Center of The Angel's Songs

Last Friday at The Able Church, we had special musical guests Daniel & Catherine Lovett of Reflect Worship. It was a wonderful evening of listening and joining in songs.

Catherine's mother, Cindie, came to watch their the concert and their 6 month old little girl. The night impressed upon her greatly and inspired her to write the following piece. I read it and tears began to roll down my cheek. It was beautifully written and it captures the essence of who we are and what do at The Able Church. I asked if I could post this and share it with others. So, please enjoy the following piece.......

The Best Christmas Party Ever!

Last night we found ourselves taking part in a Christmas celebration for Able Church in Green Bay where we were caring for Baby Ellie as Reflect led the congregation, first in worship, then in concert of some of their new songs, and ending in a time of Christmas Carols.

This church was unlike any other we have ever known. No one was a stranger, all were welcome. There was total freedom to be yourself. If the leader asked people to stand, you could stay sitting and no one noticed. If you were inspired to stand, raise your hands, turn in a circle, worship in sign language, or any other language it was as natural as breathing.
You could feel the love and joy in this place, but the most inspiring feeling was the freedom to be yourself.

There were no fancy tables, just a few platters of cookies and drink set out, no festive decorations, folding chairs made up the seating and off to the left of the stage was a curtained space where a 'mangy' puppet would pop out occasionally challenging Daniel to let him sing a duet, which they finally did, and their rendition of Jingle Bells brought the house down, or rather up as they all rose to their feet and clapped.

As the final songs began, the most amazing thing took place. A young child, a little boy with Down's Syndrome made his way up the platform and wiggled his way onto the keyboard bench where Catherine was playing!
As he took his place right next to her, he beamed at the audience and with his hands in his lap, took part in the final Christmas songs. I couldn't help but think of that first Christmas night in a plain stable where the shepherds came with no fancy clothes, perhaps a small child snuggled up next to Mary to take part in the miracle that was happening.

As this young boy's mother came to stand where I was she wondered if she should try to retrieve him. Shaking my head "no" and with tears running down my face, I knew that he was drawn there by the Spirit, and as they sang "Center of The Angel's Songs", God had indeed placed an angel among us to demonstrate that very thing.

When Silent Night was being introduced, he turned to Catherine and said, "I know this one", and sang along with a beaming face, while all of heaven watched. Truly God was in that place, and even little Ellie knew as she smiled and loved everyone who came to touch and see her. For you see, this was no ordinary church, indeed it was extraordinary, for these people were those the world has called "Developmentally Disabled". I would say they were the "Able Ones". Hence the name: Able Church!

Merry Christmas everyone, may we all be able to receive His grace and love with great joy this amazing season!
Cindie & Ted


Please go to http://www.reflectworship.com/ to check out their music and support thier ministry!
Jen:-)

Seasons of Change

If their was something that I deal with every day, something that is the carrier of that newness that I long for, that would be change. Most of the changes that take place usually represent other forces that are outside my control. It’s this point of control that I sometimes embrace and sometimes it drives me near insanity. The experiences that come when helping my friends face the issues of life at Able Church are usually ones that are hard to predict and sometimes hard to manage. The freshness of spirit is also the byproduct of our fellowship. It is this freshness that I long for and experience every morning. The beauty of it all is that somehow my sacrifice and service have brought me to the place where I reap this benefit every day. I rub elbows with those with disabilities every day and the outcome is change and the byproduct of this change is a newness that is fresh and invigorating to my spirit. To all I owe my brothers and sisters in Christ and to that end do I serve them because truly they are the beautiful ones who impart to me that change that recharges my soul.

Here are some of those events that have been points of change and growth for Jen and I. This week we were taken through the life changing experience of death. One of our member’s grandmother passed away. The Able Church stuck close to each other through the process. It was an amazing sight to see our fellowship intersect with the community around us and how they spread their love in a time of grief.

Mega for Kids is a consistent display of creativity for Jesus. I had encouraged the Professor commenting about the great job that he does and that he is the right man in the right place and a valuable tool for the kids at Mega. I observed the new puppet master and shared with Jen how he has really grown into that roll and his ability keeps improving every week. She told me I needed to tell him that. Their is even hope for the Mega bus. It keeps stretching me to the point of insanity and growth. I think that "MAX" will very soon be a frequent sight on the roads of Green Bay.

Camp Daniel is ever coming closer to its maturity. Some of the machinery comes and goes. We just sold some of our equipment. I will miss our ex. I started it up from a long rest and kept her running only to see her leave. Tony and I are grieved because we both know the great story of "Mike Mulligan" and how this story from this little book was alive in our excavator. The great thing is that I don't think that Senior minds a bit.

The bowling squad is at best full of great pizza. My wishes are that Tina would become that champion on the bowling lanes that she is at the Able church. I hope that the boys of Camp Daniel could repeat their last year's performance. We will feel the power of the Weids, as John will join us on the bowling lanes in competition this year.

There has been chatter that Milo is trying to use the computer. We did see them show up at Able with his new wife Mabel. They were both trying to protect the newly found love during their honeymoon. Jen and I wished them well but commented that they kind of needed some new cloths.

Wedding Pics!!!

The reality of the presence of GOD is shocking to me especially when I just settle in the realization of the work that He has accomplished and is doing in my life. What a wonderful year it has been. A few weeks ago Jen and I celebrated the one year anniversary of my moving from Montana to Camp Daniel. It has been the best year of my life and it just keeps getting better. The labor at Camp has been exhausting. I remember thinking before I left Montana a year ago, "How much work is there really to do at a summer bible camp in the off season?" My experience is that the labor in the ministry for the disabled is huge and like most effective ministries the laborers are few. I think that my social life has been given a complete overhaul. Those deep personal relationships with people with disabilities are the best. They are deep, difficult, fulfilling, loving, colorful, and even strange. The greatest is that they are not predictable and they take me places that sometimes I am not willing to go. The greatest of all is the true heart filled praise and worship that I get to take part in every Friday at Able Church. It really is a piece of Camp Daniel every week. I look ahead and pray that the Lord would help Able Church grow and that the relationships that were formed at camp would not be lost. That our staff could have the time and resources to foster and grow those relationships and create new ones with the surrounding group homes. That the Lord would raise up laborers in Able church so the ministry could stay fresh and vibrant. THANK YOU CAMP DANIEL AND ABLE CHURCH for a wonderful opportunity to invest in things above.

Marceaux

Our Wedding

We are excited for the approaching wedding on May 22nd!

We will give some extra details at this site and put up any updates along the way.

We are registered at amazon.com, FleetFarm, & JCPenny. All can be accessed online using my name "Jen Allard" under each site's gift regristry. You can also go to FleetFarm & JCPenny and have a print out in the store.

We do appreciate monitary gifts and gift cards as living arrangements are small.

Information about the chapel and the camp can be found at http://www.forestjunction.org/ Click on "Camp Forest" in the menu. Please note the number on the invitation for the camp was wrong. The correct number is (920)989-1606. Accommodations on the camp include RV w/electric $20/night, RV w/o electric $15/night, Unheated Cabins $25-45/night (space heaters allowed), Dorm rooms $5/night, Call for tent camping price.

FYI- the Fox River bike trail goes through close to the camp for those biking enthusiasts

Which Game Would You Want To Attend?

This past Saturday The Able Church's Special Olympics basketball team took 2nd place in divison 4 in the Menasha tournament. All 2nd and 3rd place teams were put into a lottery in order to advance to the next tournament before the state tournament. Unfortunately, we didn't get picked. So, our season is over, but we had a great year. One of my favorite scrimmage games was against Sybel Hopp Allumni where we were tied 40 to 40.

These Special Olympics tournaments are some of the highlights of my year. Literally, hundreds of people with disabilities from all over Wisconsin come together in one building for a fun sporting event.

When you walk into the hallways and the gym, it is like you enter an entirelly different world. You get an overwhelming sence of peace, love, care, joy, kindness, you can sense it. People wave and are excited to see you. Even those you never met come up to you and give you a hug or hand shake. Fans and athletes don't fly off the handle if a bad call is made or if johny gets pulled out of the game for awhile.

Gosh, I remember my highschool games or watching college/pro game where fans and athletes yell at coaches and the refs. Athletes hating other athletes, ect and the spirit of the games being hostile. At the Special Olympics games, many times, I saw athletes go down to the grown and someone from the other team helping them up. Genuine "congratulations!" were given winning teams and genuine "Good game" given to losing teams.

Now, there still is aggressive compitition and athletes want to win. And there is even tiffs now and then. But very minor in comparison to what we see in most highschools and professional sports. And if offended, these Athletes seem to be able to let it go rather quickly.

I've talked to Special Olympics coaches who have coached highschool or college ball all their life and they express how much better they enjoy Special Olympics. They used to be all stressed out, players hated them, parents hating them, seeing ugliness come out of themselves, seeing fights, etc.

So, which game would you want to attend or be involved in?

Open Mic

January 23rd The Able Church performed several songs at The Cup-O-Joy for Open Mic Night. Songs included God Made Me, With God I'm Able, He Has Made Me Strong, & Something Beautiful. Sarah sang a solo, Mary Did You Know. It was very beautiful. Here's one of the songs lyrics to the tune of God is good, all the time.

God made me
He has a plan
He made me just the way I am
God made me
God loves Me
He has a plan

When I am weak,
then I am strong
And to the Church of Jesus, I belong
Together we
are family
We are strong

You need me
I need you
Together we have work to do
We must go
Tell the world
God loves them so

Great weekend! I think that my work with people with disabilities has expanded into that time in which is very personal to me. Its not work but its spending time with them in social situations. Visiting their homes and just hanging out. That is where I think that we both see each other in new and wonderful ways. The communication and intimacy opens to new levels. Jen, Amanda, Sarah, Jabberjaw(DJ) and I went to the Cup of Joy and enjoyed the praise music. Jen and I also visited Peter and we listened to old vinyl records that he had. I had not herd an old vinyl record in a long time. I was captivated. We celebrated DJ's birthday at Jens parents house. All five of us had "beaner pizza" and cheese cake. Great time of celebration with family and friends. Sunday we went to the youth convention in Green Bay. Three thousand teenagers in the convention center singing and dancing for Jesus was stunning.

The future for Able church is very inspiring to me. I am very thankful to be a part of it. I am amazed at the Lords work building and maintaining it. I am very excited to watch people with disabilities connect with Christ in new ways and watch that extend itself into worship and praise. I think that its the worship from people with disabilities that is very sweet and special to the Lord. Its my prayer that its that worship that would stay pure and uncontaminated from the world or me.

The Weekend

Friday night we went to The Able Church. Attatched here is a picture from our Christmas service that we had on Dec. 18th. It was a very special and intimate evening. We acted out the nativity story, which has become a loved tradition over the years. One of my highlights is when Sara sang "Mary, Did You Know"

After Able, this past Friday, we invited ourselves over to one of our member's (Peter) appartment. We must have been there for about two hours and the whole time you could sense the joy he had we were there. You see, Peter, has a difficulty talking and is very hard to understand. Sometimes, I have to have him repeat himself 5 times and even spell out a word that I can't seem to get. He also has some hygiene issues, due to his disability, so most people avoid him. Understanding his speech takes extra time and care. So to say the least, he doesn't have too many people caring for him in his life. Actually, many people hurt him. At best, many people will just nod and pretend they understand what he is saying, but that's not loving, he knows if you are pretending.

He continued to excitedly show us photos, certificates he earned, music and movie collections. "Who's this? " I asked. Peter shared it was his brother and his family. I asked if they stop by or call and he sadly said, "no". My heart sank, they live in the same town and never take interest in him. Then I saw on the wall a list of all his family-neices & nephews' names with birthdays. "Do you send them all Birthday cards, Peter?" "Yes," he replied. Wow, his family doesn't take interest in him and yet he makes sure to send out Birthday cards to all of them.

He had a very large Cd, tape & LP collection. He turned on his turn table and out came Tommy James' Crimson & Clover. "I love this song," I yelled. And Peter and I got excited, singing loudly together. It was a beautiful night. Yes, he appreciated having us over, but we're the ones who really were blessed. Peter has a love and care about him that just being around him is captivating. He is someone who would do anything for you....and even without anything in return.....and even if you treated him badly, which many, many people do. Now that sounds like Christ to me.

This past Saturday, we met with leaders of The Able Church to discuss future direction of the church and plan next month's theme for messages.


In the evening, we took DJ to my parents house and made homemade pizza to celebrate his birthday. We had a music box cake spinner that played Happy Birthday that is a tradition in our family.

Then we met several others from The Able Church at The Cup-O -Joy coffee house to hear the group Reflect. Daniel & Catherine Lovette of the group have been guest muscians for The Able Church and we wanted to support them and enjoy their music. It was a fun outing for our church.

"No man will be fit for the kingdom of GOD until, laying aside such delicacy, he learn to desire the food of the soul so earnestly that his belly shall not hinder him."

John Calvin

The new year has sprung and I have been studying the miracles of Christ in the gospel of John. I have came to the fourth miracle and have had at least good meditation. Jen, Tony and I stayed up late attempting to calculate how many handfuls of food would fit in the back of a semi truck trailer. We thought that Jesus would have had to at least filled one trailer full of food to feed 5000+ people. The greatest miracle is that Jesus still feeds us every day.

Spent some time putting a thermostat in Jens vehicle the great thing is that it worked. Tomorrow I will put together the OLIVER 1650 (our tractor- backhoe )transmission. It should take a few hours but the relationship I have made with the Dumkie brothers has been worth it. John Dumkie has been good to us. He is

making sure that our piece of equipment will work again.