I’ve been accused over the past couple of weeks of having no faith. It was said repeatedly that I was “concerned” that we wouldn’t be able to pull off a big potluck dinner here at Legacy. Technically, it never was concern or lack of faith. I was merely offering reminders and challenges to a group of people who hadn’t done anything like we were asking in at least seven or eight years.

Wow!

We do know how to do a potluck at Legacy!

EnoughFood   Eating   MoreEating 

We overwhelmed each other and our guests from Detroit at last night’s dinner. Tables and tables of food, casseroles and desserts, salads and breads, cakes and pies, crockpots and pie pans. What a feast! The green bean casserole requirements were met as were the banana pudding clauses. More than enough food. And every bit of it was wonderful. What a blessing to be able to sacrifice and to share with others what God has used to bless us. The fellowship and the visiting and the atmosphere was absolutely perfect. It just felt like one huge family. It is one huge family!

RochesterCollegeACappellaChorusAnd then the concert by the Rochester College A Cappella Chorus just blew us away. They wowed us with several powerful and complex 16th and 17th century hymns arranged by the likes of Johannes Brahms and Antonio Estevez. They inspired us with familiar traditional American choral classics such as “Ride On, King Jesus!” And they got us snapping our fingers and tapping our toes to a few African-American spirituals like “Same Train” and “Ezekul Saw De Wheel.” It’s such a blessing to see how GodNearly300Attendance has gifted these students with such beautiful voices and amazing talents. And so inspirational to see and hear them use those gifts to the glory of our Father.

(Separated at birth: Rochester Chorus Director Joe Bentley and our very own John West)

Joe&John

 Dawn&JessicaWe were honored to host a couple of the students, Jessica and Dawn, for two nights at Stanglin Manor. We got home after the concert at about 9:30 last night and sat down to watch the Stars-Red Wings Game Three. We DVRd it. So, flipping through the commercials and intermissions, we still finished it by around 11:30. Of course, Dawn came downstairs to the living room wearing her Red Wings shirt. So Whitney, naturally, ran back up to her room and emerged in a couple of minutes wearing her Stars shirt and Stars pajama pants. We enjoyed a lot of good natured back-and-forth ribbing and taunting for the first HockeyGals30-minutes. But once Dallas gave up that breakaway goal 37-seconds after tying the game at 1-1, it was over. The Red Wings are clearly the better team. Jessica and Dawn were gracious winners. I’m not so sure about Calvin and some of the other guys in the chorus who were taunting me with Red Wings chants before and during dinner and with broom-sweeping motions from the back of the auditorium while I was trying to close us out with a prayer.

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Brian&JasmineHere are a few pictures from Brian and Jasmine’s wedding last weekend in Marble Falls. Two super-sweet kids. Two great and godly families. And tons of catching up with a bunch of wonderful friends. Does a wedding count if a youth minister performs the ceremony? As always, click on the pic to get the full size.

TwoFamilies  David&ZaneHorsingAroundDuringPics DownTheAisle JimmyShayMitchell

Hooking up with the three Burdett girls, Morgan and Madison and Meredith, was the highlight of the trip for our gals.

SixGirls   AtWedding 

And praise God for the Calderon family! What a tremendous blessing they are to all of us at Legacy! Manuel and Yvina are working with our Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters here. They are both generous and sacrificial servants for our Lord and his Kingdom. And they and their two precious daughters are in our Stanglin-Bonner small group. And we were all blessed when Manuel baptized their oldest child, Sofia, into Christ in front of the entire body of believers here Sunday morning. Congratulations, Sofia! We love y’all!

Sofia’sBaptism Manuel&Sofia Sofia

 Peace,

Allan