2 Nights - 2 Stories - 1 God

Monday Night
We had 2 skaters. My friend from work came to help with set up and ended up staying the whole night. We played the Livin It LA DVD, and both the kids and my friend alternated between skating and watching the video. On this DVD there are some great testimonies from guys like Lance Mountain, Christian Hosoi, and Richard Mulder. It was a great opportunity for my co-worker to hear and see how God changes lives.

For Bible Session, we ate popcorn and watched the “Reality Underground Vietnam” video series. There was some good discussion about the video, and my final question was (as it always will be for this series) “Would you go?”


Wednesday Night
We had 14 skaters, 2 non-skaters that hung out most of the night, and several kids that just “stopped by for awhile.” We also had a bunch of parents sitting on the grassy edge watching and chatting. The weather was fabulous. The hotdogs were yummy, and the kids seemed to have a good time.

After Bible drill, I briefly shared part of my testimony and asked the kids to think about their testimony – their story. We ended with this question, “Think of someone younger than you. If today was your last day here, what would you say to them? What would you tell them?” We had some good responses, asked for prayer request and closed with prayer.


Thoughts
Some might look at Wednesday night and say it was far more successful than Monday night, but I always wonder, “How does God measure success?” Does He count the number of candy bars and cold drinks sold that night or look at the profit/loss statement at the end of the month? Does He look at those who give “the right church answer” to the questions I ask or the kid who gets 3 out of 3 Bible Drill verses that night? Does He measure success by the changes started in someone’s heart or the long term affects those choices make? How does God measure success?

I honestly don’t know, but a wise man once said to me “You never know if one of these kids may be the next Billy Graham,” and that is why we will stay open for 1 kid. That is why when people ask, “Is it worth all the work to set up and tear down for 1 kid?” I reply, “Yes.” Is it tough? Yes. Is it a lot of work? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes. Jesus left the 99 to save the 1 – Why should M.A.D. Skates be any different?


Thanks for your continued support. May God bless you abundantly. I’m off to the Women of Faith conference with some of my favorite women in the world – My Moms!

Walking by Faith – Hoping to Run
Brett Elizabeth Spore