Ahhh, the Weekend

So on Sunday I was determined to attend church despite my red face, especially since I missed last week's service due to the flu(yes, my life is a constant train of calamity). A very sweet family offered me a ride, and so I visited Heritage Fellowship, a moderately small family-integrated church in Sumter, SC. The order of service seemed rather unplanned and the singing was rather weak, but I enjoyed the sermon. There was a baptism that morning too, so this Presbyterian got to see a dunking.

Victory Ranch, looking down at the lake from the front porch.

Sunday afternoon we had a group of thirty sailors at Victory Ranch. They were all Navy Reserves who had been called up for overseas deployment and were here in SC for training. It was a very diverse group- guys and girls from college-aged up to middle-aged, from several ethnic backgrounds and mostly from the north-west US. We served them a snack, they had a short devotional from the Chaplain, and then they had free time to relax until dinner. Some went swimming, others just sat on the deck or watched football. I thought it was funny how all of our electrical outlets were taken for charging cells phones and laptops, like a hotel. We served a hot dinner, and after another short devotional they were bussed back to the barracks. It was my first time to see the Ranch in action, beyond giving away food to those in need. It was encouraging and fulfilling to see how grateful the sailors were for a home setting and good meal. I keep beating myself over the head, though, about my weak conversation skills. Must work on that!

Closing up the blogpost with the back-yard view from the Heyward-Washington house in Charleston. I'm telling you, it's beautiful.