Special To The ShowMe Times
By Reader Rich Lee

The Walmart Supercenter in Dexter was visited this past Saturday by a group of people all wearing t-shirts with the same design.

While that is not an odd occurance, the shirts were not of a typical design or particularly recognizable logo; they contained only one word, "ORANGE". Upon further investigation it was determined that these individuals were all members of Dexter's First Baptist Church.

When asked, members of this congregation were giving away invitations to the second annual Orange Sunday, a morning designed for the whole family.

On this day the entire church works together to provide free food, entertainment and information about the fall activities to all who attend.

This is not an event just for members of the church, as the entire community is invited to take part in the kick-off to the fall.

Word on the street is that this crowd will be seen next Saturday as well, just one day before the exciting event.


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By Debbie Stidham,
Special to the ShowMe Times

Eight members of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) including Dr. Larry Colvin, Larry Thompson, Debbie Ellinghouse, Lisa Thrower, Debbie Stidham, Kellie Reese, Jansen Williams and Sarah Moore left Sunday, July 24 for the mission trip to Joplin stopping in Springfield to pick up another volunteer, Nancy Wright.

This group of nine worked Monday and Tuesday at the Joplin Family Worship Center on 7th Street distributing to families and individuals who lost their home or their employment due to the tornado of May 22, 2011.

Those effected would first register and complete paperwork as to their needs, whether it be furniture, bedding, hygiene supplies, baby supplies or food. The group from FCC worked in the food pantry, loading grocery carts with “bonus” supplies of cases of Sunny D, concentrated grape juice, tomato soup, chicken and noodle soup, sloppy joe, enriched powdered drink, crackers, mac and cheese, chicken gravy and beef gravy, chicken and beef broth, milk and microwave dinners.

In addition to these cases of food, they received items they specifically requested, such as cereal, breakfast food, pasta, pickles, peanut butter, jelly, chips, candy, tuna snack kits, tea and or coffee, microwave rice and beans, rice casserole mix, , frozen rolls/cinnamon rolls, pig in a blanket and much more. There were also household and personal supplies such as bath tissue, batteries, flashlights, paper towels, cleaning solutions, detergent, fabric softener, bleach, sponges, buckets, tissue, window cleaner, dish detergent and much more.

On Wednesday, Larry Colvin, Larry Thompson, Sarah Moore and Jansen Williams reported early morning to Americorp and were assigned an apartment complex where they picked up debris to clear the way for demolition equipment to get to the complex.

Debris was separated into what could be incinerated and what could be recycled as metal. There were various personal items that were found, including a high school student’s personal notebook, lots of toys and even clothing still hanging in the closets that were still standing.

The other five of the group, Nancy, Debbie Stidham, Debbie Ellinghouse, Kellie and Lisa volunteered at the Joplin humane society where Kellie and Debbie Ellinghouse did mounds of laundry, Nancy swept and mopped floors and assisted Lisa in some administrative duties. Debbie Stidham worked cleaning the rooms and cages of the adoptable cats/kitten. There were several animals (dogs and cats) at the society including a very large long ear bunny!

After touring the disaster area Monday evening, it is apparent that the devastation was immense and that Joplin is still in need of volunteer assistance. It was amazing the number of people that where there, with most of them being teenagers. The FCC group worked along side a group of 50+ teenagers from Michigan and met 35+ teens and adults from Atlanta on their way to Joplin who had stopped at Hillbilly Junction.

While in Joplin, the group was housed at the First Christian Church in Neosho, who also provided breakfast, sack lunches and dinner. Representatives from the church stated that they had housed some 270 volunteers from all across the country, including Los Angeles, CA in the past two months.

The group heard lots of stories from the folks at the church and there were tears, hugs and lots of thanks from the residents. They met young and old, and every age in between, those who were lower income and those who were highly educated. This tornado sparred no one class, race, religion, level of education or age.

While it was dirty, hot and hard work, the group agreed that they would return again, if they had the chance, to help the victims of the Joplin tornado.

Thanks to Debbie Ellinghouse for the photos!

Mr. Cellaphane will be there. So will the sisters from “Sister Act”. And 'special' appearances from Patsy Cline, Frank Sinatra and that fella from Memphis named Elvis.

They will all join in the celebration of “Swinging Through The Decades,” presented by the Chancel Choir at Dexter’s First United Methodist Church on Friday evening, Aug. 5. The dinner theater experience will feature a wonderful meal and musical entertainment.

“We will have great food, great fun and friendship, and great music,” Music Director MaryRuth Boone said. “This will be an evening with a great variety of music that is sure to bring back fond memories for everyone!”

Boone said the choir would perform a wide variety of tunes – from old-fashioned rock and ’roll to newer classics - with quite a few surprises thrown in. In addition, the evening will feature a variety of soloists and ensembles from the choir with the music of Frank Sinatra, Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Abba and more.

The Melodic Methodist Men will be featured in a song-and-dance routine, and the Sisters of Song will present their own wacky version of a Whoopie classic.

“The evening will close with a cowboy tune that will bring fond memories to many Baby Boomers and a chuckle to everyone,” Boone said.

The meal will be prepared by the Kitchen Ladies and will feature smoked pork loin, garlic smashed potatoes, green beans almondine, a summer salad, and fresh, homemade angel food cake with fruit topping.

All proceeds of the evening will be used by the choir to support on-going ministries in the church.

The dinner theater experience will kick off at 6 p.m. in Wesley Hall on the FUMC campus. Tickets are $18 per person and are to be purchased in advance. Tickets will not be available at the door.

To purchase a ticket or for additional information, contact by Aug. 3 the church at 573-624-3344 or Boone at 573-820-3516.

A super-charged, high octane event for kids will blast off this Wednesday and Thursday (July 27 & 28) at Dexter First Baptist Church.

Kidz Blitz Live is coming to FBC for two evenings this week, bringing with it a fast-paced, action-packed experience for youngsters. The action will kick off at 6 p.m. Wednesday, and is open to kids throughout the community.

“It’s going to be crazy,” said Christy Vaughn, Children’s Minister at First Baptist. “It’s non-stop high energy the entire time the kids are here.”

Kids Blitz Ministries is from Nicholasville, Kent., and their team will be in Dexter starting Wednesday morning to prepare and host the two nights of Kidz Blitz fun.

The kids from age 3 through 5th grade will be divided into two teams, and the teams will all participate in a variety of games.

“We’re trying to do something new for VBS (Vacation Bible School). This year we’re trying to do something different,” Vaughn said.

The Kidz Blitz Ministries crew will return to Dexter in October for a family event hosted by First Baptist.

“We have volunteers who will be helping with program,” she explained. ”We’re excited!"

"There are great Vacation Bible Schools out there; we wanted to do something different. They do present the Gospel in their own way with the games and activities. They say they turn kids from spectators to participants.”

Vaughn said the Kidz Blitz crew has what they call a “Tornado Operation” – big machine that shoots out toilet paper “everywhere.”

Kids are invited to attend beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday evening; each evening will conclude at 7:30 P.M.

The young people at St. Joe General Baptist Church had the opportunity to meet Pastor Phillip Pusey of Jamaica this last Sunday. The young people are part of the congregation’s G.L.O.W. program (Go Light Our World). Brother Pusey is pastor of a growing church in Jamaica! The youngsters included (from left to right): Benjamin Stevens, Dylan Sitze, Anna Bishop, Will Robinson, Joe Rice, Abigail Conner, Caelyn Conner, Caroline Robison, Jake Rice, Natalie Sitze and Madilyn Hampton. The pastor at St. Joe is Greg Stevens of Bloomfield and the G.L.O.W. program leader is Hannah Stickles. St. Joe General Baptist Church is located at 17537 State Highway FF, Bloomfield. (Photo submitted by SMT reader Tracy Robison).