"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me (ESV).” John 15:4
Mmmm I love the smell of fresh fruit, how about you? One of my favorite things about summer is the strawberries and cherries I scrumptiously enjoy the taste and aroma of almost everyday. Can you believe that Fruit is referenced 243 times in the English Standard Version of the Bible? In John 15 Jesus was calling his disciples to abide in him in order to bear fruit. I don’t think he meant they should become fruit trees or a vine of sorts, although I would want to be peach tree if I had to choose. Instead he was referring to the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This message is true today. We, on our own, cannot bear fruit apart from God. Jesus is the one who transforms what may seem mundane in the everyday life and creates a purpose for those who are seeking to abide in him. I hope that we can share a bit of the fruit that has come from a rather unique place of the Children’s and Youth Flamingo Fundraising.
I have heard stories of outreach occur as people have ordered Flamingos for their own yard as a conversation starter with their neighbors. Witnessing a dad’s joy as he described his daughter carefully spending the morning naming all 50 flamingoes. Another ordered a hit to celebrate his granddaughter’s birthday which just happened to be themed Alice in Wonderland. Not only was it a perfect addition to the party decorations, but gave the family an opportunity to meet their neighbors as they had recently moved into the neighborhood. We have even enjoyed putting up flamingoes in the front yards of those who recently were returning home from the hospital. God used silly plastic birds to remind people of his great love for them. A few more people would like to share their own experiences with flamingoing. If you feel inspired, we are taking orders until August 15th.
by Meagan Bergem
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Putting pink flamingos on people's lawns (or flamingoing, as we like to call it) has been a fun way to build relationships this summer. For the junior high ministry, the outing involves meeting for Cold Stone or Jamba Juice, talking until the sun goes down, then driving around Fresno and Clovis and covertly planting flamingos in the lawns of our congregation. It has provided a good opportunity to bond with students, while doing something exciting.
It has been fun to make memories with the students, especially when flamingoing does not go exactly as planned. Once, Shannon Muzio and I took a group to plant flamingos at a house with large front windows. The boys kept thinking they heard the occupants coming, so to protect themselves from being spotted they would drop to the grass and roll like undercover agents. Another time, we were given a form with these instructions: "Just hop the fence." We arrived at a home with a white picket fence that was a little too tall for junior highers and short summer staffers to jump. Thankfully, the gate was unlocked. One evening, we walked up to a house only to discover that the occupants were sitting on their front porch with a few friends. We quickly ran away, whispering, "abort the mission!" After discussing the problem, we decided to go back and approach the family. "Surprise! You're being flamingoed!" They were very gracious, having noticed a vaguely familiar group of people walk by with a large black bag. They even took a picture with us after we finished setting up the flamingos, and I heard later that their already sleeping children were excited when they awoke the next morning to a pink speckled lawn.
by Trianne Harabedian
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