How cool is this?!

It sounded amazing!

We are a family and we are in this together.  Way to go, Church!

Dan's voice projected well.  We could easily here him from our spot.  I did hear more laughter at his jokes than I normally do and some groans when people couldn't open their phone's Bible app because the wifi was down, which also means I couldn't communicate with Benaiah.  He immediately went backstage to help when we got to church, although he was off duty.

I totally forgot that those files are humongous and because of having no wifi, I nearly maxed out our data plan!  Whoops!  I was just super excited to share the goings on with Gary and Leah, who were on their way back to the area as it all happened.  Poor Jared probably had so many dings on his phone as he tried to drive.

Justin had no clue what this was! Wow! Generation gap!

I wasn't the only one taking videos and pictures!  Lots of tech guys/staff were getting clips of the service.  Even Dan took a video!

When everyone pitches, you can set up and tear down quickly!

One little boy who just couldn't stay awake any longer.  I let him sleep, and put him back in the van.

Where he slept until we picked up Justin.

Yeah fro new hand me downs!  What do you think? The shirt is the tank I bought at Old Navy.  Old rubber brown shoes.  The pants are a tad big, but I love the style, color, and length.  The jacket was perfect!  I'm keeping both!  I only have 500 other clothes to go through thanks to a very, very, generous friend!

 Bonus Part:

I was trying to clean up this so I put extremely toxic chemicals into a spray bottle so I could coat the tub more evenly.  This is the before shot.

I guess I don't remember much from chemicstry because I should have believed the precautions on this bottle and used gloves.  One drop spilled on my had, I felt a tinge of burning sensation, and then started panicking when I looked up what to do abut it. Four hours later after rinsing my hand for 25 minutes and using Epsom salts for 15 minutes, I don't have any pain, but I'm super hyped up and have no idea if my other symptoms are from anxiety or the poison.  I even contacted my friend on PEI who has a doctorate in chemistry and she was very concerned as well.  I think I'm going to be ok.  But please pray because this next week is very full of activities again.  Then things will slow down a bit.

 Tomorrow is a new day and I'm not sure if it can top all the excitement of today.  Stay tuned!