• Sunday school continues to be a great time of food, fellowship and fun. We've had some terrific lessons and the interaction among all the ages is exactly the kind of activity that enables us to reach whole families with the love of Christ.
• We've had two experts in communications visit our church, evaluate our current approach to outreach and offer many practical suggestions. Both were very complimentary about how we welcome visitors and the spirit of our congregation.
• Several volunteers have invested many hours studying the suggestions of the communication experts and this group - the communications task force - has developed a variety of short-term and long-term strategies for improving our abilities to reach our community.
• A weekly volleyball night has been organized to provide adults with a chance to play and enjoy each other's company. This also gives us a non-threatening activity we can invite our unsaved friends and families to. 
•  A daily Bible reading program that was launched in January is still being used by members of WVACC to encourage us in our walk with the Lord.
• At the request of our worship leader, Neal Tripp, we hired Eric Belvin to serve a summer internship here. Eric's talent on the piano is obvious but it's also clear this young man has a heart for worship ministry. We have been blessed by his gifts and by his winsome personality.
• The AC youth camp - Camp on Wheels - was a great success, giving our kids a chance to "give back" a little. They spent several days in Idaho doing a variety of service projects along with one of our sister churches from Oregon. Last Sunday we were blessed to hear reports from the youth about how this week of camp made an impact on their lives.
• Certainly not least in our list of great things recently happening at WVACC is the number of newcomers we have seen. Over the past few weeks we've had visitors in virtually every service. In fact, two weeks ago we had at least six adult first-time visitors! Last week we had three youth that came for the first time.
• Speaking of youth --  not only have the youth been actively involved in preparing breakfast for us on Sunday, but an increasing number of them have been joining us for worship!
• In the last month we've launched an entirely new website, which will be developed to support our new efforts to reach our community.
• A person in our community has come to faith in Christ. This is the direct result of our church's youth programs and our church's worship services. What greater blessing is there for any church than this?
• A new Monday night Bible study meets in the youth pastor's home, focusing on Jesus' teachings in the book of John.
• And, finally, our church basement is a wreck! Actually, the renovations of our fellowship hall have gone exceedingly well. The demolition is pretty much over and, already, new walls have been erected. Meanwhile, the renovation committee has gone "above and beyond" in finding ways to minimize expenses. Repeatedly, bargain after bargain has been found, enabling us to have a kitchen that is equipped with exceptional appliances. However, what I'm most pleased about is how many people have pitched in to help. On our first workday we even had a man who had never been to our church spend several hours tearing out carpeting! A variety of youth has been involved on most workdays and they are a great help. It seems each time we gather to work someone different comes to help.
• The only slightly negative event I can report over the past few months is the resignation of our office manager, Tracey Coon. I say it's only slightly negative because we don't actually lose her. She accepted a full-time job working at another church. However, she's still willing to work for us too! So Tracey continues to publish the "West Valley Connection" (this newsletter), format our bulletins, keep our books, and work on the website. She does all of this at her home during the evenings. We just miss seeing her every day.

I don't know who first said "take time to stop and smell the roses." Probably he was a cousin to the person who wrote "Count Your Blessings." They both give good advice. Quite often we focus so much on our own path that all we see is dirt or pavement. Sometimes, it's not so easy to see the Lord's work in the dirt that's in front of us. But He is working! Maybe not everything I've listed above can be attributed to God. But at least some of it can be. Stop and smell the divine roses... or sawdust... or pancakes...! God is blessing us. Relish that thought.