Friday Night after the Concert...

The concert was over, most of the attendees have left. A teen I hadn't met before walks up to our stand as we are cleaning up and asks if we had any leftover food he could have for free. I thought of the hot dogs still simmering in the roaster. "We have some hot dogs left... no buns though..." I told him. “Let me ask my brother” he says and he walks away. A moment later he returns and asks “can I have two please?" “Sure” I said, and I served him a couple of hot dogs without the bun onto a napkin. "Would you like ketchup, mustard or relish?" I asked as I set the condiments up on the counter.... “careful, they are hot" I said and I handed him the food.

"Thank you" he says and he puts a few coins, mostly pennies, up on the counter and walked away, giving his older brother one of the hot dogs. I stood there looking at the few coins a moment, thinking he didn't have to do that... I had already told him they were free... I hesitated, then picked the few coins up and added them to our donation jar.

Do you ever wonder who exactly hangs out at the park after dark? I for one am guilty of assuming a lot of things. But after that interaction, I started to think that maybe my general assumptions were wrong. As we finished up, we brought the remaining ice cream cups out to give away to anyone willing to take one... or five... or twelve...

Pretty soon, I see the same kid walking back toward us and I offered him some free ice cream. "Really?" He asks. "Take two or three if you want!" I told him, as we had plenty to spare... my guess is we had well over 100 cups left over. He smiled big. "This is the BEST day of my life!!" he said with excitement as he grabbed a couple cups and a spoon. "Thank you!" He says... "You are very welcome" I told him with a smile.

You never know what sort of interactions will take place and when. I know God has a plan and a purpose for everything, and evidently a purpose behind having a lot of leftover ice cream. I could have had the attitude that we needed to SELL the ice cream because after all, it was a fundraiser, and it had been a slower than usual night due to the heat. But when your mission is about sharing the love of Jesus, its not about how much money it takes, but finding opportunities in spite of the cost.

This is just one small step forward in our mission. All it takes is a willing heart to find and make opportunities. #SmallSteps #Opportunities #Portal220 #ReachingTheLostAtAllCost

~Julie

As we work together to finish our plans for the new teen center, through your generosity, we can continue to find ways to reach out to our teenagers and share the love of Christ through our actions.  Will you help us reach our goal to finish the facility before it gets cold again and kids are huddled back up inside?  We need to give them that safe and fun place to go! Please consider donating!  Even just a few dollars donated by many, can help us make a lot of progress!  Thank you!
You can make a secure online donation to
Portal 2:20 Teen Center by clicking HERE