Maker's Faire

Freedom Fighters (FF), a group that I am a part of, that focuses on fighting human trafficking by raising funds to purchase another home in the East Bay for human trafficking survivors,  had the great opportunity to hold a Maker's Faire in which the majority of the profits go to FF.

In San Martin, just 45 mins from home.

One of our ladies at our church had this grand idea and with the help of her father who manages this vineyard, we were able to gather various church members who have the creativity to make items to sell at this beautiful site.

Homemade scented candles by Dandles & Co, our very own Danika Park and beautiful hand-stitched ponchos from Oh-bee-have, Lisa Park's talents.

Beautifully crafted mirrors, wine bottles and cheese boards by Pam Martin

Delish edible goodies by Lorie Mohs and Lorelie's Kitchen

Gorgeous photography by Janet Norris

And lot and lots of handmade jewelry by FF volunteers who painstakingly gather together for hours to make all this beautiful jewelry.

100% of the proceeds go to The Beacon, the future Freedom House House

We can thank this lovely lady, Deborah Hall for teaching the other volunteers to make beautiful items from beads.

The venue here at the winery was just amazing!

 Since we were here we might as well try some of their wines..

A flight of reds and whites..

Over the weekend, FF was able to raise over $7,000 towards the Beacon! Praise God!

Hume

Emily's first time away from home for a whole week.. and went to High School Summer Camp!

Hume Lake in the background! So gorgeous!

Emily and 12 other members of her Youth Group at FCC went to Hume Lake Christian Camp during July 4th week.

The girls' cabin

She has never been away without one of her parents so this was a big independent step for my first born! And she had a great time!

Emily attached to Courtney

She enjoyed the recreation time, food and cabin time.

 The camp grounds look so beautiful!

Emily and Brandon, one of the counselors, braided Adrianne's hair!

She made a cool key ring during craft time.

The kids woke up so see the sun rise against Hume Lake at 6:00am!

The camp had a professional photographer and posted the following pictures on their website. Of course, I did not purchase any so that's why the Hume marks on the photos.

Crazy Campers!

Can you find Emily in this picture? I'll give the first person  a $10 Amazon card if you can find her! Show me proof that's it's her!

This was how many kids that were at camp that one week!

At church, the following Sunday, the kids went up on stage to share about their experiences and thank the congregation for supporting and praying for them!

Grace, Courtney and Danika shared on stage how God spoke to them.

Here is what Emily said to her supporters regarding her experience:

"I really appreciate your help in supporting me on my trip to Hume Lake Christian Camps. I had a great time bonding with friends and studying the word of God. I really enjoyed the worship and listening to the sermon during chapel. I also enjoyed times casually hanging out with some friends.

In a typical day, we’d wake up for breakfast and then head to chapel, which consisted of worship and a sermon. Organized recreation was afterwords, where we play engaging and competitive team games outside. After we eat lunch, there is 4-5 hours of free time. This is a time where we can do any activity of our choosing. Most of our time was spent at the volleyball deck to hang out and watch, or play cards. We had dinner, and then went to an evening chapel service. At night we had about an hour of time, there was usually a scheduled event we could attend.

The camp theme for this year was Bingo (farm themed). It was based on the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 16-19. When Elijah’s faith in God was tested, Bingo’s trust in his farmer was also tested. A short film about Bingo was shown, which relates to Elijah’s story. I learned about our love for God. I learned that God wants our genuine love for him."

The two gals below are not super close friends of Emily's even though they attend Youth Group together.  Funny thing is .. both attended one of Emily's birthday party over a decade ago.

Grace I. in 2016 at camp........2003 at Emily's 3rd year old birthday party (13 years later)

Grace F. in 2016 at camp.......... 2005 at Emily's "Princess Tea Party" 5th birthday (11 years later)

Bottom line.. you never know when you reconnect with some 'old' friends!

Ten Years Ago

It is a tradition that our church, FCC  take formal portraits in honor of Mother's or Father's Day.

Mother's Day 2006

Ten years ago I was an extremely tired and busy mother who's time revolved around a potty training toddler and a half-day preschooler.

Mother's Day 2016

Fast forward to today, I still am an extremely tired and busy mother who's time revolves around volunteering and teaching at the school of a middle schooler and planning the 'future' of a high school freshman.

Mother's Day 2010

I'm still working on how to balance work-volunteer-home-family-wife-mother-ministry duties along with losing all the baby weight (how long do I have?), curbing the graying, hair loss, dementia and wrinkles and carving out some desperately needed 'me' time.

Mother's Day 2016

People ask.. "When are you going back to work full-time?"

My response!? "Full-Time? I'm turning 5-0 this year! I'm thinking about retirement!!"

Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Last Stops

My final post for this L-O-N-G trip.

We started off to Greece at 12:30AM! Our luggage had to be outside our hotel room door by 1:00am and we needed to be loaded onto the bus at 1:30AM to be at the Tel Aviv airport by 3:30AM in order to catch our flight to Athens at 5:30AM! Talk about an early start! You can't get any earlier than this!

Once we arrived into Athens we immediately hopped onto another plane to fly to Thessaloniki to visit the Berean Synagogue. Paul, Silas, and Timothy ministered to the Bereans here, after Paul fled persecution in Thessalonica (Acts 17).

The marble steps of the synagogue are said to be the original ones from Paul's time.

We stopped in Philippi.

It was a very beautiful church.

This church was built in honor of Lydia, the first Christian convert in Europe. The stream (below)  is the traditional site where Lydia and her family were baptized (Acts 16, Philippians 1).

We also visited the Ruins of the Roman forum and where Paul and Silas were imprisoned.

The cell where Paul was imprisoned.

In Athens, we saw the Panathenaic Stadium which held the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

In front of the Parliament is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Standing guard with the guard. Their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is so different from ours back home in DC.

In Corinth, Paul spent significant time here, along with Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18). He often preached about the judgement seat, or bema seat, which has been reconstructed (Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Pastor was sharing on the importance of the bema seat indicating that we will all be judged when we meet God.

The Acropolis in Athens was probably the most crowded place of all the places we visited in Greece.

A lot of this area was being retrofitted and worked on.

On going restoration at the Parthenon

The ruins of Corinth

Personally this whole trip was the most meaningful of all the vacations I have ever taken. It really deepened my belief in Jesus and my personal relationship with our Lord and Savior. To have visited the same places where He lived and walked was remarkable. So again, I urge those of you who have a personal relationship with Jesus to GO! You won't regret it!

Thanks for reading!

Holy Sepulchre vs Garden Tomb

The Holy Sepulchre...

The Roman Catholic altar

This massive church supposedly marks the location of the crucifixion and the tomb of Jesus (Mark 15, John 19). It was built by Constantine and his mother in 326AD. There are many altars and shrines inside, each placed by a different denomination, making it difficult to see or imagine where Jesus would have been crucified and buried.

The Greek Orthodox Altar

The glass encased piece of rock is supposed to be the top of Calvary, also known as Golgotha.

The above shrine is supposedly where Jesus was buried.

This church is located in the Christian Quarter within the current walls of the Old City.

Outside the Old City walls, is the Garden Tomb, an alternate location for Jesus' crucifixion and burial. It is a very serene and beautiful location to remember our Lord's death and Resurrection (Matthew 27-28). Calvary or Golgotha (skull hill) can be clearly seen. Pastor shared with us and we partook communion before exploring the tomb.

Nearby is a cistern and wine press, indicating a wealthy owner such as Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43). There is a rocky cliff that is skull like in appearance. Criminals were crucified on crosses mounted on the ground, not at the top of the hill. This is so passersby can clearly read the sign listing the crime and view the punishment.

Most tombs from this time and area are arranged with the burial chamber located straight ahead when you enter. This particular tomb has the burial chamber on the right side.

When Mary found the empty tomb, the angel was sitting on the right side (Mark 16:5)

There are disagreements as to which site is the actual place of Jesus' crucifixion and burial. We may never know while on this Earth. Nonetheless, no matter where Jesus was buried, we do know he is not there, for He has risen.

NEXT UP: Greece

Via Dolorosa

The Via Dolorosa is the traditional path that Jesus walked, on the way to his crucifixion.

Walking through the Muslim Quarter

Catholic tradition commemorates 14 events of Jesus' crucifixion, known as the Stations of the Cross. The first 9 are along a path starting in the Muslim Quarter and ending in the Christian Quarter

Station 2 was where he was condemned (Church of Condemnation).

As you can see at each station, there is a shrine or church to denote the importance of the place.

Station 3 was where Jesus falls for the first time carrying the cross.

Station 4 was where Jesus meets his mother Mary.

The last 5 stations are at the end point of the Via Dolorosa, within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Station 5 was where Simon helps him carry the cross.

In summary the Stations of the Cross 1-9 were:

1. Praetorium (Mark 15:15) Where he was flogged (Church of Flagellation)
2. Where he was condemned (Church of Condemnation)
3. Jesus falls the first time
4. Jesus meets his mother, Mary
5. Simon helps him carry the cross (Mark 15:21)
6. Noble woman of Jerusalem wipes sweat from Jesus brow (Luke 23:27-30)
7. Jesus falls second time
8. Jesus comforts the women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls the third time

NEXT UP: Holy Sepulchre vs Garden Tomb