Last Friday was an eventful day, following through on a request by a friend to help with a wedding ceremony to be performed in a jail. Jack Shelton, a lay pastor in our church, was asked to do a wedding for a friend who is incarcerated at the Southwest Detention Center in nearby Murrieta (about 50 miles away). When we arrived with the bride in tow, the deputies at the desk were not sure how to deal with a wedding there. After some time, we were finally allowed to go in and use a special room to conduct the ceremony, still with a glass partition separating us from the groom. The irony to all this, was that the lady getting married had an outstanding warrant for a minor vehicle code infraction from several years ago. They let her in to the ceremony, but only after issuing her a citation to appear later to resolve her previous ticket! Wow, what an evening!
On Saturday, I had been asked to conduct a graveside service for a WWII veteran. He was the father of one of our church members named Natalie. I had only met him once, during one of our morning worship services in Riverside, as he and his wife came to church with Natalie. I had a wonderful conversation with him that day after the worship time. He was a good Christian man who imparted his faith and love on to his children and grandchildren. I was honored and blessed to be asked to do his funeral service at the Forest Lawn cemetery in Covina.
This past Sunday, we had a special service as I had invited Pastor George Nelson to come and preach. He is one of our church starters from our congregation. He has been working hard to build a fellowship to meet in the Chatsworh (Los Angeles) area in the past couple of years. There were several from Chatsworth who came with him. In addition, he surprised me with a plaque to thank me and the Vision Plus Church of Riverside for our assistance and support and encouragement. It was a sweet time of fellowship and joy this past Sunday morning!
In the midst of all that I was doing, Crystal and Shawn went out of town for a few days and asked us to watch the grandkids for four nights (Thursday through Monday). They can be a handful, but it is so much fun!
Sondra continues to lead the Tuesday morning Ladies Bible study in the home of one of the church members who lives near the church. They affirm her and tell her how much they are learning in the intimate setting of a home Bible study on the Gospel of John.
Tomorrow, there will be a group going down to the taping of "Let's Make A Deal" in Hollywood. Last year, a lady in our church won a brand new car!
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