ANGLICAN 4 TH DAY WEEKEND no. 2 The Kingdom of God is at hand

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1 Reigndrops Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name and you are Mine. Isaiah 43:1 Volume 1, Issue 1 DIOCESE OF SAN JOAQUIN Fall 2011 ANGLICAN 4 TH DAY WEEKEND no. 2 The Kingdom of God is at hand Bernasconi Educational Center, Big Pine, Ca. July 19 th 21 st written by Annie Curtier Rectora A4D No. 2 We are very blessed to have 17 newly commissioned disciples of Christ into the A4D movement. Please give a Great Amen to the following : From Bakersfield- Ron & Carolyn Christolear, Fr. Karl & Susie Dietze, Julie Gildon, Bryan & Mikela Oberg, from Ridgecrest - Glenda Blackshaw, Les Dalton, MaryAnn Long, Melanie Lucero, from Fresno - Debbie Bates, from Merced - Frank Reed, from Tehachapi - Stephanie Clare, Michael Sanders, and from Bishop - Izzy Flores and Chris CareyFlores. Congratulations! Christ is counting on you. As I reported at Revista at All Saints Church in Bakersfield, God answers prayers. We were blessed to have the team of MaryJo Sawyer as head Cook, Terilyn Dillon as Asst. Head Cook, Cathi Chrisco as Asst. Rectora, Vicki Moore as Music Director, Dennis Mann as Rector and Annie Curtier as Rectora. For this year s Anglican 4 th Day, I was reminded in so many ways that God answers prayers. Fr. Charles Threewit talks about God answering prayers in five ways: 1) No.. but not just no but Hell No!! 2) Wait not yet, you re not ready you need time to grow 3) Yes.. just a simple yes of course! 4) Yes. Thought you d never ask! 5) Yes and here s more! As I reflected back, God revealed to me that our team and the A4D movement were blessed by God answering our many prayers. By God answering our prayers this meant that He was in control and He had a plan and it would be according to His will and not ours. God s plan for this season that we were being prepared for would be to be blessed by wonderful candidates, a caring and servant community, overflowing with God s grace and His love for us. God was telling me that (1) the Team needed to grow, (2) I needed to grow, and (3) the candidates would grow, and 4) Clergy can still grow too. The A4D Weekend No. 2 was according to God s Plan period. I saw through the laity and the clergy that blessings were all around for this weekend. From the very beginning when we met on the mountain in February for our Retreat God was already working on His Plan for the weekend - it didn t just happen. Here were a couple of my observations as Rectora for this year s A4D Weekend. TEAM GROWTH OBSERVATION # 1: No matter how much we plan and think we have all of our ducks in a row, God is working and continuing to mold us into the obedient loving servants he wants us to be. We were blessed with 17 wonderful and uniquely different candidates in whom God handpicked each one of them for the teachings that were needed for this team to grow for this year. To have a weekend, all you need are willing candidates, obedient team members, 15 rollos, and 5 meditations. Our weekend was a success because that s exactly what we had 17 willing candidates; hard working team members and clergy, 15 talks were given, SECRETARIAT CONTACTS: Spiritual Advisor Fr. Townsend Waddill townsend@btw3.com (760) Lay Director Christine Miller kmiller12@bak.rr.com (661) Secretary Norma Jackson duncansmom10000@sbcglobal.net (661) Treasurer & Reindrops Editor Annie Curtier amcurtz17@verizon.net (661) PARISH CONTACTS: St. Michael s, Ridgecrest Verna Curry curryev@peoplepc.com (760) St. Timothy s, Bishop Janice Faint (760) St. Paul s, Bakersfield Sandy Roper litlmaid@sbcglobal.net (661) St. Peters, Kernville Margaret Vermillion lioness42@earthlink.net (760) St. Mark s, Shafter Susan Shaffner shaffnersusan@yahoo.com (661) St. Jude s, Tehachapi Dennis & Trish Mann dennism141@aol.com trisham141@aol.com St. Andrew s in the Desert Vera Threewit vm3wit@antelecom.net (661) Church of the Ascension, Copperopolis Pam Stout pastout@caltel.com (209) St. Columba Parish, Fresno Nancy Wayne ngwayne@sbcglobal.net (559) St. James Cathedral, Fresno Terilyn Dillon tl411519@sbcglobal.net (559) St. Mary s, Fresno Terilyn Dillon tl411519@sbcglobal.net (559) Christ Church, Lemoore Nancy Taylor njdtaylor@hotmail.com (559) St. Paul s, Visalia Mickey Ragle (559) St. Luke s, Merced Carolyn Reed carolyn.reed@yahoo.com (650) Christ Church, Oakhusrt Dcn Madeline Burton mdbab@sti.net (559) Reigndrops 1

2 continued from page 1 as well as 5 meditations. What changes took place this year were first in the Prayer Partners and God only knew what he was preparing us for this weekend. The 1 st rule in putting together and planning the weekend is PRAYER and it should be taken seriously. Case in point Sharon Collier and Jeff Biggs were prayer partners. The feedback that I received is that they kept in great contact with each other prayed for each other s healings and daily concerns of family, friends, and work while also praying for the team, candidates and the weekend. I can t tell you how often they prayed together but I do know that it made a difference. When Sharon took ill on the mountain, her Prayer Partner stepped up immediately! Jeff came to Dennis and me and was deeply moved that his prayer partner had taken ill and was going to have to leave the mountain. He was so moved by the Holy Spirit that he felt in his heart he needed to give Sharon s Rollo! Dennis and I both agreed and he did a fantastic job. This was Jeff s first time being on team. This was a real testimony in action to what it means to be a Prayer Partner and a good servant of God! God Bless you both for your obedient hearts and for being a wonderful witness on how to be a Prayer Partner Team Growth no. 1. TEAM GROWTH OBSERVATION # 2: We began this year in prayer for clergy. With Fr. Charles Threewit and his wife Vera retiring from working on the weekends after 14 years, we knew we would be short handed and began to be in prayer immediately. God answered our prayers by providing us with two most wonderful additions to the Clergy Team, Fr. Townsend Waddill and Deacon Madeline Burton. What a blessing they both were to our weekend to the team and to the candidates. God s answer to us was a simple YES, Of Course, No Problem and here are two for you. Praise God! We were so blessed to have Deacon Madeline as the wonderful new addition and awesome prayer warrior for the Cook s Team. Then you have Fr. Townsend what a hoot! He gave us much laughter when we needed it and gave us wonderful liturgy in the Sacrament of Baptism of Bryan Oberg - working with Fr. Karl Dietze as well. Fr. Townsend was awesome! Team Growth no. 2 Finally, I can t help but be reminded by the Baptismal vows we took with Bryan while on the mountain, Will you continue in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers? Notice the 3 key words, teaching, bread, and prayers That is what this weekend was about for me and is why we do this every year - and I will answer, I will, with God s help! Team growth # 3. Ancient Words ever true, changing me and changing you, we have come with open hearts, oh let the ancient words impart.. words taken from A4D2 theme song, Ancient Words lyrics by Michael W. Smith A4D # 2 Candidates thought up cleaver ways to win the hearts of the cooks! Here s one of their songs that they sang to the cooks! Give Thanks Give thanks to the kitchen cooks, Give thanks for their lovely looks Give thanks because they ve given us Great sustenance (repeat) And now, we will all sing Let us eat! So we can get out of this heat. Because our cooking staff is neat and we love our cooks. Hello Fellow Friends, I would like to share a bit about my mountain-top experience. The day of arrival I wasn't quite sure what I had gotten myself into. I believe that I was the only one who was not from an Anglican background. I guess I could say that I was a bit nervous, but curious at the same time on how this weekend would go. I decided to just go with the flow. To my amazement, the weekend was something I will NEVER forget. Truly a mountain top experience. Without going into all the details I would like to touch on the love, friendship, and servanthood that were displayed. Something I had never seen before. When I arrived home I was just filled with excitement inside of me. I shared with my husband and he seemed to be happy for me that I had a good weekend. The next morning I talked with my son Jared about being baptized. After talking with Fr Ken & Fr Townsend it was recommended that my family be baptized if they were going to receive Holy Communion. Jared, my 17 year old son agreed to be baptized. I was so excited that I had to share the news immediately with my husband. As I shared with my husband Terry he told me that he has been thinking about being baptized as well. I said, "Really!" I asked him if he would like to be baptized with Jared and he said that he would think about it. Then he immediately said, "No, I think that I will just do it." I was ECSTATIC! I said, "YOU WILL?" Oh my! I made phone calls right that moment and scheduled to have them both baptized in our backyard pool by Rev Bryson Samboja who was coming out here from Kenya on mission work. SO EXCITING! There was so much more about this weekend that I am forever grateful to be a part of. I thank all who gave of their time, talents, and money to make this an amazing mountain top experience! Blessings my family, Julie Gildon Words from and A4D #2 Candidate Reigndrops 2

3 These are both exciting and challenging times for our Secretariat. Keep our eyes on Jesus. On the exciting side, we are only a few weeks away from the Consecration of our new bishop! Our numbers are growing. We had 17 awesome candidates at our last Weekend and are hopeful that some of them will be joining us in ministry. We are in the midst of redesigning our A4D Website. We are also in prayer and consideration for our next leadership team for Anglican 4 th Day #3, which will be held August 2-5, 2012, in Big Pine. On the challenging side, we are losing our beloved Spiritual Advisor, Fr. Ken Richards. He and his wife, Susan, will soon be moving to Rochester, Minnesota, in order to live closer to their family. To say that they will be greatly missed is an understatement! However, as Fr.Ken has told me on more than one occasion, none of these events is a surprise to God. He is in control and He is on the throne. Shortly after writing this article, I received a call from Bishop John-David asking me to inform Fr. Townsend Waddill that the Bishop is appointing him Spiritual Advisor of our Secretariat!!!!! God s timing is SO perfect!!!!!! Fr. Townsend was thrilled to receive my call and to accept the Bishop s appointment. Fr. Townsend served on our A4D Team for the first time this past summer and we all fell in love with him!!!! He walks closely with His Lord and at the same time has a marvelous sense of humor!!!! He and our community are a perfect fit!!! We look forward both to serving alongside Fr. Townsend and under the godly leadership of our new Bishop!!!!!! So, as we move forward, our goal as a Secretariat, is to keep our eyes on Jesus, to seek His will in all things, and to be obedient and abandoned to His plan and purpose for us. In Christ, Chris Miller (Proverbs 3:5&6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. ) I recently attended the second annual Provincial Grand Ultreya which was held this year August 4-7 in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. St. Stephen s Church hosted us most graciously. There were Anglican 4 th Dayers from all over the country in attendance, as well as representation from Canada. Archbishop Robert Duncan and his wife were in attendance. He is a HUGE supporter of Anglican 4 th Day and he spoke words of encouragement to us before dinner on Friday night. We had several wonderful speakers, each of whom shared their experiences with Anglican 4 th Day and how this Movement not only changed their lives but can continue to impact the kingdom as we make a friend, be a friend and bring a friend to Christ. Their words encouraged and energized us all. The weekend event was put over the top by the awesome praise and worship team from Christ Church, Montgomery, Alabama. Their music lifted our worship to new heights. We added a new member to our Provincial Board, Reverend Gary Stobbs, from British Columbia, Canada. Others serving on the Board for the next year are: Ken Herbst, PA; Kat Murchison, AL; Rev. John Nuzum, VA; Christine Miller, CA; Reverend Tom Tirman, IN; and Jack Duffy, MA. We will be meeting on a conference call in a few weeks and will be deciding the location of the 2012 Grand Ultreya. Please prayerfully consider attending this wonderful event next year. It is SO awesome to bond with others who love this Movement and who desire to be serious disciples of Jesus. Chris Miller Reigndrops 3

4 (Psalm 133:1: Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. ) Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love PIETY Without Me you can do nothing. Jn. 15:5 1). Have I maintained my commitments in my Rule of Life? There are so many things to share about A4D - community, teachings, worship - actually words are not sufficient to describe the experience! But, the thing that I brought home was the Rule of Life. This is a fairly new concept to me and I appreciated the tools to help me continue my closer walk with Christ. In developing a Rule of Life, I worked on developing spiritual practices that make me more of a disciple of Jesus Christ. I also enjoy reviewing my Rule of Life and adding and amending it over time as I need to. Yours in Christ, Carolyn Reed 2) With what other spiritual aids have I nourished my vital union with Christ this week? 3) What was the moment in which I felt closest to Christ? Moment closest from Ann Lingo: When my grandson Jordan got his first job, at Subway, he thought full time was 20 hours a week. I laughed! Now that he has his second job, just in time for Labor Day, with a local oilfield construction company he knows what a full time job is. He's only worked one day though. We will see. Moment closest from Sarah Thomas: The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. Psalm33:6 Over the past two weeks, I have spent a lot of time in prayer and supplication. I have also been asking for others to lift myself and my husband up as well as we have struggled through a home emergency, quickly shrinking funds, and like so many others; joblessness. One afternoon, I was doing my daily reading when I came across this verse. Oh, how many times in the past have I read a verse like this. And yet, that day, I found myself overcome with the awe and understanding of just what that verse meant. And, perhaps, more importantly, what it said about me and my relationship with this powerful God. My God is the God who created the whole of creation with merely a word. Let me repeat: merely; such a small word meaning, only and nothing more. God only needed to speak and all life, indeed, all creation came into being in its perfect order that we humans have yet to fully understand. And this God has been listening to my prayers. And not only listening, but actually responding to and answering me. And I am so small when compared to the whole of eternity and creation. And still, despite His greatness and my insignificance, He knows.me. He hears.me. He answers me. And above all, He loves me. And my living room was filled with the presence of my loving God did not just merely speak to bring forth all creation, but who also decided that I am indeed worthy enough to listen to, to respond to, to answer, to know, and to love. STUDY Thy word is a lamp to my feet. Ps. 119:105 4). What have I studied that has increased my understanding of my relationship with God and His Creation? By Annie Curtier I m currently reading and studying Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler and it has given me a better understanding of the characteristics of God and has deepen by prayer life with God. It s given me closeness as praying these names as loving endearments to my God. He is El Shadday God Almighty the one who is all powerful and shelters me under the shadows of His wings. He is Elohim God, Mighty Creator who is and was and is to come! And He is Adonay my Lord my Master. If He is my Lord then we are His servants praying to be the kind of servants that are quick to do His will. These lessons and more I am learning from this book and trying to incorporate them into my prayers and sharing them with our chapter of the Daughters of the Holy Cross at St. Andrews. Really a blessing for me. Reigndrops 4

5 From Norma Jackson on Action: ACTION I will make you fishers of men. Mt. 4:19 5). If I have had a specific plan for attempting to witness for or serve the Lord in some particular area, what successes or disappointments have I experienced through this plan? Ugandan Mission Trip: as told by Olga, Norma & Sandy! From Olga See: As most of you know this was my fourth trip to Shared Blessings, Dorcas, Uganda, and the BEST. Of course I had my two sisters-in-christ with me, which definitely added to this. Sandy did a great job on preparing and implementing the Holiday Bible School program, Norma chose the verse 1 John 1:5-10, God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all. The children learned the song in the first day and we had lots of fun with it. Now for the serious stuff. On the way to Mbale from Entebbe, Wilbur Madaba tells me that I am expected to read the lesson and preach on it that Sunday - this was Friday. OK. Fortunately, while preparing for our trip we worked through a small workbook and one of the chapters was on Sharing your story, after praying about it the words just flowed, of course we know who, Holy Spirit, did a pretty good job on me. The next day I felt the nudge to read 1John 1:1-8 and give the "preaching" on that. Later the nudge came again and I asked Elizabeth whether she had a bible in Ligisu, she asked why, I told her that I was to read the lesson from their bible to which she replied "forget it, we struggle to read it, it is not the same as speaking the language", well I told her that was what I felt I had to do. And Sandy said "don't tell her she can't do it! Awhile later Wilbur came in and I told him what Elizabeth said to my request, he agreed and said it was very difficult. Sunday morning, dressed up in a traditional dress, armed with my bible and notes off we went to St. Lukes. Upon our arrival Wilbur hands me a bible in Bugandan, he did not have one in Ligisu, I opened it and tried to read a few words - oh boy, are you SURE Lord? Just then Brutus, our interpreter, friend, elder in the church, African name giver, comes up and asks Wilbur what is going on, he explains. Brutus hands me his bible, New Testament, in Ligisu,the cover lovingly wrapped in newspaper. I try reading it, another are you SURE Lord? I struggle through a few words, Brutus helps me, then he says it is time to process. My stomach is now in my throat. When it is time, Brutus motions for me to go up and he follows to do the interpretation. As we face the congregation, my hands are shaking so violently I almost drop his bible, trying to steady them so that I can at least see the words, I start to read, struggling, Brutus pronouncing them after me - the whole congregation busts out laughing - oh great they are thinking the mazungu (white person), is trying to read in our language, this actually helped. As I heard Brutus repeat the words, I heard His voice say, "see you're doing pretty good", and then it happened, the words just flowed. You could hear a pin drop. Then the preaching - I told them what it was like for me before I was walking in the Light, when I thought I had a relationship with God and what it was like now, walking in the Light. l looked over at my two sisters and they were so moved by the Spirit, the tears were streaming. I asked if anyone would like to have this kind of a relationship with our Lord to come up and we would pray for them - Rev. Moses added to encourage them. Five people came up, each one confessing their sin, the congregation waved and said words of encouragement to each one of them - it was so moving. Then Rev. Moses asked me to pray for each of them. What an honor, to have the Holy Spirit lead me. After the service and during the course of the next week, parishioners were asking Elizabeth and Wilbur how long I had been studying Ligisu, they told them, right before she came into the church. WHAT A TESTIMONY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT! PRAISE GOD! Thank you for your prayers while we were in Uganda, as you can tell, He listened and answered. In His Love, Olga See As for me it was a truly Godly visit (Mission Trip to Uganda). I saw my foster daughter Scovia at least once every day. She is blossoming into a beautiful young girl of VBS was a total success. The kids - even the younger ones - learned the verse and song "I want to walk as a child of the light" the first day - even though we only did half of the first verse. The kids were totally polite and well behaved. We also did a "group reunion" with the mothers. We had about 10 of the 30 who attended who speak English so we gave out the Bibles we had brought [and bought more Bibles], gave out the group reunion cards and Discovery Magazine. We have added them to our prayer list and hopefully we can keep that going - with them sending us theirs and we have sent them ours. There was soooo much to do and time went by so fast we didn't get to do all we wanted. We visited the boarding school where Olga, Cecile and I are sending our children - it's rather primitive as boarding schools go but the students like it and are learning - the class sizes are much smaller than the 100+ students in the local primary school. All classes are also taught in English and they encourage all students to only speak English but that doesn't work too well. Scovia's English has improved though. At our farewell dinner-party the night before we left, Scovia broke down in tears several times - she didn't want me to leave. I was totally humbled. I told her I was returning in 2013, God willing, and to keep up with her studies. Olga gave the sermon the first Sunday we were there - in Ligisu their native tongue and Sandy gave the sermon the second Sunday. We were also able to give money to the building fund for the church [St. Luke's]. They are building a church "in the round" - hopefully they will be able to buy lots of bricks to finish the outside walls. We also gave money to Pastor Moses, who shepherds 2 other churches there and barely ekes out enough to live on. Well, those are my musings for now; but my new Action plan is UGANDA IN 2013!!!!!!!!! Norma Jackson Reigndrops 5

6 FROM SANDY ROPER : Olga, Norma and I thank you so much for your prayers that went with us on our recent trip. It was a truly awesome and spirit filled experience. The Holy Spirit allowed us to serve nearly two hundred children in Holiday Bible School. The children were excited and learned quickly, and eagerly sang our theme song, I want to walk as a child of the light. The images of their beautiful and eager faces will remain with me always. Norma and Olga continued to bond with their children, Scovia, who is becoming a beautiful young lady, and Sam who is quite the soccer player and a very good dancer. I was blessed to meet Francis, an adorable 4 year old boy who I now sponsor. We were also able to help many mothers begin a group reunion. They were very excited about the group and we will pray that it will carry on and that they will grow in their walk with our Lord. We were blessed to meet Rev. Moses and his congregation. Olga gave a wonderful message followed by an altar call that five people answered. 6) What unexpected opportunity to witness has the Lord offered to me? I was blessed to give the message on our second Sunday at St. Luke s. We all feel so wonderfully blessed to have experienced this mission trip and are most eager to return. In His Service: Your sister in Christ, Sandy Roper Sing a New Song! Psalm 96:1-6 On, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name. Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Closing Prayer We give you thanks, Almighty God, for all the benefits you have given us. You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen A sponsor s journey.. By Sarah Thomas My journey to becoming a sponsor began when I went up the mountain for the first time during Cursillo #17. After my transformation on the mountain, it was just a matter of time and continued growth until it was my turn to bring another up the mountain. Four years later, during A4D #1, I worked on the weekend with my husband for the first time. As we left the mountain for a second time, we looked at each other and knew the time had come. It was time to become a sponsor. We also knew who our candidates were to be, our best friends who were also a married couple. Even though they did not know it yet, their time had come to journey up the mountain. The prospect of taking such wonderful friends up the mountain filled me with joy. Even though the time was a year away, I knew the year would pass quickly and there was still much work to be done for things to be ready. Enter my neurosis. During the year between deciding to answer the call for sponsorship and the time of the actual retreat, I am sure that I drove many of my fellow Cursilistas crazy with the repeating questions of, When is payment made? How much is it? Who do I make it out to? What is exactly involved in sponsoring? What do I need to get? What order are the letters suppose to be in? Reigndrops 6

7 Thinking back on my wonderful experience up the mountain, I knew the work that my own sponsor had put in must have been great and the sacrifices many. And I was determined to be the perfect sponsor to my friend and now candidate. I purchased my cup for her six months before the weekend and carefully hide the prize so she would not accidently stumble upon it. I spoke to her about her upcoming trip to the mountain and encouraged her often. I spoke to those who would be serving her on the team so they would know her needs. And I made sure to start introducing her to those members so she would not feel like a stranger. I also prayed often. As the time drew near my questions continued, When is the payment due? Are you sure that s all it costs for everything? There s nothing else I need to do, buy, prepare?...what order do the letters go in again? Even as I continued to pray, I also continued to secretly fret and worry. Surely there was something I was missing. There had to be something else involved. The time continued to pass with its familiar pace. The same concerns that my husband and I had raised about attending our retreat began to surface for our candidates. And the husband revealed that he wished to drive himself and his wife up to the weekend. So my husband and I took action. We assured them as our sponsors had assured us. There was to be nothing to keep them from attending the weekend. Any care or concerns they had would be taken care of by the community. And under no circumstances were they to drive themselves. It was our duty as their sponsors to get them to the mountains. The weekend begins before you get to the camp. Trust us, we told them. I found the paper on which I was to write my letters. I searched through my old notes from my weekend and found the letters from my sponsor which had impacted and touched me so deeply. I read those letters again and again, searching every word, every thought for inspiration to help me craft the perfect letters to my own candidate. They had to be perfect. I even packed them and took them on a 3,000 mile trip to Alaska with me. Maybe inspiration would come from there. Before I knew it, it was a mere two weeks before the retreat and my letters were still blank. They had to be written and now. So one morning, I woke up, re-read my own letters, set up my laptop, and my blank letters in my living room. After a prayer, I put my ideas down. The words flowed naturally and freely. I used my laptop only to ensure correctly spelling. The words were never really mine to say after all. The time for the journey up the mountain had come again. The fears had been allayed, the husband agreed (although reluctantly) to let us drive, the conversations regarding watches, phones, flashlights, and chairs had been given, and the travel plans set. We arrived at their house while they were still out finishing their last minute meetings before their weekend. As we waited, we packed their belongings into our car, knowing that their weekend began with that act. The trip up was enjoyable, filled with laughter, an ice-cream break stop, and The Screwtape Letters on audio. First stop, Whiskey Creek for a last meal before heading up the mountain to drop off our candidates for their journey. There, we all met up with old friends, people who would be with our candidates as team members, and other candidates. More laughter and enjoyment of fellowship along with jokes about the upcoming journey were passed around the table. And then it was time for the last leg of the journey. We drove our candidates up to the camp area, confiscated phones, and left them in the company of the members they had eaten dinner with while my husband and I took their belongings and unpacked their things. As I unrolled my candidate s sleeping bag and fluffed her pillow, I remembered my weekend and I prayed that hers would outshine mine. Back up on the blacktop, my husband and I were pulled away and informed that after everyone was there, we would be called away to pray for them with the Deacon and other sponsors who might be able to. We were also instructed to give the Deacon any last minute items that we might have brought up such as our letters or our cups. My gut twisted inside me. We had forgotten their cups. As I confessed what felt to be our grievous sin, I was ready to drive all the way back to Bakersfield that night to get the cups we had so easily forgotten. How could I have forgotten something so, so important? Just two days before, I had finished applying the second coat of nail polish with her name upon it. I was assured that it was okay. The trip back to Bakersfield was not required. There were extra cups. And while they were not the cups that had been selected, they would do for the weekend and none would be the wiser until the weekend was over. I trusted. We were called away to pray and I left my friend after a quick hug, a smile, and a fond farewell. I knew at that point that she was safe with people whom I trusted to care for her and that the weekend was now out of my hands As if it had ever been in my hands to begin with. So I prayed for her and the other candidates, trusting God to care for, provide, teach, and love my candidate as I tended to my weekend tasks. During the weekend, my thoughts went constantly back to my candidate; how was she doing; was she understanding everything; how was she growing, changing? I knew the weekend would come to its close soon enough, so I prayed frequently and continued to commit myself to trusting that her weekend would be just as it should be. Before the sun rose the last day, I was back at the camp and enjoying the company of the team as we ate a light breakfast and tried to wake up. It was Sunday and I took the opportunity to speak with others, now giving voice to my questions. She s doing fine. She s understanding everything. Thank you for bringing them to us. They are such a blessing and joy to have here, was my answer. Of course those were my answers, my perfect God was in charge of this weekend. The weekend was not yet done and there was still more for both of us to do. True to my promise, I returned to the mountain to finish my own responsibilities to the weekend a few hours later. It was an afternoon of hard work cleaning up and taking down the camp. This was work I had done before and it had not changed, and yet there was a difference to the work. The only thing I can guess is that it was the difference of knowing personally the person who had been the recipient of the work. Soon, the work was thankfully done, and we brought them down from the mountain for more celebration that night with some of the community. The following day, we pressed further north and explored different regions of California together and kept the weekend going until we finally arrived back in Bakersfield late Monday night. It has been several months now since the trip to the mountain. Now my candidate is no longer a candidate, but a blossoming Cursillista. She continues to grow and flourish, transformed by her journey to the mountain. And in the end, it really wasn t about me bringing her to the mountain; it definitely wasn t about me making her weekend prefect. It was about her meeting with our perfect God and me letting go. Reigndrops 7

8 I knew that to follow Christ was to die to myself and all that I had lived for,,, Me. A WALK OF FAITH (part 1 of a 4 part series) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain Philippians 1:21 By Jeff Biggs Service was a concept that for most of my life eluded me. I lived a good portion of My life concerned mostly with My own comings and goings, interested in what amused Me and satisfied whatever material need that I had elevated to must have status that week. I was for the most part willing to help those in need when asked. I didn t however have a true servant s heart. I did not go out of my way to make time for people, friends or strangers and It had really never crossed my mind to lead anyone to the Lord. For most of My life, I had no concept of Christ like love. For weeks leading up to Anglican Fourth Day #1, I vacillated between going and not going. I had finally been brought to a place in my life where I realized that I wasn t really in control of anything and that I needed the love, direction and discipline of someone wiser and stronger than I was. Even though I knew where my salvation lay, I was afraid to take that first step into a world that I knew precious little about. I knew enough about our Lord and Savior to know that with acceptance of his grace and salvation would come a responsibility to him that I wasn t sure I was ready to commit to. I knew that to follow Christ was to die to myself and all that I had lived for,,, Me. When I finally made the decision to accept the invitation to my weekend, I was immediately struck with doubt, fear, trepidation and anxiety. Being possessed of a character prone to intense emotion I wasn t sure that I could spend a weekend with total strangers doing heaven knows what. All kinds of wild ideas went through my mind about soul baring group therapy sessions and focus groups. Were we all to get together in a room right then and there and make life altering commitments to a God we didn t fully understand? Was there to be a strange ceremony? Would we somehow be brainwashed, cult like into service of an organization? What was expected us? Was anything expected of us? Fortunately, no. Upon arriving on the patio we were greeted not only by a warm and eager to serve staff, but also by very friendly and welcoming pilgrims traveling the same foreign road. I was immediately struck by how different we seemed. Different ages, backgrounds, vocations, professions, all different but all there answering a call. The first words that I remember sticking in my head from the weekend were trust us, no really, trust us. We re serious,,,trust us. Ordinarily, this would set off all kinds of alarms in my controlling little mind instantly setting my attitude to, are you kidding me, trust? No. It was funny then that for some reason not a single red flag was raised. I experienced a calming effect that came over me like a warm blanket; I felt that I could for whatever reason actually trust these people. In that moment I dropped my remaining pretense of control without the slightest protest. I gave up my watch and my phone and I gave myself over to whatever it was that my Rector, Rectora and caring team members wanted to show me. The first night was an emotional one, from the greetings on the patio to the first meditation, we were not so much eased into the weekend as immediately given a full measure of what was to come over the next couple of days. I learned my first lesson on the nature of Christ and service that evening, it was an important lesson and one I believe has stayed with most of us long after the first night on the mountain. The start of our first full day on the mountain was beautiful. We awoke still in a meditation from the previous evening. The time to think and reflect was very welcome. It is not often in our modern world that we take the time to really commune with our Lord and I was very appreciative of the opportunity to do just that, free from distraction and worldly cares. When the time came, we sat down to a wonderful breakfast with people who were quickly becoming friends. We told stories of family and friends, jobs and children, vacations taken and reasons for making the weekend. Christians really are a diverse group of people. People who would pigeon hole us need only sit down with ten of us at a table for a few minutes to dispel any notion that we are a homogenous group of men and women following a bearded, desert wandering carpenter from Galilee. I heard a lot of great stories at those dining tables and I eagerly took them in. I really looked forward to meal time and the next great story to be told. It was a real treat for me and a great benefit of the weekend, aside from developing a close relationship with our risen Lord, to get to know all of these wonderful people whom I now call brothers and sisters. Aside from the great company in the dining Reigndrops 8

9 hall, one of the strangest/most interesting things to happen early on was being introduced to the crazy band of trouble makers known as The Cooks!, I began to seriously re-think this whole trust thing. Oh my! were they ever the most strangely attired and attitude dishing group of merry pranksters that I had ever laid eyes on. As the weekend progressed we would begin to understand a little bit about why they were the way they were. Make no mistake though, we had just been touched by the first expression of a servant s heart and as silly as it was, it was only a small taste of the immense outpouring of love and service that we would experience that weekend. As the weekend unfolded, we learned valuable lessons in discipleship, leadership and something of the nature of our God. Through our experience on the mountain we learned firsthand what a true servant s heart is. We were shown by word and action what it means to walk in Christ s footsteps. Love, devotion and servanthood were the main points that I took away. I could feel myself changing, not in some ethereal, nebulous way but real change in my attitudes and relationship with not only Jesus Christ but my fellow man. Sometimes words can convey all that is necessary to change attitudes and opinions, but often witnessing the physical manifestation of the concept is required. I know that in my personal story, seeing the reflection of Christ in the faces, attitudes and plain hard work that my brothers and sisters showed me on my weekend was instrumental in my transformation from, man living for himself to man living to serve others. I am grateful to the Anglican Fourth Day movement and especially to those servants in chains that led me through my weekend. It is the most uplifting thing to wake up in the morning and realize that because of this transformative experience I am now a servant in chains as well. I have since joined this amazing group of disciples and went on to work as a cook on the second A4D weekend, but that is a story for another time. Brothers and sisters, may the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ remain with you always. To be continued ULTREYA DATES November 19 th: January 21 st : February 17 th 20 th : March 17 th : April 21 st : May 19 th : June 16 th : St. Judes, Tehachapi St. Luke s, Merced Retreat at Bernasconi Center, Big Pine St. Michael s Ridgecrest St. Paul s Bakersfield St. Jude s, Tehachapi St Mary s, Fresno Next Publication will be Winter, January 2012 deadline for articles and input, Dec. 15, 2011 Reigndrops 9

10 Anglican 4 th Day, Secretariat Diocese of San Joaquin, Ca. Annie Curtier 1740 W Jackman St. Lancaster, Ca US POSTAGE Reigndrops 10