Last month, I shared leadership training information from the Assembly of Leaders. Here are some additional facts about our smile that we brought home from the training:

Smile: “A facial expression indicating pleasure, favor, or amusement.”

Did you know? There are 43 muscles in your face, and it only takes 17 muscles to smile, but all 43 to frown! Even though it is much easier to smile, on average, we smile only 11 times a day.

Some of the synonyms for the word “smile” that are used in the Bible are glad, joy, rejoice and cheerful.

If we look at SMILE as an acronym, it can be a great way to increase our faith:

S: Share

Share your faith stories with others. Reaching out to those of other races, ages and ethnicity.

M: Mentor

Jesus mentored His disciples during His ministry on earth to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them…” (Matt 28:19-20)

I: Involve/Invite

• Use a verbal and personal invitation (An invitation in a bulletin or email is not personal)
• Keep inviting, even if they decline at first; give a second or third try
• Goal: Be welcoming

L: Listen & Love

God gave us two ears and only one mouth for a reason. Listen twice as much as you speak. Carefully listen before you respond.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

E: Encourage

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing”. 1 Thess 5:11

Try giving the muscles in your face a break today and smile often. As Christians we have a lot to smile about! Our risen Savior not only died on the cross for each one of us, He shares his blessings, He is the perfect mentor in all circumstances, He invites us to be His, He always listens to our prayers, loves us unconditionally, and encourages us to spread His good news!

We learned this fun tune, sung to the tune of “The B-I-B-L-E”, a song we all sang as children.

S – M – I – L – E

Yes, that’s the look for me!

I am very blessed, 

can do nothing less

than S – M – I – L – E

Try to sing this as you start your day – I bet it makes you smile!!

As our convention planning continues, we are pleased to announce one of the Ingathering/Servant Events will be Mercy Holistic Ministry in Sacramento. Their mission is: <“In Christ’s love, MHM affirms the dignity of our unhoused neighbors by meeting their spiritual and physical needs.” Their vision is one of a healthy, knowledgeable, physically and spiritually able community of high self-esteem without hunger and homelessness. They restore lives by offering showers, meals, clothing, medical assistance, haircuts, social work service, homeless navigation, and counseling to unhoused neighbors.

Ingathering items will be sorted and placed in gallon-sized zip lock bags as our in-service project. Please include this in your group’s plans for next year.

Ingathering items will include:

• bath towels
• disposable masks
• nail clippers
• disposable razors
• basic first aid items
• lip balm
• combs/brushes
• feminine hygiene products
• toothbrushes
• travel-sized toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, and sunscreen
• devotionals (Please save all your small devotionals; i.e., Portals of Prayer, Daily Bread, etc. no matter what dates)

THEME: Jesus is our Passport

SCRIPTURE: He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV)

Now that you know the theme, scripture, goal, and objectives, get your artistic juices going and create a logo! Send your logo ideas to Roxan Schwab and to LaVada Terrell before June 1, when the Board of Directors will vote on them. Once we finalize our convention logo, you can start making your banners and we can work on flyers and other convention publicity.

More next month – and continue to Serve the Lord with Gladness!

Our featured guest speaker, Cheryl Frances, talked about Grace and Mercy Charitable Foundations, which are located in Lodi, CA; Houston, TX; and Nairobi, Africa. Cheryl has a passion for cooking and bringing people together. This organization serves food to 10,000 people a month! Their services include meals and delivery, feeding the homeless, and filling in the gap where needed. In Africa, they provide two meals a day for 500 kids! What an amazing ministry. The LWML ingathering included dry goods and personal care items for the missions.

Our winter goal was to meet some of the needs of our local community. At Christmas, we enjoyed decorating a Christmas “Tree of Warmth” with mittens, hats, gloves and scarves. These items were shared with families at the Calaveras Resource Children’s Advocacy Center in Valley Springs, which offers free, licensed counseling to child victims of violence and abuse.

Our latest ingathering included items to assemble “Blessing Bags”: lightweight nylon backpacks with supplies to help the homeless. We donated approximately two dozen Blessing Bags to the Amador Food Bank where they are given to people in need.

Our March meeting featured the LWML Bible Study “From Empty to Full”. We enjoyed this study about the women who went to the tomb that first Easter – women who in sorrow came to His tomb as empty vessels. But soon, Jesus would fill them with overflowing joy.

(Note: The Jackson Society of Immanuel Lutheran is now a society affiliated with Zion, Lodi, however, we are located at the Foothill church campus in Valley Springs.)

Our Spring gathering featured Jan Froh, LWML CNH VP of Gospel Outreach and former missionary in Kenya, as our speaker. She was delightful! We all greatly enjoyed her encouragement as we work toward funding our 2024-26 mission grants. Jan also inspired us with stories of life in Kenya where she and her husband Pastor Froh were missionaries.

Thank you to the women from Benicia Lutheran for hosting this event. Nearly 40 ladies attended and enjoyed good food, singing, and a Bible study by Pastor Teller. At our ingathering, we collected sewing supplies for Kenya deaconesses. Since deaconesses in Kenya do not receive a salary, they sew for pastors and local people to earn a living. The Froh’s will deliver these items when they travel to Kenya this summer.

St. Lukes Ruth Guild hosted a “Princess Tea” on April 12. Our goal was to Grow in Christ from Generation to Generation. Women of all ages were present, including a special table for the youngest princesses! Those who attended were asked to bring flowers to share and a suggested $10 donation to mites. Each left spiritually renewed and with a self-made flower arrangement.

We celebrated the inspiring stories of biblical women, with each table reflecting the life of a different woman from scripture. Themed tables included Pray Like Hannah, Wait Like Sarah, and Trust Like Esther, creating a beautiful setting that encouraged fellowship and connection.

We were blessed with over 80 women in attendance. LWML CNH President Roxan Schwab, LWML CNH Ambassador Bev Vietor, and LWML Ladies from Fallon, Sparks & Carson City joined us. Mites collected totaled over $850.

Our Savior in Sparks, Nevada, held a Themed-Basket Silent Auction, sponsored by LWML, during the church’s Easter Brunch. The event raised $1200 for youth from Our Savior who will be attending the Endure! National Youth Gathering this July in New Orleans.

This was a new idea for us! We asked for volunteers from the congregation to purchase items to fill a basket. Each was given a theme, such as: A Spot of Tea, It’s BBQ Time, Puzzle Me, or Family Night. Once the baskets and items were collected, they were arranged, adding silk flowers or bows for visual appeal. At the Silent Auction, each basket had a card listing items and a bid sheet with a minimum bid.

We also received some cash donations, two ready-made Easter baskets (one boy & one girl), a handmade spring ribbon wreath, and four bottles of wine. We have a super generous congregation!

The silent auction was so successful that we plan to make it an Easter tradition. However, we have learned something in the process. In the future, we will ask for more participation from LWML women, specifically with packaging and set-up. We would also like to involve the youth by having them walk baskets around during the brunch so people are encouraged to buy.

Our Savior is sending two or three of our youth to the gathering in New Orleans. Our goal is for LWML to cover airfare, hotel, registration, meals not covered, and some spending money. We pray to make this an experience they will forever remember.

St. John’s Lutheran Church LWML in Fallon, NV, will be hosting a retreat for Zone 10 on September 20, 2025. Details coming soon!

What kind of witness are you or your church offering the neighborhood? Sometimes simple service can speaks louder than words.