On July 25th, we were going about our normal Sunday morning routine, in preparation to drive to the Thrashes. As is our custom, we had piled everything that we would take in the middle of the family room, and we were about to sit down for our family conference (prep for communion), when we got a call from the Thrashes. This was at 9:15 a.m. Mr. Thrash said that they had just found out that Niko had some kind of skin rash, and they were deliberating on what to do about it.
We proceeded with our family conference, and a few minutes later Mr. Thrash called back, and took up our offer to host here. So, it was about 9:45 and the house was a mess. The whole family launched into action, and by 10:15 when the first family arrived, the house was looking pretty good. To top it all off, though, our air conditioner was having problems, and the main level of the house was still pretty warm. Consequently, we decided to have the service in the basement. I was so thankful that we had repainted it earlier, and it was all ready for the chairs to be set up.
We had originally been going to meet with the Plourds, Johnsons and Butlers at the Thrash home. The first two families were successfully contacted, but no one could reach the Butlers. They ended up driving all the way to the Thrashes, where they were redirected here. While they were in transit, it was getting late, so we started the service here, not knowing whether they would make it here or not. We were overjoyed when they arrived about halfway through the service. After lunch, we had the regular afternoon session.
After the afternoon session was over, Dad informed us of what the discipleship activity was going to be. Due to the excessive heat outdoors, we would have a time of practicing verbal blessings on each other, instead of soccer. We were supposed to gather in the shade on the soccer field, but as soon as we stepped outside, we knew that there was going to be a change of plans. We started the activity on the lily pond side of the pool, but it started raining soon after, forcing us to seek shelter inside the house. There we continued the discipleship time, ending finally by singing Make Me a Blessing.
Then we had singing practice. We practiced I Believe in Miracles, and had quite a bit of trouble getting the rhythm correct. Then we sang a few easier hymns, and had dinner. After dinner, everyone left, and that was the close to our very eventful and unexpected Sunday.
