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El Centro event is a WOW!
by Diane O’Brien, Lt. Colonel –
Attendees enjoy the festivities in El Centro. |
The border city of El Centro, Calif.—two hours east of San Diego—is where the first of our Bring One Woman rallies took place. We are holding regional rallies to encourage enthusiastic participation in June at the Win One Woman (WOW) celebration event.
Captain Nancy Ball and I arrived at around 5:30 p.m. to see a beautifully decorated hall. The ladies had made invitations, table decorations, bilingual Scripture posters and corsages, all in thematic colors.
I asked the corps officer, Captain Vicki Esqueda, how many she was expecting; she had no idea. Usually there are around 25 ladies at the Thursday evening program. We were not expecting many from Cathedral City, the other invited corps, so if 25 women ALL bring one, that’s 50, right? WRONG! This is El Centro!
They had made 70 corsages which Christina, the Home League secretary, pinned on ladies as they arrived, and as the last two ladies came in, we only had one left. That makes 69 in attendance by my count! The women sat down for dinner, which was served by six of the men from the corps’ shelter program, who were immaculate in white shirts, bow ties and wonderful manners. Well, of course—this is El Centro!
Captain Jessica Doria, Cathedral City corps officer, traveled to El Centro with a few of her ladies to lead us in fun games, which resulted in everyone going home with a bag of prizes.
Even dessert was thematic—two Bring One Woman cakes! As dessert was served I shared about the history and relevance of the Home League. Then Major Darlan Marquez (Chula Vista corps officer) brought the devotional thought in English and Spanish. Both she and Captain Doria served as translators throughout the evening.
As Captain Nancy Ball and I left to go to our car, when the rally was over, I turned to her and said the one thing that popped into my head: WOW!
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