Look at the Rainbow

  Acts 10:34 - "Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality."  Heavy on my heart lately, has been the memory of a 5-Day club we conducted last year in the city of Hopewell, VA.  We had planned for these 2 clubs for months; the Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) were all trained and ready to go; the local municipalities were in the loop and aware of our presence in their city for this week; the local church who had sponsored the event had been praying for weeks and the volunteers were so excited; hundreds of club advertisements had been distributed; skits, games, Bible lessons and verses had all been rehearsed, and children were known to be everywhere at these housing projects...Monday came and went, maybe one child came out.  Tuesday, same deal...Wednesday...yup, you guessed it, same story.  Wednesday evening we had people from many parts of the world praying for a breakthrough.  Thursday came around, and still zero kids at one of the clubs and about two or three showed up to the second club.  I was determined to do something.  I walked around the apartment complexes and began talking to the residents.  I explained who we were and what our purpose for being there was.  What I learned that day has changed my life!  I heard over and over again the same two responses:  "we don't know who you are" and "no offense, but you're white."  I the folks I spoke with that day what I needed to do to reach them and their children...their answer shocked me - "keep coming back."  They told me they desperately wanted HOPE for their kids.  Well, Thursday and Friday came and went, and before we knew it our week of clubs in that community was over.  I determined that next year would be a different story.  I decided to search for diversity and integrate our 5-Day club teams with multi-ethnicity.  We even went back into that community during Valentine's week with a CEF Party Club, and one child prayed to receive Jesus as her savior!  Just this morning I had a meeting with an African American gentleman who is just as passionate about reaching kids as I am.  He expressed to me that he is facing the same problem I am with reaching the Caucasian community.  He told me, "look at the rainbow.  It has all kinds of colors in it and it's beautiful."  Another meeting I had last week with a gentleman, he told me concerning God's children, "we are all going to the same heaven, we should all learn to work together."  That is exactly what I am trying to do - WORK TOGETHER.  I want to see us all come together to reach the families in our community with the message of hope.  The more I discuss this 'sensitive' topic with folks, the more I realize it's everywhere.  I hope the next time you look at a rainbow, you'll remember this blog post and pray for the children!