James 1:26-27 (The Message) Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.
Isaiah 58:7 (New Living Translation) Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
We arrived downtown at the American Legion Mall with all of our "stuff" (Clara kept saying "I feel like we brought too much stuff") and got to work setting up the tent. We did a dry run at home Thursday night, so this went fairly smoothly. No yelling or fighting...success! :o)
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| Working together |
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| Finished, and ready to check out all the fun!! |
They had all kinds of fun activities for the family...bounce houses, face painting, cornhole, etc.
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| Clara shows off her awesome face paint |
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| Zane with the blue dragon and the girls with sparkly streamers... |
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| ...and Quinn with the fancy mustache! |
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| Close-up of Zane's dragon |
There were also lots of opportunities for prizes and contests. Zane's name was pulled to compete in a Minute-to-Win-It contest!
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| Getting ready to find out what he has to do... |
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| He partner had to balance an egg on a pizza box and at the cone, get it from his box to his partner's... |
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| He didn't win the contest, but DID win a yummy pizza for us to share!!! |
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| Tents and activities on the mall. |
There was even rock climbing for all!
After the concert by the Hunter Smith Band, there was popcorn and cookies and a movie. I couldn't believe Zane stayed awake for the whole movie! We headed back to our tent around 1:00 and slept until we heard the "Rise and Shine!" from Channel 13's Dave Calabro. After a short time of worship and a brief message from Wheeler Mission's Rick Alvis, we picked up our Chick-Fil-A breakfast and finished packing up the stuff to head home. At some point late Friday night, Zane said, "I was kind of nervous about coming to do this, but it's actually really fun!" This event was in no way an attempt to simulate homelessness, but it was a very real way to bring awareness to the issue of homelessness in our city. My hope is that my kids (and I) will be motivated by this event to DO SOMETHING more...and I'm certain that this weekend made more of an impact than just talking about helping people around our dinner table. It was a bit of a step outside my comfort zone, but well worth it! (oh yeah, and we made the Indy Star so we were kind of mini-celebrities at church today. Not the point, but exciting for the boys nonetheless!)
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Awesome photos, Janette! Going to check out the link. :-)
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