Ladies from high school age to…more than that…gathered at Dunkirk Baptist Church (DBC) on February 3 for a Girls’ Night In Slumber Party with a purpose: to enjoy fun together while growing in their walk with the Lord and helping the homeless. Goal achieved!
What began as a simple pizza feast, topped off with an inspiring message from invigorating speaker Willetta Love, morphed into a cupcake decorating and valentine crafting extravaganza! Nearly 400 beautifully and lovingly decorated cupcakes and valentines’ cards were prepared for DBC’s Praise and Thunder team to take to our homeless neighbors in Washington, D.C., the following morning.
Next came…the PJ Pageant! Winners in categories including Most Original, Most Mismatched,
Most Glamorous, and more humbly accepted their prizes with one requirement: the pictures NOT be posted on facebook!
Then something uniquely compelling followed…
In a then-darkened church late that night, the ladies silently slipped through the halls to a small corner in the back of the church. Sitting on the floor with only candlelight and small flashlights to read the Scriptures they carried, they had “Secret Church”: re-enacting the circumstances in which our brethren in Indonesia must endure to worship Jesus Christ and study His Word. Indonesia, home to the largest Muslim population in the world, forbids any other religion other than Islam. Christians there must meet in secret to study God’s Word. During DBC’s “Secret Church”, the ladies worshipped the Lord with sweet, rich a cappella praise, studied various Scripture passages and topics together in their dark corner, then closed with a time of silent personal prayer.
Wrapping up the event with breakfast the next morning, the Girls’ Night In produced much fruit…tangibly to our homeless friends, and spiritually to all involved. A dozen volunteers armed with 33 dozen cupcakes traveled to DC served hundreds of our homeless friends a hot meal, bagged lunch and clothes with a loving smile.
Soli Deo gloria – to God be the glory alone!
Dunkirk Baptist Church is and was on Super Bowl Sunday. What started out to be a query of interest amongst a small group turned out to be a major 100-person plus family outing of great fellowship. When you include food, Baptists come from everywhere to join in!
We started with a game of flag football that included some hard hitting on the field of play and 
some pre-game smash mouth smack. Guys and gals ranging in age from five years to more than that participated. The “Good Folks” won the game in triple overtime with a stunning flying cartwheel over the left end to win by two points while trailing by four points for much of the fourth quarter. The jubilation over the stunning victory garnered a flag for excessive end zone celebration that will be assessed on the kickoff of the next game.
Witnessing this victory was a large crowd of folks who were huddled around an open fireplace pit while being wrapped in thick blankets. The weather was crisp but sunny for a perfect day of fun, fellowship, and food.
Following the game, we adjourned to the food area where we had three grilles in action to prepare sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, chili, dip, desserts, and steamed oysters. Yes, we were shucking and jiving through the day.
We started the festivities at 2:30 P.M. and kept going outside until after sunset when we adjourned to the activity center to watch the game on a large, air pumped TV screen. The seeming 200 temperature drop did not deter anyone from having fun outside. Football games, corn bag toss, string toss, and impromptu games of all varieties continued with people ranging in age from possibly four years to more than that.
We even reached Facebook celebrity status as the following pictures were published worldwide. Another celebration of Christ-centered activities and values with a family orientation. Come join us. We are the fun and faithful bunch!
