Britton Christian Church

You’ve heard about it, but have you seen evidence of the stories you’ve heard this past week from those who returned from the Spring Break Ski Trip to Durango?  Well, now you can see what all of the buzz has been about. If you will click on the heading “Views From The Pews” in the right hand column of our Blog it will take you to the pictures we have of the various events we’ve had through the years. At the end of the list you will find “Ski Trip ‘07.” Click on the link and you can see all of the beautiful smiles, wonderful snow, and wide-eyed participants from this years ski trip.

Spring is in the air and for those of you who are runners it is time to get outside and take in some of the wonderful spring air! We have a great opportunity coming our way on Sunday, April 15 as the 25th Annual RedBud Classic will take place just down the street from the church in Nichols Hills. We want to invite all runners to invite a friend and sign-up.

We will have sign-up forms available at church next Sunday, March 25th so that you can sign-up for either the 5K or 10K event.  The cost of the race is $20 if you sign-up before April 12.  I hope you will join me for this great opportunity for fellowship and fun.

In His Steps,

Mike Hays

At 2 am Sunday morning, while you are tucked in your bed and sawing logs, a group of 50 kids and their sponsors from BCC will load the bus and head to Durango Mountain Resort for three days of skiing! This is the seventh year that we’ve taken kids from our church to the mountains of Colorado for Spring Break. I’ve been on the last three trips and I can tell you that it is one of the most wonderful opportunities we have during the year to share the Gospel with our young people. We would greatly appreciate it if you would begin praying today for the Lord to use this opportunity to touch the hearts of our kids.

I believe that our Spring Break Ski Trip is a unique opportunity for a couple of reasons. First, many of these kids are going skiing for the first time, many of them have never seen a mountain, and they will be confronted with a huge mountain and a racing heart on their first day in Colorado. Fear and anxiety will greet them the first time they get off the chair lift and stare down the slope. We will use this opportunity to teach them that through Christ they can do it. We will also use the experience to help show them that through the Lord they can overcome any obstacle, any fear, that they might experience in life. What a great opportunity! The second reason that our trip is such a unique opportunity to share Christ with kids is that we will have Bible study with them in the morning and evening. They won’t have Ipods, video games, cell phones, or any of the normal distractions they have back home. They will have lots of time to sit with their group, read God’s Word, and allow the Lord to use His Word to touch their hearts.

We want to thank each of you who have contributed in any way to helping us make this trip. There is no way that this trip would be possible without you. You have given us opportunities to work at your homes so that the kids can earn their trip, some of you have sponsored kids who couldn’t pay any of the money, and you have supported us over and above anything that we could have imagined. I can’t wait to get back and share with you the wonderful things God did while we were on the mountain.

In His Steps,

Mike

Hi Everyone,

It has been two weeks since Connie had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. We got word a few days after she got home from the hospital that her pathology showed that her lymph nodes were clear, but we didn’t know if she would have to have any further treatment like chemo or radiation. Today, we had an appointment with Dr. Walker, Connie’s oncologist, at the OU Physicians Center. We didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know whether Dr. Walker would give us an idea of what kind of treatment, if any, we should plan for or if it would simply be a check-up. Dr. Walker and Dr. Lannuel did check Connie’s scars, they read to us from the pathology report once again, and then Dr. Walker said, “I would pronounce you cured.”  I felt like jumping out of my skin, hugging Dr. Walker, and asking her, “Are you sure you said ‘CURED?’  Don’t worry, I didn’t make a fool out of myself. I just quietly praised God for His provision and grace.

Connie will not have to have chemo or radiation, but she will have to visit Dr. Walker once every three months for the next two years for check-ups and tests as a precautionary measure. After the two years are up she will have to visit Dr. Walker once every six months for the same tests.

Needless to say, we are so grateful to the Lord for His graciousness towards our family. It is interesting that Connie and I were sitting in the waiting room to see Dr. Walker and I was reading a quote by Phillip Yancey. I showed it to Connie because it speaks so vividly of our experience during the past month. Yancey says, “What is faith, after all, but believing in advance what wil only make sense in reverse.”  That statement strikes at the heart of our experience. I will never forget one month when i walked into my house and Connie told me she had cancer. I was shocked, my heart raced, and I was afraid. I couldn’t see the future. I had no idea what was before us. I only knew to pray and trust God. Now looking back over the past month I see His fingerprints every where. God has been so good to us. He ordained this trial to teach us to trust Him and to battle fear whenever it raised its ugly head.

When Connie and I got back to my truck after meeting with Dr. Walker we held hands and prayed, thanking God for all that He had done in our lives during the past month. We prayed for Dr. Walker and Dr. Lannuel who will meet with many “Connies” in the months to come and asked Him to bless them so that those in need could feel the compassion coming from them that we have felt. We also thank God for each of you who have prayed for us, cooked us meals, sent flowers to Connie, signed a jillion cards and letters, and most of all, loved us through it all.

God is good. Not just when the Doctor announces that you are “cured,” but He is good all of the time and His purposes for our lives are to use us to bring glory and honor to His name. Connie and I have prayed that He would use us in this trial to do just that.

 Dear Friends,