Jimbo's Jots

This morning I woke up in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It’s Winterfest weekend. Thousands of teens and adults from all over the east side of the states swarm, literally swarm, the small tourist town. We’ll sing praises, hear inspiring lessons and catch up with others that we know. If there is time, we walk around town and look in the shops, hit most of the Ripley’s tourist sites and maybe sample about fudge from about 12 different stands, or get an old time photo taken.

Those are all well and good, but now that this is year 20 for me, I have other memories that as I make this trip, I’m taken back to those trips as well:

• First trip in 1999 – I had just picked up our brand new “short bus” from Nashville on Wednesday. Turned around on Thursday to leave with our group and got to Perrysburg, Ohio and the bus broke down because of a gas line issue. I knew people from church in the area who helped drive us to get food and fix the bus.
• Several baptisms of our teens – hotel and hotel pools are very accommodating to welcoming people into the gospel story.
• Several bus stories – for a number of years, because of the number of people from Plymouth and Livonia (we often shared travel), we chartered a bus. There are some very wonderful memories from those years. One trip, the bus driver got the bus stuck at the hotel and had to get towed to get loose. In the meantime, the guests who had already checked in came out on the balcony to “watch the show”. Another year, on the trip returning home, we had to stop in Dry Ridge, Kentucky because the Highway patrol had the I-75 shutdown because of ice – we got the last rooms at the hotel.
• My last trip as YM – convincing my wife to come since it was my last trip. I think that was the only year too that all 5 of us came!!

A lot has happened over 20 years of ministry and Winterfest continues to be a highlight. Certainly there are times where I am encouraged and edified by those who take the lead in the planning and function of Winterfest. But more special are the memories of shared time with people in shared space.

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first dayuntil now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-6)

Be blessed and be a blessing!