This year our church decided that instead of doing a Vacation Bible School at the church they would get members to host "Kid Blast" gatherings in their neighborhoods so that they could get out into the community. It seemed like a great idea since many times the majority of the kids who attend VBS are churched kids. Going into the neighborhoods and getting people to invite their neighbors seems more effective in reaching unchurched kids. For several weeks there has been an announcement in the bulletin asking families to sign up to use their yard to host a club. The clubs are in the morning so that it's not too hot and I'm assuming the reason they're having them outside is so that parents are more willing to send their kids.
I've taught more 5 Day Clubs with Child Evangelism Fellowship than I could possibly count and these Kid Blast clubs sound very similar, but for some reason I was a little reluctant to sign up. Partially because I don't really have a yard and partially because I don't really know my neighbors and there are signs saying no soliciting. Basically I was being chicken. I didn't know how and didn't really want to contact the HOA to find out if I could use one of the playgrounds or the field across from my house, but I was afraid if I tried to do it there without approval we'd get kicked out. I gave myself every excuse I could come up with, but the more I walked around the neighborhood and saw the swarms of kids I knew I had to do something.
So, I found a website with the contact information for the management group that maintains our neighborhood. I don't have contact with the HOA because we rent. I explained what I would like to do to the lady who answered the phone at the management group and inquired about how I could go about getting approval. She said I could write a letter to the board and she would give it to them for approval at their next meet on June 8th or they might be able to approve it by email before the meeting. I was hoping to have the club June 21-24 and she said that would give enough time to get everything approved. My next plan of action was to go to the pool as often as possible to meet kids and parents in the neighborhood so that they wouldn't think I was just some strange lady inviting them to a Bible club. Of course spending time at the pool wasn't exactly a hardship :)
I wrote my email, sent it and got an approval within 24 hours. The lady from the management group write back and said, "All three board members think it is a terrific idea." I have been praying about it for several weeks now hoping to get a positive response, but this was even better than I expected! Not only did they approve it, but enthusiastically! Because of their overwhelmingly positive response I wrote back to see if they would even be willing to put the announcement for it on the neighborhood board. If so, this will help with my problem of "no solicitation" and give credibility to the club.
Clark and I have been going to the pool and it's already helped us get to know a few kids and parents. Children flock to Clark because he's so outgoing and cute so we have made several friends. Hopefully in a month or so we'll have lots of friends to invite to the Bible club. I know God is going to work through this because he's already opening doors. I just have to remember it's His work and be bold in inviting people to come.
Showing posts with label God's provision. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's provision. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
It Just So Happens . . . episode 2
A few weeks ago we had to go to the emergency room even though we don't have insurance. We knew the bill would be astronomical, but we felt we couldn't ignore the symptoms and had to go despite the price. To make a long story short, we ended up leaving before Michael was able to see a doctor because we were there for hours and hours in the middle of the night with a baby and clearly they didn't think it was an emergency. We prayed for God to direct us and felt he was giving us peace about leaving.
Of course in the back of our minds for the last few weeks we've known we had a bill coming, but we didn't know how bad it would be. The first bill came from a doctor. I tried to call the billing office multiple times, but it "just so happens" their phone system was messed up and kept putting me on hold forever then hanging up on me. I was so frustrated I put the bill away until early this week since I couldn't actually talk to anyone and I wasn't going to pay it until I got an explanation.
Then, we got a bill from the hospital. It wasn't as bad as we thought it might be, but considering we're living on a super tight budget right now, it was going to deplete some of our savings. Because I had so much trouble with getting ahold of the doctor's office, I called the hospital first. After waiting on hold forever someone finally came to the line. I told her my situation and asked if there were any payment options or any reduction in the bill if we paid it all at once. She brought up our account and said she could see where there was a $772 bill sent, but that all charges had been dropped because we left the hospital before Michael was seen. A bill of $0??? I was so excited! I praised God, thanked the lady and told her she had made my day. I double checked to make sure we wouldn't get another bill and she said, "When they go in and manually change your bill, it's erased and you won't receive any more bills."
After I hung up with her I called the doctors office again about the other bill. "It just so happens" their phone system was working this time and I was able to speak to someone. I told her the hospital had erased the bill because we weren't seen. She pulled up our bill and said since the hospital didn't charge us she would take care of it. If I had called the doctor's office first I wouldn't have known to tell them the hospital forgave the bill. God orchestrated the whole course of the phone calls and somehow miraculously worked with the hospital billing person to forgive our bill.
Of course it doesn't mean he will always forgive our hospital bills, we've paid quite a few in the past and will pay more in the future. But this time he saw fit to show us his provision by forgiving the bill. He provides in mysterious ways! I praise him for his provision in our lives!
Of course in the back of our minds for the last few weeks we've known we had a bill coming, but we didn't know how bad it would be. The first bill came from a doctor. I tried to call the billing office multiple times, but it "just so happens" their phone system was messed up and kept putting me on hold forever then hanging up on me. I was so frustrated I put the bill away until early this week since I couldn't actually talk to anyone and I wasn't going to pay it until I got an explanation.
Then, we got a bill from the hospital. It wasn't as bad as we thought it might be, but considering we're living on a super tight budget right now, it was going to deplete some of our savings. Because I had so much trouble with getting ahold of the doctor's office, I called the hospital first. After waiting on hold forever someone finally came to the line. I told her my situation and asked if there were any payment options or any reduction in the bill if we paid it all at once. She brought up our account and said she could see where there was a $772 bill sent, but that all charges had been dropped because we left the hospital before Michael was seen. A bill of $0??? I was so excited! I praised God, thanked the lady and told her she had made my day. I double checked to make sure we wouldn't get another bill and she said, "When they go in and manually change your bill, it's erased and you won't receive any more bills."
After I hung up with her I called the doctors office again about the other bill. "It just so happens" their phone system was working this time and I was able to speak to someone. I told her the hospital had erased the bill because we weren't seen. She pulled up our bill and said since the hospital didn't charge us she would take care of it. If I had called the doctor's office first I wouldn't have known to tell them the hospital forgave the bill. God orchestrated the whole course of the phone calls and somehow miraculously worked with the hospital billing person to forgive our bill.
Of course it doesn't mean he will always forgive our hospital bills, we've paid quite a few in the past and will pay more in the future. But this time he saw fit to show us his provision by forgiving the bill. He provides in mysterious ways! I praise him for his provision in our lives!
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