Unexpected

Nadia Ki visited Busch Gardens with her teenage brother who has Down’s syndrome.  He wanted to ride a particular attraction, but Nadia was worried about what he would do when the ride reached the top.  Seeing the dilemma, two men that worked the ride offered to ride with her brother.  They assured Nadia that they had the ability to stop the ride at any moment, if needed.  Even though her brother had his eyes closed the entire time, he loved the ride.  When it was time to exit the ride, the people in line cheered and clapped.  Nadia commented, “It was an awesome moment for everyone, only made possible by the 2 employees who volunteered to get on with him.  Thank you again.”

Hayden works at the McDonald’s near I-81.  A man stopped by to grab a quick meal, before going home for the day.  After ordering, he tried to pay with his credit card, but never could get it to work.  Hayden took out his own debit card and paid for the $8 meal and told the man not to worry about it.  Reaching in his pocket, the man gave the cashier the four-dollar bills he had in his wallet.  As he handed him his order, Hayden responded with “Have a Blessed Day.”  As the man opened the bag in his truck, he noticed the money had been returned.  He went back in and said, “Well young man, you did bless my day.  Thank you and never lose that giving heart.  The world’s a better place with you in it.”

 

Ember Robbins’ son had another difficult day at school.  The past few days had been hard because a classmate had been mean to him.  That afternoon, he and a few of his friends were playing basketball when the Amazon Prime driver stopped to make a delivery.  Before returning to his truck, the driver shot some hoops and made a slam dunk with the boys.  About an hour later, the driver returned and gave her son a new basketball.  He had noticed the other ball was worn and not holding air.  Ember wished she could have spoken to the man.  She wanted to tell him, “You did what I tried to but couldn’t.  You turned his whole day around.  Probably his whole week.  You are a good human.”

 

May we, too, be quick to do what we can to make a difference for those around us, especially when it is unexpected.

 

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

James 1:22

 

Opportunities to Give

Every summer, Sherry and Jim Vinson host their four grandchildren for a week of Camp Coco.  There are places to go and things to do.  Each camp has a theme, with this summer’s being the seven continents.  Each morning, Sherry guided the campers through a study of one of the continents.  Research was done, facts were shared, a map was studied, and art work from that part of the world was noted.  Then each grandchild painted a picture such as the Aboriginal Dot art for Australia.  The afternoons were for swimming, a movie, water inflatables park, climbing wall, I Jump, and other games and activities.  Even in the downpour on Sunday, they made it to church and Sunday School.  Not only did the cousins study the world last week, they also had the opportunity to make a difference in the world.  On Saturday, Sherry took her grands shopping and each child chose items so they could pack their own shoebox for Operation Christmas Child.  Along with gaining knowledge, Sherry also wants her grandchildren to learn the importance of giving and serving.

 

On Thursday, the children of Tallowood Baptist Church, in Houston, Texas, had the opportunity to come to the church and work on 5 projects. 

Each child participated by:

 

* Stuffing goodie bags and writing notes to give to students to introduce the BSM (Baptist Student Ministry) and its new leader to the students at University of Houston, Clear Lake

 

* Wrapping granola bars and writing notes for the people at the University of Houston BSM to give to students

 

* Decorating an ice chest, to leave on a front porch, so people can leave meals for a family with medical needs and also making knotted blankets for the family

 

* Packing school supplies, which will be put in backpacks, to give to “Houston Welcomes Refugees” and writing notes to the children who will be receiving the school supplies and backpacks

 

* Covering crackers in chocolate to share with the Tallowood staff, support staff, and custodians.

 

Lisa Keeling, Minister to Children, commented, “This is my favorite event of the year.  The children do for others and take nothing home with them.  It’s all about giving.”

 

May we, too, look for opportunities to give and invite others to join us.

 

 

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Hebrews 13:16