Category: Expos

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.

We just had our 2^nd Expo of the year this past Saturday (Belize was the previous Sunday J) and God poured out some awesome blessings on us as we had our highest attendence of any outreach to date!

We are still sorting through the stacks of waivers and walk-up registrations (actually Matt and Talley Macintosh are doing that for us as our new quarter time ADMIN support staff – PTL!) but I can tell you we gave out 1,100 free lunch tickets by 1pm with people still checking-in. J

The new turtle races, caregiver’s spa area and helicopter pictures were great additions this year and as always there were lines at the ever popular boat rides, kayaking and lunch areas. More importantly though, is the fact there were 5 folks who prayed to receive Chrst at the Gospel Braclet station that day and are being followed-up with locally by staff from Family Church West!

Below is a photo collage of our God blessed day in WPB and we hope you enjoy the pictures and smiles!

We are back in the US from Belize and while we are completely pooped out, we are thankful for such a God blessed trip! It is hard to even know where to begin sharing but overall we were both so impressed by the humility, graciousness and gratefulness of the people of Belize. Despite the poverty we saw in the “developed” area where we held the Expo outreach, most people were so thankful for what they had and even more appreciative of any blessing we could offer through God’s grace and mercy in our lives.

At the Expo outreach, we saw lots of smiles as usual but also many tears of both sadness and joy. I was particularly overwhelmed by the number of mothers who came carrying their children with disabilities because they had no other way to transport them. To be able to provide them with a pediatric wheelchair or stroller was very humbling as you could see from their faces the impact it would have on their lives.

All in all, God brought over 125 folks with disabilities including their family members, our team distributed over 30 mobility items and fitted those who came as best as possible and we had two people who prayed to receive Christ at the Gospel bracelet craft area that day. People came both early and late and as the news spread via a local radio station who came out, we were contacted about needs elsewhere in the country and requests for further help in Belize. Before we flew out, we even had the opportunity to share on a national TV station about my testimony, the Expo outreach and our hopes for more ministry there in the future.

Below is a photo collage of the Expo in Belize. I particularly love the top three photos showing a very young mom carrying her daughter into the outreach on the left and after receiving a pediatric wheelchair to the right. God is so good! It only gives a glimpse of the smiles, tears, fun and need we saw but hopefully, you can glean a bit of the joy we experienced as we were privileged to be the hands and feet of Jesus to such a gracious people. :)

Life Link is the official blog of Access-Life and designed to keep participants, volunteers and fans of the ministry up to date and blessed through announcements, stories, pictures, videos and devotions regarding area Outposts and Expos as well as general programs and activities that share the love and gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus with people living with disabilities and connect them to Christ honoring churches, organizations, resources and people!