Sharing – Where have you seen God at work this week?
Stephanie – This week we got to do at HomePlate; typically, Westside helps out with the Holiday Store where they get to come and pick out these gifts for themselves and for others. Of course, this year with Covid, we couldn’t do that. So, instead we asked the community for $100 gift cards and we were able to hand those out to the youth this week as they came in. We had a cookie decorating kit and a $100 Visa gift card and lots of happy youth. So, that really filled my cup on Thursday in Hillsboro and then Friday in Beaverton. That was really fun to see the joy in the youth faces as they got to experience a little bit of the Holidays. So, very fun for me this week.
Gayellyn – My God Moment this week was Wednesday evening when we got to have our Advent Bible Study here and remotely as well. We had a few hiccups with the technology, but we got it all figured out thanks to Stephanie and her great idea. And we just had a really, really great time communing together.
Wendy F. 1)The boys and I got the pleasure of walking through the Lighthouse Advent. And words cannot do the experience justice. All I can say is please sign up and go. We’re planning to go multiple times; it was just tremendous. The 2 hour block is wonderful, because it gives plenty of time to not feel like you have to rush through it. So, thank you for those nice long blocks.
2) We don’t go out much at all, just like everyone else, so it was a significant moment to go out in the car – Barrett had a gift card from Starbucks and he decided that he wanted to use it at this time. We got in line and we had a really exciting moment that we wanted to pay for the person behind us. You know, you can do that all year long, but the holiday spirit makes you think of it more now. We got to the window and the person ahead of us had paid for us! So, we got to keep that going; the woman in the window was all excited to see how long the chain would go on, because once you get your own, often times people will then pay for the person behind them. So, I just thought that was a fun one to share. And again, in the few trips that you go out have a fun moment where you can start the chain or keep the chain going.
Kari – I got multiple Christmas Cards in the mail this week. But I got one from a friend who has really been more of an acquaintance; we haven’t seen each other very much due to the Covid. But, her family gave Joe & I a $50 gift card to Fred Meyers. This was completely unexpected and one of those Random Acts of Kindness that was so touching and just really made me feel special. So, that was really nice of her to do that.
Kat – Fun fact - Earlier this week there was a drive through pay for the person behind me chain that went over 300 cars long. I don’t remember what fast food restaurant it was. It made headlines that 300 cars in a row paid it forward by paying for the car behind them.
Pastor Brett – One of my God Moments was I got to see two people in person this week. The first person I got to see in person was Paige Flanagan; Paige it was so wonderful to see you masked up last Sunday at communion. We had this moment where – oh my gosh, we have never seen each other in person! The second person was Krista who visited the church building on Monday. I was painting my church office and she swung by and said hello. And it was so good to see you in person, as well! So, here we are 9 months into the pandemic and worship and I’m just finally meeting people in person, it’s amazing. I think I have met most of you, but Paige & Krista were still on the list to check off. So, yeah God!
Michele – I tried to create a God Sighting for a friend. I have a friend who used to live here and she moved to Arizona; her last family member, since she moved down there, finally passed. So, she eventually ended up in Iowa where she bought herself a home and this is where she is going to retire. She has no family left at all, so I know she will be totally surprised and that’s why I say it will be like a God Sighting. I sent her a fruit and cookie basket - which I know she will be totally surprised, because she doesn’t expect anything. She doesn’t know anybody in this town she moved to. It was just that economically she could have a home and a comfortable little retirement. So, this is a suggestion to other people that if you know somebody like her, who has nobody, you can send them a nice surprise to let them know they are remembered.
Paige – I’ve been able to be part of a fun one too. I’m a member of a Moms Board online. Somebody had come on a few weeks ago and said – they work at one of the assisted living facilities in King City and we are looking to have people adopt seniors for the time. So, there’s been all these moms in Tigard and Tualatin that have been able to adopt these seniors. So, Liam and I were able to a little thing for the lady we were given the name for. When we dropped it off, we weren’t exactly sure where we should take it; the facility was pretty much locked down. And one of the staff was in the entry way and said she’d be happy to take it; you guys have just been such a blessing to all of our residents. So, it’s just been fun to see the larger community come together to support these seniors who are on their own in Tigard and King City.
Neil – I have been enjoying work lately because we have been able to do a lot of stuff that adheres to the company values as opposed to just making money deals. We just worked with a group that does a lot of assisted living communities across the country providing them with small iPod Touches, which our company has basically discontinued. But, they still have use with the cameras and microphones to be doing things like we’re doing for church. We are providing these little iPods across the country for seniors to connect with their families, since there’s all the questions about whether families can go and visit with the seniors or not. And with the higher risk in assisted living communities, it felt really kind of cool to be part of the program. Several of us are volunteering to teach small classes via Webex on how to use the cameras and the microphones and everything else so that they are all set up to go by the time we hit the holidays at the end of the month.