One weekly facet of the church planting ministry here in Antofagasta is "The Sunday Process" or the necessary transformation of our little apartment into a little meeting place for our Bible studies. The following takes you through the normal process our family goes through each Sunday.
7:00 - 7:15 AM - Wake up time for David (and Ben, our early riser).
7:15 - 7:45 - Make a cup of coffee to drink while reading the Bible and going over teaching notes.
7:45 - 8:00 - Wake up time for Kristi
8:15 - 8:30 - Wake up time for Jordan, Kaylee, & Lukas
8:30 - 8:45 - Breakfast and family devotions.
8:45 - 9:30 - Clean up from breakfast. Get dressed. Ben does the dishes. Jordan sweeps the floor. Kristi mops the floor. The dining room table is moved and chairs are arranged. Jordan vacuums the living room rug. The sofa and lazy boy are moved. The six children chairs are set up (see below). Lukas turns into a monkey and climbs on all of the chairs.
9:30 - 10:00 - Print out handouts for the children and adult class. Kaylee cleans the bathroom.
Set out extra Bibles, the offering box and envelopes on the dining room table.
10:30 - 10:45 - Jordan and Ben set up the flannel graph easel. Kristi in kitchen with lunch prep (if needed). David and/or Kristi irons needed clothing. David sets up the laptop to the T.V. to show the powerpoint containing the songs for the service. Lukas continues to play and get into most things.
11:15 - 11:35 - David and one child head down the elevator to stand out on the sidewalk to greet those arriving by foot and help find a parking space for those coming by car. They escort them up to the 10th floor apartment and sometimes go back down to wait for those who still haven't arrived.
11:45 - A typical start time for our service (we are supposed to start at 11:30, but oh well...)
1:00 - 1:15 - A typical end time for our service
1:30 - 2:00 - Put away the extra Bibles, offering box, chairs, arrange the dining room and living room back to normal, set the table for lunch, take apart the flannel graph easel. Kristi preparing lunch in the kitchen. Lukas wonders why we are putting away all his jungle gym equipment.
2:00 - 3:00 - Lunch...usually with someone invited to stay from our service (a single college student, a father working in the city away from his family, or a new visitor).
3:00 - 6:00 - Clean up from lunch. Occasional naps for David & Kristi. Mandatory nap for Lukas (since he's been playing so much). Kids in their rooms listening to Adventures in Odyssey or playing LEGO with neighbor kids.
7:00 - Supper
As you can see, Sundays are a very busy and exhausting days for us. "The Sunday process" is part of our new normal. We are thankful that our children play a part in this and are learning first hand what the first stages of church planting look and feel like.
This "Sunday process" tests our sanctification and stress management. Would you pray for our family on Sundays? We would sure appreciate it. Someday in the future, when the Lord provides a church building, some of the above process will go away. But until then...this is what we do every Sunday.
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