Another Amazing Lakeside Experience

What an amazing week! Over the past few days, a group of musicians from RHUMC have been at the Music and Liturgical Arts Confrence at Lake Junaluska, NC. As uaual, we entered the week with very high expectations, those expectations were certainly met! From start to finish, the entire week was huge blessing!

The confrence was jammed packed with rehearsels, concerts, seminars, and worship services in which the presence of the Holy Spirit was most certainly felt! This year's theme was "Genesis through Revelation, The Story of our Salvation". Throughout the week, worship services focused on the glory of our Lord and some of the high points in Christ's life. What a wonderful experience it has been!

There are several main aspects of worship that Music and Liturgical Arts week focuses on. The names of all our team members from this week along with the groups that they were a part of are listed below:
*Yoon Nam (Minister of Music)-Chamber Choir
*Jason Moon
*Nam-Soo Chung (Yoon's Mother)
*Dawn Pape-Adult Choir
*Barb Kirshner- Intermediate Handbells
*Hunter Odom- Intermediate Handbells/Instrumental Ensemble
*Caleb Ingram- Intermediate Handbells/Instrumental Ensemble
*Allison Lott- Intermediate Handbells/Instrumental Ensemble/Liturgical Dance
*Anna Lott- Intermediate Handbells
*Audra Warren- Intermediate Handbells
*Christine Moon- Children's Program
*Joanne Moon- Children's Program

It is our prayer as a group that all of the things that we have taken away from this confrence will positively impact the ministry of Richmond Hill United Methodist Church. None of this would have been possible without all the support that we've had from the congregation. Without the support, this trip would never have happened. The financial support and prayers throughout the week have been greatly appreciated. Without them, none of this would have been possible. Thank you.

From the Hilltop,
Hunter Odom
hunter2444@coastalnow.net
Romans 8:28

Here We Are Again

As I write this blog, I’m on my way to the place that it all started. About a year ago, on a RHUMC Music Ministry trip to Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, I was inspired to start a blog. After some thinking, I opened my account of Blogspot and “Hilltop Experiences” was born. It was my goal to update the blog at least once a week. At first, that was easy, but as the year progressed, it became one of those things that sat at the bottom of my To-Do List. With 52 weeks in a year, I only updated 25 times; it’s something I regret and something that I’m trying to get better at.

The style of my updates has always been ever changing. Sometimes, they consisted of just a summary of what was going on in my life. In others, it was me taking a lesson that I had learned and sharing it with others. But usually, it was way for me to take what was running through my head and get it out. No matter what my updates look like, they all have one thing in common. All the postings that I’ve written have been a celebration of the wonderful things that God has given us.

At first, I began to think that all my postings were going to go unread. I knew that this was a possibility, but I refused to let it bother me. Thankfully, I was wrong. I suddenly began to receive encouragement from some of the people that had come across “Hilltop Experiences”. Through comments on the blog, conversations in person, and other means of communication, people let me know that they were reading, and some even offered their input about some of my postings. The support and encouragement that each and every one of you has given me has been more helpful than words can ever describe. For that, I am eternally grateful.

There are so many people that I wish I could thank individually for being there for me, but that would take an incredibly long time. There are a lot of people that have helped to mold me and make me into who the person that I am. These are people that have been there with me not only when things were going great, but also when everything seemed to be falling apart. I would be nothing without my friends and my family. They are the people that keep me sane. There are so many people that I can go to when there’s a problem or when I just need to talk, and sometimes I fail to realize how lucky I am for that.

Above is all, there is one that I owe everything to. My eyes are on Him, my hope is in him, my faith is in him. The God of my days, King of my nights, Lord of my laughter, sovereign in sorrow. The Prince of my pains, love of my life, He’ll never leave me, He is faithful, the God of my days. He is the one that have given me everything. Without him, my life would never be what it is. He is the one, he only one.


So I leave you with this, the call of my heart, and the mission of our lives:

I worship you alone, in the quiet place. Where the stillness of my soul meets the brilliance of your face. My heart is bound to you with a bond as thick as blood. I’ve struggled in my strain to break through sin’s chains, but you did it with your love.

My heart is bound to you. Deep calls out to deep. Staggered by you love’s sheer intensity as its waves break over me. My heart is bound to you. Deep calls out to deep. I’m circled in your strength, caught up in your grace, and folded in your arms.



From the Hilltop,
Hunter Odom
hunter2444@coastalnow.net
Romans 8:28