It’s been a while since I’ve been to a youth conference. The last time I went to the Ocean City conference was about two years ago with a bunch of high schoolers. As I briefly shared last Sunday, I had a great time at the conference hanging out with 18 middle schoolers and 3 adults. Once again, my patience was put to test by some of the boys by their constant complaints about everything but I must say that everyone had a great time being away from home for a couple of days. My biggest fear of attending these conferences is the long drive because I tend to fall asleep behind the wheel too easily.  However, thanks to Yohann who kept me company, I was able to stay wide awake the whole ride and actually enjoyed hours of quality talks. I would also like to thank Mrs. Kelly Kang and Mrs. Heejung Park for taking good care of all of us throughout the conference.
As I drove into Ocean City, I was able to witness the aftermath of the recent hurricane and the damage it left in the city. There were piles of sand in the middle of the main road, the boardwalk was completely destroyed, the beach looked horrible and many shops took a heavy hit and closed down. However, we were still able to enjoy the board walk, at least what’s left of it. I realized that I never fully appreciated the amount of work and effort that went in to making the boardwalk nice and appealing to tourists. It was a good reminder for me to think about the victims of the hurricane Sandy who are still struggling to recover from their loss.
The conference was well put together with great speakers and other guests. They had many seminars and workshops for the kids and leaders to benefit from. Yohann and I both were very excited to see the “Million Dollar Man” at the conference as one of the speakers. My grandparents used to watch pro wrestling on television all the time. I’m not so sure why my grandparents loved watching wrestling but I remember enjoying watching it as well. I recall a video game that had featured “Million Dollar Man” as one of the main characters you can choose to represent in a wrestling match. Thus when video footage came out on the screen to introduce the speaker, I was in total shock. Never in my life had I imagined seeing the million dollar man at a Christian youth conference as a guest speaker. Going along with his title, his famous line was “Every Man has His Price.” He claimed that anything and anyone can be bought with a price. As the Million Dollar Man, he was surrounded by money, fame, limousines and there was nothing money could not buy for him.
Then one day Christ entered his life and bought him at a price, and that price was Jesus Christ himself. According to Ted DiBiase (Million Dollar man’s real name’s biography on http://www.milliondollarman.com). He has then taken on new roles outside of professional wrestling. He is a spokesperson for the Sunshine Foundation, an organization that grants wishes for critically ill children, and has founded Heart of David Ministries (for which he travels the world as an evangelist furthering the Gospel of Jesus Christ). Also through Heart of David Ministries, Ted shares his prayer of hope all over America in motivational assemblies speaking out against the results of drug and alcohol abuse - warning America's youth about the trap of being addicted to drugs and alcohol. He also encourages them to stay in school, set reachable goals and pay whatever price it takes to become the best that they can be. Ted's speaking ministry is not focused only on youth. He actually has an even stronger message for "macho men" and struggling married couples. He speaks at men's meetings, whole church congregations, and special events. He has started his own small federation which is run as an outreach of Heart of David Ministry. Along with this he is presently considering starting his own wrestling school. 
How amazing is that? I was very challenged and encouraged by his testimony. I felt like God was telling me that what I do is worth the heartache and trouble I go through and that I need to have faith in God that He will bring about His good and perfect will at His time. I encourage the high schoolers and the adults to sign up for the ocean city conference in March. I can’t wait to wait to go back there again!

From Pastor Brian’s Heart
November 25, 2012

Many major retailers such as Target, Walmart, Toy R Us and others will be opening their stores on Thanksgiving Day evening, alluring people to buy those Black Friday bargains in lieu of having Thanksgiving dinner at home. Some stores plan to be open much of the day Thursday. Someone jokingly said, “They might as well start serving turkey dinner in the stores.”
Now Black Friday is slowly invading Thanksgiving Day, and who knows, in the near future, Black Friday might take over Thanksgiving Day completely? Retailers are all about responding to customers' needs and wants, and apparently that demand is growing every year. But Thanksgiving Day becoming the new Black Friday doesn't sit well with us believers.
How are you planning on spending your Thanksgiving Day this year? Thanksgiving Day is a family celebration marked as a sense of gratitude people feel for all the good things in life that God has done. This is done by offering prayers, sharing meals and spending time together. Family members and relatives who haven’t seen each other for some time come together and catch up on lost times and reconnect.
I have nothing against shopping smart and finding bargains, and spending our money wisely. But I think there are things that are more important in life than just shopping smart and finding bargains. In this day and age, we live a very busy life. It’s not just at work that we are busy. Our children are busy with activities around school and with other after school activities. If we add church programs and activities, there is hardly any time left for even family to spend an evening together. Nevertheless we still can manage to set aside some time for family since there are many days in a week. If not, in a month. However, when it comes to Thanksgiving Day, there is only one day out of the year that families and relatives can come together to share a meal and spend meaningful time together. Are we going to let Black Friday creep into Thanksgiving Day and take away the time we can spend more meaningfully?`
Also there is a more important reason that we shouldn’t let Black Friday invade Thanksgiving Day. Our Forefathers proclaimed National Days of Thanksgiving to Almighty God since 1777. George Washington, our first president, wrote his National Thanksgiving Proclamation, in which he said, “It is our duty as a people, with devote reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligation to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experienced….”
Let us not forget to give thanks to God for his amazing love and grace. We often focus on negative things in life, and we worry, get angry and complain. Thanksgiving Day is the day we can change our focus on how blessed we are for our God who loves us unconditionally and cares about everything that concerns us.
This year will be the first year our family will have one family member missing when we come together for Thanksgiving Day. Our son, Chris, left for Okinawa, Japan for his military assignment a few weeks ago and will not be with us on Thanksgiving Day this year. It will not feel the same without him, and we will miss him very much. We’re going to have to settle with FaceTime if he is not flying. How about you? I hope all of you will not miss anyone when you get together with your family on Thanksgiving Day and enjoy wonderful meals and spend a lot of time together.  And most of all count your blessings and give thanks to God for His goodness and faithfulness. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

From Pastor Neil’s Heart
November 18, 2012