You have probably heard the phrase “Christ, Community,  Music” mentioned on the air fairly often on WJTL.   These are 3 key elements to the ministry of WJTL.

We are looking forward to focusing on the Community portion of this phrase on Saturday,  October 9th from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm when we host our first WJTL Community Day at Manor Church in Lancaster.

Though we are still putting together all of the fun aspects of the day;  we know that there will be a variety of family yard sale type booths, ministries and businesses.  The Kids Cookie Break will be live and we have plans to have a variety of fun family activities available throughout the day.  Turkey Hill is planning to be on site with their fun mascot Bo.

Booth spaces are available for families, ministries and businesses.  Please contact Stacey by emailing stacey@wjtl.com or by calling 717-392-3690 x 301 with questions or to book your space.  The community is invited to come join us for a fun day!   Stay tuned to FM90.3 or wjtl.com for more details!!  Directions are available here

STACEY GAGNE – You may have heard on the air by now, but in case you haven’t … I’m going to Ethiopia!!!  I’m super excited to be heading to Ethiopia with Compassion International Sept 25 thru Oct 2nd.  Not only is this my first trip with Compassion and my first trip to Africa; it’s my first trip overseas!   I couldn’t think of a better first trip for me than to travel with Compassion, an organization I have loved and sponsored a child through for many years!

Though I don’t have all the specifics of my trip, yet, I do know that I’ll be traveling with staff from other radio stations as we learn more about what God is doing through Compassion in Ethiopia.  From what I understand, I’ll be visiting Child Sponsorship projects, Child Survival Projects, meeting with college students in their leadership development program and visiting with Compassion’s Ethiopia Country Staff.  I will be getting my more detailed trip itinerary soon.

I hope that my trip will allow you to see and hear the heart of what needs there are for children in Ethiopia and what can be done/is being done to meet those needs through Compassion International.  We’ll also be giving an opportunity for you and the rest of our listeners to get involved and sponsor a child during our 26 Hours of Compassion coming up at the end of October.

I invite you to listen in and read along while I’m on my journey, and please pray for me too!  Thanks!

- Stacey Gagne

Giddy WJTL Employee and Compassion International Child Sponsor

- STACEY GAGNE

Today we received an encouraging letter from an anonymous donor:

“I would like to thank you for your obedience to God’s unique calling.  I have not listened to Christian radio much until recently.  I have been so encouraged and strengthened by the music, testimonies and clips of sermons.  I appreciate so much your testimony of trust in God’s faithfulness.  I wanted to bless you with a small gift.  I only was able to put $10.00 in with my letter, but I have prayed over this money and I believe that God can and will multipuy this small gift to whatever amount athat you have been praying for.   “Ask and it will be given to you…”

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And to that I say Amen.  Thanks to all our listeners who choose to prayerfully invest in the ministry of WJTL.  You are an answer to our prayers.

Stacey M. Gagne

-Thankful for our listeners!

I’m excited.  2  weeks from today is Purple Door!!!  I’ve been involved with the festival one way or another since it started and I really love it.  This year I’m very excited about the line up.  You can check out the schedule and other details at purpledoor.com.    If you haven’t seen the artist line up yet… you might be surprised… since there’s a “Main Stage”, “HM Stage” and “Gallery Stage” there is something for a variety of tastes and a combination of  bands/artists/speakers you might not find at other festivals.   I, personally,  am usually found at the Gallery Stage in my free time… though you might be surprised to see me bouncing around to some of the heavier bands, too.  :)  Leigh Nash, John Mark McMillan  and Paper Route are on my hope to see list… as are August Burns Red and Project 86…Oceans in Love and Family Force 5 and…. well o.k. everyone.   Plus I love just working together with my friends to put together this kind of event.

For those of you who can’t make it out, (well and also for you who are coming) please  pray for those attending and for the artists/speakers/youth leaders/staff/attendees, etc and their opportunities to impact each other in creative ways.  Many of our attendees might not be as apt to walk into a lot of other traditional settings,  might never turn on WJTL, or could be daily listeners, but we hope that either way that people make positive connections and most importantly to find Jesus in the midst of the music, teaching, art, and community at the festival.

Here’s a great email from a listener in Missouri!

“We just got DSL were we live (we hunt from our back porch) and I was going through some of my old links and came across WJTL from when we lived in Atglen Pa. 3+ years ago. I down loaded the link to listen over the internet and and the first song I heard was Trains up in the Sky.  This brought back memories like you can not believe.  Before we moved WJTL was the only station we listened to for over 20 years.  You were always a blessing and many years ago something Fred said saved my life.  Keep up the good work and we will be listening.  Can you tell all my friends at Sight & Sound I said HI over the air?

Thank You and god Bless
Jim Evans

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Thanks Jim!!!  So encouraging!!!

Speaking of listening to WJTL from out of the area… in a couple of months I’ll be FAR out of the area… using my passport… and communicating back to WJTL.  This is a teaser, more details to come… but let’s just say I think I will have new Compassion for children  and families on another continent and I’m very very excited and humbled for this opportunity.

Stacey Gagne -  Well we are jumping right into summer with a hot day, that’s for sure!

I have been feeling nostalgic about summer the past few weeks.  (honestly I’m almost always feeling nostalgic about SOMETHING).    For me, summertime as a child involved many days with my cousins and family at my Meme and Pepe (french for grandparents) pool.  We also used to spend a lot of time at a cottage on Lake Champlain that my parents rented.   Man, I miss that place!    I think my favorite thing about summer is being near any sort of body of water… creeks, lakes, pools, streams, ponds, you name it.  I haven’t spent a whole lot of time at the beach and never heard the term “down the shore” till I moved to PA,  but I’d really like to go sometime while the weather is warm and the water temperature is swim-able.

What do you love about the summer?  Talk amongst yourselves and comment if you like!  :)

Stacey Gagne – welcoming you to summer, and the week before Creation Fest!!!

I can’t believe it’s almost here again!  I think this year makes 13 years that I’ve been at Creation… something like that.  Wow.    This year, Creation Fest put together a great video and promotion called “I Am Creation” encouraging people to share their Creation Stories. I love how this event can mean so many different things and be special to so many people in different ways.  I also love that this verse applies to each and every one of us:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
2 Corinthians 5:17

So what’s my Creation story?  Gosh there are so many.

I have to laugh when people ask me about who is playing at the festival, because honestly, I don’t always know.  For me, Creation is not about the music or the corporate gatherings at the stage.  Strange?  Well, sort of… but it’s a good strange.

My experiences at Creation started when I was going for the first time mostly to see Rainchildren, the band my brother and friends were playing in at the time.  My parents had come to visit and we were all excited to go see them on the big stage.  (I had missed them the prior year at Hershey because I couldn’t get out of the job I was working at the time.)  Just days before the festival started,  I got a call from my friends at Creation Staff asking if I’d be willing to help out as at Gates Supervisor.  They were short and needed someone they trusted that could jump in and do what was needed, so I jumped in!  I had no idea what to expect.  When I arrived on site I was greeted by Kurt Weaver and Ben Bryson and the wonderful camping staff and the rest of that year is kind of a blur.

At the end of the festival each year, my joking comment is “oh there were bands at the festival?”.  Of course there are bands that I love there each year,  (this year John Mark McMillan is the main artist I’m hoping to see). but for me… it’s all about the comradery and fun of working together with friends.  Some of my Creation friends are people I only get to see once a year and others I work with here at WJTL every day.  There is just something special about being at Creation that bonds us in a different way.  Is it the beautiful grounds at Agape?  Working as a team to accomplish a goal?  Serving the Lord together in various ways?  Being really sleepy? Well all of these things combined lead to some memories that you don’t make just anywhere.

So,  as I look forward to heading West to Mount Union in just a couple of weeks,  I am thinking of rolling green hills, unloading trucks, making badges, selling tickets, big hugs, little sleep and lots and lots of laughter.  That’s Creation for me…     How about you?  What’s your Creation story?

One of the great things about working at WJTL is the variety of things we get to do.  Although my primary job is to keep things flowing in the office, I also have the opportunity to help out at some of our events, festivals,  and even record some on air promos.  This Friday night I’ll be out at Garden Spot Bowl DJing Rock N Bowl.  I’ll be taking requests all night and playing some of my favorites, too… so if you’re free, like great music, like to bowl, or like to eat cheezy bread … come on out and join me!  (You might want to call ahead to reserve your lane).

STACEY GAGNE – This past weekend I went camping.  It was the first time I’d ever done the “carry in on your back what you need” kind of backpacking camping vs. the “throw everything you own into a car and then go camp by your car” kind I had been used to.  :)  I loved it.  LOVED it.  I can’t wait to go again.  Figuring out what to bring was a challenge and strapping it into my backpack or onto my bike was also a bit daunting… but there was something freeing about the simplicity of it all.   No mirrors.  No cell phone service.  No Facebook.  Sharing our supplies.  Cooking together and eating around a fire.   Hiking down to the creek which doubled as “the fridge”. etc. etc.   It was awesome… for 2.5 days

However, Sunday afternoon we came home.   We stopped on the way home for ice cream.  We went home to our washing machines and running water and delivery pizza (which tasted AMAZING because we were so hungry and we didn’t have to do a thing to prepare it).  Whenever I want a drink of water I go to the faucet or the water cooler without really thinking about it.  Though… today,  I actually have thought about it.    I’ve been thinking about the conveniences I have and others who don’t have them.   What if I lived in a place where life was more primitive?  What would I miss most?  What distractions would I be glad to be free of.   What does that kind of community look like when it’s no longer just a weekend adventure?  What do I truly need vs what am I just used to?

I never knew that a weekend camping would get me asking myself so many questions.

Stacey M. Gagne

I like camping… and soft serve ice cream

Memorial Day is this coming Monday, May 31, 2010.  It’s a day to remember the U.S. men and women who died during military service and those who serve today.    Lord, be with our soldiers … and soldiers everywhere for that matter.

Since it’s a national holiday, many of us have the day off and we also end up spending time with our families and friends at barbecues, camp outs, parades, etc.

I found a page at usa.gov that gives history of Memorial Day,  information about a moment of remembrance, current military operations, tips for supporting troops, etc.  It also provides safety info for Memorial Day Weekend celebrating.

Have a great weekend with your family and friends and remember to remember our soldiers and to keep them in your prayers!