Back in the Habit

Well so I am back. It’s been a long time coming but I feel that it is only right that I continue to post my literary soufflés to you. Happy New Year and welcome to the month of Love and Black History.

This post will service both as a brief recap and prelude. Last year I visited quite a few churches and I vow to visit a total of 50 by summer’s end.

In November on my trip to New York, shout-out to my home skillet Kristia, my sister and I celebrated the sabbath at Kingsboro SDA Temple. It was indeed a great day. The vibe was so awesome and the spirit was moving. The warmth of the church was no competition for the windy gusts outside. After taking the subway and walking a few blocks we finally found the church and were seated right in the nic of time. The friendly greeter reminded me that I should hide my map of the City if I wanted to blend in with my surroundings. We shared a laugh, as we made our way to the sanctuary, our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. It was the visitor’s corner and guests were being welcomed with a hospitality gift bag. It was community guest day. My sister hailed a usher in a hot second. I guess it was because of all the practice we’ve had hailing cabs on the street ( they always passed us, anyway). we were swiftly escorted to some seats in the front. The service was electric and everyone was inviting and pleasant. The praise and worship team was focused and intense. they really engaged the congregation and I was in a worship zone that lifted me really close to the throne of grace. I was still standing with my eyes closed long after the music had stopped. The children’s choir did an adorable rendition of” Who is like the Lord” and there was even a solo song by an African songstress. New York’s Senator Adams  gave a riveting address that left everyone anticipating a great change. The senior Pastor of Kingboro gave a powerful sermon. Mixed with humor and strong message. It was such a pleasant service and the potluck was the cherry one top. We met some new people and I was quite refreshing. We hailed a cab to our next loaction. And met up with the best Adventist chica in NYC, Kristia. All and all I fully enjoyed my sabbath in New York.

2014 will be a year of new adventure and promise. I will make it my mission to color outside the lines at all time. Pray for me yall.

Our next stops: Miami Temple …FEB 15 for Red Core week! Join me its gonna be bananas

                               JCI4                  …FEB 22 Youth World Prayer Conference – www.jci4.org *register now

Church #15

Church: Plantation SDA Church        Plantation, Fl

Date: October 5, 2013

Speaker:Marquis Alexis

 

Early morning service! Yikes. We decided to venture off to Plantation S.D.A Church 9 am Service. To my surprise it was Children’s Day. Since we’ve been playing a sort of Russian Roulette ,I knew it was only a matter of time before the Children’s Day Bullet hit us. But I must say that I was delighted and blessed.

Everyone was friendly, including the people in the parking lot. This was a pleasant surprise. Too often do we come to church mean mugging yet and still anticipating a blessing.We all should tap into the joy of the Lord being our strength button. 

 

We entered the foyer and a bright and friendly usher gave me a hug and bulletin. There was a beautiful flower arrangement in the lobby .

The service hadn’t started yet. So we sat  and just enjoyed the quiet sanctuary. The praise team began a song service set. Which was heavenly. During the welcome segment people walked around and welcomed each other this was nice.The Young Adult praise team was on point and in the mood for worship.

The Children’s day was really uplifting. From the kids choir to the kids that presented they were all excellent and professional. The adults were a great helping hand in allowing the service to run smoothly. There was a cool puppet show during children’s corner.

The young man who preached, Marquis Alexis. could not have been more than 15 years old. He was poised and passionate. His sermon focused on our trusting God and relying on His Faithfulness.                                                                                                            

My experience at Plantation was amazing. A feathery light Sabbath day. The closing song was ” Because He Lives” That was just the cherry on top. 

NEXT STOP:

 Southeastern Conference Youth Prayer Convention

Florida Baptist Urban Impact Ministries

140 East 7 Street Hialeah, Fl  

                                                     

CHURCH #13 DOZ

Church: Daughter of Zion SDA Church          Delray Beach, Fl

Speaker: C. Anslem

Date: Sept.28th

It was a very easy breezy weekend. My sister and I took at nice 45 minute drive to Delray Beach. This was my first visit to the infamous DOZ. The church had a reputation for being energetic and lively. The serene scene in the parking lot was a perfect set-up for a fruitful Sabbath adventure. We watched a few family make there way to the sanctuary. A lot of the children made there way across the street into the school building named after the church. A prime indicator that Children church was gonna be on and popping. A young boy tried desperately to squeeze into his Sabbath vest, no avail. He tossed the vest in the car, grabbed his quarterly and eager headed to church. That was on of the many amusing moments of the day.

The church building was in pristine condition. Once inside an usher handed us a bulletin. We weren’t instructed on where to sit so we had to figure that out. It wasn’t rock science but it would have been nice.

It was the tail end of the lesson review. A coy looking young man came in our row and introduced himself to us. It was an awkward but friendly moment.There was a 15 minute mission spotlight video, that seemed to go on forever. It was great I must say but a little length. There weren’t a lot of young adults present. But the seasoned saints were representing. The health dept announced a cool health fair and parade they were hosting. I thought that was great. A quartet of seasoned saints sang a temptation style song. They really thought it was a mini concert and but an usher stopped them in their tracks and they were replaced by a group of young women who sang the intro song. What a relief! The group, ” Project Love” was from Ephesus and they brighten- up the atmosphere. The stage attendee walked in the the divine hour service was on its way, finally!

There were some young adults in the mix and that always make me happy. By now more people had entered the sanctuary and it started to get packed. Young adults, grown folk’ and all the fixings. The atmosphere shifted. It was a stark contrast to the earlier vibe. At this point this picked up. Call to worship was a little awkward as the lady who presented seemed nervous and made us sit too early but the singles leader tried to bring up the moment. She was a middle aged women who seemed to do her role in stride. I mus t add that its hard not be appear and be jaded when you are a a grown and sexy. Adventist single. Its hard out here for a  single saint.

One thing about the DOZ worship experience was that the moments that were suppose to be up were down and visa versa. A roller coaster ride of sorts. There were even “sanctuary body guards” aka usher that guarded their posts like secret service men. Boy I tried hard to keep my giggles to a minimum. When the praise team made their entrance I was pleasantly pleased. More young adults! Yes! Only 2 songs!!! BUMMER! I wished the worship was longer but time wasn’t on our side. Project Love belted out another tune.

The guest pastor from Tampa, just hit 40 and was a eligible ADVENTIST bachelor. A rare but prized commodity. He was easy on the eyes and the sermon was on point. The theme of the weekend was ” Jesus Our Constant Companion”. The sermon was center around a clever acronym: C.P.R. and the main character was Jacob and his fight for a blessing. CPR; C-Consistent P-persistent R-Real. There elements were the formula to maintain a relationship of substance with the Most High. He broke it down into great detail and left us with a beautiful analogy of his sky diving experience. How the instructor was his eventual “life”line to him surviving the free fall. I will post my full sermon notes early next week.  The appeal song was Dynamically moving and sung by this talented young man.

After the service we walked over to the school and had lunch in the auditorium. The “coy” young man that introduced himself again and then asked both my sister and I if we were single & available. I didn’t want to tell a little white lie in the Sabbath to get him off my trail. But I wish I had. He had me under his radar and then asked if he could call me sometime. I explained that I was kinda shy and he went on to say that we can work on that together. I laughed and in so many words said I was straight. Flattered and appalled at the same moment. Don’t judge me.

The meal was great, the best so far on this tour. I forgot to take a pic of the dessert.

The meal followed a great workshop  and the day was great.

DOZ was cool.  I enjoyed my sabbath overall.

NEXT STOP: Plantation SDA

Recap:Federation Weekend-Sept.20-21,2013

Event: South Florida Adventist Youth Federation

Friday-9/20/13 Lovestruck: Corporate Worship @ Northside

Saturday-9/21/13 Federation Service @ First Baptist of Ft,Lauderdale

What a weekend!This Federation weekend was the most

powerful one to date. 2-day weekend was both a blessing and a spiritual booster that I surely craved. I was extremely anxious about this weekend because my ministry Hands at Work for Christ was scheduled to minister. Nonetheless, I tried to embrace the moments.

Friday Night was held at Northside SDA Church and Ashaala Jenkins was facilitating LOVESTRUCK: Coporate worship. It was an amazing night. The place was packed and people flocked to the altar to surrender burdens and release praise and prayers to the Most High. I was really bombarded by the power of the Holy Spirit that night. Imagine 2 hours of non-stop praise and worship!? It was a miniscule sample of what I know Heaven will be like. Ashaala invited various praise leaders, musicians, and vocalist to make this night a remarkable praise experience. Travis Greene and Meka King were part of the line-up.I danced, laughed, smile and cried. The night forced you to acknowledge the power of God. Many people were delievered. Pastor Gregory Nelson gave a brief yet tenacious word to wrap up the service. After the service many young people shared powerful testimonies of what this night of worship did in their life. There was some heart-felt, heart wrenching stories that brought me to tears, again.

I unexpected rainstorm hit right after the service and everyone was trapped inside. Showers of blessings were truly bestowed on us that night.

Sabbath morning was a real treat. After being liberated of so mna burdens on Friday Night, I felt light as a feather. We left the house extremely early because we wanted to beat the thousands that would be flocking to First Baptist of Fort Lauderdale for this Federation Service. I wasn’t feeling well. I was weak and in deep pain but I still pressed on. All the familiar bells and whistles of Federation were in place. Included the animated security personel. These men take their jobs to a whole new level. It’s a ministry all by itself. And of course the seasoned ushers were at their regular posts. I saw a couple young faces but not enough 😦 

The silver fox usher ran their posts with no avail. Sabbath School was bananas. Chris Bartley and Elder Jason Tracey reviewed the heck out of the lesson. Fully equipped with their ladder and a twist of improv.It was honestly the best review of the lesson I’ve experienced. It was interactive and there was a lot of audience particpation.

The annoucements were straight.Most all the presenters needed a little more pep and excitement. Annoucements are too crucial to snooze over.After the annoucements and presentations there was a powerful testimony from a young women who detailed her battle with sickle cell and the dozen other diseases that plagued her both for about 15 years. After each experience it seemed like she should have been dead but another trial seemed to arise. The testimony was running about 20 minutes when on of the musicians played a chord, kinds signaling her to press fast forward. The audience laughed. This young lady was cured of all disease. (Double Blood transfusion, Liver Transplant,  Cirrhosis of the Liver,colitis,anemia) There was so many I couldn’t recall them all. The audience gave a standing ovation at the bare awesomeness of God. It was indeed an “Awe on YOU moment” . She is now only 22 with this powerful testimony.

Wow! Then followed praise and worship, mass choir. Both were great! I really had a blast praising and lifting God’s name high. There was a soloist that gave his all for the  song “ Close to you” . And the crowd when wild, when they sang “Days of Elijah” during offertory.

The word was delievered by Gregory Nelson, who is also a singer. He sang a beautiful rendition of Alpha and Omega/Hallejuah Salvation & Glory. We all reached 7^th Heaven.

The word was powerful and relevant. Key text was Jermiah 20:9But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. The theme for the weekend was “On Fire Movement” and Pastor Nelson covered the topic that we should have the true testimony of Jesus- Christ tatted to our bone marrow. Because that’s how deep we need to be. Living the word not just once a week through during praise and worship. But daily digesting and living the word. Some of us are anointed and we can’t let other or the world dim the light that we are suppose to reflect and resonan. For those that can handle your anointing he advised to reference them to : www. Tobad4U.com. We must uphold our standards, worth and value.

The message was needed.

A massive appeal was made and there were many that surrendered their lives for Baptized.

This federation weekend will go down in history as the best one to date! It was on a different spiritual playing field. Saturated with spiritual substance and breakthrough. All wrapped in with the right portions and topping of the Holy Ghost power.

What a delight. Big- ups to the new administration.

Next stop: Daughter of Zion SDA Church in Delray Beach,Fl

Church#12

Church: Northwest Dade Church- Miami,Fl

Speaker: Elder Glen

September 14, 2013

An other adventure coming right up! I was texting a few contact friends and decide to venture off to Northwest Dade SDA Church. Back in the early 2000s this church was the spot for concert and events. I’ve never been to an actually service but I had to remember my mission. You would never know there was a Seventh-day Adventist church on this narrow road. We pulled into the parking spot and another car rolled in next to us. The couple made there way inside as we linger in the car for a little while, There was a nice park adjacent to the church. Ideal for picnics and family gatherings.

As we approached the church a greeter stood there and immediately opened his arms wide to hug us. I was kind of in a skeptic mood so I stretched out my hand, He insisted that he we hugged. I told him I wasn’t in the mood. He said I needed to get in groove as I enter the House of God. I had to agree. He explained that they have 2 services and the first one had recently ended. He went on to point us to the young adult Sabbath school class and equipped us with a bulletins and upcoming events info.

Sabbath School was refreshing and the young adults were very interactive and passionate. 

Side bar: I finally met the contact person I had for Northwest Dade. I had called the church 1 year ago to get a youth leader contact and this was my first time meeting her. That was cool.

After sabbath school most of the young adults left. There probably all came to the early morning service. The service continue with a nice presentation.There was a 99 year old lady that was soon to celebrate her 100th B-DAY. The pic I took of her was too blurry . They did a special celebration for her and sang her fav hymns. She cried. And the members came and hugged her.

The praise and worship was a dynamic duo. The male lead had on a red blazer, dark blue jeans and a cotton white tee. The chocolate fudge brother really was confident in his skin. At that point I gave Northwest Dade nickname: The Plantation of the South. The vibe was extremely laid back, yet so traditional. Though there was no drumset or bass guitar. Just the piano and keyboard. The worship was pretty short and sweet. No hoopla– no fluff– no hype. The  audience was majority adults. There was a baby presentation, that had a huge family representation. After that the service went as normal. It was community guest day and the CEO of HIShouse, a non-profit half way house.  

The sermon was titled “Artificial Sweeteners” The core of the word was that we must love each other even the strangers among ourselves. We must show brotherly love and compassion for God has no favoritism; when the Father takes care of us with tenderness we should too exercise this behavior. I was deeply moved by the sermon.We should always strive hard to be like Christ. Our behavior is so modified nowadays  that we reflect the worldly notions so well. Though our nature in not innately holy, we too simply relinquish our will and desires to worldly tendencies. I was pleasantly blessed by the delivery of the sermon by the elder. This pit stop was timely.

After service, many members greeted us and welcomed us back. I met up with the greeter that had tried to welcome me earlier and I expressed to him how I was pleasantly blessed by my experience. He was glad and suggested we stay for lunch. So we did. We joined the long line, but once they spotted us in the back they escorted us to the front 🙂 

The fellowship hall was quite snug and there were a lot of season saints. The lunch was to celebrate the member that was turning 100. Our meal took quite awhile to come, as members entered the kitchen and helped themselves to the best. The veggie meal was aite. We sat with the couple who had parked next to us. We all laughed at poked fun at the mystery meatloaf our plates. I was looking forward to the fruit juice, it too was aite

All and all it was pleasant sabbath. I was glad. 

See yall at Federation this weekend!

Lovestruck-Worship nite@ Northside SDA @7pm….1769 NW 119 Street
Federation* SABBATH morning-First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale 
301 E. Broward Blvd
Ft.lauderdale,fl

***Follow me on Twitter @ SDADIVA305

 

Church#11

Church: Bethany SDA—- Church Miami,Fl

Speaker: Ron Pollard

 

Ain’t nothing like an awesome Sabbath. Don’t get me wrong, all Sabbaths are unique or they would defeat their purpose. The ultimate day of rest when creation can lavish in God’s handy work and truly acknowledge His wondrous presence.

Last weekend’s pit stop was at Bethany SDA Church. Its always a pleasure to visit Bethany. This church has a lot of seasoned saints, but Senior Pastor B. Bonner knows how to create a great synergy young adults and seasoned holy rollers. 

We when we arrived the parking lot was loaded. All the lots were filled, but I managed to find a small spot. I had to do a lot of maneuvering! It was Alumni Weekend for MUA (Miami Union Academy) and though my sister and I aren’t Alumnus we blended well enough.

I felt excited to be in the house of God that morning, As we walked in Pastor Bonner was praying over baptismal candidates about to take the holy plunge. His prayer was quite heartfelt if I do say so myself. Once the Prayer was over we strutted all the way to the front, since all the back pews were pretty much loaded. I spotted a few familiar faces as we nested into our row. 

When ever I witness a baptism, I always feel overwhelmed with joy. Souls giving their lives is excited. The pastor was able to handle all the candidates, no matter the size, he did not struggle a bit.

As the officers came in and the praise team sung, I felt this explainable glee about being in God’s house. The service went off without a hitch, there was event an Alumnus Praise Team. This was refreshing.There was a lot of presentation for MUA and Oakwood. I didn’t mind it. What was a little special, was the roll call for the various classes of MUA. Starting in the 1940’s… Only a hand full of Alumnus came out to represent. Crickets were heard as the years trickled down to the present. This is was disheartening. Nevertheless the service pressed on. The Praise n Worship was not the norm, they sang a lot of old school AY songs. I tried hard to enter into a posture of worship.

—

What was definitely cool was the MUA high chorale. The new director seemed extremely passionate despite his youthful features.The chorale sang a beautiful song called Hallelujah. It was so angelic and pristine Though we were not greeted at the door there were a huge host of ushers that took there jobs seriously. A lot which were MUA students. I liked that. The adults that were ushers were determined to keep the service orderly. 

I was excited to hear from Pastor Ron Pollard, the chaplain at Oakwood. Before he preached he had the praise team sing Oh Lord how Excellent. The musicians had cleared it after the Praise and Worship, so they had to start of acapella until  other musicians picked up.

The sermon was powerful and though I couldn’t stay for the whole service, I received an awesome blessing. I left @ 1:45pm and the sermon roared on. 

All and all the service at Bethany was great, though it was a special day I still feel comfortable and at home. I do plan to visit again for a regular service soon.

 

Please stay connected to this blog.

Great Things are on the way.

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Church #9 & #10- Night and Day

Churches: Lighthouse SDA Church   Ft. Lauderdale,Fl

Mt.Olivet SDA Church     Sunrise, Fl

Speaker: Evangelist, Elder Glen Samuels

Recap Date: August 17,2013

Yes! This is another 2 in 1 combo weekend. The Sabbath is always the  highlight of the week and this past weekend was no exception. So we trotted the trail to Broward County in search of a Sabbath thrill. Our first stop was LIGHTHOUSE SDA Church. Upon arrival, a duo of ushers welcomed us and prompted us, my sister and I, to sign the guest book. All and all things seemed promising. Another usher opened the sanctuary door to let us in. I was cool with that. We arrived on the tail end of Sabbath school, where a seasoned saint was passionately making her remarks in an eloquent patwa. The sanctuary was surprising small in comparison to the massive structure that stood outside. I looked around at the congregation and was neutral about the size and demographics. Less than a hand full of young adults and a bunch of seasoned saints. Reassuringly, most of the members that passed our bench extended a pleasant Sabbath welcome. Afte After Sabbath school, a young man representing Youth Ministries gave announcements about an upcoming bible study seminar. Spotting an active youth was truly a sight for sore eyes. The minute he opened the floor for questions the then dormant members shot a badger of inquires at him. I felt sorry for the poor guy. But I must say I was pleasantly impressed by his composure. As he concluded an elder came up and reminded him to sing a closing song. The elder asked if there were any pianist available. One of the members loudly commented that we don’t need music to sing. He rebutted that he wanted to start on the right key. A smirk crept on my face. I failed to mention that there was a church commentator behind us,doing  a moment by moment service interjections. Not cool.After such a lavished welcome I was torn.  I sunk in my seat and started contemplating an escape route.   I really wanted to give Lighthouse a fair chance….”I won’t go back” came on the speaker and the words came on the screen. I began to relax and felt a spirit sift. As I was about to close my eyes to meditate, a member came on the pulpit and started speaking over the music. Another announcement. After that a very active member came to the pulpit and began song service. She tried to liven up the crowd with active hymns to no avail. I took a peek at the program, my sister pointed to the heading, “Back to School”. We took this as our cue to exit the sanctuary. I gave her a head start. We were on our way to Mt.OLIVET SDA.

As we took the 6 minute drive, We tried to dissect the reason why we left. Some may say it was hasty and based on feelings. But I firmly believe that all Sabbath worship experiences should be favorably and I will take no prisoners along with me on these Sabbath Adventures!

No Parking! The lot was loaded. It was international day and the end of a revival, I felt giddy as I approached the sanctuary. An usher welcomed us. As we took a peak into the sanctuary, we knew finding a seat would be an issue, so we summoned an usher. 1.3 seating space was found  for 2 fully blessed sisters! My sister noted we should have sat in the balcony. A handsome church attendee made more room for us. We had arrived smack dab in the the middle of a baptism session and the service only went up from there. It was like a theater experience equipped with a very distracting flute player. The buzz never wore off at Olivet. From the country/flag roll call, to the skits, to the children corner, to the worship. All aspects seemed very animated and theatrical. The service was super long and the preacher took his time.His sermon really tied with the them of international day. He noted that we must unite our diversities to fulfill our purpose in Christ.Acts. 17:24-28 was the text that powerfully tied it all in. Its a must read. We are 1 in the Lord. He doesn’t need us but He wants us!!!

The Clock struck 2:30 and the appeal had just started! My stomach growled on. The appeal was extensive and I praying for patience and for souls to stop being stubborn! The church was not a packed as it once was at the climax of the service. It was about 2:50 when the benediction was rendered!

A potluck was announced after service and we made our way through the massive crowd to get our chow on. The handsome visitor gave us his Sabbath farewell as we all exited the sanctuary and headed for the fellowship hall.

People were already lined up for their meal. And it was hectic to say the least. There was a quick shouting match by two church sisters that tried to hush the crowd for prayer. That was an interesting oxymoron. A few people did skip me without asking but we eventually got our plates. As we neared the parking lot a older church goer that was recording the service with a personal cam (mostly the crowd) said we looked familiar and tried to psst us over. Annoying! We rushed to our cars and exhaled.

Inhaled our food and headed back to Miami…

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Recap: Aug 10th-Church #8

Church: Bethanie SDA Church- Boynton Beach,Fl

Speaker: Elder Jason Tracey

So I took the Train to the Palm Beaches! Believe it or not I have a fully loaded Tri-Rail Card and I decided to visit a friend from West Palm Beach. I was suppose to visit 2 churches but I missed the first train. After packing my snacks, quarterly and headphones, I changed into my flats and waited for the train. The hour and 10 minutes on the train was great. When I got to Boynton Beach, I missed the connecting bus and had to wait 50  minutes for the next 1. I then jumped on the wrong bus and the enraged bus driver was no help.I ended up at the Boynton Beach Mall( the last stop). Frantic , my phone was running out of charge. So I entered the mall , found a bench and charged my phone. An Adventist at the mall on the sabbath is an extreme taboo but I tried to be incognito in my sabbath best. I couldn’t make it to Seacrest SDA as I planned, so I waited for my friend to take me to the noon service at Bethanie. I was bummed but still excited.

Bethanie is a French speaking church that has a 2nd service that starts at noon for the youth and its all in English. This was a first. I already started feeling sleepy, because it was 12:30 and time for my sabbath nap was soon approaching. So I made church jokes to stay awake. My friend Rachelle was a good sport.

The service was quite refreshing. I reunited with a few people I meet at Y.A.H.A. in Connecticut ( a Haitian Adventist Youth Rally). I felt at home and the demographics was youth and young adults. That was the surprising element.

 Elder Jason Tracey was the speaker and his text was from Luke 23:40. Jesus was righteous and even the criminal on the cross next to him noted his innocence and asked Jesus to remember him.In relation to the other thief he coined the controversial term  “Adventist thugs”. An oxymoron if there ever was one. We need to stop playing with our principles and entertaining sin and its dangerous effects.

Quite a powerful word and an eventful sabbath day, I must say.

After service, there was a packed lunch for visitor’s and it was nice to see young people chatting outside the sanctuary. 

My friend invited me to dine at her sister’s in-law place. She said its a common hang out spot for the fam to dine after church.So we drove to Lakeworth I was comfortable and accepted the dish. To my chagrin I had to silently excuse myself from the table as I realized I had a fish bone lodged in the back of my throat!  What a disaster.I coughed and and nearly choked as I attempted to rescue my now bleeding throat from the snare of the clever fish bone.

I returned to the table in a better state yet my  throat still throbbed with the pain. Everyone was glad I had survived the ordeal and were astonished that that was my first encounter with a cleverly trapped fish bone.

 

To make up for this near death ordeal, my friend took me to a beach side sabbath spot where she finds tranquility. We chatted and bonded. And shared stories about church life.

As the afternoon roared on we met up with her sister, her husband, their baby girl and a family friend. My friend strummed one of her latest original tune on her guitar as we cheered her on and relished the moment and gave God acknowlegment. My heart was light. We prayer and said our good byes. As we drove to the train station I felt bittersweet about leaving but glad that I could look forward to more sabbath to come.

She waited for my train to arrive, we said our good byes and I was off, Miami bound 

en

 

 

Recap:July 27/Aug3- Church#7

Church: Mt.Pisgah SDA Church—- Miami Gardens,Fl

This is always a familiar place. I love the worship moments and timely messages. As you can see I visited 2 Sabbaths in a row. Both were quite different. Once you are in the sanctuary you feel ready to worship. 7/27 I don’t remember being greeted, we, my sister and young cousin were able to slip in and find seat. A Pastor from Antigua brought the word. Powerful.The next week 8/3 , First Sabbaths have 2 service and we attended both. Waking up at the crack of dawn to attend service was tough but I warm up eventually.At early morning service and my favorite usher was there with her cheerful spirit and hug. Its always nice when you get greeted at the door. More churches should do that on a more consistent bases. 

Only a handful of people were in the early morning service, but it was still great. We did a group prayer at the alter and an elder prayed with me. That surely lifted my spirits,

The Senior Pastor , Kevin Bryant preached about Grace, Mercy and Salvation. He had a mini Greek lesson and the sermon was intense. At the end even after the alter call, no one moved. But a church sister went up and explained how this sermon had changed her life because she had been living with so much condemnation all her life she hadn’t been able to rejoice in God’s Grace and mercies because every time she sinned she fear losing salvation.At this testimony people started rushing to the alter and requesting prayer. I was shocked yet refreshed at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes our hearts are so hardened we can’t hear the spirit’s call.

 

I sure do miss the First Sabbath Potluck, Nonetheless, my spirit was edified. And I got a double portion of spiritual food. 

See you later Pisgah

Recap July 20: Church#6

Church: Perrine SDA Church—- Pinecrest,Fl

Speaker Pastor Owusu

I made the 40 minute drive to the South MIami Area. This was my first time visiting PERRINE SDA. It was a nice drive and I looked forward to another spiritual encounter. Right off the bat, I was bombard with a slew of welcoming faces. This was indeed a beautiful change. People introduced themselves and even lead me to sign the guest book.  The sanctuary was packed and I noted there were a lot of seasoned saints. Not too many young buck like myself. Nonetheless, I relished the moment. A lady and her grandchild sat next to me and we instantly connected. She chatted through the whole service and elbowed me with every comment. Oh boy!

I really liked that the service was very organized and detailed oriented. The morning announcements were pre-recorded and the new anchor was young and cheerful. The Praise and Worship was  no joking matter. The praise leader was very enthralling with his energy and passion. His hand free mic added to the moment. I really enjoyed the worship. Special Music was by an Adventist singer form Jamaica. He had a great register and would be hosting a concert that afternoon. 

The sermon was by the senior pastor and I must say it was great. He spoke about our heavenly home and how the toils of this world will soon be over, but we must hold on to God’s unchanging hand. 

I felt quite comfortable at this church, though there were less than a hand full of young adults. I experienced fellowship and the love of God. As I walked out the sanctuary, the Praise team sang ” Let the Church say Amen”. An usher stopped me and told me to please come again. 

I just might