Keeping the saved saved...

So three weeks in, I have learned so much while working as an intern here at the Norco church of Christ. As I am looking at my calendar and seeing how full of activities it has been, I realize that visiting with and encouraging the brethren is just as important as saving the lost souls.Much of last week was an attempt at keeping the saved saved.

Between lunches and Bible studies with Christians, last week was an insanely busy week but an awesome week none the less.

Sunday was a bittersweet day as it was my first Father's Day without my dad.  That morning I preached at Norco.  I didn't preach a Father's Day sermon per-se but I did adapt my illustration to Father's Day and simply talked about how like my earthly father did, our heavenly Father also expects all Christians to work hard and to be diligent in our faith based on 2 Peter 1:3-18.  After the sermon, I received several encouraging comments. 

On Monday, me and Andrew made our first attempt at reaching the Norco campus of Riverside Community College and did not meet this with much success due to logistical issues.  This is a ministry we are still trying to get on its feet.  Monday afternoon, another mishap in that a person I was supposed to study with had to reschedule but me and my friend/sister in Christ, Kelly went to visit someone we have not seen at Norco for a while, Lauren.  She and her family are getting ready to move to Iowa so unfortunately we won't be seeing her anymore.  

Tuesday was our usual routine but as opposed to knocking "cold doors," people we hadn't seen, we visited people who were either members or had visited Norco before.  During this time, Andrew also ran into some familiar faces.  That night concluded with our young adult Bible study at the Norco church building. 

Wednesday was a full day for me in that I had a Bible study with my other friend Britney followed by lunch with one of my supporting elders, Corey.  Both occasions were very encouraging for me. 

Thursday.  I spent the morning in the office getting some work done but then had lunch with an old friend of mine who unfortunately is fighting some discouragement as a result of some things that are happening around her.  I hope to be an encouragement to her.  After that, I went and visited some other old friends of mine as well as an older woman, Joye who was at a local skilled nursing facility.  I was happy to see her and she was happy to see me.  We got caught up on what was going on in my life and she also shared with me some of the trials and triumphs that her family has had including her and her husband, Bob.  The highlight of this day was that I ran into some members from the congregation I was baptized at simply because they needed to use the Norco church building for an event they had to prepare for.  It was nice catching up with them.  

Friday.  Friday was relatively slow but I had lunch in the afternoon with one of our newer converts, Joseph. He is a neat guy.  He has a lot going on in his life but I am excited to see how God uses all those things in Joseph's life to His glory. 

Saturday.  Saturday was probably the highlight of my whole week.  I went to Anaheim, California to an area wide Spanish youth rally called Juventud en Accion (Youth in Action).  This movement involving several congregations in Southern California and across the Latin American world is pushing youth to share the gospel with the world.  The speaker there delivered an excellent message based on 1 Timothy 4:12 and how it is up to the youth to work to fulfill what is said in this passage.

Thanks for reading everyone and I pray this has been informative.