Last Service and Moving In

Wow what a month it has been!  So many monumental things happening in our lives.  It's been so good.  The work continued on the building.  It was fun to go everyday and watch all the progress happening. 

Each time we went we would get more and more excited as we watched the building become more and more like what we had envisioned.  It's so beautiful!

One day there was dirt....

Then it was paved!!

So many people worked so hard to make the building our church home.  There are so many touches that go into a building to make it special.  And so many in our church family worked tirelessly and lovingly.  I saw one of our dear men go to every door and adjust and make sure they close quietly so it wouldn't be a big bang as people go in and out of the auditorium.  I think that's one of those things we take so easily for granted.  So many touches.

I was able to decide how I wanted the janitorial closet to be organized.  The shelving was perfect!

And then we stocked it with lots of goodies!

We had landscapers come in to plant lots of trees.

W had a meeting with all of our cleaning volunteers.  So blessed to have a church that works together!  We put ladies into groups of three to clean each week.  

We also had to work at moving out of the old building while still having services there. Each week we would take more down.  The last week it looked so bare!

Speakers hung.  Baptistry cleaned.  Rock wall put up.  So many touches.

And then getting our pianoes moved in!  So exciting!!

For visitation we went around passing out invite cards to our Grand Opening October 4th!

Liberty was my partner and we went to all the businesses in High Springs.  I love the people in our town, so kind and encouraging!

Putting up a sign to invite everyone for our big day. 

It seems like we were just hanging a sign to invite everyone to our first day!

And then it was time for our last service in our old building. Tabitha told me before the service that she found herself getting a little emotional.  I thought, nah, not me.  But then during the preaching Joshua got up and talked about the pulpit (we have a new pulpit in the new building) and how he really began to preach from that  exact pulpit. And then I thought of Silas and Micah, too.  And all that God has done here in this building.  Then I saw my husband get on a knee to pray, just as I'd seen so many times before. And then those emotions that I thought I wouldn't have showed up.  Such good, happy, nostalgic, thankful tears.  God's been good to me.

Then people started sharing about what had happened in this place:  getting saved, getting baptized, getting married, making decisions, making friends.  It's just a building, but God used it to let us meet there as a church family.  It really has been so good!

 At the very end we had all the kids help us gather up all the hymnbooks. Still working together!