Rock Island...a year later.

I haven't blogged in a while for one reason. It's Christmas! We have had so much going on that I haven't had time to sit down at the computer in a while. This year for Christmas we did 250 families for Christmas food baskets, 100 families for family sponsored gifts, 30 teens for Rock Island Christmas, 250 people for our Christmas feast, 25 elementary kids in our Cross & Crown Christmas nativity, 300 people at the nativity program, and 50 women at the bible study Christmas party this morning. I'm no mathematician but I think that equals..... ALOT! How blessed we truly are.

Over the next few days I'm going to blog about each of those blessings separately because, of course, I've got stories to go along with them. Right now I'm going to share about the Rock Island Christmas.

Over the past year Rock Island has become more than we could have ever imagined. We started off the year a bit rocky. There were some break-ins and struggles with alot of the kids. But at the party I realized something very special....We've got 6th graders to 12th graders and whites, blacks, mexicans, native americans, etc.....BUT... THOSE KIDS ARE A FAMILY. They have each others backs at school, they all stay together in one house when the rest don't have electricity, they pick up each others homework at school when someone is sick (or suspended), they makes beats together on the computer and try to create their own rap group, and they even rig up dirty santa so that the kid who they know really needs a bike to ride to work gets to take home that bike. A year ago they were 50 individuals living in the neighborhood separately. They were fighting each other, stealing from each other and vandalizing each others houses. NOW.... well you better not come into our neighborhood and mess with one of them because you are likely to get the whole bunch on you.

Last Friday night we had our party. In the middle of ice and snow, 23 kids were waiting out in the cold when we opened the door. We ate pizza and drank hot cocoa, played games, opened gifts, and roasted marshmallows outside to make smores. We hung out together for 4 hours and never once turned on a computer, video game or television. It was awesome. The favorite gifts of the night were the brand new Rock Island hoodies that one of our donors had made. Every kid got one and they were soooo EXCITED! At the end of the night we all held hands and prayed together. Out of the 23 kids... including ex gang members, drug dealers and school drop outs.....EVERY single kid prayed OUT LOUD. Most adults won't even do that, but these kids poured their hearts out in front of their peers, their FAMILY. And now even typing this I'm getting pretty choked up.

And to think... all this began with one guy (Ron Crawford) stepping up to his calling. People thought he was crazy, his family struggled financially, but he knew the call and the Lord has blessed that. Imagine what you, one person, could do with your calling?!?!? If you started today...this time next year you might be shocked!

"Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you of things which you do not already know." -Jeremiah 33:3