Give Thanks!

Posted October 7, 2021

Greetings Church Family,

I want to wish each of you a Happy Thanks Giving!

My challenge to you this weekend is to find something to be thankful for.  And even better, write it down and share it with someone. Call or text someone and share your blessing with them. Then pray with them! That would be a double blessing.

Let me share with you a couple of things I am thankful for—of course, in addition to family, friends, a great place to live, and a free country (and yes, we still have many freedoms and things to be thankful for in Canada). 

This week I had a physical therapy appointment for my shoulder rehabilitation. Since mid-August, my shoulder was improving slow and steadily but this week I decided to test it “a little” on the monkey bars with Jesiah at the playground. At the time I didn’t feel anything but the next morning before my appointment I realized I had aggravated my rotator cuff muscle. However, my praise is thankfulness for a top-notch physical therapist who was able to loosen things up and by the end of the day, my arm was feeling great again. Still, lots of work on my part but God is healing my should a little more each day. 

There are many things to be thankful for this Thanks Giving, including trials and challenges (James 1:2-3)—but the second thing I want to focus on is the revival I am seeing in our church. Bit by bit a movement is starting, the ball is rolling and we are going to see greater and greater things as we begin to pray like never before. I am so thankful that I can be part of this movement here in Salmon Arm, Revelstoke, and Silver Creek.

 

This past Sabbath, I am told that we had at least 30-40 men, women, children, and families that participated in a prayer walk on the streets around our church. That’s amazing! Some of the many great leaders in our church helped organize the prayer walk, supper, and family vespers. I’m told that many who participated this past Sabbath stayed until after 8pm and had a wonderful time. I praise God for this! 

This ended up being another hard year, that isn’t finished yet, but let’s not miss the blessings, let’s make sure to stop and praise and be thankful for the abundance we experience every day. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones”. Be positive. No matter how messed up the world is, be of good courage, Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33)!

 

My Hi-5 List

  1. BC Conference President — Pastor Wesley Torres was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Thursday, October 7, 2021, Pastor Torres was scheduled for surgery. We have now received word that his surgery went very well. Praise God. Continue to keep him in your prayers. To read the BC Conference press release, click here
     
  2. Speak Out Against Bill-8 — this legislation affects internet-based educational programs. The BC Conference operates West Coast Adventist School which is a virtual school for students all over British Columbia. Bill-8 is designed to significantly restrict online educational programs and have more centralized government control. Based on the restrictions Bill-8 imposes, most virtual schools in British Columbia will likely have to shut down by the end of this school year. 
    • This hits close to home as our church in Salmon Arm operates a Learning Centre which has kids enrolled in several virtual schools including West Coast Adventist School. This is a big deal and we need your prayers, your support, and your voice. 
    • If you are interested in writing a letter to your local MLA or other government officials, please contact Amy Druitt or me. We will work with you to make your voice heard. 
    • Also, we will be forming a volunteer committee to help church members write letters to speak out against Bill-8. If you are interested in being part of this committee, please let me know. 
    • Finally, for more information, the BC Conference has a written statement about Bill-8 (click here to download) and a document has also been provided with a sample letter one could use as a starting point (click here).  
       
  3. Mission Trip Info Meeting, October 14, 6:30 PM at the Church — It's time to make some solid plans. And we need to know if you are interested in going on a mission trip to Peru next year. We would be joining another group from Washington State and the proposed dates are March 16-28, 2022. For those at the last meeting we will have a revised info sheet with updated financial details. See you next week
     
  4. Agape Supper & Communion Weekend — Next weekend October 15 and 16 will be a special weekend of prayer and fellowship. We will begin Friday evening with an Agape Supper (also known as a "Love Feast"—a time of worship and fellowship). This service will prepare our hearts for our final communion service of the year AND will introduce a special sermon series titled: POWER TO PRAY 
    • October 15 @ 6:00 PM — Friday Evening Agape Supper
      • Devotional: It's Harvest Time
    • October 16 — Sabbath Communion Service during Church Service
      • Sermon: Time for Healing
         
  5. Health Tip: did you know that mushrooms can help balance our immune system? According to Lucia Tiffany mushrooms can help give our immune systems a boost if needed or help dampen it in the case of auto-immune diseases (@12mins and 40 seconds). For other health tips and healthy food ideas? Check out this nice program from 3ABN talking about healthy cooking that boosts our immune systems naturally. 

 

Sincerely,  Pastor Royce