$42
Since we have started meeting in the building we have been able to have a sweet like donation box set out. Our goal is not to raise money for ourselves but to give the kids a chance to give money to others that are hurting or in need. So far we have raised $111 for our friend and Sk8 church bookkeeper, Chris Berlet, who lost her home to a house fire last month. Then we raised $85 for a Haiti orphanage fund. Now the next 2 weeks we will give the kids the opportunity to give to Dry Bones, www.drybonesdenver.org, a ministry to homeless youth in Denver. I tell you all this to preface how special the $42 check was that I just got in the mail! I opened the Sk8 Church mail and found a simple letter that said:"you guys were chosen to receive our skate church's offering this week"!
I now know first hand how very sweet that $42 is. I have personally seen the dollars that come out of a skaters pocket. Usually sweaty, wadded up, and sometimes all they have to their name. Jesus talks about the importance of the heart when we give in Mark 12:41-44.......Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. but a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling all His disciples to Him, Jesus said "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on". I can not help but think of this offering when I see the crumpled up dollars in our donations box, or receive a check from a skate church for $42. God is working in these special hearts!
14 Hours
This week we were planning on building the "bowl". The very large, difficult and final piece of the skate park. It is well known among skaters that a bowl type feature is hard to build. So Buck called an expert. A man by the name of Jud Heald. Jud is a pro skater that loves Jesus and has dedicated his time and talent to serving Him. He runs a ministry/demo team named Untitled, untitledskate.com, and lives his life as a man that serves and loves God. After a few phone calls back and forth and a "maybe I could come out there sometime" conversation, Buck hung up and set out to plan the bowl build out. The phone rang again and it was Jud. He said "you know I could come out right now. I am going to pack up my two oldest kids and get on the road tonight"......now this is not that remarkable except HE LIVES 14 HOURS AWAY.....in Missouri!!! Jud arrived the next day with the cutest 5 & 3 year olds and jumped right in. He preached the Gospel at Sk8 Church were more than a few kids gave their lives to Jesus, and was up bright and early this morning building away. Here is a pic at mid day!!!
This whole project, God has had the most incredible turn around time. We pray and speak out loud what we need and
God provides it in a matter of hours!! When we sat around saying "we need someone that can build a bowl"......God was preparing one of His workers (Jud is on the right) to come half way across the country and BUILD A BOWL!!!!! THE NEXT DAY!!! Praise God!!! He is like no other!!!!
So we are building the bowl and getting this project finished. We can sense that God has huge things in store for this building and for the youth-specifically skaters-in Steamboat Springs!! We are excited to be finished and see the harvest that He is planning!!! Thank you for following us in this journey!!!!
