Our 38th Homestead Fair
Thanks to all of your prayers, our 38th annual Homestead Fair was an amazing success! Almost 16,000 people attended the fair weekend, and there was a wonderful atmosphere of friendship and support.
The weather the next day was dismal—damp, rainy, and the kind of Texas cold that gets right in your bones. A few weeks ago, the predictions for our fair weekend looked just as cold, along with thunderstorms. But we prayed, and the weather was clear, crisp, sunny—perfect! On Saturday night, just before evening music, a severe thunderstorm began to blow in. We even had some spectacular lightning and a stiff breeze. But the storm unexpectedly shifted to the north. We didn’t even get sprinkles. Sunday was a bit chilly but mostly pleasant.
The food court bustled with tasty offerings, ranging from bagels to lemonade to curry to Lebanese cuisine. In the craft pavilion, cottage businesses offered quality crafts. Many of the booth coordinators sold almost everything they had prepared for the three fair weekends and now have to craft more products.
Our Heritage Youth Missions (HYM) afternoon concert began with a perfectly synchronized crash of drums as ten young men marched down the center aisle of the Heritage Center. Blair Joel Adams emceed the event, encouraging the crowd to participate, sharing great stories, and introducing some of the brothers and sisters who lead our young people’s choirs and orchestra.
On Saturday evening, our concert became a worship service. God graced us with a special visitation of His presence. Rory Feek helped host the evening, and this is what he wrote on his social media platform:
“The past two years, I’ve come up on stage as a guest and performed one song. But this year, they invited me to host the concert. And more than that, to help them—and all of us in the church—try to weave a narrative in between the music. To help the thousands of people who would be in the audience better understand what this place is, who the people on stage are, and who live here and are part of this community. To try to share the bigger picture of what God has done in this place and in all of our lives.
“I wish you could’ve been there. It felt as if the roof almost lifted off the building. Like the lightning that we’d all seen in the approaching dark clouds above the grounds before the concert began had turned into a beautiful storm, and for a moment—for about 10 minutes actually—it felt as if God had reached down, removed the top of the Heritage Center, and come down and rested upon every one of us. . .
“When it was over… as the folks continued filing out the doors into the night—many of them, just like us, wondering what had just happened—a number of us from the band stood in a circle on the stage, hardly sure what to say other than ‘Thank You, God.’ Knowing that He had done something here this evening. Something that we didn’t do. That He allowed us to be part of.”
That sums up the fair. We were privileged to be part of something God did. And because of His presence, thousands of people went home with hope that they also could have an abundant life.
Please pray for the next two weekends. On Saturday and Sunday, December 6 and 7, we will host a special Christmas market. We anticipate that Saturday’s HYM Christmas concert will be at least as spectacular as their performance at the fair. The next Saturday, December 13, we’ll host one last Christmas market and close out the year with our final Christmas concert from our adult choir and orchestra. Come and join us if you can!
