On Saturday, Nov. 5th we drove up to Bentonville, AR for a Sunday morning service. The trip took about 7 hours and unfortunately the boys didn’t sleep very much L. However, we did have a beautiful view of the colorful northwest Arkansas mountains. It’s so nice to see trees turning so many different colors in the fall! I guess we’re not really used to that here in Texas. When we arrived in Bentonville, we got setup in our hotel, which was very nice and very close to the church. Also, there was a huge basket with lots of snacks and goodies for us, as well as a kind letter from the staff at the church.
We went out to dinner with the Associate Pastor and his wife at a restaurant called Cheezey’s American Grille. It was great for the whole family because there were so many options. We also got to catch up with our old friends from college Brandon (the Associate Pastor) and Melissa Smith. They have a little girl who is super cute and a really easy baby from what I could tell! After dinner we were able to show them the new SAGU worship CD that Meredith was in charge of and they showed us their new church worship album that was just about to be released a couple of weeks later. Then we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.
Thankfully we got an extra hour of sleep because of the Daylight Savings Time change. However, as we awoke, Mer and I both felt like we were being attacked. We had a good talk and then prayed together. I also received an encouraging text from my Dad around the same time so we began to feel better about everything.
We shared a missions window during both of the A.M. services. Worship was awesome and the entire service was very special because it was the launch of the church’s new name, Catalyst Church. I really felt like God spoke some significant things to me during the pastor’s explanation of what it means to be a catalyst as a Christian and as a church. After service we were able to talk to several people who were interested in praying for the city of London and for our family.
Later, we went to lunch with Pastor Nate Sweeney and his family as well as Brandon and his family. We went to Red Robin, which was exciting for us because we had never been there but had heard so much about it. Well the food was quite delicious, especially the bacon cheeseburger with provolone cheese and served with spicy ketchup…yum! Finally, we headed back on the road for another 7-hour trip home with the boys, who slept quite well this time ;)
Thank you Pastor Sweeney for letting us come share our vision for the people of London with your great church on such a monumental day. Thanks Pastor Brandon for your family’s lifelong friendship with ours and for taking such great care of us. You guys brought new meaning to the word hospitality!
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