| Author | Message | ||
| Lisa_boyldavis Registered user Username: Lisa_boyldavis Post Number: 29 Registered: 3-2005 |
Hi, Just a thought, has there ever been FAF's who have gotten together either on the web or in person to celebrate their alumni (like in my case, the class of 85!) to process what it has meant to be a former boarding school FAF... alumni weekend at GSA was a real let down - just got back today..... so many empty souls. Lisa | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1312 Registered: 3-2004  |
Yes, there was a reunion in Dallas, TX in July of last year. We all want another one and I want it to be in Sin City, Las Vegas. NV, because I live near Vegas. Others have promoted their areas. It is all done in fun. I am sorry it was a let down. My sister just sent me an email to let me know that the school we graduated from, Lynwood Academy, is to have a reunion for the classes which include hers and mine. I forget how many classes it will include. I have never been to a class reunion, but my attitude is different now and I may go. Glad you are back safe and sound. Diana | ||
| Riverfonz Registered user Username: Riverfonz Post Number: 141 Registered: 3-2005 |
Yes, I agree. Let's all go to Vegas! See you there! Stan | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1315 Registered: 3-2004 |
Lets take a vote. Who wants Vegas???? I DO, I DO. Diana | ||
| Ric_b Registered user Username: Ric_b Post Number: 231 Registered: 7-2004  |
Next time there is one, I will go WHEREVER it happens to be. Vegas certainly has the cheap airfares, but So. Cal. might be nice (at least for us people stuck in cold states). | ||
| Riverfonz Registered user Username: Riverfonz Post Number: 155 Registered: 3-2005 |
Regarding the comment made above by Diana about Vegas being Sin City; I just read a quotation from Martin Luther I liked: When you feel a little too close to the Lord, you need to go out and sin a little. I am reading Luther's biography, and I was interested in finding out that he supported his ministry by his wife's Katie's brewery--a lot of german brew had to be sold to support his ministry! God bless Martin Luther! | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 1755 Registered: 11-2002 |
Vegas is fine with me. Looking forward to meeting all of you. | ||
| Vchowdhury1 Registered user Username: Vchowdhury1 Post Number: 125 Registered: 7-2004 |
Las Vegas sounds wonderful to me too  I was thinking about going there this month, but decided to go to New Orleans for the weekend of the 15th instead. Now, thats REAL sin city!! 'luv it! --Valerie | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1328 Registered: 3-2004 |
Okay, now, we all want a reunion, so what are we going to do to make it happen. I live here near Las Vegas and I will be glad to contact churches, even my church, to see where we can hold services. When do we want to do this? We need to plan at least 6 months in advance. Then who do we want to be the speakers. We can ask for a group discount at a hotel if a certain number of people book there. I am serious. I will be glad to do my part, but I will need help. So, what about it???? Any takers???? I look forward to meeting all of you. That will be fantastic, exciting and awesome. Diana | ||
| Marcell Registered user Username: Marcell Post Number: 18 Registered: 4-2004 |
vegas - never been, always curious. would this be open to any class year, I'm assuming? it would be so great to just meet other faf'ers and fellowship. I think it would bring some healing - one of the hardest things about being a 'former' is the rejection and loss of community. of course Jesus brings new community with the larger body and that is great! for us who were sda for a long time, though, it is a hard thing to replace. (especially if you happen to be an introvert, like me!) count me in and i will do everything i can to attend. i'm in full-time ministry now so $ is tight, so vegas is probably an affordable option. Marcell | ||
| Madelia Registered user Username: Madelia Post Number: 140 Registered: 2-2003 |
Marcell, you and I could fly out from Mpls together! Thanks Diana, for moving forward with this. I vote for Dale Ratzlaff as a speaker. And how about Dennis? | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1336 Registered: 3-2004 |
This will be a reunion for all FAFers. For anyone of them that wants to come. Anyone else want to help organize this?? I need ideas and help. I really look forward to meeting each of you. Diana | ||
| Praisegod Registered user Username: Praisegod Post Number: 297 Registered: 3-2004  |
It seems to me that the wisest thing would be to involve Colleen and Richard. They are the ones to whom God gave the FAF vision. They have learned the blessings as well as found various potholes and pitfalls of dealing with formers. I believe it will be a much stronger event if it's an "official" one. But that's just my personal opinion. Praise God... | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1339 Registered: 3-2004 |
Richare and Colleen, Who organized the reunion in Texas last summer?? I would not want to do anything that would impugn your names or characters. So what do you think of a reunion in Las Vegas? We would like another one. Diana | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1750 Registered: 12-2003  |
Rey Cantu organized the reunion in Texas. He drew mainly a local crowd, although a few people did drive in from nearby areas. Here's another option we'll throw out for your reactions. Richard and I have thought casually about this before, but there's never been an opportunity to do it. Now remember, this is not set in stone, but it's a brainstorm. If people were willing to come to Redlands, we could organize a weekend reunion here. If we plan in advance, we could use Trinity church as a venue, and there is a great, new Comfort Suites hotel just five minutes from the church. Here are some ideas we've thought of. Friday night, everyone could come and participate in an FAF meeting. We'd do our usual praise, Bible study, and prayer time, and depending upon how many people come, we could either go out afterward for supper (as we usually do), or we could have a meal right at the church, either before or after. Both Dale Ratzlaff and Mark Martin are within driving distance--perhaps we could schedule them to come, if we give them enough lead time. Saturday we could have some combination of meetings/workshop. Saturday afternoon could be free for people to visit or take a jaunt to the mountains, the beach, or the desert--all within driving distance, or we could have workshops then--perhaps giving people some choices of activities. Saturday night--(here's the somewhat startling--even to us--idea that evolved as we talked)--might be a time for us to actually do a little witnessing. We know A LOT of Adventists in this area. Many we know, including some prominent pastors, tend to be preaching or giving lip service to the gospel, yet they are stuck or satisfied with their comfortable positions. We've thought of issuing invitations to the Adventist community to attend a meeting at Trinity--not to hear doctrine discussed--but to hear personal faith stories of people who have left--why they left, how, what they experienced, what they found, what they lost--etc. We could select a few people from varied backgrounds to tell their stories (briefly--maybe 10 minutes apiece) with enough details so the message is personal and witnesses to God's work in their lives. We could begin with some time in worship with a praise team. Most Adventists have heard doctrinal discussions, but few of them have actually heard formers tell their testimonies. When we started FAF at Trinity, Richard and I met with a local Adventist pastor to tell him about our group, what it was (Bible study, positive, supportive) and what it wasn't (whining, Adventist-bashing, exclusive) and to invite him to visit. In the process, we told him our stories. To our astonishment, he became emotional. His eyes filled with tears, and he was overwhelmed. When we finished he said, "Let's pray." We agreed, and then we had our second shock: He looked at Richard--this prominent pastor--and said, "Richard, will you please pray?" Richard prayed, and after he said "Amen", we looked up, and this pastor's eyes were all but dripping. He was completely teared-up. He's still pastoring in the Adventist church. He and many others need to hear the testimonies of formers who have found Jesus and risked all to serve Him. After the meeting we could meet in the fellowship hall, have refreshments, and provide a time when we and any SDA guests could chat together. Sunday, of course, we would love to have everyone join us for church at Trinity and experience the wonderful worship and Bible teaching of Gary. Afterward we could have lunch together--venue to be determined. It could be at church--we'll see. Another possible consequence of having it in Redlands might be that you could meet many more former Aventists than otherwise. There really are a lot of them at Trinity and in the surrounding churches. Many of them have participated in the local FAF over the years; many have not--but many would enjoy participating in at least some of the meetings. We would need some lead time to make arrangements and reservations with people and for buildings--it might be something we could do this year, it might be something we could aim for sometime in 2006. What do you all think? We'd be happy to organize something like this--we could even look into reserving a block of rooms at a group rate at the local hotel for those who would want to stay there. We'd also make arrangements for meals--at least for Friday, Sat. lunch and supper, and Sunday lunch. We could possibly arrange for "registration" so we get an accurate count and perhaps collect in advance a fee to cover food. Etc. Feedback, please! Colleen | ||
| Loneviking Registered user Username: Loneviking Post Number: 332 Registered: 7-2000 |
Sounds good to me! Redlands is as close as Vegas and I can stay with my in-laws. It would be fun to see you and the rest of the Redlands FAF crowd again. | ||
| Praisegod Registered user Username: Praisegod Post Number: 298 Registered: 3-2004 |
Wow! So many great ideas. It really doesnít matter to me about the location as both are far from me. It does appeal to me to make it social and educational plus evangelical in nature. And your Saturday night idea of sharing our stories can give a whole new twist to Revelation 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. As far as workshops or topics go, Iíd love to see something that might entice our SDA spouses and relatives to come with us. Something along the lines, perhaps, of ìHow to live happily with someone processing out of the Adventist Churchî And one that would be hugely popular would be about coping with our SDA friends and relatives. And I was just reading this article: http://home.earthlink.net/~jcmmsm/article/index.html about the psychological aspects of leaving. Perhaps someone who can explain all the emotional baggage issues that we all have to deal with. Then have someone else who brings out the spiritual warfare that occurs when we start wanting to study only the Bible. Iím sure the rest of you have lots of ideas too. (I can think of more, but want to hear all your ideas.) Praise GodÖ | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 178 Registered: 7-2000  |
Colleen, I think your brainstorm proposal is wonderful. Of course, I am being selfish, since I am local to the area. If you can make this happen, count me in! Bob | ||
| Freeatlast Registered user Username: Freeatlast Post Number: 336 Registered: 5-2002 |
I'm in but I'm biased too since I'm only an hour or so away. I'd make it to Vegas too, however. | ||
| Lisa_boyldavis Registered user Username: Lisa_boyldavis Post Number: 40 Registered: 3-2005 |
What an incredible idea, to witness to Adventists. I'd love to join, to share, to pray, to help do the busy work... I'm way up north here, and we'd have to figure out when and if we can do it... What do you think of Oct or Nov of 2005? Just an idea. We were in San Diego in Feb two years ago and the weather was clear and beautiful. I have a wonderful friend who is an FA in the area...I'm sure there are more. The testimony thing chills me to my bones. I can't wait! Lisa |
