Joe Anderson

Lesson from History

I was watching the History Channel the other night and saw an interesting story about all of the cargo on the Titanic. Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Veracruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost. The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were devastated by the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day. The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as....Sinko de Mayo!

May 05, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Inspiring and heart-warming story

After reading this amazing story I had to share it with you...

In 1986, Dan Harrison (see picture above) was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Dan approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a
large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.

As carefully and as gently as he could, Dan worked the wood out with
his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its
foot.

The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on
its face, stared at him for several tense moments.

Dan stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled.
Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Dan never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later, Dan was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his
teenaged son.

As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned
and walked over to near where Dan and his son Dan Jr. were standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Dan, lifted its front foot off the
ground, and then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Dan couldn't help wondering if this
was the same elephant.

Dan summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way
into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Dan’s legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

April 01, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (12)

Easter Weekend!

After a great Grand Opening two weeks ago, I can't wait to celebrate Easter in Faribault! Good Friday service is tonight at 7:00 p.m. and Easter service is Sunday at 10:00 a.m. See you there! Here's a link for more info and directions: RVC Faribault

March 21, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)

RVC Faribault- soft service

On Sunday we had our first pre-grand opening service (AKA soft service) at our Faribault campus. It was an incredible time and just about everyone I spoke with commented on the excitement and expectancy that you could sense in the place. We are adding more to these services each week, leading up to our grand opening on February 24th---I can't wait!

Pictures: people worshiping, the Williams duo, and Bode Hilgenberg Hage's first service at our first service. It's going to be fun to watch him grow as the Church grows -congrats to Kristi and Jordy!