Friday, February 17, 2012

Valentine's Banquet 2012

I haven't posted about many of our church activities in awhile.  Mostly, that is because the events we have are yearly, and since I am into my third year of blogging, I find myself thinking that you have probably seen all of our activities.

But....

I also want you to know that, despite its yearly repetition, our church calendar stays full of events!  So, even though we repeat activities (like every church does), there are always new faces, new decorations, new food, and new games to see and hear about!  
Our theme for this year's Valentine's Banquet was "Charity Never Faileth."  Hubby and I organized this banquet together and enjoyed brainstorming as a team.  We also enjoyed shopping for accessories on our weekly date nights leading up to the banquet (and learned, ahem, that holiday items for days like Valentines do not come out earlier than a week around here!)
{Below}  Beautiful centerpieces that were given away as door prizes and rewards
{A box of chocolate covered cherries for each couple}
{My Valentine, running the banquet}
We had 22 couples attend our banquet this year.  Including our deaf interpreter, there were 45 people in attendance!  Despite the few who were sick and could not come at the last minute, I think this was a great turnout!

{Below} Our guest speaker this year was pastor Vlad (pictured with his lovely wife, Maya) from a city in Ukraine about 15 hours north of us.  
{Below}  And these are the beautiful couples I managed to get a picture of:

















{Below} And yes, there's little 'ole us!

A game we played that was really fun was "Is That My Husband/Wife?"  We gave each person a form to fill out that included questions about themselves.  The only stipulation was that they were not allowed to show their answers to their spouses.  The papers were collected and then read.  If you thought your wife or husband was being read about, you had to stand.  Imagine the laughter when several people were standing at one time and also imagine the embarrassed looks when they found out they did not know their spouses as well as they thought!

It was a great evening, and I am so grateful for the many years of marriage that were represented by our church at this year's Banquet!

14 comments:

  1. What a blessing that you had so many in attendance! You, as always, looked beautiful!

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  2. Looks like you had a wonderful time! It was fun to see a few faces I recognized. :-)

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  3. Looks like a great evening! What a blessing to see so many couples! Encouraging! Thanks for sharing! We don't mind the repetition!

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  4. Loved the centerpieces! It looked like a lovely banquet. =)

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  5. Your banquet looked like so much fun. That game would have had me cracking up!!! Thanks for your kind comments on my blog (Frugal Homemaking). I actually browsed your blog a few weeks back when Becca featured you. Enjoyed peeking into your home, which is beautiful by the way! We live in a condo, of which a number of the fellow owners are from the Ukraine. I always wish I could communicate better with them. I feel like I'm at the tower of Babel sometimes.
    Becca and I attended Fairhaven Baptist College in Chesterton, IN.

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  6. Thanks for posting these pictures! Such fun to see photos of believers in another country.

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  7. Beautiful pictures! Y'all are so talented!

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  8. Jolene,

    The banquet looked absolutely beautiful!
    You did a great job and the picture of you and your hubby was adorable! You could be in a magazine!

    You are a wonderful completer to your husband. I think
    You should put everything you write into a book! Ladies would love to read it and it would be a tremendous blessing to all!

    I pray you have a good Lord's day as you serve our Savior!

    Take care and God bless

    Someone is praying for you!

    Love,

    Mrs.T

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  9. This looks like such a special time! I love seeing pictures of other people's ministry events. Also, I loved your last post with the video of your family singing together! So special, and what a special gift for your congregation. Thank you for posting these!

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  10. Can I say I love this post? Lol with the couples, Valentine's Day and all it made me smile!!


    Have a lovely day.

    ps I am having a cookbook giveaway for anyone and everyone, and will mail it anywhere, so feel free to swing by the farm and enter.

    Jennifer

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  11. awww wow everything was decorated sooo beautifully!!! :D I loved it!!! I'm so glad you all were able to put on a Valentine's Banquet. ;))
    And the game is hilarious!!! I will have to remember that idea for one day when someone might need a game idea! :D

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  12. I love your blog posts! I'm just sorry I don't always get around to commenting on them.
    Thanks for being a blessing! :)
    Love your banquet decorations. It looked like you all had a great time!
    By the way can you share with me the questions you used on the game? Every year we have a marriage seminar and end it with our banquet. The banquet is this Saturday and I'd love to use this game. (If you have time!) :)

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  13. Enjoyed seeing the photos of the couples at the Valentine's Banquet. Hats off to you and your hubby for a job well done! I am sure that everyone enjoyed it! My hubby and I recently enjoyed a "winter vacation" to northern MI/Canada to celebrate our 50th Anniversary! It's wonderful to say that I love him even more now than I did 50 years ago. We had a delightful time - rode the Canadian Snowtrain (reminded us of a Winter Wonderland); rode a carriage through the snow to view elk; and just enjoyed so much having the time for just the two of us! Thanks for sharing the events that are going on in your part of the world!
    Mrs. H

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  14. I was impressed by your lovely Valentine Banquet and group of people that you have ministering in your church. That is really good! So much work, isn't it? :)

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Thank you for your encouraging comments! "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." Proverbs 25:25