On Saturday morning, some of the sisters picked up a plethora of pastries from 85°C bakery cafe, ranging from cheese dogs and spicy sausage to taro puff pastries and mango bread – definitely not the most conventional combination of flavours, but we enjoyed trying everything! It was a lovely array we all woke up too.
After being fed very well, we drove over to Anaheim to attend the FTTA graduation! We arrived nice and early to get good seats in the centre of the room to view all the graduates. It was great to be at the graduation meeting; seeing some familiar faces up on the stage was so sweet because they had previously visited us in the UK!
The Full Time Training Anaheim is a two year post-graduate program for believers from different nationalities to spend time to grow more in the Lord in His grace and to know more about the truth, life, gospel and service. This is a precious time where trainees can really experience Christ and enjoy all His riches. The trainees concentrate themselves fully to study the Word of God and to be trained to serve the Lord in their normal Christian living after they graduate. Whether they serve full time, further their studies or begin a working life, these trainees become vital, functioning members of the Body of Christ! May we pray that we have this divine vision to be useful for God’s eternal purpose!
It was so encouraging to hear the graduates’ testimonies and experiences of Christ, finding Him as Grace. Just simply seeing their shining faces as they spoke was a living proof of the joy they were infused with, having touched the Lord during their time in the FTTA.
Oh Lord give us such an enjoyment of You! Let us be shining luminaries in this dark age!
During the FTTA trainees’ graduating presentation, they spoke of having a total living under the grace of God. This grace is available to us like the air we breathe and so God has made it really simple for us to receive it. It is whenever we call on the name of the Lord that the grace flows in abundance, and we have the full enjoyment of God. The trainees testified that as believers, the grace of the Lord must be with us in all the aspects of our daily life. In order to achieve this, we need to be defeated and subdued by the Lord so that it gives Him the way to be our all-sufficient grace to build up the Body of Christ!
Thank you Lord we are made stewards of God’s grace!
After the graduation and taking photos with the graduates, we all drove to the Irvine Spectrum Centre, a huge outdoor shopping centre with many stores like Nordstrom and Old Navy.
A few of us spotted the well-known American Cheesecake Factory and were tempted by the ‘Oreo Dream Extreme’ cheesecake to try it out. It was very sweet and extremely chocolatey!
When we were tired out from shopping, we drove back to the hospitality in Cerritos. In one of the cars, we played a game were whenever someone spotted a call box and declared, ‘Call box!’, everyone had to call ‘O Lord Jesus!’ It was a really fun way to turn to our spirit during our travels!
Back at the house, we each shared our portion of what we enjoyed from the FTTA graduation or the home meetings the evening before. Some of us were touched that we need to follow the Lamb, who is Christ Himself, wherever He may go!
Then we all decided to walk to a nearby Chick-fil-A for dinner. We were amazed by how many different sauces they had so we tested them all by dipping potato waffle fries.
Chick-fil-A is a fast food business known for all its restaurants being closed on Sundays as this decision was their way of honouring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than their business. Amen!
A few of us went to Target, a supermarket. There we bought last minute toiletries and any other items we might need before the upcoming Semiannual Training.
After an eventful day, we all repacked our luggage so that we could leave early in the morning to Anaheim for the Lord’s Table Meeting.