In case you haven’t ever been a part of the truest definition of community that I have visualized than let me describe it for you:

Community is +/- 40 people crammed under a +/-14’x14’ tent during the middle of an incredible hard rain storm while their kids are enjoying a bounce house/slip and slide. That was the early ending of our Easter Celebration but I didn’t hear not one complaint, one soaked spirit but just a lot of people taking the opportunity to laugh together as life got rained on. I don’t know if anybody else caught the spiritual significance in this moment but I can’t help but laugh and fight back tears of excitement of what a community like that can accomplish.

Our first Easter at InDependence was a big success. Here are some bullet highlights and things I took away from the weekend:

• God showed up to celebrate the resurrection of His Son with us.
• We participated in our first communion “in remembrance of Him”. I am looking forward to doing that again really soon.
• We had some crazy inviters and even had to bring in some more chairs. (Keep inviting we have a lot more chairs)
• The bad news is that I now have a good idea to get everybody closer to the front.
• Our set up team was amazing…I think we were done faster than ever before which was good because we had to repair a projector. Thank you God for all the technical people you sent us.
• Publix may not be “the meat people” but the hooked us up with lots of burgers, dogs and buns.
• A great grill master uses a grease fire to his advantage.
• The rain saved me about 5lbs. worth of desserts I was going to eat.
• I have a bruise on my chest from a girl hitting me while playing “two hand touch” football.
• We sent some of our teardown team to get the park ready and they did a great job hiding eggs and getting everything set up…but we missed you… a lot!
• Those that stayed to tear down worked extra hard…they must have wanted a burger real bad too.
• If you thought a bounce with a slide is fun…just add water! (Check Harmony’s blog for some pictures)
• I informed the weather analyst in our church that if it made her feel better “she was right” about the ensuing rain… but with a smile she said “I wish I was wrong but I am still wet”.
• We had a bunch of great help cleaning out the park after the “gully washer” went through.
• The last point is that some of the greatest memories in life don’t come out of the perfect days, but days like Sunday when the storm comes, the storm goes, and the people you were smiling with before the storm, you are still smiling with after the storm.

Thanks to everybody who worked so hard to make our first Easter atInDependence one to remember.

Final thought: Hamburgers and hot dogs donated…Cooler to hold the hamburgers and hotdogs and a small body if need be $85, Picture of our sound guy operating the grill in an umbrella hat…priceless!