On October 23 at 4 pm, we gathered at the pastor’s home for our annual Harvest Party and Pie Baking Contest.  We played games, ate pie, drank hot spiced cider, ate pie, grilled hot dogs & hamburgers, ate pie, roasted marshmallows, & ate pie.  We also ate delicious pie–14 entries this year, and the competition was STIFF!  Then we gathered around the campfire and Terry, Brian, & Brannon Miller and Billy Reynolds played guitars/bass/banjo for us to sing choruses.  Pastor Bill gave a devotion from I Corinthians 13, reminding us that God places utmost importance on loving Him and one another as we serve Him day by day.  We sang more choruses, and then after roasting some marshmallows, the kids got to smash the pinatas they made and collect some candy.  After that, the older kids played Manhunt while the little kids got to have story time with Mr. Luke.  As the little kids traded candy, we enjoyed sweet fellowship.   What a great Harvest Party!  We are so thankful!

We had a great time painting the pinatas we made last month.  Our moms might have to go shopping for some new clothes, though, because our dads forgot to put the paint shirts on us!  Ooooopsie!

What gorgeous weather we enjoyed when we made pinatas for the harvest party!  After hot dogs & chips, it was time to get to work.

Put strips of paper, flour, water, balloons, and some kids together and you get a really big mess!  But you could also come out with some awesome pinatas!  And we did–4 to be exact.  After they dry, they’ll be ready for painting.

After pinata making it was time to enjoy some ice cream cones.  Some of the kids decided mud pies would be fun to make, as well.

God has been so good to us!  Celebrating 9 years at Beacon, we opened with Sunday School and the Worship Hour, during which an instrumental ensemble (piano, bass guitar, xylophone, flute, trombone, and trumpet) played “Amazing Grace” for the offertory.  Then we all changed clothes and headed over to Ray Warner’s backyard for our annual Turkey Fry.  5 fried turkeys, 3 varieties of stuffing, a giant batch of green bean cassarole, and cake and ice cream were just the “tip of the iceberg . . .”  We had such a yummy meal!  Then, after it settled a little, four people were baptized, and one person prayed to accept Jesus Christ as Savior!  We also enjoyed sitting around and chatting and playing volleyball & horseshoes. Some of the youth enjoyed the pool, while others enjoyed making mud pies.  What a great day! You can see more pictures of the baptisms on the Baptisms page.