I Love America
What a great day the Lord gave us at ILA! Our goal was to share the Gospel and, to that end, we had 119 people come forward and make decisions for Christ! This year, the event was carried live on GodTV and there is no telling how many lives were touched by the broadcast. One man by the name of Lou from Buffalo, New York called the church on Sunday morning to say thank for airing ILA on GodTV. He had fallen away from the Lord and he and his wife were having problems. He watched the program and said he fell to his knees crying like a baby. He rededicated his life to Christ and is going back to church! He couldn’t say thank you enough.
Once again the Lord helped us with the weather. Two days before the event, the weather forecast was for 3-5 inches of rain on July 4th with a front predicted to stall over Springfield. The forecasters were not only calling for rain, but some had predicted we would be totally rained out. Instead we enjoyed partly sunny skies, temperatures around 78 degrees and a nice breeze from the north. When it was time for the fireworks the skies were totally clear. God demonstrated His power, the fact that He answers prayer, and people throughout the area are still talking about it!
In the weeks leading up to the ILA outreach there was a special grace that was evident in all of the preparations. While we have always enjoyed a supernatural unity at JRA, I cannot remember a time when there has been a greater sense of unity and purpose than we have experienced during these last several weeks.
My heart is filled with thanksgiving to the Lord as I think of the hundreds of volunteers who gave of their time and so effectively demonstrated the kindness and love of our God and Savior to those who came out for the celebration. Yesterday I received the following email regarding the love that was demonstrated by the JRA people who were serving at the event.
“We just wanted to express how much we appreciate the hard work and commitment that JRA puts forth in hosting the I Love America event. We had an absolutely fantastic time this year. The fireworks display was nothing like we have ever seen. The orchestra, choir, and musicians were wonderful. The smiling faces of people greeting everyone on the way in to the event was great, during the event the people who were asking if they could dispose of any of our trash were so kind. The people of JRA just shined. Only a love for the Lord can bring forth that type of service and commitment! Thanks again for the wonderful day!â€
It blows my mind after all we have just experienced to know that…
“The best is yet to come!â€
