Life Link

Hey there boys and girls of all ages and abilities. Our Access-Life fall newsletter was put in the mail on October 20th. Since we cannot snail mail it to all of our ministry family and friends, I want to share it with you here so you can see all the good things God is doing through the ministry. I hope you enjoy the photos, articles and information and if you feel led by the Lord to contribute to the work He is doing as we seek to stay and step with Him, you can simply go to our website at www.access-life.org and click on the donate button to the right of each page. I hope everyone is well and enjoying this great season of fall that leads us to thanking the Lord for all His good gifts which culminates in winter with the greatest gift of all at Christmas.

Well, God did it again! Our 13th annual Access Life Expo in North Texas was another God blessed success with individuals and families coming to do things they may have never done, find a new friend or just enjoy some rest in God’s great outdoors. :-) 

Leanne and I we’re always amazed at how God worked through the hearts and minds of His people to do great things and this year was no exception. Our team in North Texas came together and people stepped up in so many areas to make sure everything happened. We’ve had to make adjustments over the years for a variety of reasons, but God has things running smoother than ever as this year was the fastest setup and the quickest tear down ever. The event is turning into a well-owned machine so that we can bless individuals and families living with disabilities to the best of our abilities in Jesus’ name!

The fun activities and delicious food are always great but it’s the people that make the difference. As always, God was there permeating the atmosphere with His presence and touching hearts of both participants and volunteers in special ways that only he knows are needed.  the Gospel was shared, words of thanks were spoken by many and the smiles brought about by His joy, we could see Him at work all around. From boat rides and bingo to archery and airsoft 732 participants and volunteers were interacting blessing and being blessed by each other.

We always try to do our part and weave Jesus into all we do not just through our volunteers but with Bibles and faith-based items in the goodie bags, our prayer and care station that not only paint nails but takes prayer requests and praises from participants and our gospel bracelet station where everyone who builds a bracelet hears the Good News. Sometimes we are blessed to know of decisions made for Christ but no matter what we know seeds are planted for Him to water and grow into fruition later in life. 

Finally, a special thanks and call out goes to all of those who prayed for the outreach as this is the foundation of good things happening, served as this is where Jesus’ is light shines, gave as these are the resources God pours out from heaven, and networked as sharing the good news is what matters the most in the end.

Thank you so much Friends at Shady Grove Church for hosting another Access-Life FALL FUN DAY! As always it was a God blessed success with many individuals and families living with disabilities fellowshipping in a faith-filled and festive environment.

A special call out goes to our two board members Helen McLaren and Mike Mitchell who were instrumental in making things happen. Although, I know there were key volunteers and point people at the church that pushed it over the finish line! Here is a collage so you can see the smiles that the joy of the Lord put on many faces this past Saturday.

Enjoy and may God bless each and every one of you beyond that you could hope her imagine. HAPPY FALL Y’ALL.

Hey there boys and girls of all ages and abilities! Is with great excitement and joy that I am sharing with you our summer newsletter which is our 44th overall.  It contains some great pictures and information about our wild Expo at East Tennessee, two Easter Spring Flings as well as our first Leanne’s Life Legacy project. I hope you enjoy it and are blessed by the words and the smiles!

Hey there boys and girls of all ages and abilities. We’ve been hard at work here going through waivers and photos and wanted to share some of the good news and highlights from our 15th annual Expo in East Tennessee! 

So, here’s what we know. This year’s outreach at Briarwood Ranch was at a different location with a different logistical structure but God was still there permeating the event with his presence, touching lives and meeting needs as only he can do. We’ve seeing God do some amazing things at our Expos and this year was no exception. From our wonderful volunteers at Shady Grove Church and New Freedom Missionary Baptist Church who helped the tent crew get things set up the night before and everything else set up in less than 2 hours on event day, you could see God working through the hearts and minds of his people to bless others in Jesus’ name. :)

Of course, as we’ve discovered in our 15 years of ministry God always blesses those serving more than they expect and His economy of blessed to be a blessing and blessing one another from volunteers to participants and participants to volunteers was seen throughout the day. It was especially encouraging seeing the way the Briarwood staff were so excited and accommodating throughout the whole process as God connected us with some wonderful Believers wanting to see God’s work done there that day.

For the numbers people, I can tell you that we raised the less money than last year, but we also spent less money than last year. We served over 200 more participants than last year with 130 less volunteers than last year. We also had around 300 vehicles dive thru the park, gave out around500 of this year’s Expo anniversary t-shirts along with tons of animal food, hand wipes, 15th year celebration goody backpacks and sack of lunches. 

I’ve uploaded about 50 pictures to the website that you can view on the East Tennessee Expo page located here: Expo in East Tennessee – Access-Life

Everything has also been posted on social media so you can check things out @accesslifeinc, too. 

Hope you enjoy this year’s photo collage and website pictures and THANK YOU to everyone who prayed, gave, networked and served, So, excited about our 15 year anniversary celebration event and know that Leanne would have been pleased. :-)

Hey there ministry family and friends. I hope everyone had a God blessed Easter and celebrated the wonderful resurrection of Jesus that makes all things possible especially new life in Him with heaven as our eternal home. 

To celebrate this wonderful holiday and honor my precious Leanne we initiated our first Leanne Life Legacy project of giving out meaningful and impactful Easter baskets to individuals and families living with disabilities in the Central Florida area. 

These baskets included a food gift card, devotional book, our ministry art scripture book inspired by Leanne, Access-Life t-shirts, He Has Risen Easter bags full of items for kids like coloring books, crayons, stickers, etc as well as a special chocolate cross and kaleidoscope for everyone to enjoy. 

Each family was handpicked and the beautiful baskets that were donated and decorated with festive Easter coloring were hand delivered with a special ministry Easter card and handwritten note of encouragement. 

My vision was extra large as usual as I had hoped to give out five baskets in all six areas in which we minister but the cost and logistics were a little overwhelming for our first delivery. Hopefully, other individuals and churches will come alongside us so we can expand this project to other areas during the Christmas season. 

If you would like to be involved in the future or donate to this specific fund just let me know and/or go to our website (www.access-life.org) to click on the donate button selecting Leanne Life Legacy for your gift.

Attached is a small collage of the recipients of this initial distribution that include families with children with down’s syndrome, cognitive and physical delays, amputation, severe burn challenges and traumatic brain injury. 

Thank you all so much for your prayers, gifts, service and support as we kick off our Leanne Life Legacy project program and prepare for future projects that would be close to her heart and please her dearly.

Happy Palm Sunday, Easter and Resurrection Day! God’s promises never change but God’s promises change everything.