The weekend of October 22nd had us scheduled to travel to Oregon! Gabriel was invited by Creative Ministry Solutions to lead workshops at the Creative Ministry Festival and our ministry was scheduled to perform for the conference. Except for Gabriel, the team had never been to Oregon before so they were thrilled about this opportunity!
Unfortunately, just a week before our departure, our assistant director/adult female chaperone, was no longer able to go! As you can imagine, the team was disappointed about the need to cancel their travel to Oregon and Gabriel made arrangements for a solo presentation for the conference. In light of these circumstances, we knew that God was in control!
Gabriel arrived to Keizer, OR on Friday, October 21st and taught a workshop on basic rod-arm puppetry for a group of eager-to-learn puppeteers!
The next morning, Gabriel opened the conference with a devotional based on the woman who anoints Jesus in Matthew 26. He encouraged the attendees to follow the example of this unnamed woman who found a creative way to demonstrate her love for Jesus. He then segued into his performance, which combined video, illusions, painting and puppetry to tell "the Original Love Story" of God's love for humanity through creation, the fall of man and our redemption through Christ. Following this, Gabriel co-taught "Advanced Puppetry" with Brett Belleque, from Mount Morris, IL, and later in the afternoon taught "Hand Mime." Other sessions offered at the festival had topics varying from gospel illusions to big object lessons to ministry leadership to ventriloquism!
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It was a tremendous blessing to attend this festival. These weekends buzz with creativity, offer opportunities for fellowship with other ministry leaders and workers, and most importantly, offer spiritual encouragement. This year has been successful, but not without challenges, for our church and ministry. The festival theme verse hit close to home:
"We who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls." Heb. 6:18-19
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