Dr. Allen Rice 1922-2014

Thank you, to all my church family, who shared stories and music and prayers to honor the life of Dr. Allen Rice on Sunday, June 29. What a dynamo for good this man was! Although I only became acquainted with him in his later years, I always knew him as energetic, persuasive, creative, intelligent and full of love for others.

My eyes were opened to other great aspects of his life when his friends and colleagues shared stories. Harlow Dawson shared, through tears in his eyes, about Dr. Rice's sacrificial leadership of Mountain View Christian School. Dr. Rice always made sure that the teachers on staff were being paid at the top of the standards for the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), while his own salary, as the school's administrator, was at the bottom of ACSI standards for administrators. Many agree that Dr. Rice's leadership turned around the school's failing finances, giving it years more life in the community.

Lalaine Garoutte shared that Dr. Rice always had a special place in his heart for single mothers and their financial struggles. He paid for many children to go to camp.

Lisa Hansen followed Lalaine's sharing, as she said, with tears in her eyes, "I was one of those single mothers!" Both Lalaine and Lisa worked for Dr. Rice at Mountain View.

Lalaine recalled Dr. Rice's ability to defuse even the most tense meeting with angry parents. She described his office, where his desk was pushed up against the wall, so he hosted people in his office with a chair that was not blocked by any other object.

"There must have been something to that chair," Lalaine laughed, because, she said, even the angriest of parents would emerge from meetings with Dr. Rice with smiles on their faces.

Dr. Rice had a gift for praying for others. Jason Locke recalled that Dr. Rice's gifts did not lie in sharing short, concise speeches (he had a penchant for wordiness), but there was something about his prayers that just melted away anger and brought love and life into the lives of those he was praying for.

His son, David Rice, shared that his father, ever the good administrator, kept an orderly and organized home that leaves his children with a gracious gift: an orderly estate.

Doug Baker recalled Dr. Rice's attention to detail, keeping accurate inventory of school supplies, down to the last pat of butter in the kitchen. Doug made the confession that he and Brady Smith (the youth minister at the time) used to take popsicles from the school's kitchen freezer, just to mess with Dr. Rice's precise food inventory. Harlow Dawson admonished Doug that it is never too late to write a check to cover those missing popsicles!

Dr. Rice gifted me with his entire book series of "Through The Bible" with Dr. J. Vernon McGee. I use the series often in preparing Bible lessons and I think fondly and thankfully of my friend, Al Rice, who undoubtedly already has an accurate inventory of the popsicles in heaven's freezer!

We will miss you, friend! We will join you again one day!

--Posted by Mama O.

Opportunity Camp

(Front to back) Brenna Mason, Taegan Frame, Kally Nauheimer, Andrew Ocheltree, Jericho Locke, Jordan Lewis, Jacob Locke (Members of College Church of Christ's high school and college groups who served as staff at the 2014 Opportunity Camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains.)

Andrew and Steve Ocheltree and Jericho Locke. Steve prays over these two young men who spent the last week ministering to inner-city youth.



Thank you, Andrew Ocheltree and Jericho Locke, for sharing with the Ocheltree Shepherding Group on Sunday. These two young men were part of a group of high school and college students who spent the past week ministering to inner-city youth at Opportunity Camp at Daybreak Camp, Inc.,  in the Santa Cruz mountains. Opportunity Camp provides a week of camping experience for young people who live in extreme poverty and often with various kinds of abuse. For one week out of the year, these young people get to be "kids", in an environment where all their needs for food and safety and shelter are taken care of. While the camp is not meant to be a "therapy" camp, primarily, there is a lot of therapeutic activity taking place, from games and Bible studies to the personal attention the campers receive from the camp staff. Counselor-to-camper ratio in the cabins was approximately 2 campers to one staff member, according to Jericho and Andrew. The student staff members from College Church of Christ went through two days of training before working with these youngsters, who exhibited various symptoms of living in poverty and abuse. At the end of the week, campers were tearful as they said good-bye. As one camper worded it, "It's a year too long for a week too short." We are proud of our young people who spent last week loving others who come from very different backgrounds than their own. God bless you!

Andrew Ocheltree's post on Facebook after his return read: "This was only my second year in Opportunity Camp and I know that I will be going back next year. This was an amazing experience and I have learned so much. Thank you to everyone who made this experience amazing. P.S. Homeboys for life."

Brenna Mason posted these words after her return: "I'm home from Opportunity Camp! I always say this is one of my favorite weeks of the year, and this week proved that. It's a tough week, but oh so worth it. Those kids have taught me how to smile no matter what, how to love unconditionally, and how to be a kid even in the midst of chaos. I wouldn't trade this week for the world!"

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?" And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" Matthew 25:34-40 (New Living Translation)

--Posted by Mama O.

Blessing Crystal

Youth minister Aaron Scott reads Crystal Alonzo's "Barak" or blessing

Crystal Alonzo gets a hug from youth minister Aaron Scott

High school Class of 2014 from College Church of Christ (clockwise from front): Branden Mack, Jamison Norby, Cheyenne Blackwell, Cheyenne Corona, Sam Amezcua, Andrew Ocheltree, Crystal Alonzo, Marquois Ellis, Jericho Locke, Dustin Swain, Aaron Scott (youth minister)
Not pictured: Akayla Varnel and Viviana Hinojosa

We had the privilege of participating in blessing our graduating high school seniors at church yesterday. We started in the morning, when our elders surrounded seniors and their parents/guardians/significant adults and laid hands on them and prayed over them. Then, in the evening, we had a "Barak" or blessing celebration, in which our youth minister read a special blessing over each graduate. The blessings were prepared by parents or other significant adults in the students' lives. We had the privilege of preparing the blessing for our son, Andrew (yesterday's blog) and our friend, Crystal Alonzo. Cystal's older sister, Christina, became our son, Paul's friend in the Bullard High School Marching Band during Paul's freshman year in high school (Paul is just finishing his sophomore year in college). Christina started coming to College Church of Christ, then brought two of her sisters, Crystal and Cece, with her. Crystal was baptized at College Church in 2010. Here is her "Barak" or blessing:

Lex Henderson, Crystal Alonzo and Steve Ocheltree in April,  2010 at College Church or Christ

Back Row: Katie Kirkley, Mary Tarkenton, Linda Sue, Carolyn Ocheltree,
Front Row: Dawn Frame, Crystal Alonzo, Paige Kirkley, Lauren Gale
April 2010, College Church of Christ

Crystal, you have a way of bringing beauty to the environment! Your pretty face and sweet smile bring a smile to others’ faces. Your ability to imagine and create beautiful things brings beauty to your surroundings.

I remember the fall when you and I created “snow-covered” pine cones to hang on the Christmas tree. You worked and worked at making those beautiful, sparkling cones dipped in glitter. I love watching your face when we go shopping at JoAnn Fabrics. I can see the wheels turning in your creative brain as we pass rows of felt, feathers, glue, glitter, paint and paper! Your enthusiasm bubbles over as you see worlds of beauty to create!

What fun we had when we painted all those silly signs and backdrops for the church Talent Show one spring! And decorating Easter cookies…

I am so happy that you and Andrew are walking together at graduation! You have enjoyed friendship and family events together and now you get to celebrate a huge accomplishment together—graduating high school!

I work with women who have to work very hard to graduate high school after many years of making bad choices, abusing drugs and alcohol. They are so proud when they earn their high school diplomas!  It is a major accomplishment and one you can be very proud of!

We are so happy to be privileged to share your growing-up years with you! Thanks for being part of our lives!

“Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned. Then the God of peace will be with you.”  Philippians 4:8,9

God bless you, Crystal,

Love,

Steve and Carolyn Ocheltree

--Posted by Mama O. 

Senior Blessing Day

Seniors and their parents are blessed by our elders during morning worship

Andrew listens to his "Barak", or blessing, read by youth minister Aaron Scott

Our high school class of 2014 at College Church of Christ (clockwise from front: Branden Mack, Jamison Norby, Cheyenne Blackwell, Cheyenne Corona, Sam Amezcua, Andrew Ocheltree, Crystal Alonzo, Marquois Ellis, Jericho Locke, Dustin Swain, Aaron Scott (youth minister)
Not pictured: Akayla Varnel and Viviana Hinojosa

Today was Senior Blessing Day at College Church of Christ. We began the day with a blessing and prayer time during the morning worship service, with parents/guardians/significant adults and high school seniors receiving laying on of hands and prayer from our elders. Then we ended the day with a church party and "Barak", the Hebrew word for blessing or praise.

Each family was asked to write up a blessing for their own high school senior. I share, here, the blessing we offered to Andrew, who graduates from Bullard High School on June 10:

ANDREW'S BLESSING

Andrew, you have been a joy since you arrived in our home on August 15, 1995! You make us laugh, make us think and make us thankful to be your parents. We appreciate, admire and respect the young man you have become.

You have been a philosopher and a comedian since you were a little boy.  There was that August day, just before your 6^th birthday, when you came in and asked, “Does Paul miss his self when he was 7?” When Mom said, “I don’t know, do you miss the 7-year-old Paul?” you replied, “Yes, because the 8-year-old Paul is mean!”

Then the night before your 6^th birthday, you announced, “I feel sad inside my body.” When we asked “why?” you said, “Because I miss myself when I was 5.”

“But you’ll like yourself  being 6,” we reassured you. And sure enough, the next morning you woke up and told us, “I feel happy inside my body because it’s the first day of being 6.”

We want to reassure you again that “you will like yourself being a college student”!

You have a great heart for helping, leading and teaching others. We are proud of the fact that as soon as you graduate from high school you are leaving for a week to be a counselor at Opportunity Camp, where you will be leading underprivileged, inner-city youth. 

Throughout high school you have been a teacher and leader for other students, through Bullard High School  Link Crew, being a drum major, a teacher’s assistant, traveling with the Hutchison’s to Mexico on Project Nino,  and working with leadership in children’s church and church youth group. We know you will continue to teach and lead others as you continue on to college and on into your chosen career.

We also know that you will keep that philosophical, witty way about you that can help us all see the world a little more clearly and a with a few more laughs!

“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Graduate with God, Andrew!

We love you,

Mom and Dad

--Posted by Mama O.