Dec. 8 was a bustling day at the Umpqua Valley Arts Center in Roseburg, Ore. All afternoon women from TurningPoint Adventist Community Church were busy decorating the large room, arranging beautiful tables, and preparing food. Mike Buster added a male presence as he spent hours setting up a sound system and stage lights in preparation for his wife Lisa's mini concert.
There were ten round tables with seating for eight, and these tables were each hosted by one of the TurningPoint ladies. The table hostess brought all the dinnerware and decorations for that particular table. There was a wonderful variety of decorations, from very classic Christmas dinner tables to a table that had an "around the world" theme, with a lighted globe as a center piece. It was so much fun to observe the creativity of the table hostesses and how much the attractive tables were enjoyed by all the guests.
Around 6 p.m., 78 ladies filed into the beautiful room and enjoyed a delightful evening of delicious food, great fellowship, and excellent entertainment. Many new friends who had never been to TurningPoint before accepted our invitations to come, filling the room with new faces. Bethany Herrington, a new friend, did a very nice job as our emcee, and Nicki Staggs had us laughing as she entertained us telling the Christmas story in a creative way while handing out door prizes. Vikki Hein led in singing Christmas carols, and I was impressed with how nice it all sounded, like a beautiful ladies choir!
During Lisa's heartfelt Christmas concert, she invited us to give our hearts to Jesus, for the first time or once again. It's sometimes hard to put into words how you feel after an evening like this, but one word comes to my mind that describes how I felt—warmed.... warmed by the effort of so many people to make this evening a success, warmed by the beautiful room and soft lighting, by the quiet Christmas atmosphere and by the friendliness of everyone present. Thanks once again to Lisa Marie Buster and her team for making this a very special, successful event.
