There were a lot of fireworks around July 4! On July 3, I went to a celebration at Woodland Baptist Church and had a great time. Following that I joined my family and watched the rocket's red glare and "bombs" bursting in air at Lake Junaluska. I know July 4th, Maggie Valley had its fireworks display. On July 5, Canton did theirs.
We were able to join together with a number of our churches and minister to the throngs that came to Sorrell's Park in Canton that evening. I wanted to express gratitude for the amazing teamwork. We had pastors and their families that showed up from 4PM to get things set up and stayed all the way past the finish to clean up afterward. I know it was 11 PM before I got home! A lot of church members aided us. We could not have done it without them!
Here are the results that we know. We gave out many Bibles. I personally passed a Spanish Bible on to a Hispanic couple who spoke limited English. We gave out ice water. Ernie Gentry did yeoman's work making water balloon yo-yo's. We had hundreds of salvation bracelets and bracelets with Bible verses we distributed to kids. The lines were long. Prizes were distributed. Gospel tracts and church brochures were shared. There was a baby changing tent and inflatables for the kids. Pinnacle Church gave away free cotton candy. I would suppose we impacted around 1000 lives that night! Canton's Mayor and City Manager expressed their gratitude for what we did.
I say these are the results we know. What we may not discover until eternity is that some precious one came to Christ or was drawn closer to Him because of this outreach. I am certain some of God's children were encouraged who needed it desperately.
I wish I had a list of every person and church that aided us. I can remember most, but if I start listing them, I will leave somebody out I think. So, let me just say again how grateful to God I am for you. Let's do it again next year!
Yours for the Gospel,
Dennis Thurman, AMS
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