Is There Anyone Else Like Us?

Conservative Christian families who are serious about applying Biblical principles are often made to feel like they are in the minority. This lonely feeling is a tactic of the enemy to discourage Christians and undermine their faith.  Guard against this deception, fellow soldiers! Take heart and press forward!

Press forward!Families converge!Take action!

In an effort to show such families that they are not alone and to remind them that there are rewards for being faithful unto the end, the Wilkes Family hosted Family Encouragement Weekend 2009! It was such a refreshment for us to be there and meet new like-minded families and many families from last year’s conference. 

Families gathered together for prayerFamily huddle

The time was packed with inspiring messages and confirming testimonies from the participating families. Families reported that they were challenged to trust God totally,  pray for one another, seek God in medical decisions, praise character, have a listening heart, maintain a positive attitude, and pray together. For more updates and pictures visit the Hynes blog.

MarkGerritDonald's chalk talkDadRob

DanielMom Jonathan and DavidJonathanJennifer

The Neely familyMichaelMirandaFollowing along

Do not feel  alone! God is raising up many laborers for His Kingdom everywhere! Even when we do feel alone, we should not let it concern us because “there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.” (I Sam. 14:6) and “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31) God is doing great things in these last days through many who are totally dedicated to Him. Continue in the faith and run with patience the race that is set before you!

Working together to complete a family relay race

Photographer Daniel

Counting surviving balloons after the balloon toss

The orchestara: Sarah on the harp . . .. . . some folks on the cello, clarinet, trumpet, and recorder . . .. . . and a few more on the violin!

Final fellowship before pulling out to our respective locations of application and ministry!

15 Comments

  1. Crystal August 11, 2009 at 6:48 pm #

    It was a wonderful weekend, it was so good to see everybody. Great to see the pictures, I was wondering how long it would take. May the Lord bring much fruit come from this past weekend.

  2. Brittany August 12, 2009 at 12:08 pm #

    Looks like everyone enjoyed the time together and the blessing of having the same beliefs in our Heavenly Father. Great pictures!

  3. Matthew August 12, 2009 at 7:23 pm #

    Praise the Lord for the keeping of his chosen remnant. Scattered all across is the large Family of God doing His work, His way, according to His Holy word. What an encouraging post and pictures!

  4. Daniel August 13, 2009 at 9:40 am #

    It was so fun to see the families from last year’s conference, as well as meet the new families that were able to make it this year. I especially enjoyed hearing inspiring testimonies from many different families. What an uplifting weekend!

  5. Amanda August 13, 2009 at 11:12 am #

    That was a very encouraging and inspiring weekend! Thank you all for your part in it!!

  6. Sarah S August 13, 2009 at 5:08 pm #

    The F.E.W. conference was such a blessing to our family! I felt so refreshed after hearing all the inspiring testimonies and lessons from Scripture and came away with new motivation to be a servant. Thank you Wilkes and Staddons for planning this amazing event!

  7. Donald August 13, 2009 at 9:15 pm #

    Thank you for writing about the weekend Dad! Those two Scriptures you mentioned (1 Samuel 14:6 and Romans 8:31) were very encouraging. So were the things you shared with all of us! I praise God for what He taught me through the conference.

  8. Kendalyn August 17, 2009 at 6:56 am #

    This is encouraging to see…we’ve felt alone many a time up here in Canada, but the Lord always has a way of bringing someone along just at the right time to let the family know that our work here isn’t done and to focus on eternal rewards. Praise the Lord for like-minded Christians to encourage one another in the faith! Thanks for sharing!

  9. Hannah Burnett August 17, 2009 at 10:55 am #

    Wow! What a blessed event! Wish we were close enough to attend. 🙂

  10. KB August 17, 2009 at 8:40 pm #

    Hi! Here’s another part of the remnant down here in AL!
    I just discovered your website today. How beautiful and encouraging!
    Yes, we are a part of the ranks of those who have family and friends who shake their heads at our no commercial/cable television, homeschooling, long skirt wearing girls/ladies, long pant wearing boys/men, etc. Yes, we’re constantly hearing, “Just wait until they grow up and rebel against everything you’ve tried to instill in them.”
    All that said, thank you for the time and effort you put into producing this blog! Wonderful!

  11. Nathan Straub August 24, 2009 at 11:35 am #

    Nope, there’s nobody else like you guys. But there are a lot of different kinds of people going through similar things who all have something to offer each other.

    At least that’s what I found at SIL-UND this summer. The folks there came from different subcultures (Mennonite, state university, Baptist, Assembly of God, Christian college, Anglican, Presbyterian, West African missions, Polynesian missions, feminist, complementarian, etc.) But we had fellowship because we were studying and working together and worshiping the same Lord… we had a common purpose of wanting to see the Bible translated into every language that needs it.

    F.E.W. sounds like an awesome time.

  12. Amanda September 25, 2010 at 4:24 am #

    I’m so glad God put this posting in my path. I didn’t grow up with Christian values and by God’s grace He saved me. He has given me conservative Christian values and even in the Christian community it’s hard to find people with similar convictions. Even if I don’t have a network of people around I am so glad God has let me read your testimonies and those like you for encouragement. I know I don’t know you but thanks so much for your website! 🙂

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. The Wilkes Team » Blog Archive » The Godly Family - There is Hope - August 12, 2009

    […] more photos of this uplifting weekend, be sure to read the accounts from the Staddon Family and Hynes […]

  2. StaddonFamily.com » Blog Archive » Family Encouragement Weekend, 2010 - April 1, 2010

    […] on the narrow way we find ourselves also always encouraged. So was our experience in 2008 and 2009 with the Family Encouragement Weekends. Then came 2010 and with it the excitement of bringing a FEW […]

  3. StaddonFamily.com » Blog Archive » Virginia FEW Conference, 2010: Growing in Christlikeness - August 20, 2010

    […] The topic for the Virginia FEW Conference was maturity. A mature person can take great pressure and be changed for the better, as coal is […]

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