Easter in the park!

In true H.A.N.D.S. On style we had an amazing Easter celebration in Constitution park during our regular Sunday breakfast. We had all of our normal foods like eggs cooked to order for all the participants and sausage along with ceral, bread and great omlette toppings. One of our volunteers brought homemade Easter cupcakes for everyone to add to the amazing food. The food was only the beginning of the celebration however. For the kids we spent the week loading over 250 plastic eggs full of candy and small toys for the egg “hunt” (it was much for like an egg frenzy) A few volunteers took all the eggs and spread them out over a huge section of the park then the kids lined up (over 40 of them) and on the “GO” ran and collected as many eggs as they could with all the squeels of joy and laughter that you could imagine. The kids were precious to say the least and I know they had a ton of fun (we will be posting pictures of the event soon)! After the kids all gathered up to play games and learn a little about the true meaning of Easter while the adults came to our Easter service. We spoke about what Easter really is. We talked about Christs death on the cross and ressurection three days later. We talked about how the cross used to be like an electric chair, a sign of death, the worst way to die ever recorded in history. Yet now the cross is a symbol, we wear it around our necks and have pictures of it on our walls. It is no longer a sign of death but a symbol of hope. Hope that is free for the asking. After our service we had more people raise thier hands to be saved than at any event so far and the number of those rededicating thier lives to Christ was equally as large. So many hands were raised going all the way around the playground for the first time it was impossible for me to count. Over 100 people stayed for the service. The week before Easter we stuffed 100 bags full of food and a drink and a bible track. Every person was allowed to take one bag after the service. We had 30 children’s Easter bags filled also to be given out. With everyone only taking one we ran out of bags! I don’t know how many people were actually at the service but we had over 100, and over 30 kids. About Two thirds of those people made a step towards finding eternal hope in accepting Christ. I love the people we serve and for me personally there is no greater joy, and I have no other purpose than to help these people find hope and know they are loved. Nothing that happened on Easter would have been possible without volunteers. With the economy as it is nothing on Easter would have been possible without donations. Nothing we do is possible without you! I want to encourage everyone reading this, regardless of religious background, race, political standing or financial status to come and serve the homeless and the most needy in our community on a Sunday morning if you have not already done so. If you are a regular volunteer I pray that this last Sunday was a reminder of how much you are each valued and needed to serve the community with us. We can not do this alone but together we can make a difference. When churches and companies come together with one purpose amazing things happen! Please donate your time, donate financially (did you know that a donation of $60.00 can completly cover the cost of a Sunday morning for HANDS?) Every minute you can donate helps. Every dollar that is donated is needed right now. H.A.N.D.S. On does not have one person on staff right now, we all volunteer so every penny can go into what we do and the people we serve. You can be the difference to someone who has lost all hope if you choose to be. Make the time and come and stand with us. You won’t regret the decission. Thank you to everyone who is a part of H.A.N.D.S. On International in any way, you are truly the reason lives are being changed!
In Him,
Genesis Williams

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 6:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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