May 26, 2009--Erick's ordination

I'm finally getting time to sit down and update my blog! I would have had time last week, but then we used up all of the megabytes on our plan and I couldn't get online for a few days. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Last week was District Counsel, and it was in Fort Wayne this year. My parents babysat the kids for us for a few days while Erick and I drove up north. There was a business session on Monday and a service Monday night, and George O. Wood preached. He is the General Superintendent in the Assemblies of God. Right before he preached, Nancy Honeytree sang "Pioneer" and George Wood said that as she was singing, the Holy Spirit began to move and impress on him that the sermon he had prepared wasn't the sermon he was supposed to preach that night. Instead he preached on enduring hardship. It was such a powerful sermon and touched both of us--we felt like it was just for us. We weren't the only ones that felt that way, either. So many people gave testimony to how that sermon touched their lives. We could feel the presence of God so strongly in that place the entire time we were there. It's such a blessing to spend time with other pastors.

Earlier that day, we also went to lunch with some of the former pastors at the church Erick had resigned and found out that the same thing had happened to them while they were there. It was such a blessing to be able to talk about it and know that it wasn't just us.

The next day the District Superintendent preached the morning service and we had communion, and then we attended a Missions banquet, and then after lunch there was another business session. In the evening was the ordination service. There were 19 or 20 candidates this year. I can't remember for sure how many. The presbyters did the laying on of hands. They had let the candidates put in their preferences for which presbyter they wanted to lay hands on them, and Erick chose the one from our ministry group who is also the pastor of the church we are now attending. He's got a real shepherd's heart and is such a good example of a pastor.

The ceremony was beautiful and George Wood preached the message again that night, called "The Church Is In Your Hands." Each ordination candidate received a shepherd's staff. Here's a picture of Erick and me right after the ceremony. Unfortunately he blinked, but this is the best picture I was able to get. It's kind of hard to take pictures when I'm up there, too.