Harvest Festival: Post Event

The Harvest Festival on Saturday was an exciting event and a major success.  While I can't speak for the whole festival, I did talk to many of the people who worked at the booth from our church service. 

It was the first time that the Jabriya Life Center participated in the Harvest Festival in such a major way.  Of course, people from our service have attended and donated to the event in the past, but this is the first time that we operated a food booth.  As I mentioned in the last post, one of the largest draws of the Harvest Festival is the food because you get to eat food from all over the world, and the proceeds go toward missions.

our "fearless" leader, flipping burgers

Since the leader who headed up the Harvest Festival is an American, he decided to have typical 'American' food.  Nothing is really as American as grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, so that was the food we sold- a big contrast to all the Asian noodles and other traditional dishes being served.

Nearly all the food was donated from various vendors, which meant that all profits went toward missions.  There were also four propane gas grills that people lent out to be used for the booth, and many volunteers worked hard to prepare the food and set up/tear down the booth.  In the beginning, it seemed like there would not be enough volunteers to make the workload light; the festival lasts from 9am-4pm. In the end we had more than enough volunteers for two shifts, a set-up crew, and a team for clean up. This allowed everyone to enjoy the festival at the same time as serving.

serving the tasty food

I was really happy to see the collaboration among friends and others who are in life groups at Jabriya.  I was also glad to see a lot of new people in the church taking time out to serve in this capacity.

I don't have all the numbers from the entire festival, but I know that the money brought in by JLC's hamburger food booth was 475 Kuwaiti Dinar- about $1,675USD!  This proved to be a major success and was still just a small part of the large contribution to missions.

 

the performance stage with children singing

The rest of the festival was a lot of fun, with many people eating, chatting and enjoying the different sights and sounds of the festival.  There was music throughout the day, along with hundreds of children playing on inflatable slides and getting 10 times their daily sugar intake from cotton candy.

Thanks to all those who served, attended, or prayed for the event. Please continue to pray that the money raised will be used to have a major impact on God's Kingdom throughout Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

 

smile!- photo by Ptr. Mark, edited by me

Harvest Festival

 Every fall, the Lighthouse Church has a massive gathering called the Harvest Festival.  It's like a combination of a concert, a yard sale, and a cafeteria all inside the church compound.  This year, the Harvest festival will be Saturday, November 9th from 9a.m. until 4p.m.- tomorrow!  I would encourage all who can to come and support the event, and everyone else who can't make it to pray for it. 

For those who have never been, it is really an excited and nearly overwhelming experience.  It is like a sensory explosion of sounds, smells, and sights.  First of all, there are people everywhere.  This is really fun because you get to see friends from your church service and people from all the different services.  Pastors, elders, and church council members are all there.  At times, it's like a sea of humanity ebbing and flowing around the church compound.

There is also a lot of music.  From Christian rock bands to soloists to ethnic dance groups, there is definitely a wide variety of musical styles on display during the festival.  Last year, one man played several different instruments during the same song, including a pan pipe, which is pretty unique! 

There is also a second-hand book, clothes, and item sale that goes on during the festival.  As an avid yard sale explorer back in America, I always find this to be pretty fun.  It's like a treasure hunt, where I will one day find my pot of gold buried beneath old books and clothes.


Last, but certainly not least, is the food.  The smell of food wafts throughout the church compound, compelling you to come and try some.  Many different booths offer foods from all over the world, especially amazing Indian and Filipino food.  Additionally, there is a bake sale with all the best homemade cookies and brownies in the world right at your fingertips. 

This year, the Jabriya Life Center is contributing a stand to the food area.  Headed by one of our service leaders, it will be an American barbeque stand.  It will have burgers and hotdogs that will be every bit as delicious as you would get in Texas or Chicago.  Many people from our service have volunteered to help make it a success, so please try to come out if you can.

For those of you who are not in Kuwait, please pray for the event.  All the money that is raised goes toward missions, which include several mission organizations, orphanages, and shelters that we support in India, Tanzania, and around the world.  The Lighthouse Church is one of the strongest international churches in Asia, so it is our desire to use that strength and influence to raise money to help churches and organizations that need our support.  Please pray that it would be a total success, and that thousands of dinars/dollars would flow from The Lighthouse Church to missions all over the world.