Carter prays.

I posted about Sunday morning already, so I will now tell you about the rest of Sunday.  We were blessed to be asked to join three other couples, from our worship fellowship, for lunch at a local restaurant.  It's just so awesome how four couples, who all just met, can dine together and have such a wonderful time.

After a long lunch, we came home to rest before going to church at a local church, Coffeyville Bible Church, for the evening worship time.  One of our campers, who I will call Grandma Pat, had been to our house on Friday just fairly bubbling over with a story... a true story that she had just experienced.

I only wish that I could be as gifted a story-teller as Pat is. 

Anyway, Pat told us that she was going to get to tell her story at the Coffeyville Bible Church on Sunday night, so we decided then that we would go.  We just couldn't miss this.

So we go to this small church last night.  It's Communion Sunday and we partake as they observe an open communion service.  We belt out four hymns with gusto and joy.  Next the pastor tells us that he is really excited to introduce Grandma Pat and can not wait to hear what she has to tell us all.

The following is Grandma Pat's story as best as I can remember it:

"I am so excited to stand here, I can hardly stand it! (turning to the pastor) and I can't believe it is Communion Sunday here!

(Composing herself... an effort in futility) About ten days before I was to start work at Amazon, my daughter, son-in-law and grandson, Carter, came over with me to help me get my camper set up. (Pat is a widow who travels alone) Heritage Park where I am parked is on 10th Street and right behind my camper is all those empty lots where there was once houses, etc. before the 2007 flood.  Carter went out one day, exploring and he came back all excited, "Grandma, look I found a GLASS communion cup!"  It seems that one of the concrete slabs remaining belonged to a church and immediately, Carter begin to be concerned about the welfare of this church.  He went back out, and not long afterward, came back to my camper, "Grandma, Grandma, I found four more glass communion cups beside that slab.  It must have been a church!"  So I cleaned them up as Carter asked, "Grandma, why did God let that flood destroy this church?"  I said a quick prayer for wisdom and said, "Well, Carter, maybe they needed a bigger church so they could grow."  That seemed to satisfy him.

When it came the day, a few days later, for Carter and his mom and dad to go back home, Carter announced that they should observe Communion together before they left, so we went to the store to get juice.  Carter insisted that we needed a round tray, and I happened to have one.  It's says Pepsi on it, so we covered it with a paper towel.  We cut up a few pieces of bread and the four of us walked out to the old church slab.  Carter with his Bible in hand, read the passage about the bread representing the body of Christ, he prayed and we partook.  Next Carter read the passage about the wine and the blood of Jesus Christ and he prayed again. We drank the juice from the lost glass Communion cups.  "Now, Grandma," Carter said, "we need to sing a song."  "OK" I said, "Let's sing the chorus to 'Thank You, Lord.'"  He said, "No, Grandma, we need to sing a verse, too." (He's a natural as a future pastor.) So we did. 

After they left, Carter begin to pray that this church family would find a new building and he would ask me every time I talked to him on the phone, "Grandma, had you found that church yet?"

In the meantime, I read an article in the newspaper about a "Love In Action" get-together with singing and a meal being offered.  I was a little leery because being single and at my age "love in action" could mean any number of things, {insert congregation laughter} but I decided to find the address on the article and make plans to go, anyway.

That's when I drove onto Fresno Street and found a gentleman mowing the lawn of a building that looked like it might be a church building, but there were no signs out, so I stopped and asked the man if he could tell me where this address was.  He said, "Right here!" 

Well, as we talked, I found out that this was the new building for the old church that belonged to the empty slab behind my camper where Carter had gleefully found five glass Communion cups.  Not only that, but you found this building, which is so perfectly equipped already, about the same time that Carter begin to pray that you would find a building to worship in.

I want to tell you that Carter is seven years old and he's thrilled that you have a building and he is committed to continue praying for you.  He's going to be so excited when I tell him that I've talked to you all AND observed Communion with you!"

Grandma Pat also found out that the only two things the church was able to salvage out of the old church was a wooden cross that had been built by a member and the Communion Service Set (minus five glass cups).

Almost all of us were wiping our eyes as Grandma Pat was telling this wonderful story.  There is no doubt that this church will grow and do great things for the LORD in the community around it.

Is that a great story or what???!!!