P.Y.F. (Packinghouse Youth Fellowship)

Hello All,

I was invited to speak at the Packinghouse tonight, to address the Youth Group. First, I thought I would thank Jeff Harry for the invitation, a young man who was once in my Junior High group. Jeff, should you read this, thanks for having me out. It was my privilege to be there. Second, to the youth that were there, you guys were fun to speak to. I would caution you not to laugh with guys like me as much as you did, because, as you saw, it only encourages them to continue in dorkdom!

I will tell you that the night was a much more powerful experience for me than I gave it credit for. I had sort of felt that I would walk onto campus and feel unaffected by the atmosphere. I walked onto campus, and the flood of memories just overpowered me. The smell of the orange grove, likely the last one in that part of Redlands, the look of the setting sun on the three buildings, even the stairs, evoked powerful memories for me.

You might wonder about the stairs. Let me tell you a story about me and my old office mate/surrogate older brother Attila. We used to compete in the most ridiculous ways with each other. For example, we had a door that you always needed a key to open. Often, I or he, would wait at the top of the stairs by the door. When he or I would come up the stairs, we would quickly close the door in the face of the other, and laugh hysterically when the other guy had to pull out his keys to get into the office! I would often be on the inside while Attila would be left reaching for his keys. "It's my blog, my story..."

With this as the background, we would often race each other to our office, so that we could get the one-up on the other guy. On this particular occasion, I was running toward the building when I tripped on the bottom stair, and subsequently sprained not one, but BOTH ANKLES!! UNREAL moment of pain. A testimony to our ridiculousness: Attila believed for a moment that I was faking it! And he was right to distrust me! I would have pulled that trick, but that time, a real injury occurred.

Alright, LARGE side-note! In any event, I came into the main sanctuary and every sight and sound brought me back. There were the thermostats that I monitored after each service for years. There was the soundboard that I stood by and talked with various soundmen and enjoyed the banter of the bands. There is that ancient overgrown, dolly thing that still has that fake grass type cover that we used to cart really large loads with.

And then there was the group of faces, excited to be there. I was reminded of the many faces that I watched come in and out of this sanctuary over the years. The people who were the most important to me on that weekly basis. It was amazing to me.

Speaking of amazing, the worship team! Incredible! Unreal! They set a great tone, and an easy transition for me to come up and speak in. The Nieves Family and Brad Bischoff, dear friends of mine, are a true blessing to the body of believers there at the Packinghouse. Oh, and the surprise of the evening: Libby Redinger! WOW! What a voice she has! I did not say this in front of the group, but I remember her when she was very, very little! It always makes me feel so old to say that...

All in all, it was tremendous evening for me personally, and I know that it was a blessing to at least 5 High Schoolers who responded to the message that the Lord ministered to their hearts. I pray that the Lord will solidify and plant that message into their hearts and that it would become life to them. I pray that they would continue, as a group, to walk excellently with the Lord!

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez