God is always waiting for us with His Love

el Quiri

Greater Sidney Area Emmaus Newsletter
March 2000

I was locked in a church with fifty guys for four days and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have never considered myself a religious person. Born a Catholic and married to a Methodist, I really didn’t give much time to church...God. I also have a rule about writing about religion: I don’t. Who am I to say Jews are better than Muslims or Baptists have it over Buddhists. We all make our personal commitment.

Then someone conned me into going on something called a “Walk to Emmaus”. No way, I said. I wasn’t interested in being turned into a Bible-thumping fanatic. Then they mentioned that you were fed you nonstop. I signed up.

Many of us arrived Thursday at Flushing United Methodist Church wishing we were home watching the Pistons on television. On Sunday, we didn’t want to go home. What happened in between? I can’t explain. It is something so personal that you have to experience it for yourself. Besides, we took so many twists and turns during the weekend that anything I tell you would spoil the walk for others. What I can tell you is that grown men learned to laugh, cry, hug and trust each other. Ask any wife or loved one--men just don’t communicate. Maybe it’s because we don’t know how. Communication didn’t come easily last weekend. Many of us were slow to tear down our barrier of isolation. In the end we all surrendered-gladly.

The weekend gave me direction in an aimless life. I took comfort that our world still has plenty of good decent, caring people out there. Many have problems that make mine seem like a grain of sand on a beach. I won’t go into them-these are my friends and I respect their privacy. I will tell you that their perseverance despite tragedy is inspiring.

The Emmaus Walk has recharged me, brought me closer to my family and friends and made me hungry to help others. Its pretty heavy-duty stuff. But I learned a meaningful lesson: No matter how much we ignore or deny God, He is still there waiting for us. All we have to do is open our hearts to him.

APR 00 KIM BUNKER
MAY 00
June 00
July 00
CAN YOU
HELP FILL ANY OF THESE SPOTS?
JERRY NOBLE

The March Emmaus Training Day was postponed; the board is working on rescheduling it for a morning or early after noon session.

10. Becomes an expert at multicolored yarn, buys stock in the “Rainbow Suspenders Company” and never wears anything less than twenty colors at a time.

9. Develops a compulsive disorder to smash clocks and steal others’ watches. OR begins to horde timepieces of any kind.

8. Before bedtime, he forces his family to turn out the lights, stand in the living room, wave candles, and sing the “Jesus, Jesus” song to him.

7. Fills out a job application with: Name: John Doe; Address: Table of St. Stephen; Age: Walk #13.

6. When anyone new walks into the room or office, he feels compelled to cheer, hoot, and whistle for twenty minutes.

5. Has grown accustomed to the snoring of others and cannot sleep without a chain saw running beside the bed.

3. Displays an extraordinary amount of grace, especially when he calls the accident the cat had on the bed - “Pillow Agape.”

2. Treats every sales receipt, coupon, or small trinket as some thing Holy and divine - begins to wear them pinned to his tie.

1. By the end of every Sunday morning service, he has prepared a poster to present to the minister, outlining the points of the morning’s sermon!

Dale Noffsinger is putting together an outline on “Suggested Prayer Topics” for the 72hour prayer vigil. His outline helps guide you through the many stages and concerns of an Emmaus weekend and to give you some idea as to what you might want to pray over.