KNOW - GROW - SERVE" NOVEMBER 2012

" PAGE 1
Celebrating
Birthdays!
Tom Buckley Nov. 4
Kiyone Robertson Nov. 5
Geraldine Walters Nov. 7
Gisele Dugas Nov. 8
Don Avery Nov. 13
Preston Hernandez Nov. 14
Dawn Vo Nov. 15
Thomas Riggs Nov. 16
Scott Hegwood Nov. 22
Paul Hernandez Nov. 24
Tanya Trombley Nov. 24
Vicky Voitier Nov. 26
Anna Beth Arias Nov. 27
Tracy Wood Nov. 29
Monique Ardoin Nov. 30
*If your birthday or anniversary is
not listed, please contact the
church. We may not have it
recorded.
The Open Door
Malachi 2:10
Do we not al have one Fater? Did not one God creat us? Why
do we profane te covenant of our ancestrs by being unfaitfl t
one anoter?
NOVEMBERS ARMY CHAPLAIN PROJECT
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to
this wonderful project. The items that we will be
focused on for November are hand-warmers, popcorn,
hot cocoa, baby wipes, and body wash.
These particular items will bring
some comfort to our soldiers as they
are beginning to face the cold winter
months. Smaller Christmas
decorations for decorating the
Chapel would also be appreciated;
lights, bows, wreaths, ornaments. Money
would also be appreciated to help
oset the shipping costs of these
gifts. Checks can be placed in the oering plate made
to The Open Door with the memo assigned to
Chaplain Project. Let us continue to remember
these soldiers in our prayers. Specic prayer requests
from Chaplain White are for the safety of soldiers
there, as well as that many would come to
know the Lord. Also pray that he would be
daily strengthened to continue the work of
ministry and that he would have wisdom to
know how best to use his time and
resources to reach soldiers. Pray for their
families and loved ones back home, that
they may know the presence and peace of
Christ in the midst of this separation, and
that marriages and families would be strengthened
despite the distance.

We hope you havent missed te wonderfl sermons on covenant
marraige over te past few weeks and te chalenges tey brought fort.
Join us Sunday at 9:30 a.m. for anoter life-giving message fom Pastr
Sam Brooks.


You can pick up a shopping list in the back of church on the bulletin board as well as a
yer to share with your own family, friends, and neighbors. In general, small toys, school
supplies, stuffed animals, hygiene products, caps, t-shirts, sunglasses, candy (please double
bag), toy jewelry, & hair clips make great gifts.
Please do not include used or damaged items, war-related items, chocolate or food, out-
of-date candy, liquids or lotions, medications or vitamins, breakable items or aerosol cans.
Thanks so much for being a part of such a wonderful ministry to children! We look
forward to seeing how the Lord multiplies our efforts.
We are still collecting shoeboxes for Operation
Christmas Child. These will be shipped by
trucks, planes, trains, ships, and even camels to
get to their destinations. Our last day to collect
items, boxes, and nancial donations towards
Operation Christmas Child is Wednesday,
November 7th. Please keep this in mind when
you are out shopping.
Christmas Decoratng Part
Join us on Friday, November 30th from 5:30 p.m.
until 9:00 p.m. @ The Open Door. First, all the elves will
enjoy chili with various toppings, sip hot cocoa and munch
on some cookies.Then, we'll get busy and decorate our
church for Christmas. I need all volunteers to send me an e-
mail, so we know how much chili to prepare. If you would be
able to cook a crock pot full of chili and bring it, please let
me know. I am looking forward to a great time of fellowship!
Please note there is no childcare, so you will have to make
arrangements for your little ones.
Thanks,
Betsi Doherty
betsidoherty@yahoo.com
KNOW-GROW-SERVE"
Student Ministry Campout
"Don't let anyone look
down on you because you
are young, but set an
example for the believers
in speech, in conduct, in
love, in faith, and in
purity." - 1 Timothy 4:12
All 7th - 12th grade students are invited
to participate in a campout at
Chicot State Park!
November 17th- 18th (Sat.-Sun.)
Cost: $5.00
Register in the Student Building or online
at www.opendoorla.org
Departure: 10 a.m. on Saturday from The
Open Door
Return: 2 p.m. to The Open Door
Students should bring: warm clothes, an extra change of
clothes, toiletries, ashlights, bug spray, Bibles,
notebooks, and any snacks they should want. Dinner and
breakfast will be provided. Students should also bring
money for lunch on the way home.
Yout Litrature Night
Saturday, November 24th
5:30 p.m.
The Lab Coffee Shop in
River Ranch
Discussing the book
Revolution in World
Missions
by K.P. Yohannon
Ba((c(aja o+a: I+ae(|ec
'ecaa(c
Thursdays @ 6:30
11/1/12 - Sing Through / Technical / Parts
11/8/12 -Sing Through / Technical / Parts
11/15/12 -Sing Through / Technical / Clean up the whole piece
11/22/12 - NO REHEARSAL - Thanksgiving
11/29/12 - Last rehearsal with scores - Technical / Clean
12/6/12 - From Memory
12/13/12 - From Memory
12/20/12 - Final Rehearsal
12/21/12 - Performance at Acadian Village - Exact times TBD (~7:00pm and ~9:00pm)
Stuart Amidon has issued an all out search for sopranos to join the Hallelujah Chorus.
Watch out...The hunt is on!!!
KNOW-GROW-SERVE"
BLESSED BY HIS
HILL BIBLE
COLLEGE
STUDENTS
It was a full house at The
Open Door on Sunday, September
30th as the His Hill Bible College
students joined us for worship. His
Hill is a ministry of Torchbearers
International and is located in the
Hill Country of central Texas, just
outside the small town of
Comfort, 40 minutes from San
Antonio. The campus is situated
on 220 acres of rolling hills.
The students that came with
His Hill represented at least six
dierent countries with the
majority of them being Canadian.
The young men were housed here
at church for the week, while the
ladies were placed in several host
homes within our church.They
were obviously taken very good
care of as they were ready to get to
work every morning with a
servants heart and a contagious,
fresh energy.
During their stay, they were
able to accomplish so many things.
The list of jobs they completed is
quite impressive: organized and
inventoried closets, painted
second coats over the nursery
murals, pressure-washed, scraped
and repainted the exterior privacy
wall, removed brush from the
fence line in the back of our
property, poured 40 bumpers for
the new parking lot, cleaned out
the storage containers, formed
and poured footing around the
student building, nished the new
driveway entrance, formed and
poured a new sidewalk, held two
VBS outreaches to Ile de Cannes,
tutored daily at A Heart for
Children, and prepared yers for
Operation Christmas Child and
handed them out to the
surrounding neighborhoods.
Certainly, there was much more
accomplished both in and through
these students than even this list.
Even after all that work, they still
found time to enjoy the Cajun
culture of Acadiana. We are so
grateful for all that was done. If
you would like to send them a
thank you note for all of their hard
work you can mail it to:
P.O. Box 9, Comfort, Texas
78013 or bibleschool@hishill.org.
Thanks to all the families that
were involved in organizing the
week, hosting students,
transporting students, and
cooking for them. This productive
week could not have been
accomplished without your
generous hospitality.
Each of you should use whatver
gift you have received t serve
oters, as faitfl stwards of Gods
grace in its various forms.
1 Petr 4:10
KNOW-GROW-SERVE"
A FALL FEAST- THE OCTOBER POTLUCK LUNCH
Sunday, September 29th
oered The Open Door a chance
to come together and enjoy
fellowship during a great lunch,
once again. We were also able to
get to know the His Hill students
that spent the week here for the
sole purpose of blessing our
church. These students took the
children upstairs after lunch and
supervised games that were set up
for them to play so that parents
could visit. The children
participated in sack races,
Treasure-in-a-Haystack, Face-
Painting, Gourd Bowling, and
Ring-Around-A-Pumpkin. Often,
there were prizes to be found or a
treat given for playing, such as
popcorn balls or small toys.
Our gathering also gave us the
opportunity to present Pastor
Brooks with an I-pad, a gift of
appreciation for his seless service
to the body of Christ at The Open
Door. This gift was our way of
kicking o October as Pastor
Appreciation Month. If you
missed the opportunity to bless
Pastor Sam with a token of
appreciation or a thank you note,
its never too late to say thanks in
whatever way you choose.
The potluck lunch could never
have been so successful if it wasnt
for everyone that contributed to
the meal by bringing a side dish.
Thanks to everyone who came and
to those who brought food to
make it a wonderful lunch. If you
were not able to attend, keep your
eye out for the next one in the
spring....Youll want to be there.
Tey broke bread in teir homes and at tgeter wit glad and sincere
hearts,praising God and enjoying te favor of al te people. Acts 2:46-47
TOP: A Table of Feasting
Bottom: Caleb LeBlanc and Noah
Watson enjoying Candied Apples
Left: The Unending Serving Line...
Middle: Jayla Falco, Hanah Carmichael, Josie LeBlanc, Valerie Hammons
Right: Grant Landry, Michael Doherty, Ding Li
KNOW-GROW-SERVE"
A WEEKEND OF SERVICE: OCTOBER 13TH AND 14TH
Praise be to our utmost high
God for His provision of servants
to assist our family in our move!
On a very short notice,
approximately 12 men, women, and
children sacrificed their day of rest
to serve Jesus and His children!
Thank you to those who were
willing to be His hands, feet, and
back! All of you are so very
appreciated. May you, in turn,
experience the love of Christ in
such a tangible and real way.
-The Daigles,
Mark & Laura
THE BODY SERVING THE BODY
So Christ himself gave te apostles, te prophets, te
evangelists, te pastrs and tachers,t equip His people for
works of service, so tat te body of Christ may be built up
untl we al reach unit in te fait and in te knowledge of
te Son of God and become mature, ataining t te whole
measure of te flness of Christ.
A NOTE OF THANKS FROM THE HERNANDEZ FAMILY:
As we wait expectantly for our baby girl, Esther, there have been many
plans and preparations to be made for our rst daughter. Lots of changes are
taking place as we get ready for all the pink frills that raising a girl brings about,
as well as for going from a large family to a larger family. Saturday, October 13th
was a day of tremendous blessing for our family as people lled our home to
accomplish things we could not have done on our own. Rooms were painted,
our home cleaned inside and out, others brought food for those who were
working, and our attic space was converted to a bedroom, bathroom, closet,
and study for our baby girl to have a place to call her own. All of this was
accomplished in one day. We are so grateful and humbled for everyone who
gave their Saturday to come and serve our family. It was so incredible to see the
hour by hour transformation that occurred as everyone came together with all
their talents and tools to make this dream of ours come true. Thanks to
everyone who helped to make this day a reality for our family. It has been a
wonderful testimony to our friends and family of what the body of Christ is all
about.
Much love,
Paul & Mika Hernandez
KNOW-GROW-SERVE"
PASTORS
PAGE
A s w e m o v e i n t o
November, many things are on
the immediate horizon. First of
all, we must all remember to vote
on November 6th. To assist you
on how candidates stand on faith
and family values, Louisiana
Family Forum offers a voter guide
o n t h e i r w e b s i t e ,
www.lafamilyforum.org. It will
assist you in determining how
candidates for national, state, and
local offices stand on the issues
of importance to you. Check out
the voters guide and be sure to
vote on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6.
We are also in the final
st ages of our OPERATI ON
CHRISTMAS CHILD. We join with
Samaritans Purse to provide
shoe boxes filled with gifts for
children to be sent around the
world. Our goal is 500 boxes,
which is quite a challenge.
Please participate by buying shoe
boxes and filling them with gift
items for children. All the needed
information is on the bulletin
board at the back of the church,
or in the October E-news letter on
The Open Door website. This is a
great opportunity to get the whole
family involved and especially for
children to have the joy of
participating in giving to others.
It costs $7.00 to mail each box to
its destination around the world
and the church pays this cost. It
would be an additional benefit
and help if you would also donate
the $7.00 for each of the boxes
you provide, but it is not required.
You can also participate by
providing cash for boxes and
s u p p l i e s b y m a k i n g a
contribution to OCC. Make
checks payable to THE OPEN
DOOR, with OCC in the memo
section. Wednesday, NOVEMBER
7t h i s t he deadl i ne f or al l
Operation Christmas Child boxes
and supplies. Please be as
generous as you can.
Finally, we are moving
into the last weeks of rehearsal
for the Hallelujah Chorus and our
preparation for our sponsor night
at Acadian Village Festival of
Lights. If you have not signed up
or been contacted by the leader
in the area you volunteered,
please contact us at the church
and we will get you in touch with
the person leading your area of
service. This is our biggest
outreach to the local area and we
will need everybodys help to
make it a successful night of
service. If you are planning to
visit others during the holiday
season, please leave after our
night of service which is FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 21st. You wont want
to miss this opportunity of
service and fellowship. If you
know of anyone who would enjoy
singing in the Hallelujah Chorus,
invite them to join us. All voices
will be appreciated.
One of the joys of being a
believer is getting to participate
in such activities as OCC and
Acadian Village. Giving is such
an important part of the believers
life. When we give freely and
cheerfully, we actually receive so
much more in return. The same
can be said for our relationships.
They are the fabric of our lives in
so many ways. It has been said
that life is all about relationships;
our relationship with the Lord,
our relationship with family, with
others, even with those we just
interact with momentarily at a
chance encounter. All tell
something about who we are. As
we have been studying about the
marriage relationship I would ask
that you consider this; does your
marriage reflect Christ and His
church? Is it a testimony of what
He can do? Are you satisfied and
content that you are experiencing
all He has for you? If yes, give
Him the glory and rejoice in what
He has done. If not, give Him an
opportunity to work in you to see
what He can do. You will be
thankful that you did.
Blessings!
Pastor Sam Brooks
Dates at a Glance
RA Campout November 2-3
Operation Christmas Child
Box Packing Party
Wednesday, November 7th
6:15 p.m.
2nd & Eight for Men
8 a.m.
Kids Craft & Lunch
10:30 a.m.
Saturday, November 10th
Youth Campout
November 17th
No Church Service
Wednesday, November 21st
Youth Literature Night
Saturday, November 24th
5:30 p.m.
Christmas Decorating Party
Friday, November 30th
Christmas Caroling
Sunday, December 2nd
5:30 p.m.
Christmas Cookie Exchange
Sunday, December 9th
Cookies! Cookies! Cookies!
Ladies!
Its almost that time of year.
Join us for our annual Christmas Cookie Exchange
at The Doherty Home as we begin the Christmas
season with caroling, fellowship, and exchanging
cookies. Door prizes offered for the best decorated
cookie, best recipe, and most festively dressed
person.
Bring a friend! Bring an appetizer! Bring your cookies! Bring an
extra container for all the cookies youll take home! Itll be a night to
remember!
Sunday, December 9th
4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
40 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR OUR NATION
! Beginning on September 28th and
through November 6th, election day, we are
asking you to join us in a battle on our knees
along with many churches across America. As
we all know, a very important election will be
taking place-one that will determine what kind
of country we will live in in the days to come.
At times, the state of our nation can be
disturbing and outright frightening apart from
Christ. However, in Him we can trust. It is the
Lord our God that raises up and brings down
rulers. We see this all throughout the Old
Testament. Nothing escapes His sovereign
hand. His Word is our very life, our comfort,
and our direction.1 Timothy 2-1-3 says "The
rst thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every
way you know how, for everyone you know.
Pray especially for rulers and their
governments to rule well so we can be quietly
about our business of living simply, in humble
contemplation. This is the way our Savior God
wants us to live." We have very clear
instruction here. We are also taught 2
Chronicles 7:14, If My people who are called by
My name will humble themselves, and pray
and seek My face, and turn from their wicked
ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin and heal their land. This is
clearly directed to Gods people. And so, as we
humble ourselves and seek His face, lets do so
with hearts prepared to receive conviction and
ready to turn from any wicked ways we may
be bent towards. Lets not bury our heads in
denial or shame,
rather repent and
walk in freedom
through Christ who
strengthens us to do so.
And as we pray, lets
not forget Ephesians
6:12 For our struggle is
not against esh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly realms. For more information on
this 40 days of prayer, there are several links
that you can visit: www.ifmypeople2012.org ,
www.40daysofprayer.net/,
http://election.maxlucado.com/ . We also have
a 40- day prayer calendar to help bring to
mind topics to pray for. If your family has not
received one, you can get one from the church
ofce.
The Bed Baby Nursery is still
in need of teachers during
Connect. Please consider getting
on the rotation to free up those
who are serving every Sunday.
Contact Laura Daigle for more
information at 337-230-4143.
The Nurseries have just been
cleaned up and cleaned out.
Therefore, donations of used toys
are appreciated, but are not being
received at this time. If you would
like to contribute something to add
to the rooms, the following items
are desired: puzzles for 4- 6 year
olds, 2 tea sets, & 2 doctor kits.
SAVE THE DATE!
THE OPEN DOOR SPRING LADIES RETREAT
FRIDAY, MARCH 15TH - SATURDAY, MARCH 16TH
TALL TIMBERS BAPTIST CONFERENCE CENTER
Pray especialy for rulers and teir
governments t rule wel so we can be quietly
about our business of living simply, in humble
contmplaton. 1 Timoty 2:2
KNOW - GROW - SERVE" NOVEMBER 2012
Royal Ambassadors Fall Campout
The Royal Ambassadors will be
having their annual Fall Campout
on Friday, November 2nd through
Saturday, November 3rd at the
home of the Pierces. All boys from
1st grade through 6th grade are
invited.The cost is $10.00. The
boys will be departing from The
Open Door at 4 p.m. on Friday and
returning to The Open Door at 4
p.m. The Pierces address is 6320
Bayou Place, Maurice, La. Should
you have any questions you can
contact Bart Hidalgo at 337-257-3387
or Jonathon Dupuis at 337-277-1993.
Becoming a Christan is
not like a tadpole
growing int a fog, but,
rater, it is like a fog
turning int a prince
aftr being kissed by
grace.
Adrian Rogers
Thanks so much to Lerri Cockrell
for continually giving her time and her talents to editing our monthly E-news letter.
Thanks for subscribing to
The Open Door E-news!
Have a very Happy
Thanksgiving!