By the time this article is posted for public viewing the 2019 Feast of Tabernacles will be over and God’s people scattered everywhere will once again return to their homes around the globe. However we will not be arriving home again until November as first we have some business to take care of in Louisiana...Cajun country!

So...how was the Feast for you this year? Did you rejoice or did you rejoice most abundantly? Did your cup spilleth over with blessings from our almighty Father despite how our enemy, the devil, tries to thwart our efforts to derail us and steal our joy, especially before the Feast? (Psalm 23:5) It would be so easy to gripe and complain like the Israelites before us when things do not go the way they should, or as we expect. Travelling can be like that, especially in unfamiliar territory.

So far, upon arrival at our Festival accommodation we were greeted by the manager there with words to the effect of...we had a storm last night and the elevator is down and non-operational — when we enquired about our room allocation. They had placed us on the top floor — level 4. Quite a few stairs to lug 4 large suitcases, 2 carry on bags, plus all the extra bits and pieces one acquires along the way to the Feast. Instead of thinking oh no! I truly believe God’s Spirit immediately kicked in to give me an attitude of delight. Yes, I know this will sound strange but I was led with joy over this set back. You see, we arrived a little after 3 pm, not that long before the Sabbath would begin at sunset. We had lots of washing to do (2 full washing machine loads) as we had been “on the road” for 4 days, then all the drying too, plus unpacking, settling in, and shopping for supplies. Time was going to be challenging to get everything done as we had to wait for our room. Our check in was at 3 but by the time our room was ready it was closer to 4.30 pm which only left us 2 hours to cram everything in before sunset. The delay was due to the fact that room service could not get their cleaning equipment up the several flights of stairs easily and all this extra effort took time. The top floor would have been the most challenging to clean hence the lengthy wait.

I just remember thinking these poor people could not help it that a storm had torn through the township the evening before with high gusty winds, lightning, power blackouts, and strong rain causing further damage and mayhem. They had positive attitudes and were very grateful to be operational despite this setback. The manager even shared with us how a member of her family had to be taken to hospital as she had suddenly become acutely ill. They were doing it tough but still showed a professionalism that was to be admired. The least we could do is offer help and to have a positive attitude also. The manager herself cleaned our room to a very high standard and knocked back any offer of help politely. Her comment was “I am out of practice doing this” when cleaning. I marveled that she was willing to step in to help her cleaning staff realising that they were indeed struggling under the pressures of time. Her husband who was the maintenance man came to our rescue with taking our 4 large suitcases up all the flights of stairs. Not only did he take them up, but he took two at a time — they were around 20 kg each! He made it look effortless like he was carrying an 8 lb baby. We were most grateful as my husband suffers from the effects of vertigo, and I would have had to take one suitcase at a time due to the weight of the bags and awkwardness of the outside staircase, in addition to other multiple trips for the remainder of our goods.

Another challenge involved eating out on the Sabbath. We thought we would be prepared and purchased a salad each from Subway to enjoy on the Sabbath during the Feast so that we could stay in, relax and have a nice leisurely lunch while studying or reading. The only problem was, the small bar fridge in our room did not work properly unbeknownst to us, so our salads had lots of icicles in them and could not be consumed. They had to be thrown away which was not a good outcome as food was wasted in this incredibly wasteful world. We choose to not eat out on the Sabbath as our consciences do not allow for it, so we made do with other makeshift cold snacks we had. There were no microwaves supplied in the rooms which was quite unusual.

The next challenge came soon after. One night we had just retired to bed when we heard a loud noise which puzzled us as we could not distinguish what it was. The following day we learned that the clothing rack with all our clothes hanging on it had become partially dislodged from the wall and was hanging by two threads. This finally made sense of the noise we heard from the evening before. The personnel at the front desk were most accommodating by having this repaired the same day and it stayed that way for the rest of our time there. Job well done.

Then there was the interference for our ability to communicate with others. Wifi and the internet connections were initially fine upon arrival, but then failed on the first day of the Feast until the following Sabbath when it was finally repaired. We were without wifi access unless we went to the local Walmart or McDonalds. What I learned during this time was that Australian wifi access is more forthcoming and widespread. I had no idea that wifi generosity differed between countries. By the end of the Feast I felt a little home-sick briefly as I saw many pictures on Facebook of brethren at various Australian coastal Feast sites where the beaches are particularly beautiful.

Dining out was interesting. Not once but twice we were served pig. Despite openly and politely stating we did not eat pork products such as ham, bacon and other items such as sausage, we were still served green beans with bits of bacon, and also mushrooms with bits of bacon. The menu did not mention that bacon would be mixed in with the beans or served stuffed inside the mushrooms but only sprinkled on top of the mushrooms, hence we asked for the topping to be left off. We were very clear and polite in our communication but the servers either did not know, did not ask the chef, did not pay attention, or did not care. This continues to remind us even more, that in the world confusion reigns supreme, and we must be ever vigilant and diligent by not losing our focus or concentration on how to live righteously through obedience to our great God who warns us not to put our trust and confidence in people (Psalm 118:8).

Did I mention the washing machine and dryer were out of order for half of the Feast? So that meant going to a laundrette in the township, except there wasn’t one. So our dirty clothing piled high and we resolved to be patient and wait until after the Feast. We were down to our last pieces of clean clothing. That was challenging because I had planned to wear the same outfits twice during the 8 days of attending services. There goes that plan and we did not want to buy new clothing as we needed room in our suitcases for things from Louisiana to take home from out of storage. All one can do in this instance, is pray to our Father to fix these machines and to do the best one can. When we had time we eventually found a laundromat in the next town on the seventh day of the Feast, for which we were most grateful.

Even though all these things may be thought of as hindrances or annoyances, we see them as blessings for ways that we can be tested to understand our motives, attitudes, and actions. Always valuable learning opportunities to build our character and for God to know what is deep within our hearts. For myself I do notice that when I am “fighting the clock” things happen to challenge my patience, precisely when I can easily “unravel” through stress, become irritated and say things that are not so positive; conversely, when time is not an issue, everything runs smoothly, there is no stress and the attitude is positive, happy, and even joyful.

The Most Beautiful Way God Works

Now to talk about the blessings. There were so many of these every day it would take quite a while to list them all, but I would like to include a few here as meaningful reminders of how God is intently watching and wanting to bless us. We chose to attend the Feast in Branson, Missouri for two main reasons. It was close to where we needed to travel after the Feast. The second reason, but no less important, was that I asked God for a Feast gift which could only be given at this particular site — it was not a physically wrapped up gift that could be touched, seen and held, but rather a spiritual gift of uniting us once again with brethren we hadn’t spoken to for quite some time. My request was “If only this one blessing could be given according to Your will, it would mean everything to us...please provide the how to as we provide ourselves as willing participants”.

With incredibly full hearts this occurred at the close of the Sabbath when we attended a chilli cookout (my first) at an Elder’s temporary dwelling. Both parties had been invited and attended. The reunification was so sweet, personal, heartfelt with sincere words of love, mercy, forgiveness and understanding. Hugs transpired, tears of joy, relief and Agape love shared. Scripture in Proverbs 18:17 was mentioned of which I had been personally praying about — hearing this from their mouth was just another specific way God was enabling us all to reconnect. God completely restored us with full joy and hopefully I will never get used to the marvellous way God works as it is so powerful, so precise in timing, in thoughts, in spoken words, in the method and manner of planning to bring it to perfection. What a mighty God we serve!

Our joy is complete. This is an understatement. We all have peace whereas before we had anguish, sadness, and confusion as another person had caused so much division between the four of us due to lies spread repeatedly over and over again for several years. What does God say about brethren causing division or separation between one another? Proverbs 6:16-19 says God HATES THIS ABOMINATION. Lies had been spread but no more will they be able to deceive these precious children of God. Now if that was all God did for me, for us, I could sing from the top of the mountains as it is more than enough. Our Father never disappoints.

However to mention other highlights from our Feast blessings...the family day with all the children choosing a stuffed animal was so endearing and beautiful. The young boy holding and talking about his brightly coloured rooster because he loved chickens, touched and melted my heart. The girl with her large dog tightly clutched by both hands...the joy on their sweet faces, smiling, laughing and innocent. I loved every second of it and didn’t want this to end. It reminded me of my youngest daughter attending her first Feast at the age of 5 when she was given a small soft toy to take home and it meant so much to her. We also enjoyed the children’s choir singing prior to the animal selection. Can things get any better than this? What a contrast to the world where things are not so simple and innocent — where anxiety and loss of delight in the simple things is noticeably absent, or at best, deficient.

Then there was the fun of meeting some Facebook friends...Michelle, Lorelei, Irene, Debi, Kelly, Ralph and Sherrie. Also, some new brethren — Don, Wilma, June and Koehler, Linda and Ed, Todd, Dale, Vince, Lonnie, Joanne, Nancy, Larry, Carolyn, Stan, David, Anthony and Linda, Paul and Angela, last but not least, Bill and Donna who had a swarm of people over for a chilli cookout one evening — my first one in which was so heartwarming to be welcomed by good old American hospitality. We also reconnected with “old” friends Kevin and Shelley which was very pleasant.

Other unexpected fun filled blessings consisted of seeing some American wildlife in the form of deer, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, marmots, great blue herons, blue jays, and numerous other birds. It was the very first time for me to see most of these critters alive and in close proximity. Those chipmunks are so tiny and fast but I did manage to get a picture from my iPad to keep as a memory from the 2019 Feast.

As the Feast of Tabernacles has drawn to an end for 2019, and as we have also experienced great joy from the meaning regarding the symbolism of The Last Great Day when every person will receive salvation, our hearts are so full, overflowing in fact with thanksgiving, giving praises to our Father on high with the inspired words of Psalm 107:22 resonating deeply within. Therefore with joyful expression we continue to declare His glorious, wonderful works to all those who have ears to hear and will listen. So now that we have been strengthened through our unity we shall go forth into the world full of awe and deeper respect for our most loving Father and His Son, our Saviour Christ Jesus. Until we meet again dear family!