Recap of our Singles Retreat - Sept. 3-5

You could see it as you pulled off the highway…a beautiful mountain resort, tucked away in the foothills of Rocky Gap State Park and nestled on the shore of Lake Habeeb. This would be where God would work and move powerfully over the next three days; This was Rocky Gap Resort, the site of the 2010 Montgomery County Church of Christ Singles Retreat. And what a retreat it was!

Disciples from New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, Northern Virginia, and Virginia Beach joined almost 40 Montgomery County disciples for a weekend of spiritual renewal, recreation and relaxation. The theme of the retreat was “Victorious Faith,” with 1 John 5:4 being the theme scripture for the weekend:

“For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Now this was to be no conference…this was to be a time where singles could get away from it all…kick back, relax, get inspired and have some fun. With the business of life only increasing, I think it’s safe to say that everyone was looking forward to some R&R.

As the disciples slowly trickled onto the retreat grounds Friday evening and eventually stopped staring at the beautiful surroundings, they checked into their rooms and were greeted by several MoCo singles at the retreat registration desk. There they were given a folder which included their name tags, retreat itinerary, list of local attractions and restaurants, and a card signed by several single MoCo disciples, welcoming them and thanking them for coming. After checking in and fellowshipping for a while, the evening activities soon began.

The weekend worship team, led by Bola Onayemi, led the group in a dynamic praise and worship service that got everyone in a good mood. After the singing and praying ended, the room we were in was split up; people could watch a movie on one side or play games on the other. Some stayed to watch the film, “Amazing Grace,” while others participated in several exciting rounds of the game “Werewolf.” Others broke off to get some dinner, further explore the hotel, or just settle into their rooms and relax. All in all, it was a great start to the weekend.

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Saturday morning started early for some…a few disciples made their way out lakeside to watch the sunrise. To see the sun greet them as it rose over the mountains was one of those moments where you just had to stop and worship. Others took the opportunity to sleep in after a late night of game playing. Breakfast was served at 9am and people made their way down and ate some yummy bagels, fruit, cereal, coffee, milk and juice. By this time, our numbers had grown slightly, as we saw more disciples who had arrived late last night and missed all the festivities, or who had arrived early that morning.

Around 10am, the worship started. Many more great songs were sung, and I got to formally welcome everyone to the retreat. It was then mine and Maura’s pleasure to introduce four singles who were to share about the victories God had brought about in their lives due to their faith. Emma Franco, Christopher Wilson, Gathoni Kamou and Bola Onayemi shared openly and powerfully about different ways God had used their life circumstances to build their faith. All of the speakers did a great job, but Bola’s retelling of the passing of a close friend and some of his family members, and the subsequent shaping and development of his character, was especially moving.

The keynote speakers of the morning were Tom and Mary Benton. While not growing up as singles in the church, they had much to share about the role faith played in their lives and the lives of their children, as well as how singles can grow to have victorious faith. Tom closed off their message with issuing the “Jonathan Challenge” to all of us in the room: A challenge to set a spiritual goal…something great for God and not something SAFE…a challenge to get ourselves an armor bearer or to be one to somebody…and a challenge to put it before God daily in prayer. When the Bentons stepped down, the tremendous applause signified that the entire room was more than inspired. Lunch was then served and many people could be seen talking about what they had just heard, making new friends and setting up afternoon plans long after their lunches were finished.

The rest of the day was left open to everyone. The resort had a company operating out of its lobby called Western Maryland Adventures that provided all sorts of outdoor activities for people of all ages. Not only that, but there was a golf course on the resort grounds, a volleyball court, hiking and biking paths, swimming pools and a host of other nearby activities that beckoned to us. Some people chose to partake in those things, while others made their way to the nearby town of Cumberland to explore. Still others took the time to find a quiet place and have some extended time with God. And there were others who chose to catch up on much-needed sleep!

Around 8p, a room was opened up for us to use as a dance floor. Montgomery County’s very own Adebo “DJ Xife” Infesanya was on the wheels of steel, and disciples could be seen jumping, moving, swaying and sweating to the beats. If dancing wasn’t your thing, another room was open for more game play. Many people were gathered in both rooms, laughing it up and having a great time (If you get a chance, ask Dagayla to show you her Irish accent, or ask Jeremy about his lucky charms!).

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Sunday morning started off with another rousing continental breakfast. Some disciples were a bit blurry-eyed from their late nights of fun, while others were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed from a great night’s sleep. A few minutes before the start of our worship service, the fire alarm went off. That definitely woke everybody up and got us moving outside. Fortunately, it was a false alarm.

At 10:30am, the song-leaders took their positions and led us in another amazing chorus of songs. Maura and myself delivered a tag-team sermon, which doubled as the communion message. We shared about how victorious faith comes from having an encounter with God, and we both encouraged everyone to make time with God a daily thing so that the flame of faith that was lit in their hearts this weekend would not die out, but be kept continually burning, and also so that that faith could be passed on to those who don’t yet have any.

After a few more songs, we closed out the weekend. We thanked everyone for coming and thanked all those who had served behind the scenes to make the weekend great. God truly blessed that time in Rocky Gap…numerous disciples, both from out of town and from MoCo, expressed how much fun they had and how smoothly everything ran. I could only say “Thank you,” in response and thank God for going over and above what we imagined. Even after people checked out of their rooms, some stayed to fellowship longer, others decided to go on bike rides or one last canoe ride, and others headed out to grab a bite to eat before hitting the road home. It was a truly magnificent weekend, and I am so grateful I was able to be a part of it.

Ups and Downs at Work

Yesterday I did something that I don't think I've done for a long time...

Go 24 hours without being online.

Big deal, right? It is for me, who checks email several times during the day and, I have to admit, check facebook just as often. I was working at a firehouse that I normally don't work in, and because of the activity that we were scheduled to do all day (which I'll get to in a minute), I didn't think I'd have time to be on my computer. So I left it at home. When I got to the station, there were three computers that personnel normally could use. One was out of service because it was infected with a virus, another one the station captain used all day, and the third was having problems connecting to the Internet. So there you have it...the makings of an Internet-free day!

It ended up not being that big of a deal, because I wouldn't have had that much time to be online anyway.

Yesterday was the first day of our annual "Fill The Boot" drive. Fill The Boot is a fundraiser the IAFF (International Association of Firefighters...our union) puts on every year all across the country to support "Jerry's Kids" (kids who have muscular dystrophy). Fire departments with career firefighters in them take a few days to stand out on street corners with fire department boots in their hands, asking people driving to work to donate some money to the cause, "filling the boot" with money to support Jerry's Kids. The IAFF is the largest supporter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association because of the Fill the Boot drive, which raises millions of dollars every year. In fact, my department raised the fourth largest amount of money nation-wide last year.

So in the morning, right after we finished checking out our apparatus, we grabbed some boots, donned some traffic safety vest, and hit the streets. Now anyone who's ever put on any type of fundraiser knows that asking people for money for anything is a precarious exercise; it tests your belief in the good-heartedness (is that a word?) of our fellow man, and it exposes what people really care about (that's often what they give their money to). Convictions about participating in Fill the Boot vary throughout the fire service...some love it and some hate. But whatever your personal feelings about doing it, people support it. Some people give $20s, $10s and $5s. The majority of people give dollar bills. Some people who are caught unaware empty out their change purses. Some people give nothing at all and don't even look at us as we walk by. By the end of that morning, we had collected almost $2,000!


After the morning rush subsided, we went back inside the fire house and resumed our day. I was on the ambulance with a guy from my recruit class. He and I are as different as can be, but we still get along very well. We ran some calls here and there, but the real excitement didn't begin until the early afternoon. A man decided to go into the Discovery Building in downtown Silver Spring with a gun and an explosive device strapped to his chest, take some hostages and make some demands. The building was evacuated, the police were called, and downtown Silver Spring was virtually shut down. Tons of police officers were there, the SWAT team was there, many fire department units were there...it was chaos! In fact, during the course of the event, every unit from my entire battalion except for the ambulance I was on, the fire engine at that station and the fire trucks from one other station were called down to the scene. We ended up watching most of the events unfold on TV with the rest of the county, and we listened to the action over our portable radios. After several hours, the suspect was shot and killed. One of his devices went off, but no one was hurt. Late into the night, the police were still holding fire department units on the scene as they swept the building for other bombs.

Who would have thought that this would happen? I rarely think of Montgomery County as a target for such actions, but when I get to thinking, the heads of MANY major corporations and businesses are here. It turned out that this made had major issues with the Discovery Channel. Well, he had a lot of issues with a LOT of people. But his issues with the Discovery Channel finally prompted him to act. Granted, his actions were totally wrong and got him killed, but you can't say he wasn't passionate about his cause. It left me thinking, "what am I so passionate about that I would give my life supporting it?"

How about you?


FOOD
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B: Hard-boiled eggs, strawberries, blueberries

L: Pastrami, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, banana peppers, hot peppers

S: Orange, almonds

D: Peruvian chicken, little bit of coleslaw, fried plantains (in retrospect, pretty sure they're not paleo)