[Previous Entry: "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep"]
[Next Entry: "Let the Card do the Talking"]

06/29/2010: "Experience the Joy"

By Gary Lefmann

I used to attend a church where everyone hugged everyone else all the time. It was not exactly my cup of tea. When I first heard that CBC was going to sponsor H.U.G. cookouts, I pictured a big hug-a-thon with (ugh) strangers in a run-down neighborhood somewhere. Let me assure you that could not be farther from the truth. Oh sure, you can still hug someone if you want to (and chances are good that you might), but at CBC, H.U.G. stands for His Uplifting Grace.

Our most recent H.U.G. event was held at the Deer Creek Manufactured Home Community in Stockbridge on Saturday, June 12th. I heard someone say there were around 500 homes in there. About 60 or so of us descended on Deer Creek just before noon and started setting up. We set up a grill for hot dogs, a table for drinks, chips and desserts, some games for kids, a face-painting area, and the most popular of all, a Home Depot Building Kit area. The back of someone’s pickup truck served as the center of a staging area for free clothes, shoes, books, and assorted free “yard sale” leftovers.

In spite of the heat and a decided lack of shade (there was but a single tree in the area where we set up), residents began to drift in, slowly at first, and then steadily over the course of the event. 

In addition to making many new friends, and talking to people about Christ, we had three salvations and one person re-dedicated their life and is going into a detox treatment program. By any human or godly standard, there is no better way to spend part of an afternoon.

The next H.U.G. event is scheduled for July 10th. Join us and experience the joy of making a difference in someone’s life!

--Gary Lefmann