Not only did we meet the students and their families as we ate and talked about where we were from and how to pronounce Pumpkin Pie. We were given the opportunity to serve--a hallmark of Legacy Church. Legacy cooked and brought all the food, served it along with drinks and deserts, and served as table hosts for our guests. Yes, they even set up, decorated and stuck around to clean up and carry out the trash. The Church was the Church Sunday night. I heard one person say, "This is what church is about. Nothing brings me closer to God than when I serve others." I agreed.
The highlight for me each year is hearing the students reading Psalm 100 in their heart languages. We heard the Song of Thanksgiving in twelve different languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Farsi, Vietnamese, Russian, Bulgarian, Korean and others. I got a lump in my throat every time a student began to read the Scripture in his or her heart language.
Whether or not those who read or heard believed David's Song of Thanksgiving, the Good News of God's love that endures forever was shared with everyone.
Thank you, June Zheng, and the ELP teachers and assistants who serve the students each week. Thank you Legacy Church for being a "light for the nations" and giving us all a taste of Heaven by your service to the International community around us.If you want to see more pictures from the event, go here.
If you have been keeping up with our series on spiritual practices, you can hear my final message on the practice of celebration here.