The Link Family

Our church sponsored the Link Family for the third annual concert on our Discover First day. It was absolutely amazing. First, our people did a great job with yummy food (and lots of it!). Thanks to Charlene and her kitchen crew for making us all feel so welcome as we fellowshipped.

The Link family did not disappoint with their tight harmonies, both in music, and family feel. They entertain, but even better, they make my heart beat a happy rhythm and my toes tap a jig. Their lyrics and music style all have deep roots, either in faith or culture. And for me personally, it was like combining church from the early 1900s with one of my family reunions where several of Mom's cousins brought out their instruments for an impromptu jam session as we gathered round in the backyard. A time and place where the violin was called a fiddle and even the fireflies blinked their lightning bug tails in time to the tunes. Good times--innocent times. It all came back to me.

An hour with the Link Family leaves my spirit feeling lighter, my mind refreshed, and my heart filled with joy.

And I'll let you in on a little secret--conversations with each of them do just as much for me as their music. Why? Because they are real--genuine. They love God and love each other. They go through this routine over and over and over again, but they haven't let it get them weary (or at least, they don't show it). Their smiles are authentic. Not Hollywood fake but heavenly real. They remain humble even though they've won award after award for their excellence in bluegrass and gospel music.

Here's a recent press release, to help you learn more about them:

The Link Family is a true family band, featuring Dad, Mom, five children and two in-laws from Lebanon, Missouri. They are having the "time of their lives" traveling on their Silver Eagle bus and sharing their music in churches, bluegrass festivals, theaters, Silver Dollar City, US Military bases, R.V. parks and misc. events. The family consists of Rachel (21), Kyle (20), Benjamin (13), Aaron (10), John (9), Becky (Mom), Lance (Dad), son-in-law, Landen Keeler and daughter-in-law, Ashley Link. Each member of the family participates in performing. Rachel brings to the group a strong lead and harmony voice while playing mandolin, guitar and bass. Kyle plays all the instruments on stage, mostly fiddle and guitar while singing lead and harmony. Benjamin also plays all the instruments on stage, mostly banjo, sings lead and harmony. Aaron sings lead and plays the fiddle while John sings lead and is learning mandolin. Becky plays rhythm guitar and bass while singing lead and harmony and Lance brings in the foundation sound on the bass fiddle, sings bass as well as being our bus driver and manager. Landen joins us this year as sound man and Ashley adds twin fiddling with Kyle.

Traveling and singing together has its joys and challenges while giving allowance for The Link Family to learn much about life as a family, to meet the many wonderful people that make up the strong fabric of our nation, and to see the beauty of the American landscape. This family group brings a refreshing performance that will leave you smiling, encouraged and tapping your foot.

Visit their website at:
http://linkfamilymusic.com/

Photos of Our Newly Restored Sanctuary

Thanks to Sophia Trevino and Antonio Lovera for these photos:

No News Means No News

Several have written to ask the status of our church rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Dolly. Unfortunately, there isn't much to report at this point. We are being stalled by our insurance adjuster and the protocols that are in place. Currently the congregation has rallied together to make the best of things, and we are worshiping in our new educational building fellowship hall. We are working out details to rent an additional building a couple of blocks away from the church property, to house the offices and some of the student ministries as well as an adult Sunday School class, so that when the work begins in the sanctuary, no one is exposed to the dangerous dusts and fumes of old plaster, mold, asbestos, etc. The insurance will pay for any transitional property we require as a result of being displaced, up to a certain dollar amount.

So that we communicate to the community that we will not be thwarted by this damage, we are moving forward with plans to remain active in our neighborhood in spite of this set-back. We are planning several block parties for the church neighborhood. The first is called "Slime Time" and is a back-to-school type carnival complete with bounce house, and many other fun booths. And later we will have another one called "Drive" that will be a cruise-in for collectible cars and motorcycles and for all of us who love looking at them. And we are starting a new children's ministry called "Big City Studio" on Sunday nights so that the neighborhood kids have a fun place to go each week.

Thanks for your continued prayers for us. Now our prayers go out to the ones who have been impacted by Hurricane Gustav.

Adjuster Says...

For those of you following the path Hurricane Dolly has taken through our church, you might be interested to know the insurance adjuster came by yesterday for his initial assessment. He has been in the Rio Grande Valley examining church damage for a few days now and he says our church has the worst damage of any he has seen from Dolly's destruction. But...not to leave it on a negative...we are also seeing God providing in amazing ways. It will take months of rebuilding but we are up for the challenge. Our heart's desire is to not just see the sanctuary rebuilt (the PLACE of our worship), but the church family rebuilt (the PEOPLE of worship). We certainly plan to take this two-prong approach to rebuilding. We all have something in our lives that needs a do-over. Not just redoing the junk we already have, but letting God do a NEW WORK in us! If you are here to see photos of the damage, feel free to scroll down to last week, when this journey began.

Scroll Down For Hurricane Photos

The most current post is at the top of this blog, so I encourage you to scroll down if you are just checking in, to see the photos of how Hurricane Dolly impacted our church sanctuary. Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for your interest in our church during this time. Your supportive encouragement means so much!