Alleluia He Is Risen!

Alas, I have again been remiss in my blogging duties to keep everyone up to date on our faithful journey.  You can not deny me however, the excitement that April brings.  Our risen Lord, the beautiful signs of spring and much hub bub going on that kept me away from the computer during my free time.  Let me catch you up.  Holy week was a busy time on campus!  Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday included a solemn service and foot washing by Dean Munday, Good Friday was a sung service which Roy and I participated in the community choir for the Passion Song, Easter Vigil on Saturday night - a two and 1/2hour solemn service followed by a community dinner - finishing around 11:30PM then spending an hour of prayer in the chapel in the middle of the night, and Easter Sunday was celebrated in our community church Zion.  The Easter lilies and beautiful arrangements were glorious in celebrating our risen Lord.  May I add as well, the beautiful tulips that have sprung forth from the ground where I buried the bulbs last fall!!  So exciting!  The following week, we left on Wed. to travel to NC to attend the New Wineskins Global Mission Conference at Ridgecrest Conference Center.  It was an inspiring time of testimony of foreign leaders, missionaries, and others working with mission organizations.  Christ inspired my heart to learn more about foreign mission & politics that effect His people suffering from oppression and persecution.  There are parts of the world that have never heard the gospel, and the risks of taking The Word there make it so difficult for missionaries to seek his people.  Through prayer, faith, trust in God and a determination to go out making disciples of all nations by keeping our covenant to the Lord we can overcome all obstacles.  We returned on Sunday 4/11.  Since, Roy and I were away at the conference during out 15th wedding anniversary, we plan to celebrate that with a special dinner out on May 2nd.  With the loving gift from Fr. Joe & Jan Diaz of our home church Holy Trinity, we were able to make dinner reservations at a theater to see Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.  I really look forward to that.  April 15th is not only tax day, a day of dread, but a day of celebration here at Nashotah for Founders Day.  That is the day we celebrate our founding benefactors and make the "Trek to Breck" which is a procession from chapel to the Breck grave site in the cemetery on campus.  It was indeed a special moment.  Roy traveled with several classmates the weekend of April 16-17 to Chicago, IL to attend the N.T. Wright Seminary at Whitley College.  N.T. Wright is a profound speaker and writer on biblical truth.  The conference was a debate panel with other theologians.  That sums it up, bringing us into the week of the 22nd.  Today, was choir practice and chapel.  The sermon tonight was given by Fr. Schlossberg.  He is one that I speak highly of for sure.  His ideals and passion makes each person feel that he is looking deep into their soul and reaches that place in your conscience by challenging your thoughts and actions.  Tonight he preached on a tough topic/issue that is going on within the campus that has caused some separation and cynicism  amongst staff and student body.  One thought sticks in my mind that he had to say, "our approach to cynicism should be hope rather than snickers, anger and strife."  He also reminds us that "even when we forget our promise to HIM, HE never forgets his promise to us".  Christ is counting on us to love one another and feed His sheep.  I pray today for unity in a broken church.  Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; Glory to Him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.  amen  Ephesians 3:20,21