Category: Expos

Wow, what an awesome day God gave us Saturday!

Yes, at 100+ degrees, it was the hottest Expo we have ever had but from the youth who came from Clovis, NM and helped with set-up and tear-down and the large Gateway Church buddy group to the pontoon boats that showed-up and the first time rockwall appearance God provided all that was needed for us to not only survive but THRIVE in the atmosphere of His love and light. :)

Thanks to the pond stocking there were even lots of fish caught in the mid-day heat to go along with the many horserides, hayrides and kayaking trips and of course the faithful volunteers who hung in there till the end were a true blessing. To top it all off there were 2 people who prayed to receive Christ at the Gospel bracelet station making everyone’s efforts more than worthwhile!

We are still finalizing counts but our early estimates are that God blessed us with around 900 attendees on top of the 5×8 trailer full of items to take to Belize next year! Hope you enjoy the below photo collage and get a glimpse of all that was done Saturday in the sun and more importantly under the Son.

 

I wanted to share what a great Expo God gave us in JAX on Saturday, April 16th. The weather reports were not promising but with the exception of a brief 5 minute shower, God kept us all dry and the blessings flowing.

In fact, 400 hamburgers and 200 hot dogs were served to the over 480 attendees this year and we received several items to be shipped to Belize including two REHAB power chairs!

Attached is a photo collage so you can see the smiles and joy God’s presence brought to our 7^th outreach in JAX and 32^nd Expo overall!

We are back in the USA and after having some time to review numbers, it looks like we had over 200 folks attend this year’s Expo in Belize and we gave out nearly 50 wheelchairs and lots and lots of crutches, canes, walkers and medical supplies. The attendance may be more based on the plates of food served but it is hard to quantify due to the loose registration system we have to use there.

I’ve also gone thru the awesome photos we have and am putting together some photo collages for everyone to see, use, post and share. In fact, there are so many great pictures and smiles that I’ve had to make multiple photo collages! Below are two with pictures of the activities at the Expo on Saturday so I hope you enjoy the views. :)

Well, God did it again. What a wonderful day we had Saturday for our 5^th anniversary Expo celebration in Ocoee! The weather was amazing from the intermitten cload cover to the afternoon breeze off the lake and there were even several comments by folks that day on the peaceful but joyous flow that many sensed as they partiipated in the various activities. The boat rides and pony painting were the BIG HITS of the day but the cheerline, new tye dye t-shirt art, petting zoo and great lunch were also sources of many smiles. The old ministry trailer was nearly half full of mobility items and medical supplies and is now in SFL ready to be put on a container to go to Belize, too!

Overall, it looks like our numbers were a bit down from last year (less than 600 vs nearly 700 last year) though. We’re not sure why as everyone seemed to like moving things up a month and the weather was pretty awesome. Heard there may have been some other disability related events that day but as we’ve always said we are there for whoever God brings to be blessed. Case in point, there were over 60 kids presented the Gospel on Saturday by the Child Evangelism Fellowship face painters and 4 prayed to receive Christ! What an awesome joy to know we were all a small party of God’s work in these kidos’ lives and seeing the presence of the Lord covering the event with His blessings is our hope and prayer for each outreach!

Below is a photo collage for everyone to enjoy, forward, post and share as God leads. I hope seeing the smiles will put a big smile on your face. I know it did mine!

 

We just had our 6^th Expo in ETN this past August 22nd and as always God was faithful to show up before, during and after the outreach as funding goals were topped, attendance records set and despite having a new venue logistics came together in a Divine way including building our own accessible boardwalk with donated lumber along the gravel shoreline.

Temperatures were moderate as God blessed us with wonderful weather and when combined with the many smiles seen on both participant and volunteer faces, it was obvious that the Lord’s presence was there touching lives as only He can. We heard lots of thank yous and great feedback on the new location and are so glad that all the activities went well blessing those who participated including the new tye dye t-shirt booth and airsoft rifle station.

Below is a photo collage so you can see a few of the moments God brought together thru the 921 attendees that day. I hope you enjoy the smiles and have a God blessed week, too!

I wanted to share what a great day God gave us Saturday for the 4th NTX Expo! It was our 27th outreach overall and althought we had to relocate things just 10 days before the event due to flooding on Lake Grapeving (25 feet above normal pool), God came through and provided all we needed.  :)

Haven’s Horses, a local ministry partner with a 55 acre ranch close by hosted things temporarily this year and even though we didn’t have the usual boat rides and kayaking, there was a pond for fishing and all the other standard activities available plus lots of ranch fun like horse rides, pony painting, long hay rides, practice roping, Texas BBQ and more.

I could carry on about how well things went including our turn out of around 800 folks but think the email I received from a mom who brought out her son with special needs sums it up better.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Goddard,

I wanted to thank you and all the volunteers for putting on such a wonderful Expo for children with disabilities (We attended the North Texas Expo today). My 4-year-old son who has autism had an excellent time and loved every moment he spent there. He came home in a very happy mood after having a tough week. I am sure I speak on behalf of all families who have attended that we feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to take our children to this event. Even with the relocation, it was an amazingly well run Expo, well stocked and all the volunteers and vendors were incredibly gracious. We could not have asked for a better day. Wow.

Below is a photo collage of the days smiles and activities so I hope you enjoy it and are blessed by all God did!

To god be the glory great things he has done! That’s what the old hymn says and it is so true!

Looking at the weather reports this past week, most would have thought it was improbable that we would not get wet on both set-up and event days but god had other plans for us that included not only dry skies and mild temperatures but a wonderful sense of his presence and peace those days.

Jacksonville has always been our smallest venue and although the attendance of 452 may sound disappointing to some, we have always said the expo is for those god brings. Plus by staying under 500 for our count, we are able to stay at lake Bethesda which is where we believe god wants the expo.

Maybe god wants to keep things this size to encourage a more personal connection. For the 1st time ever, I was able to spent almost a hour of one on one time helping a guy named Robert fish. Robert has CP and uses a wheelchair like me, he has a lot of spacticity which inhibits his arm and leg movement but his speech seems totally unaffected which is a bit unusual for someone with his level of cp. In any case, as we talked, I was struck by the depth and thoughtfulness of his questions and comments. He asked how long I’d been in ministry and even shared how he had been coming to the expo since 2012. What really blew me away was that he said he watched me every year at the outreach and was inspired by how i did not let things get to me. Someone coming to the expo every year and watching me. That’s pretty scary and sobering.

After the expo, I kept thinking about Robert. I thought about how he said he wanted to save up money to buy his own rod and reel, about how he had a mom and dad and about how someone as young and as bright as him was living in a group home. He seems to have a great heart and faith in Jesus and in turn, i know there is so much god wants to do for his kingdom through Robert. All in all it made me realize that not only is the need deep in Jacksonville but the church could so benefit from having Robert and others with disabilities activity involved in the body of  Christ locally.

You know no matter the event size, we all should know that god is making a difference in peoples lives through the expos but there is also so much more we could all do. This was probably the best expo in Jacksonville yet and i know that even greater things are in store for the ministry there so please join us in praying for god’s guidance and i hope you enjoy the photo collage of the day below.