Joyful! Steadfast Faith!

“The Day is coming when you’ll have it all- life healed and whole. I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold that God will have on display as evidence of his victory. You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, but you trust him – with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking for: total salvation.” (1 Peter 1:5-9)

It continues to surprise me about how I am continually surprised by God and what He is up to! That is so true of my involvement in Life Group, the post-Young Life Capernaum gathering of our special needs friends. Meeting at Creekside every other Tuesday evening, we share a meal, Bible Study, prayer, and a whole lot of laughter and singing … and HE IS THERE IN THE MIDST WITH US! As I become more integrated into the group, my connection to, appreciation of, and love for each individual member continues to grow and grow.

In their own words, please meet Jeffrey Rogerson and Lindsey Montague – two valued friends!

JEFF ROGERSON My name is Jeff Rogerson. I am 38 years old and live in my own apartment in Redmond. I have lived there for about 12 years. My parents live in a different apartment in the same building, and sometimes I eat meals with them.

I really like living by myself. I have a cat. His name is Epic, and I got him at the Bellevue animal shelter about two years ago. He’s a great roommate and keeps me company.

I have a job. I work at Mod Pizza in downtown Bellevue in the afternoon Monday through Friday. I have been there almost three years. I fold all the pizza boxes, and sometime buss the tables.

I really like coming to Life Group at Creekside. I have lots of friends there, and I pray for my friends and family if they aren’t feeling well. I go to Overlake Presbyterian Church on Sundays. Sometime I am the greeter at the door. I volunteer there on Tuesday mornings. We work from 8:15 to 11:00 o’clock, and our work crew takes a break at McDonalds at 10:00 till 10:30. I really like volunteering at God’s house.

Usually I go up to Crossroads on Friday nights and have dinner with my friends. We have a good time and listen to the music.

Thanks for reading about me. I hope I can meet you some day.

Your friend, Jeff Rogerson

LINDSEY MONTAGUE I am Lindsey and I am turning 27 on June 30. I sing in the choir at Westminster and go to Bible study at Creekside with my friends. I love studying the Bible and learning about Jesus, because they are important to me. We share things about ourselves and pray for each other.

I take the Access bus to work at Café 86 on the Microsoft campus.

I live with my family and we do many fun things together. Every year I go to the circus with my dad. I like to go shopping and go on walks with my sister. Later this year I get to go on vacation to Victoria, B.C.

I watch videos on YouTube, and connect with friends on Facebook. I also like to play soccer and basketball with the City of Redmond, and I do lots of fun activities with Friendship Adventures like dances and trips. I love to go to the theater to watch musicals like Cinderella, Elf, In the Heights, The Music Man, Jersey Boys, and Oliver!

Thank you for learning about me and Life Group.

On our last evening before summer break we all shared our plans and prayers. Plans ranged from having fun at dance class, to family vacation plans, to a step-sister visiting from Russia. Not surprisingly the prayers centered around others. This group of friends consistently exhibits a degree of selfless-ness that astounds and blesses me. God is each person’s life center. The Jesus talked about and shared comes openly, simply, honestly, and joyfully! That faith translates embodies itself in ALL we do at Life Group. I am still surprised by God and what He is up to.

I thank Him for letting me participate in and learn from this living proof of true and living … Joyful! Steadfast Faith!

Love and Joy! Char

Char can be reached via email here.