Last day of the first part of the blending!! It went by so quickly but it is only going to get sweeter!
Breakfast consisted of a bagels, ham, cheese, hard boiled eggs and fruit! Thank you to the sisters who kindly prepare them before we woke up.
After breakfast, we were assigned to different cleaning tasks, from sweeping the floor to the cleaning bathrooms. We made sure to leave the house in the same condition we arrived in… if not better! This is because as soon as we left, the house was going to be fully occupied again for hospitality for the Semiannual Training!
The Lord’s Table meeting in Anaheim started at 9:30 at the meeting hall on West Ball Road. This used to be where the FTTA training centre was before it moved to the new building at West La Palma Avenue. Some of the saints on our blending trip did their training in this location so they enjoyed coming back and reminiscing their time here.
There were a large number of visitors going to the Semiannual Training who attended the meeting, as we soon realised when saints from each continent stood up and said where they are from. Praise the Lord for His one Body on this earth!
During this trip we visited Witness Lee’s longest staying residence, walking distance from the meeting hall. His home was interesting to visit as it gave us a chance to see the pattern he is to us as a believer who lived Christ in his daily living. His wardrobe and chest of drawers were neatly arranged so he knew exactly where an item of clothing was located. His Bibles were completely covered in neat, tiny hand-written notes from his extensive time spent in the Word! Visits like this give us many lessons to learn, just like visiting John Wesley’s house in London and seeing his prayer room reminds us that believers should have a hidden and continual prayer life with the Lord! The simple manner in which these brothers lived are a testimony to us of having a Christian life with deep and hidden roots in the Lord.
Once everyone had finished the tour, the next thing on our itinerary was lunch at In-N-Out! A brother who had been to the States before recommended us to order fries from the ‘secret menu’. The french fries had ‘animal’ sauce, grilled caramelised onions and melted cheese! It was very yummy! Not only was the food tasty but this fast food joint has also designed every packaging from the drinks cups to the burger wrappers to contain verse references from the Bible! It was fun looking for them and then looking up what the verse says in the Bible. Hallelujah for His Word being made know to all!
Whilst we were enjoying authentic American burgers, we met a waiter who grew interested in our British accent. He shared with us his love for British fictional dramas; we reciprocated the conversation by sharing our love for the Lord Jesus. He kindly gave us In-N-Out hats and in exchange we gave him a Bible tract!
Lord plant in him the seed and may he be open to receive your Word!
The Semiannual Training was nearly approaching as we headed to the training centre on West La Palma Avenue. Before we registered and settled into our FTTA hospitalities, we were first given a tour of the whole FTTA compound including the Ministry Conference Centre and training centre. This tour was given by brothers Jerome and Joe. We were shown the study areas, library, one of the classrooms for Greek lessons, and the many rooms that trainees had access to for group study or for appointments with a responsible brother or shepherding sister. Throughout the tour, we were not shy to voice our numerous comparisons between this training centre and Bower House, where the FTTL is hosted! It was a new experience for some of us to see what a day in the Full-Time Training might entail, as well as what we may partake in, in the future!
The tour ended in the cafeteria, where we also got our hospitality registration packets. We found out where we were staying, who with, and what the schedule was for the week. The sisters were located in several houses in Grace Court and the brothers were close by. We met with the FTTA trainees in our houses who were very welcoming!
In the evening, we all drove to a Korean BBQ restaurant in Garden Grove. We had been anticipating this for a few days so we were very excited to reach our destination. Some of us were trying KBBQ for the first time whilst others were experts in ordering and cooking the meats. We ate until we reached our capacities and then squeezed in some room for ice cream at the end!
We returned to our FTTA hospitalities and settled in to get ready for our next part of the blending trip – the Semiannual Training!