Local Church Updates

• ABC Car Wash Raises Funds
• Garden Grove Preteens Sponsor Sabbath in the Park
• New Jersey Teen Receives Presidential Award
• East Texas Young Adults Host Ladies Tea to Honor "Women of Character"
• Campout and Services Enjoyed in Wyoming Mountains
• Storm Can't Dampen Spirits at Tampa Bay Family Weekend
• College Graduate Honored as Outstanding Senior
• Canton Honors Three Graduates
• ABC and Home Office Ladies Share Books and Bagels Brunch
• Houston North Holds Christian Women's Workshop
• Seventh Brother Earns Eagle Scout Award

ABC Car Wash Raises Funds

Ambassador Bible Center students gathered together for a LifeNets car wash fund-raiser on Sunday, June 25.

Things started off slowly, with the volunteers providing most of the cars in the mostly cloudy morning time. As the day went on and the sun started to shine, however, business picked up with local residents lining up and kindly offering much-appreciated donations to the LifeNets cause.

In total, $318 was donated, thanks to the generosity of those in the community, the hard work of the ABC volunteers and most of all God's bountiful blessings.

—Nick Bizic
This article first appeared in ABC Times.

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Garden Grove Preteens Sponsor Sabbath in the Park

O'Neill Regional Park in Orange County, California, was the beautiful setting for a very special Sabbath service. On May 27, 2006, for the second year, the preteens of the Garden Grove, California, congregation sponsored a Sabbath in the park for families, teens and those young at heart.

Under the big blue sky our group of 65 were led in hymns by Dylan Bates (age 11). Jesse Lopez and our pastor, Mario Seiglie, both brought messages catering specifically to the young.

About 15 of the children participated in a script reading about the fruits of the Spirit in which they described what each fruit meant in kids' terminology.

Following the service the group had a lunch of barbecued hamburgers and picnic potluck contributed by all. Everyone continued to enjoy the relaxing Sabbath fellowship during the cool, summery day in the midst of God's creation.

—Sherie Lopez

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New Jersey Teen Receives Presidential Award

Sarah Williams, a 14-year-old who attends the Central New Jersey congregation with her parents Angela and Larry Williams, received the following certificate signed by U.S. President George Bush:

"Congratulations on receiving the 2006 Presidential Award... Since 1983, this award has recognized students whose outstanding efforts have helped them develop their skills and improve their academic performance... Mrs. Bush and I send our best wishes."

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East Texas Young Adults Host Ladies Tea to Honor "Women of Character"

The young adults of the East Texas congregation hosted a ladies' tea on Sunday, May 21, celebrating and honoring the women in the congregation as "Women of Character." More than 60 women and girls attended the event, ranging in age from 5 to 83.

The young adults created a beautiful indoor garden atmosphere, complete with a large cascading water fountain, green, lush plants and ferns and fresh flowers on each table.

As the beautifully attired guests arrived, each was warmly greeted and escorted to her table by one of the young adults, who served as her hostess throughout the tea. Some women completed their apparel for the day with long gloves and vintage hats, which added a special touch to the celebration.

After the tea was served by the hostesses, the women at each table discussed various aspects of how godly character pours out of our lives, just as we pour tea out of our teapots. Each guest had a special vellum scroll at her place setting describing a unique aspect of Christ's character that should be pouring out of our lives.

Following the inspiring discussion, the guests celebrated with a beautiful buffet of hors d'oeuvres, including turkey croissant and cucumber tea sandwiches, fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables and a wide variety of tea cookies.

Immediately after the snacks, the women were treated to a slide show recognizing many women of character. The slide show honored each woman in attendance. The women had been asked to share their favorite photo of themselves and a quote from a woman who had inspired them.

Following a group photo and more socializing, everyone was treated to a favor bag filled with special candles, tea bags and jewelry. The young adults were thrilled to honor the ladies of our congregation in such a special way and help them realize how much we value their contribution to all of our lives.

—Laura Moody

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Campout and Services Enjoyed in Wyoming Mountains

Brethren from Wyoming and Idaho felt very blessed to enjoy camping and Sabbath services at a beautiful campsite near Granite Hot Springs, Wyoming, June 16 to 18. Lonnie and Debbie Pierce went the evening before others arrived to find a suitably private campsite. They selected a perfect spot in a peaceful mountain valley. It was alongside a rushing stream and just below the hill where Lonnie shot his moose last fall.

Some members came for the Sabbath only. They were offered sandwiches by Carol Foy upon their arrival. Services were led by Wilbur Berg, pastor of the Jackson, Wyoming, congregation, who spoke on "Which Way—God's or Cain's?" Hymns sung a cappella sounded especially beautiful and meaningful in the awesome mountain setting.

After services, a delicious meal was shared. As is tradition for area potlucks, everyone contributed something special, with the menu coordinated by Sue Berg. A main attraction was roasting hot dogs on sticks over an open fire. Ed Foy had green willow branches ready to skewer hot dogs, while Lonnie Pierce served up two choices of moose chili—"hot" or "just beans and tomato sauce."

Appetites were quickly satisfied and fellowship continued well into the evening. The Foys' grandchildren, Emily and Luke Hahn, enjoyed playing quiet games in their camper. Finally, those staying only the day began to reluctantly say their good-byes and head home, but not before agreeing to make this an annual event. Weather and temperatures were perfect, while mosquitoes, flies and bees were nowhere to be seen.

Those who camped overnight also enjoyed frosty mornings, fishing, swimming in the nearby hot springs, more campfire cooking and relaxing together even longer in the glorious setting of God's creation.

—Sue Berg

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Storm Can't Dampen Spirits at Tampa Bay Family Weekend

Tropical Storm Alberto dampened the weather, but not the spirits, at the annual Tampa Bay Family Weekend, June 10 and 11.

On the Sabbath, 266 brethren gathered for services in Largo, Florida, where David Myers, pastor of the Akron and Youngstown, Ohio, congregations, was the guest speaker. After a potluck meal provided by the St. Petersburg and Tampa congregations, Mr. Myers also delivered a thought-provoking Bible study comparing Satan's methods of attack to those of the world's most deadly snakes.

After sundown, brethren kicked up their spurs at a Western-themed dance.

On Sunday, high surf and cool breezes encouraged warm fellowship among the 153 people who enjoyed the cookout and beach party at Fort De Soto Park. Brief showers forced the cancellation of the traditional sand sculpture contest, so the competition is expected to be twice as fierce next year!

—Kristin Yarbrough

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College Graduate Honored as Outstanding Senior

Elizabeth A. Cannon graduated May 5 with a bachelor of arts in English with a minor in history from the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University. Elizabeth graduated with Highest Honors, Summa Cum Laude and received the honor of the "Outstanding Senior." She also received the "Distinguished Thesis Award."

She is currently teaching second grade at the Colegio Boston in San Antonio Aguas, Guatemala and studying advanced Spanish in Antigua, Guatemala at the Ixchel School.

She has applied to attend ABC in January 2007 before she goes on to London, England, for her masters degree in international history at the London School of Economics.

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Canton Honors Three Graduates

Recently members of the Canton, Ohio, congregation honored three young graduates with a reception after services.

Carley Kovatch earned a bachelor of science degree in early childhood education, and Tim Ickes and Emily Troyer each earned a high school diploma. Tim will attend West Liberty College in West Virginia, while Emily plans to study to become a high school French teacher after completing ABC classes.

—Shirley Topovski

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ABC and Home Office Ladies Share Books and Bagels Brunch

On Wednesday, May 24, 40 ladies, representing the ABC class, home office staff and the wives of some of the home office staff, gathered together to encourage one another in their reading endeavors. Attendees enjoyed eating bagels, various spreads and an abundance of fruit. Each lady was also given a bookmark quoting Hebrews 10:23-25 (compliments of ABC student Amanda Weitzel) and a blank sheet of paper to write down the titles, authors and descriptions of books that interested her.

The morning started with a prayer, eating and a short talk from ABC student Audry Bauer about remembering who gives wisdom and understanding (Job 38:36) and what standards to think of when choosing a book to read (Philippians 4:8).

Then, each woman had the opportunity to share a description of a book (excluding the Bible) that has had a positive impact on her life. The descriptions included what the book was about, why and how it impacted her life and why she thought others would benefit from reading it.

The subjects of the books were across the spectrum. They ranged from Christian books about roles women play to children's books that remind us of the simplicity of our youth.

—Audry Bauer

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Houston North Holds Christian Women's Workshop

April 15 approximately 50 women of all ages from the Houston North, Texas, congregation came together to bond, encourage each other and learn about God's Word. The first meeting covered the topic of prayer. Participants were asked to read the first 15 chapters in The Power of a Praying Woman, by Stormie Omartian, prior to the meeting.

The facilitators, Tammie Smith and Sandy Sarin, organized the day's agenda and created questions for large group and small group discussion.

After the opening prayer, Judy Servidio spoke about the purpose of the workshop and the outcome we hope to achieve. Then, because this was the first meeting, the facilitators discussed their role. Next we heard from Mrs. Treybig who shared some lessons she'd learned about guarding our minds, asking God for direction and the importance of teaching our children to pray.

The next part of the meeting was a large group discussion. We talked about the different names we use when we talk to God and about miracles in our lives.

We were then asked to move from our "safe" group and find a place at another table according to our age. This gave us a good mixture of ages at each table to delve into the book for small group discussion. Each group chose three questions out of seven to answer and then we came back together as a large group to discuss our answers.

A survey was given at the end of the meeting for input as to what each person wanted out of the workshops and what she wished to accomplish in the subsequent meeting.

—Laurie Curry

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Seventh Brother Earns Eagle Scout Award

On July 2, Justin M. Brunick, the seventh and youngest son of Edward and Claudia Brunick, received his Eagle Scout award, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts. Justin, who attends the Watertown, South Dakota, congregation, joins his six older brothers in attaining this honor.

The requirements to become an Eagle Scout include earning at least 21 merit badges, assuming positions of leadership in the troop and a service project.

The Brunick Eagle projects were varied. James and Joel helped develop a wildlife sanctuary. Jason planted saplings for shoreline stabilization. Jonathan helped with flood relief preparations. Joshua built set storage for the Town Players. Jerod sanded, primed and painted soccer goals.

Justin repaired and painted benches, picnic tables and the flag pole at Jensen Park in front of the Senior Citizens' Center in Watertown.

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