Power Points
BBQ Event on March 20
The community of faith likes BBQ and loves to help kids, especially young boys like Luke Akerstrom who has been suffering a very serious illness with his precious parents alongside him all the way!
Luke’s mom Brandi used to teach at our Playschool and was dearly loved and Luke was a wonderful student in our Playschool. Now both mother and son have moved on to First Baptist School downtown but they left behind many friends and when they heard Luke was ill they began to pray!
Luke was at Wolfson’s Children’s Hospital and then they took him to Mayo Clinic in Rochester and now he is at Brooks Rehab Center.
The Playschool staff eventually began to think how they might help the family with expenses. They decided on a bake sale, then the Playschool staff husbands led by Greg Coleman thought about a BBQ to raise money, and not just a BBQ feed but a BBQ cook-off! Well, when word got out, the challenge was met by fellows in our church who take their BBQ very seriously! Pastor Mike even got some trophies to present!
When I arrived at 8 a.m. Sunday morning the cookers were already cooking and the smoke was smoking and the smell of BBQ was everywhere! What an enticement to get people to come back that night for some delicious grub and what a good cause to support!
And come they did. Luke’s friends at OUMC and at First Baptist and throughout the community came to lend their support to Luke and his family as well as enjoy the festive music, bounce house for the kids, face-painting, bake sale and more! Many folks didn’t know Luke but they asked about him and then came too!
Those from Playschool and Young Adult Sunday School and Crew Class and youth group all pitched in to help! They had hoped for a few hundred folks but to their grateful surprise some 900 meals were served and some $8000 raised. So much so that they ran out of BBQ before they ran out of people wanting to help the cause!
There was a great crowd gathered on the church grounds and great fun was had by all!
Local bands and DJ Scott Lucas kept the music coming with a pause midway in the evening to offer up a prayer on Luke’s behalf!
God bless the chefs and the volunteers and the folks who came to share in a fun evening and support a good cause. Luke’s mom was there while Dad remained at Brooks with Luke. She was filled with gratitude for the community support from friends and strangers as well as prayerful that Luke might recover.
Praise the Lord for such a joyful event and let us continue to pray for Luke and his family,
Pastor Dan