Last night was a night to remember! My family, some of our Rock Group and other members of our church went to serve an evening at the Salvation Army in uptown Charlotte. We were in charge of shopping for hundreds of children and putting gifts in the bags, making sure they were labeled and then put in the proper place for when the family does come to pick up their gifts starting Dec 23rd - folks can find their gifts. What a change in ones view on serving the community, helping all the children in the program have something to open for Christmas - it really puts things into perspective when so many are blessed and don't even know it. There were some tears last night but more importantly there were smiles. More smiles than I have seen in a long time. The kids picking out gifts for other kids their age, imagining what they would like for a toy or what kind of shirt they would love. It was awesome to see everyone in action and in the spirit of giving. Once the Angel Tree special on WBTV was over - we finished up and gathered around the Christmas tree where many of the not-adopted Angel Tree's where hanging. There were 49 of them hanging there. After just a brief conversation with JImmy and everyone there - together we decided as a church to sponser these 49 children. This Sunday we will have 2 Christmas trees at the front of the Worship Center where folks will be invited to come and sponser a child after a great LifeTalk on serving others at Christmas. What perfect timing is that? Only God can move like that and in such a powerful way. Next Wednesday - all our toy collections will be done and we will be making our drop off. Last night was about changing lives - even lives of folks we don't know but each one of them are special and important. They are not just a "child" - they are a children with a story.
May God reach out and touch these families this Christmas like never before. Thank you Shelley, The Salvation Army and all the folks who went to experience- An Evening to Remember...... I can't wait for Sunday. I bet there will be more tears and smiles yet again.
This evening we dropped Kyle off at the K-5 ministry party called "The Way" and all the kids there came running to tell us they saw us on TV!! Last night has created a buzz ... even a bigger BUZZ than the one you hear me explain on The Walk.
Love you all,
Randy~
1 comment:
I think the Angel Tree night was awesome. I really think it was a life-changing evening for our kids. Kids who have a comfortable life and don't know any need. Kids who always have a warm bed, a roof over their head, and a hot meal at dinner-time. Kid who cannot imagine not having a Christmas Present under the tree.
So here is what these children were presented with: Pick an Angel and shop for them. Sounds Easy Enough....NOT. On a small Angel postcard is a wealth of information - the child's first name, age, clothing size, shoe size and wish list items!
Our teams (Adult and child) have one chance to make Christmas magical for a child we are holding in our hands. The child comes to life through our children. I worked with Kyle and we picked boys who were his age. We studied the Wish List ~~ and he went to work, like ALL the kids did. With Passion. Finally understanding that the things he placed in that plastic bag would be the only things that boy got this Christmas. So it became personal. A quest to find the BEST gift that would bring happiness, for at least, one morning.
This is another example of a life experience that we could have never shown to our son, or the other children with us that evening, without experiencing it.
I can't even begin to tell you about ALL the blessings that have been going on within our family, our Rock Group, our Church....but we are being blessed by blessing others... that is really the true reason for the season.
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