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Volunteers unload food truck for local groups

By Staff reports

lakenewsonline.com

Posted Mar 02, 2010 @ 06:30 AM

Last update Mar 02, 2010 @ 11:37 AM

Osage Beach, Mo. —

When all was said and done, nearly 200 volunteers turned out to lend a hand to those in need in a community-wide event spearheaded by Faithbridge Church in Osage Beach. 
The goal was to partner with Feed the Children to distribute food to as many agencies and families as possible. 
When the trucks loaded with the supplies arrived Saturday, there was no shortage of help as volunteers dispersed the food and sent it on its way. 
While some of the food and hygiene supplies will stock the shelves of food pantries, other supplies will be handed out through the Buddy Backpack programs at schools. 
The response was incredible, according to Faithbridge Senior Pastor Buck Cueni-Smith. 
Everyone was ecstatic with the outcome, he said. From the volunteers who showed up to unload the trucks to the others who were at the seven locations where the supplies were sent, everyone really helped out.
The food program was made possible through the church’s 2009 Christmas offering.  
“This was a service project people would really get involved with,” Cueni-Smith said. 

About the  drive 
Faithbridge is partnering with the international hunger relief organization Feed the Children to provide the items for the Food Drop.  
Other groups volunteering with the loading included Lake Ozark Fire Protection District, Kiwanis, Boy Scouts, Big Brothers and Rotary.   
The following organizations and neighborhood groups will help coordinate food distribution to individual families, in addition to receiving food for their own kitchens and pantries:
Eldon Eldon Food Pantry
Lake Ozark Hope House
Osage Beach School of the Osage
Camdenton Camdenton Schools, Lamb House, Citizens Against Domestic Violence
Greenview/Sunrise Beach  Share The Harvest
The Food Drop was timed this year for the tough months of January and February, when donations typically drop off and the need is greatest. 

About the church
Faithbridge Church is a new church. It is a ministry of the United Methodist Church.
Faithbridge meets every Sunday at 9:45 a.m. All are welcome to check it out, a membership not needed and no perfect people allowed. 
The idea behind the name, Faithbridge, is that the members want to bridge the gap between God to People, People to God, and People to People. Faithbridge’s worship is provided through scripture, music, media, and drama performances. The church also provides childcare via the Children’s Ministry, which has a program for children infant and older. 
Location 885 College Blvd, Osage Beach, MO, 65065
Phone 573-348-9454
Mon-Thurs: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sun: 8:30-11 a.m.
ONLINE www.faithbridgelakechurch.com

Good Press, Again!

This article was written in THE LAKE TODAY newspaper.  I thought it was worth sharing.  Once again, good press for Faithbridge.

Church, music ‘Come Together’

Beatitudes use Beatles’ songs to minister to wider audience

By Deborah Wolfe 
The Lake Today 

    “A lot of people put up the manger scene after Christmas and write the message of Jesus’ birth off as a cute story,” Faithbridge church Pastor Buck Cueni-Smith said, “but the birth of Jesus started a revolution and the Beatitudes are not only the way Christ lived his life but also the way he expected us to follow him." 
    Cueni-Smith was referring to the fact that many people don’t realize the Christmas season continues long after the giftwrap and garland are put away. In the coming weeks, Faithbridge church will recognize this process by incorporating Christ’s teachings in the Beatitudes with the music of the Beatles. 
    This may seem like an odd combination to some, but Cueni-Smith believes popular music can help people grasp the meaning of sometimes difficult Biblical teachings. 
    “The 12 days of Christmas are actually the 12 days after Christmas with Jan. 6 marking the epiphany, which is the beginning of Lent,” Cueni-Smith explained. “Epiphany literally means ‘to make known’ or ‘to reveal’ and our goal is to make Christ teachings known through the music of our culture.” 
Common thread 
    The idea of combining the message of the Beatitudes with the music of the Beatles came to Cueni-Smith after attending a performance of “Let it Be Christmas” at a fellow church. Taking a deeper look at the lyrics of other classic Beatles tunes, he found a common thread in the messages he felt could help him reach a broader audience. 
    “There is a Christian calendar that is established to go through the process of awakening,” Cueni-Smith said. “By incorporating Christ’s message with popular music, it magnifies our ability to enlighten a larger and more diverse group of people.” 
    This past Sunday’s introduction to the Beatitudes was supplemented by the tunes “Let it Be,” “Help” and “Revolution.” Cueni-Smith believes the story of Christ birth was the beginning of a revolutionary life that modern-day people should model their own lives after. 
    “People at that time were praying for a warrior king, but what God did in sending this little baby was revolutionary,” Cueni-Smith said. “God built a bridge through an infant in the complete opposite way that took everyone by surprise.” 
    Just as the song “Help” recognizes that you can’t do it by yourself, Cueni-Smith stressed the church should play a central role in assisting members of the community regardless of their religious beliefs. Through Faithbridge, he hopes to take the church back to being a center for community activities and he recently offered the use of the church as a shelter to families in need of refuge from the bitter winter weather. 
    “I like to wear out buildings,” Cueni-Smith said. “We have showers here and plenty of space for people in need. The church should be the hub of a community.” 
Entertainment Meets Ministry 
    Services and activities that combine ministry with entertainment play an important part in releasing people from the fear of entering a church full of foreboding and forbidding. While Faithbridge stays true to its Christian mission, Cueni-Smith said they try to keep the atmosphere relaxed and welcoming. 
    “Because church has gotten complicated some people are intimidated to go to a church building,” he explained. “We’re trying to produce events for the community that people won’t feel threatened that they are going to be preached at or judged.” 
    The church’s initial outreach attempt began in 2009 with a blues jam held on the Longest Night also known as Blue Christmas to recognize people who have lost loved ones through death, divorce or separation, those who are lonely and those who incurred a job loss or suffer from seasonal affective disorder. 
    Other activities have helped the young church rapidly build its open-door reputation throughout the Lake Area. 
    “We had an overwhelming turn out for our hog roast that included entertainment by a blue grass band,” Cueni-Smith recalled with a laugh. “And even though it rained during our drivein movie night, we had about 20 cars in the parking lot with people watching ‘Herbie the Love Bug.’” 
    Whether it takes Beatles tunes to teach the Beatitudes or 
employing the creative talents of tattoo artists to render chalk drawings of Christian tattoos they have etched in their customer’s skin, Cueni-Smith vows to continue to find innovative ways to reach out to the Lake community. 
    “It’s about being culturally relevant as a church,” Cueni-Smith said. “But we are committed to producing programs that will bring the outside world in.” 
    He stressed that music will always play a pivotal role in bringing seekers to Faithbridge. 
    “If you have an excellent music ministry, the preaching can be simply adequate and you will still get the message across,” Cueni-Smith said downplaying his abilities as a preacher. 
Concept Context 
The Beatitudes series began Sunday and will continue through the first Sunday in February. Though the concept has been well-received by most congregants, Cueni-Smith admits to a bit of consternation about a long-ago comment made by former Beatle John Lennon claiming the Beatles were more popular than Christ. Although later reports agreed Lennon’s remark was taken out of context, Cueni-Smith’s time spent as a circuit minister with the British Methodist Church outside of Birmingham, England, impressed upon him the enormous effect the group had on the English culture and left him wondering how the world would change if the church could have the same impact. 
“My biggest controversy with the Beatitudes series is from Christians because of Lennon’s remark but that was taken out of context and in a way he was right,” Cueni-Smith said. “If the church could gain the popularity that the Beatles had in England at the height of their fame, we could rival that comment.” 
More information about the Beatitudes through the songs of the Beatles and other Faithbridge sponsored events can be found online at www.faithbridgelakechurch.com or by calling the church office at 573-348-9454. 

FAITHBRIDGE CHURCH 
    For more information about the Beatitudes or Faitbridge events:     
• www.faithbridgelakechurch.com 
• Church office: 573-348-9454

    COURTESY OF BUCK CUENI-SMITH 
Beatitudes band members Mark McPheeters on guitar (left) and Larry Cox on bass (center) provide rhythmic background to Urban Poet Jeremy Shields as he raps to the congregation during the Beatitudes sermon series at Faithbridge Church in Osage Beach on Sunday.

Married 15 years, Pastor Buck Cueni-Smith moved to the Lake Area in 2009 to develop programs at the new Faithbridge church. The couple has 11-year-old twin daughters and a 6-year-old son.

Totally Overwhelmed With the Season

No apologies for not blogging these last several months. We have been having fun.  My last post was a video trying not only to brighten your spirits, but also to brighten my own.  October was brutal for Faithbridge Church. We expected attendance numbers to dip after the tourist season here at the lake, but we didn’t expect it to be cut in half. We started to question, pull data, and make excuses.

Then November came.  Oh my, where did they all come from.  And not just the ones coming to “check us out.”  People came that like what they saw and wanting to go deeper in to what are vision stands for. New contributors were added weekly.  People bringing friends and spreading the news about Faithbridge Church.

In November, we supplied Thanksgiving Dinner for 15 families.  The groceries signup was filled after the first Sunday it was announced.  A far cry from last year when we had to take money out of the budget to buy groceries for each basket.  Then in December, we did it again, but we also provide a weeks worth of groceries to feed the family while school was out.

During this time we started talks with an organization named FeedtheChildren.org.  We decided to set our Christmas Offering goal at $5000. If we were to reach this goal, it would purchase about 75% of a semi-truck full of food.  Feed the Children was founded in 1979 by Larry and Frances Jones, the mission of Feed The Children is to deliver food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty or natural disaster. Since their founding, Feed The Children has shipped food and relief supplies and other essentials to children and their families in all 50 states and 119 countries, supplementing almost 800,000 meals each day. 

We became a truck sponsor on December 15. Truck sponsorship allows Faithbridge Church to sponsor a truckload of food, personal care items and other necessities to children and families in need. Each truck sponsorship delivers 400 boxes of food, 400 boxes of personal care items, and 400 boxes of Avon products. The food, hygiene and Avon boxes are individually packaged for convenient distribution and contain a wide variety of essential items such as canned vegetables, pasta, soup, lotion, soap, etc. We need Individuals, businesses, schools and other community groups to partner with us. After the Christmas offering goal of $5000 we are asking to community to make up the rest of the $8,100, that underwrites the cost of transportation for an entire semi-truck of pre-boxed product and see our community changed for the better.  I’ll come back to this later.

Another overwhelming thing, was that we were overran with cookies.  Last year one of our members, E.G., thought about sending cookies to all the police stations, Sherif post, EMT and fire stations, and the hospital to spread cheer to all that have to work Christmas.  This year, after 26 people baked 3-5 dozen each we added nursing homes and the toll booths on the toll bridge.  It was wonderful to see people get involved in this outreach and we delivered the cookies after the Christmas Eve Service.

Which brings be to Christmas Eve. Last year our Christmas Eve service was our “come and see”. Now that we opened in May we had no idea what to do and how many people would show up. To find out what we did go to www.faithbridgelakechurch.com. It was a great and awesome experience that 160 people enjoyed. During the service we took an offering for our Christmas offering.  This brings us back to the Feed the Children Food Truck.

With still one more Sunday to collect on the Christmas offering we have collected $6100.  Once again I was brought to tears.  God is good and he is doing something with Faithbridge Church in the Lake Community.  I wonder what 2010 will be like.  Thank God and Thanks to all!

FYI-New Church Start Media

Invite to the Grand Opening

Here is a tool that can help you invite people to the Grand Opening of Faithbridge Church in Osage Beach, Missouri. http://impactsites.org/?sid=jbh9k9n5m5mcg21jj101 

On this E-vite, you see our times and dates. There is also a place that you can contact us, but the most important part of this e-vite card is the "tell a friend" section.  Go ahead you can do, everybody is doing it, go ahead do it!  No peer pressure.  Just do it!  Invite. Thanks.

is it true: Even bad press is good press?

"The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about."

— Oscar Wilde

"There's no such thing as bad press, dude. Just ask Charles Manson."

— Dave, Code Monkeys

"In other words, I drew a weird, confusing cartoon that no one got and that wasn't funny, and went on to even greater fame and fortune. I love this country."

Gary Larson, about "Cow Tools"

As the saying goes, there's "no such thing as bad press". The reasoning is that even if people are trying to raise a big stink about how some work is immoral, incorrect, offensive, or corrupting the youth of the world, they're still giving it attention and increasing how well-known it is.

Technically, there is such a thing as bad press: For example, if it turns out a car model or another product has a flaw that endangers the lives of everyone who uses them, and this is highly publicized, the amount of people buying it is going to steeply drop.

Latley the press that Faithbridge has been getting has all been good.  Even the press coverage on the car driving into the church helped create a healthy buzz about the church.

First of all, let me say that I think that this article in a local paper is good press.  I do think it is not a very good picture of me (but consider what he had to work with) and it is way too big (3/4 of the page).   Second, how in this day and age get a full page?  If I would have paid for this, it would of cost a pretty penny. If you would like to read the article you can click on the picture and read it.

You are United Methodist, aren't you?

The choice to go with the name Faithbridge Church and not Faithbridge United Methodist Church did not happen without a debate. One reason for leaving out United Methodist was that there was no denominational preference in this area.  People ask what the denomination is, but they really don't care.  People here go where they feel comfortable and where they are excepted. Moving to an area and finding the closest church of your denomination are of an era gone by.

Another reason is that we are a re-start.  The previous church used United Methodist and branded the logo (cross and flame) on everything.  We neededa disconnect with the previous church, not with our denomination. A logo was created to take on the identity of the church, and not with our denomination.  Apparently, this dicision has created a larger debate.

Below is a reprint of an  article posted earlier this month in the Wesley Report. I'd love your comments...

By Shane Raynor

If you visit the web site for Granger Community Church, you might browse through page after page without realizing that Granger is a United Methodist congregation. The only indicator I was able to find was a note on a time line a few pages in. If you click on 1988, you'll see that Granger received a United Methodist charter that year. GCC's Wikipedia entry, however, confirms that it is indeed a "United Methodist megachurch" and notes a weekend attendance range between 5,000 and 9,000.

Granger is just one among many churches in our connection that don't emphasize (or even outright avoid) the United Methodist name, logos and branding in their church identity and marketing. Other churches use "A United Methodist Congregation" or something similar as their tag line, but even that often shows up only one font size larger than the church sign manufacturer's name.

Clayton Childers is troubled by this. In a recent essay for the UM Reporter, Childers writes:

From an outreach standpoint, it is hard to explain, let alone justify. People who do branding studies have found that United Methodist is one of the top two religious “brands” in the U.S. It has also been determined that our denomination’s logo, the cross and flame, is one of the most readily recognized symbols.

I'm a loyal United Methodist, but this trend of churches "running away" from the UMC brand doesn't really bother me. Here's why. If denominations were cola drinks, the UMC would be Pepsi. We're number two, but our sales are going down. Number one is Coke (Southern Baptist Convention) but the last time I checked, Coke's sales were going down, too. (And the SBC's attendance has reached a plateau or maybe even decreased. I can't find the latest figures.)

So how have the big cola companies dealt with their flagship brands falling out of favor? They've developed new soft drink brands, including sports drinks and bottled water. Pepsi and Coke have broadened their corporate focus from a single brand of cola to multiple beverage brands. In our denomination, our "product" is ultimately not the United Methodist Church, it's the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Please forgive me for these marketing analogies. I understand that Jesus isn't a consumable product or brand name.) If Pepsi and Coke had gone into "protection mode" years ago when they were losing sales to specialty beverages and sports drinks, that would have been an unwise move, and soft drink sales surely would've continued to decline. Instead, Pepsi and Coke developed their own "competing" brands and products. They adapted to market conditions.Today Gatorade is owned by Pepsi, and Coke has its own Powerade sports drink.

Starbucks bought competitor Seattle's Best five years ago, but instead of converting Seattle's Best stores to Starbucks stores, it made SB a subsidiary and kept the SB name. Some people who don't like Starbucks probably frequent Seattle's Best and Starbucks is cool with that because their product is coffee and they're fulfilling their mission (which is presumably to sell all of the coffee they can.) Starbuck's isn't being dishonest or misleading, but they're also not using the tag line "a Starbucks subsidiary" in their Seattle's Best branding. In the same way, UM churches that play down the UM name and branding aren't necessarily being disloyal or rejecting United Methodism, they're just trying to expand their reach! Some people are prejudiced against all denominations, and some others just may not have a good impression of United Methodism.

In his Reporter article, Rev. Childers discusses the cross and flame logo and the "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors" slogan:

...the positive response to our “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” advertising is paying dividends. People are identifying the church with the positive, hopeful message portrayed in the ads.
...
I love our cross and flame logo. It says so much in its simplicity. When I see it, I see a church centered on the love of Christ expressed supremely on the cross and the living power of the Spirit expressed in the flame.

I'm not sure the ad campaigns are as effective as we've been led to believe. How many years have we used "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors"? And how much have we grown during that time? I'm not trying to be difficult here, I'm just suggesting that perhaps it's time for something fresh. Maybe a slogan that includes Jesus Christ somehow.

I love the cross and flame logo too, but let's not assume that everyone knows what it means. I've had a number of minority teenagers in my youth ministry over the years ask me why we have a burning cross on the side of our church building. Think about that for a minute. For everyone who had the courage to ask me that, I'm sure there were others who quietly wondered the same thing.

My pastor sometimes says that he isn't interested in making more Methodists, he wants to make more Christians. By saying that, he's not putting down the UMC, he's just setting priorities. Let's not forget why we're here.

I say "Go, Granger." I wish we had a few hundred more UM churches just like it.

If you are interested, I can give you Mark Beeson's, pastor at Granger, comments on the article.  Happy reading.

Does Christmas Equal Congestion?

Congestion is very frustrating.

It does not take empirical research to validate the casual observation that people hate Christmas shopping traffic. You can see it on their faces. You can see it on the gripped steering wheels. You can see it by the certain hand motions offered to other drivers. I heard that the Sunday after Thanksgiving it took drivers 4 hours to get to Columbia from St. Louis.  With the price of gas down from a year ago, more people will be out driving this Christmas.

Congestion during Christmas is painful. The flow of traffic is stopped. People creep along at a snail's pace. The roads were not designed to handle that many people at one time. There is nowhere for all the cars to go. So everyone sits and waits. Do I dare mention parking lot?

Head or chest congestion is also a nuisance. You can see it on the somber faces of those struggling to breathe. When you have congestion, your day seems longer than normal. Your head or chest hurts. You don't feel like talking because you sound funny.

Congestion in the head or chest prevents movement. The movement of air is hampered because of congestion. Your head or chest is full of stuff that is not supposed to be there. Mucus, phlegm, and junk clog your body. The extra stuff prevents your sinuses from functioning properly. Congestion stinks.

Many churches are congested. Spiritual movement is stifled. The building of lives is slowed. And these congested churches are filled with the same people. We are not referring to the absence of new people, although that is telling as well. We are referring to people staying the same. Unchanged. Unmoved. When I came to this re-start, I found that the previous church was congested. Not only with personal growth, but the building was packed with stuff.  There was more rooms used as storage, than there was space for people to use.

We are talking about people not being transformed. Week after week, year after year, many people are the same. The building project of people's lives is stalled. Stagnant believers and congested churches go hand in hand.

Sadly, in many churches people are stuck in the same place spiritually. And there is no intentional process to move them.

The Bible paints a different picture of spiritual growth. According to Scripture a believer's life is to be transformed more and more. People are not supposed to be the same. There is to be progression, movement.

The first thing I did was remove the clutter.  The worship center was cleared of all the extras: extra chairs in the corners (just waiting for people to fill them), the chancel area (pulpit, 8 foot communion table, throng-like chairs, plants (mostly silk and very fake looking). I did this for two reasons: 1) to show the congregation that stayed that we were starting over and 2) from now on things were going to me simple.

Our churches should be filled with people who are becom�ing. Becoming more like Christ. Becoming more loving and joyful. Becoming. Being transformed.

    

 

Some of you have asked about our nursery renovation.  (left) Parent check in.  (right) Nursery.  This came about because of a few Sundays with 16 children in half of the space   of this nursery. 

 

 

 

 

Talk about congestion

The Church as the Body of Christ

When Paul wrote his First Epistle to the church at Corinth, he described that congregation as "the body of Christ" (12:27). While many people use that expression today to broadly describe the relationship between all Christians in the world, Paul used it in the context of a local church. The ideas of the Body of Christ and team ministry help us recognize the importance of functioning as a cohesive team. Unfortunately, the church at Corinth had many problems that needed to be addressed, but the consistent emphasis of the entire Epistle was that they unite together with common purpose and func�tion as a healthy Body to serve Christ.

When writing the Romans from Corinth, Paul used the body as a metaphor to recognize individuality within the lo�cal church. "We have many members within one body, but all the members do not have the same function" (12:4). Some people wrongly believe conformity is the key to church unity. Paul taught the Corinthian church they should be united in purpose of heart, while recognizing diversity among the members in service (1 Cor. 12:12-31).

The diversity of the Body should encourage everyone to find his or her place on the ministry team. Some Christians believe they cannot serve God because they can't do ministry like others. Paul reminded the Corinthians the foot is not eliminated from the body because it is not a hand (v. 15). He referred to other body parts to demonstrate that diversity was necessary within a healthy Body. When a member fails to serve as God intended, the whole Body is disabled (v. 17).

While people have various reasons for not getting in�volved in ministry, Paul reminded the Corinthians that ulti�mately "God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased" (v. 18). God uses job transfers, the spiritual needs of your family, the invitation to get involved, your interest in a particular church ministry, or your pastor's current preaching series to accomplish His purpose.

When we recognize we are part of Christ Body, we cannot ignore God's purpose in adding each member to the Body. "The eye cannot say to the hand, `I have no need of you'; nor again the head to the feet, `I have no need of you" (v. 21). Sometimes, the most important parts of our human body are those we notice least. The same phenomenon can be true within a local church (vv. 22-23). God needs everyone; God needs you.

While much of Paul's discussion of the church as a Body focuses on the role of individual church members, he was al�so careful to identity the supremacy of Christ in the local church. He described Christ as "the head of the body." one practical ramification of that title of Christ is "that in all things He may have the preeminence" (Col. 1:18). This view was not that of Paul alone. When addressing a particular problem in another church, the apostle John described the particular individual responsible for the problem as one "who loves to have the preeminence among them" (3 John 9).

The ultimate goal of the Body is that it functions in a healthy way. While many churches struggle to build a healthy spirit of fellowship in their church, Paul saw ministry as a key to creating strong relational bonds within a congre�gation. In his Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul described the Body as "joined and knit together by what every joint sup�plies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share." When the Body is healthy and functions as God intends, that "causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love" (4:16).

What I Realize:

1.      One of the greatest privileges in life is being part of a min�istry team that is planting a church.

2.      I cannot do everything in ministry, so I must rely on oth�ers to help me in ministry as I assist them.

3.      I will be more accountable in ministry when I am part of a ministry team.

4.      I recognize the unity of the Body of Christ when I serve with others in a ministry team.

5.      I will grow in character and spirituality when I become a part of a ministry team, and in return, I will help others grow in Christ.

What you can realize:

1.      Church planting will be more effective when ministry teams made up of many Christians who represent many spiritual gifts are involved in beginning the church.

2.      Churches will develop the character and spirituality of their members by involving them in church planting ministry teams.

3.      Churches planted by an effective ministry team tend to be stronger, and their future tends to be more secure.

4.      After a church is planted by a ministry team, it will re�main strong by the continual ministry of small groups.

Spontaneity!

This Saturday I was sitting in my typical place, my lawn chair watching one of four soccer games, when I received a call from one of my parishioners.  I was asked if I was available to perform a wedding.  I said sure and asked when.  They said today.  Apparently a couple came to the Lake of the Ozarks thinking that there would be a wedding chapel down here like Las Vegas or Hot Springs.  The groom was found banging on church doors and pulling over police officers (should that be the other way around?) to try and get a home number of a local Judge to marry them.   Needless to say, churches were locked up tight and the police have been trained not to give out judges home numbers.   After a few questions (like do they have a marriage license?, is this an immigration thing?, and is there a male and a female), I offered the couple my phone number to call me.

What made me want to write about this is the outstanding hospitality that was offered by four parishioners.  Not only did they take time to help this couple, they stood up with them in the service and signed the marriage license as witnesses.  But it when beyond that, they brought a cake, glasses, punch and gifts for the couple.  They gave them a mini-reception.  All totaled in attendance...seven.

A wonderful friend gave me a plaque that I hang in my office as a reminder.  It reads,  “Assumptions are the mother of all screw ups.” It was an assumption that there would be a wedding chapel at the Lake of the Ozarks. Another is that churches are open on Saturday.  

What I took away from this is that we are surrounded by assumptions. We are assumptions.  God assumed that we would (fill in the blank)___________ .  We assume that everything will turn out alright.  I believe that God works despite of assumptions.  On Saturday,  God worked through four people to overcome assumptions.  What if no one would of helped this couple?  They planned a special weekend and got it despite assumptions.  They actually got more than they planned, because of God’s people caring for the stranger.  Congratulations, Marcel and Tasha!

And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me. Matthew 25:40