church fl

PERUVIAN ANDES (FBW)—Several Florida Baptist churches and one association are becoming regular visitors to the Peruvian Andes after having adopted previously unreached people groups through the REAPSouth program of the International Mission Board.

According to the REAPSouth website, the following churches and association have adopted people groups: Carter’s Baptist Church, Lakeland; Bell Shoals Baptist, Brandon; Parkridge Baptist, Coral Springs; McGregor Baptist, Ft. Myers; Westside Baptist, Gainesville; First Baptist, Ocala; and Holmes Baptist Association.
First Baptist Church in Ocala is working to extend its commitment to missions to another generation, according to Pastor Darren Gaddis. A team of four fathers and sons made up the church’s latest mission trip to visit its adopted people in the Peruvian Andes.
Team members were Pastor Gaddis and his son, Ethan, 8; Minister of Missions Kevin Kite and Jacob, 10; Walter Johnson and Zachary, 9; and Adam Suydam and Aaron, 9.
The early October visit by the First Baptist team with the Lucanas segment of the AyacuchoQuechuas was the eighth since 2008, when the church joined the International Mission Board’s REAPSouth program. Gaddis said he hoped to recharge the partnership by going personally and by relating his experiences in live video feeds from Cabana, Peru, during Sunday worship services in Ocala.
Strengthening relationships with the AyacuchoQuechuas was made easier by the presence of his and other team members’ young sons, he said.
“The adults there love children and they would light up when they saw the boys. They talked to them like they understood them. Our boys played with other children their age even without a common language,” he said.
When the fathers proposed the idea to their sons, Gaddis said the boys were full of questions: “Is it safe?” Where will we sleep?” The boys, however, accepted the challenge and made the arduous journey with “no complaining and no arguments.”
“It is amazing how well the boys did,” he said.
Cabana, Peru, is “an old community just beginning to be touched by the 21st century,” he said. The adobe buildings have some functioning utilities, but the water is “undrinkable.” Old automobiles labor over the dirt streets often followed by carts and teams of oxen. The team stayed in a hostel where other Ocala teams have also stayed.
Gaddis said the trip was “the most difficult thing I have done in a ministry context.” The two-day trip to Cabana included a seven-hour flight to Lima, then 14 hours of driving, sometimes on unpaved, single lane roads that ascended to an altitude of 15,000 feet in northern Peru. For Floridians accustomed to sea-level, the altitude takes a toll, because “everything is uphill,” he said.
Building a ministry among the AyacuchoQuechuas, whom Gaddis described as “warm, but slow to reach,” may also be an uphill—and long—process.
“This is a reason it was good to take the boys. This will take longer than my lifetime, and we will need the next generation to continue it,” he said.
Gaddis said he and the other fathers also wanted their sons, all Christians and “just as called as we men are,” to become stronger disciples by experiencing international missions. He said he and Kite witnessed to an Ayacucho­Quechuan man, Aldo, more than four hours. While they talked with him, the boys prayed for him, and even back home, remind adults to “pray for Aldo,” he said.

First Coast Happenings for Oct. 26-Nov. 1

October 25, 2011

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26

Florida-Georgia Football Classic, through Saturday, various venues downtown and in or near EverBank Field. Includes live entertainment, pep rallies, the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, RV City activities and more. Full schedule: makeascenedowntown.com.

Garbage on the Green, cleanup of litter on campus, 7:30 a.m.; garbage revealed/program, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., University of North Florida s Student Union Osprey Plaza. (904) 620-2662.

Cultural Fair, 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., GE Aviation, 7575 Baymeadows Way. Includes visual displays, traditional dress and costumes, dance performances, live music and cultural cuisine. (904) 739-4398. Fun at the Fleet, Fleet Reserve Association, Branch 290, 390 Mayport Road, Atlantic Beach. Order in or carry out. (904) 246-6855.

-- Today  Wings-n-Things dinner, 5-8 p.m. $1.50-$5. -- Thursday  Trivia Night, 7 p.m. Includes prizes for first through fourth places. -- Friday  Pizza/calzone dinners, 5-8 p.m. $5-$8. Envirothon and Speech Contest, 6 p.m., BlackFin American Grille, 4840 Big Island Drive, Suite 105. Includes appetizers and refreshments. $20. Information, email salexander@duvalconservation.org.

My Fair Lady, buffet 6:30 p.m., show 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays; buffet 11:15 a.m., show 1:15 p.m. Saturdays; buffet 12:15 p.m., show 2 p.m. Sundays; Alhambra Theatre & Dining, 12000 Beach Blvd. Show runs through Nov. 27. $42-$49 adults, $35 children. Reservations, (904) 641-1212.

THURSDAY

Zoo Fit, 7-8 a.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, 370 Zoo Parkway, off Heckscher Drive. Instructor led 3-mile walk at an aerobic pace, with a 2-mile option. $4 members, $8 nonmembers, per walk; $25 members, $65 nonmembers, 10-walk pass. (904) 757-4463 or jacksonvillezoo.org.

Hiring Our Heroes/RecuitMilitary Veteran Opportunity Expo, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., EverBank Field. (513) 683-5020.

Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida, luncheon meeting, noon-2 p.m.; workshop, 2:30-4:30 p.m.; Marriott Southpoint, 4670 Salisbury Road. Lunch, $40; workshop, $30; $55 for both. (904) 723-2162 or hpcnefevent.org.

MTV Campus Invasion Tour Concert, 4:30 p.m., University of North Florida s Student Union Coxwell Amphitheater. Features R&B artists Jay Sean and Jason Defulo with DJ Diamon Kuts, Chiddy Bang and We the Kings. (904) 620-2460.

Art lecture and tour, 5:30 p.m., The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, 829 Riverside Ave. Speaker is Elizabeth B. Heuer, exhibition curator and assistant professor of art history at the University of North Florida, on Eugene Savage: The Seminole Paintings. Program followed by a tour of the exhibit. $55 members, $65 nonmembers. Reservations, (904) 899-6007 or email wstanley@cummer.org. Beer Brewing Workshop, as part of MOSH After Dark, 6-8 p.m., The Museum of Science and History, 1025 Museum Circle. Features the science behind beer making from the brew-masters of Intuition Ale Works. $5 members, $10 general public. (904) 396-6674, ext. 226.

Easton Corbin live in concert, doors open 6 p.m., Mavericks at The Landing. $20 general admission, in advance; $28 at the door, upstairs. (904) 356-1110.

Trio Recitals, 7:30 p.m., University of North Florida s Recital Hall. Free.(904) 620-2961.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Flagler College Auditorium, 14 Granada St., St. Augustine. $15. (904) 826-8600, 819-6401 or flagler.edu/theatre. Ledisi: The Pieces of Me Tour, 8 p.m., Florida Theatre, 128 E. Forsyth St. $25, $35. (904) 355-2787 or floridatheatre.com.

FRIDAY

Lunch, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays, Clara s at the Cathedral Cafe, 256 E. Church St. Includes live music. Buffet $10; take-away available. (904) 354-4162.

Georgia/Florida Block Party, 4 p.m.-1 a.m., Omni Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island. Includes family fun, 4-7 p.m., with live music, games and trick or treating; Jim Beam Party with games and live music, 7-10 p.m.; After Party, 10 p.m.-1 a.m., at Falcon s Nest, with live music and a full bar and menu. (850) 668-2222.

Zac Brown Band, 7 p.m., Veterans Memorial Arena. jaxevents.com. Music in the Courtyard, 7-10 p.m., The Shoppes, 200 First St., Neptune Beach. Music by Fish Out of Water. (904) 249-2922 or www.200firststreet.com.

Mad Cowford improv theatre group, 7:30 p.m., Fernandina Little Theatre, 1014 Beech St., Fernandina Beach. $5. (904) 277-2202 or www.ameliaflt.org.

Nana s Naughty Knickers, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, Orange Park Community Theatre, 2900 Moody Ave. Show continues 8 p.m. Nov. 4-5, 3 p.m. Nov. 6, 8 p.m. Nov. 11-12 and 18-19. $15. Reservations, (904) 276-2599 or www.opct.org.

The Children s Hour, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Atlantic Beach Experimental Theatre performing at the Adele Grage Cultural Center, 716 Ocean Blvd., Atlantic Beach. Show continues 8 p.m. Nov. 4-5, 10-12, 2 p.m. Nov. 6, 8 p.m. Nov. 10-12. $15 adults; $12 seniors, mlitary and students. (904) 249-7177 or abettheatre.com.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning book sale, presented by Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library, 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays, University Park Library, 3425 University Blvd. N. Donations accepted. fjpl.org.

Pride on the Northside, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Church fellowship parking lot, Lem Turner Road between Interstate 95 and the Trout River Bridge. (904) 318-3826 or 630-3420. First Time Homebuyer event, 10 a.m.-noon, Potter s House, 5119 Normandy Blvd. Includes information and education about home mortgages. (904) 398-7279.

Pianothon 2011, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Circle of Love Homeless Ministries, 13519 N. Main St. Includes a yard sale and music by Without Ink, a priase band of students from Callahan and Hilliard. (904) 766-9544 or joelpacepiano.com.

Pirate Gathering Parade, 11 a.m., Francis Field, West Castillo Drive, St. Augustine. (904) 825-1004. Carry out chicken dinners to benefit local food banks, presented by Boy Scout Troop 474, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Fruit Cove Baptist Church, 501 Florida 13. $5. www.474chickens.com.

Death By Chocolate Murder Mystery Dinner Theater, 6 p.m., St. Luke s Community Church, 1140 McDuff Ave. S. Proceeds to benefit the Health Ministry. $30. (904) 389-7726. The Gin Blossoms, 8 p.m., Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, 1050 Florida A1A N., Ponte Vedra Beach. $30 in advance, $35 at the gate. (904) 209-0367.

SUNDAY

Evergreen Pumpkin Run to benefit the Jacksonville Historical Society, 8 a.m., Evergreen Cemetery, 4535 N. Main St. 5K $25, 10-mile run $30, in advance; $30 5K, $35 10-mile run, at the gate. (904) 353-3649. Family Art and Music Festival, 1-4 p.m., The Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach, 50 Executive Way. Includes live music, art projects and a children s Halloween costume pageant. (904) 280-0614.

Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra with Symphonic Spooktacular, 3 p.m., Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, 300 Water St. Includes magic and games. Children in costume encouraged. (904) 354-5547.

TUESDAY

Open House, 5-7 p.m. Tuesdays, The Foundation Academy, 3675 San Pablo Road S. (904) 241-3515 or foundationacademy.com.