Spring ‘09 Photo Journal #2

Posted by Tia Ciferno and filed in Blog

 Light on the altar of Big Run United Methodist Church.

The Lord was the Light of our way through dozens of ministries in April and May… when the schedule looks too full, I know it will be only by His Grace that I walk through it. And again, it was!  He was incredible!  I am in awe of the honor it is to be called to this kind of life. I love meeting each dear and precious soul, and hearing the daily, real encounters they are having with their God of Light.  It’s also a role that brings me to my knees as I lift up the needs I hear from town to town and heart to heart. My tears do flow as I drive home from my ministries.  Life is SO hard. But God is SO good, and I hear those stories too. How Alive and Well He is in our midst.

And He is a GOD of SURPRISES!!   Two ladies walked up to me before the concert at the Methodist church in Big Run, PA to ask me if I remembered them. Do you want to know where we met?  Standing on a dock on an island on the French River in Ontario as we stared at the Northern Lights together.  They had a cabin near the one we rented at the French River Lodge more than seven years ago.  We had talked about the Creator as we were overwhelmed by His Beauty that summer night, and that week I shared the CD Healer of My Heart with them and we were excited to discover we both served the same Jesus. 

Diane and Audrey live in Buffalo, NY and had planned their traveling to include the Big Run concert that evening.

 

This is Pastor Dawn Krishart and Jenny Gordon after the ministry that evening. Dawn has a beautiful servant heart, and she and her husband Tom hosted me in their home. We had a thought-provoking late night discussion along with hot chai! God is working in their midst. Jenny was instrumental in putting together the beautiful ladies retreat at Mahaffey Camp the day before (the church’s first ladies retreat.)

Lakeside United Methodist Church in DuBois, PA is home to amazing creativity and very warm and sincere sisters and brothers in the Lord. I had the honor of singing for both morning services, hearing their bell choir and vocal choir, and joining in on a Sunday School class where the conversation was thoughtful and powerful.

As I walked into the church, these original paintings were throughout the Sunday School wings along all the walls.  Here is the painting of the One they are serving with such passion.

 

 

A Bible scene~

Janie Borden  is pictured here with her husband, and she had taken much responsiblity for the weekend ladies retreat the day before. 

!

One of the beautiful windows at Lakeside…

This is Cathy and her family at Chewton United Methodist Church in Wampum, PA~ This church has a miracle story of a benefactor who isn’t a member, or a resident, but after visiting the church, this man bought them ten acres of land so they can build a new sanctuary. 

This was their first Mother Daughter Banquet, and Cathy did an excellent job of organizing it.  And I never met a women who had a bruise on her arm from the kick of her rifle after shooting a turkey. Yay, Cath.  A woman who not only roasts her dinner, but shoots it too.

 

Cathy’s energetic daughters~

 

This is Diana from St Marks’ Lutheran Church in Chesterland, Ohio.  She’s here with her mom and daughters and nieces. What a beautiful day that was!  This was St Mark’s first Mother Daughter gathering, and it was SO well done.

 

St Marks’ beautiful sanctuary. There’s Julia tuning her guitar.

I haven’t been to Norton Baptist Church in seven years, so it was a joy to visit them again.

This is Jackie and her daughter. She helped to organize the evening~ along with many other willing hearts. That evening was the first time there was a response to my invitation to waltz during the song “Grace.”  Several adorable little girls, maybe two and three years old, stepped into the center aisle in their ruffled dresses, and twirled and twirled.

 More beautiful ladies from Norton Baptist.

 

We also had the honor of singing for the National Day of Prayer at Packard Music Hall in our hometown of Warren, Ohio. To the left is our gifted percussionist, Jeff Foos.  If you come to any concerts this summer, Julia and I will be sharing a new song we sang for the first time that evening… it’s an old prayer with a new melody.