The event was steeped with positive thoughts and thankful prayers! This is the just the way we like our tea parties at Living Ministries. As is a normal occurrence, I tend to send prayer requests via text message to the Living Ministries crew as I am aware of them. On our way toward Ridgefield from Kelso, Washington we were stopped suddenly due to a car accident that had covered both northbound and southbound lanes. People looked shaken, cars were destroyed but if ambulances were required, they had already left; Thank God!
Accident on I-5 right after Woodland. ER response on both sides.
Then came the bevy of responses from all the guys, who didn’t want to come to this girly event, and responses of, “Praying. Thanks for the warning,” from the ladies who were on their way.
That morning I got a call from Debra, one of our committee members and also the facilitator for Angel Wings Rescue, that we needed to come a half an hour later than we planned so that Myrtle’s would be better prepared for us. As each of us showed up we were thankful that all were ok. Karen pointed out that if we had left at the time we had first planned we would have been right in the middle of the accident.
As you walk into Myrtle’s Teahouse you smell the tea and yummy treats, you hear the hum of ladies voices and clink of china and if you didn’t already feel the feminine vibe of the place, you couldn’t miss it as you walk into the front parlor, set up as a gift shop with every fun trinket you could desire at a tea party!
We were in the Florida Room, which is painted pink and has beautiful victorian ladies on the wall. Teal is the accent color that makes the room all that much more alive. As some of our guests arrived I felt the need to go outside, where I found Tim Miller, our musician for the event, trying to muster the courage to step into the estrogen rich environment. In a flurry Debra showed up and we began setting up the silent auction table while Tim brought in his keyboard and gear.
As more ladies came the sound of laughter began to fill the room while pots of piping hot tea where brought in to share by our server Natalie and a few other ladies, I had not met before. After a few words, guests listened while I sang Amazing Grace, as requested by Debra. While we held hands I could feel how thankful she was to have us all there to bless Angel Wings Rescue.
Tim brought an element of ease and love for Jesus that really made this tea party my favorite, ever! He played a few jazzy songs so Debra could enjoy dancing with her grandsons who were angels, but needed to move. Blessings were heard throughout the room and smiles were on every face.
I could hear our new Vice President, Linda, telling the ladies around her about what we do and teasing our new President, Karen from across the room. Between sips and nibbles, Karen was keeping herself busy by taking pictures and telling bad jokes while our new Secretary, Jamie, shot pictures from a different angle. No one flinched when they saw me taking a quick video clip with my phone to put on YouTube and Facebook, as they are all well-trained to smile when they see a camera in my hand, whether they want to or not.
Overall it was an amazing event, filled with love and great service by the staff at Myrtle’s Teahouse, which if you have never been, you should make time to go asap! As we brought the event to a close I felt led to sing His Eye is on the Sparrow and to offer prayer for people and we gathered around a couple of our guests who are having some health issues to bless them.
I can’t wait until next year, when we do this again! Make sure to View the Pictures on Facebook.
I would like to give a shout out to Exclaim Media for donating their design time for the flyers and tickets and to Copies Today SpeedyLitho for their beautiful print job! You guys are always there when we need you!
Sincerely,
Summer D. Clemenson
Executive Director
PS. If you missed your chance to come to the Furry Fundraiser Tea Party make sure to pop over to AngelWingsMinistry.com to learn how you can help homeless animals.
