Quan-ya with his new jacket
And lastly we gave them a ticket. We gathered all of the boys together. Sat them in front of a big projector screen and starting giving them clues to what the ticket might be for. We have to back up a little bit to know how the ticket came about.
Jeff and I, and Power Cross have been so blessed to have been introduced to the Jones family of Tennessee. They have opened their home to Power Cross boys for a weekend at the lake.They have provided Power Cross with a much needed 15 passenger van. Just last week one of their son's Aaron moved to Statesville to help with the Power Cross ministry. The Jones family has provided almost all of our financial support over the last year. The two Jones brothers (Steve and Wiley), and their families have truly blessed this ministry. After a weekend with the boys, Steve & Brenda decided that the best Christmas present would be to send all of the boys to Orlando, Florida for a three day escape from everyday life. This is where the gift of a ticket comes into motion. We have worked hard preparing a three day trip to Orlando, Florida complete with a full day at Universal Studios and a full day at SeaWorld. Along the trip home we are detouring to the beach for a day so that all of the boys who haven't seen the ocean will have that chance. It will be an awesome event!
So they had their shirts, jackets, and a ticket in hand. Coach Jeff started giving a few clues. After about three clues they were all convinced they were going camping.
The boys with their tickets in hand
Then we starting to play a DVD I had prepared with images from the theme parks and resort. The boys finally realized that they were going to get to go to Florida. They could not contain their smiles.
After the gift giving was wrapped up we were so blessed to have our good friend Ken Freeman speak and bring the message of salvation to all in attendance. We had over 50 of our boys siblings, parents, and grandparents give their life to Christ. We had about 5 Power Cross boys finally give their life to the Lord. In that one moment, I can't begin to imagine how many prayers were answered. I know many of mine were. As we prayed with everyone one of our Power Cross boys, Khalil had an emotional moment. He just felt an overwhelming amount of love that he had never felt, in his life. He also felt the extreme sadness he held of never knowing his dad. So he did what so many boys there did, he went to his Coach Jeff for a hug. His brother in Christ, TJ, was there to wrap his arms around him as well.
It is such an awesome and humbling experience to be in the presence of the Lord. When you call on his name, he is there. Last night we handed out over 150 gifts, but the best gift that was given was the salvation of over 50 people. It is so amazing to see how God is using Power Cross to change the lives of not only the boys in our organization ,but also their families and siblings. We have one family who we work with three of the son's and one of the cousins. Last night their mother, grandmother, father, and aunt all gave their life to the Lord. In one night an entire family is changed. God is so good.
We leave on Saturday, December 20th for Orlando. I can promise we'll have a ton of pictures to show you when we get back.
God Bless,
Jeff, Nat, and the PC Boys
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