What an incredible weekend!  It’s that feeling where you put your neck out on the line and it actually works.  Well, not only works, but blows every goal and every expectation out of the water…good feeling!

A couple of months ago we begged the Blood Drive organization to give us two drives in our two locations because our people WILL show up.  And show up they did.  Their first goal for us was 25 people at each site who would register.  They upped our goal to 30 as the signups began to rise.  I am proud to say that 39 people AT EACH SITE registered to give yesterday.  Not only that, but we easily could have done about another 10 at each campus if they could have possibly fit more in.

Seventy-eight people crammed into the blood donation center and out of that came 49 pints of life-giving blood…Nearly 150 lives will be saved in the next two days because of your willingness to donate.  And many of you who couldn’t get in are planning to go to the office and donate this week.  AMAZING! 

Thank you!  Thank you for rearranging, waiting, giving, not giving because they turned you away, laughing as you laid there literally bleeding for people, and SHOCKING us all with your support.

Not only did the blood drive go far beyond our wildest dreams, but the food drive was strong and steady all morning as well!  Kids marched in to the building with heavy bags of canned goods with sweet little smiles on their faces!  Both campuses filled their crates to overflowing and people keep asking if it’s too late to give!  Go ahead and bring it next week, too!  We’ll never hold you back!!!

AND…then we had our first ever church potluck on top of all of the chaos.  There were enough pastries in our churches to build a tower to Heaven out of muffins!  People were eating, drinking coffee and having a great time all morning.

Church, from the bottom of our hearts, we appreciate you!  We are so aware that great things happen when a lot of people get together and go one direction at the same time.  On Sunday, you did that.  We have no doubt that the ramifications of this one day, and many others to come just like it, will say to the world, “Jesus reaches out to the hurting…sometimes with our hands, our blood, and our effort.  He cares and He changes your circumstances and your lives.”

We’re not done yet.  Be Present isn’t going away and it wasn’t a one-time wonder.  Stay tuned for our next life-changing mission, and in the meantime, come up with a few of your own.  Be Secretly Incredible!