Each year we hear amazing God stories from the Christmas Store, and we hope to celebrate these many moments, experiences and stories that you share with us. By posting your comments to the questions below, we will capture these stories for future generations of volunteers, bringing glory to God and "spur[ring] one another on toward love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24).
Please share your Christmas Store experience with us by responding to the following in the comments:
- What role did you serve in and why did you sign up?
- What did God show/teach you through the experience?
- What is your fondest memory of serving at the Christmas Store this year?
- What would you say to someone who is thinking of serving in a similar role at next year's Christmas Store?
Posts
3 comments:
My son, Wesley, and I are new to VRBC and served in the GPS ministry, knowing that Spanish speakers were needed. What a tremendous experience. I met with 5 different guests, 3 of whom had a relationship to the Father through their faith in Jesus and had been through the Christmas Store previously. The other 2 were the ones who impacted me the most. First, Juan came because his employer recognized his family's need and signed him up. Juan spoke only Spanish and even in his native tongue, he didn't talk very much, but when he smiled bashfully, I felt his gratitude and appreciation. He had 3 names on his shopping list, but only one was his child. The other two were his wife (18 years old) and her younger sister. As we proceeded through the rooms for him to select the gifts, he stood at the doorway, totally mesmerized and overwhelmed at the selection and asked me to choose what I thought would be best. After we had gone to the clothes area, I let him know he could choose one personal gift for himself. He picked an ornament with a superbowl logo and a Cowboys symbol and commented that he would one day like to go inside that huge stadium. My son, Wesley, joined us in the sanctuary and shared with Juan the way to a relationship with God. As he flipped through the sides of the evangicube, Juan's eyes were fixated. Juan said that he attended church when he was very young in Mexico but that he didn't remember the story of Jesus. What a little piece of glory to pray while Wesley lead Juan to confess his sin, his need for a Savior, and to reach out in faith and believe that Jesus took all his sin on the cross. My prayer is that Christians would follow up with Juan and minister to his family to connect them to a strong, sound church close to where they live. Praise God! For our humble efforts at the Christmas store resulted in Juan being born anew into God's family. Tia Viera
This is my second post. My son, Wesley, and I served as GPS guides. I want to tell you about Sandra. She spoke only Spanish and was a first time visitor to the Christmas store. She came as a result of a connection between her sister, who does catering, and Cornerstone, which uses her sister's company to provide meals for needy elderly people. Sandra was shopping for 3 children. When we entered the room to select the toys for her 2 year old girl, I pointed to a cute little ride-on learning toy, but Sandra commented that her daughter would not be able to use it. I made a mental note of that and continued on. I looked forward to our prayer and share time in the sanctuary. Upon entering, the presence of the Lord was so evident that I made an observation that it felt so peaceful, and with that, Sandra began to cry. She opened up to me and shared some very deep hurts she had experienced over the past decade, especially the pain of betrayal from her husband. She turned away from God because she blamed Him for not preventing the horrible events she lived. Most recently, she became pregnant with a baby from her boyfriend who she says is a very good man. The doctors tried to convince her to terminate the pregnancy, saying the child had accute spinabifida and most likely would never be able to walk. Sandra didn't believe in aborting a child so she carried Stephanie to full-term. After delivering the baby, the doctors placed her in Sandra's arms. This little child had her spinal column on the outside, she had a tiny stump of a foot and the other leg was fused to her hip. Sandra asked them to take her away. She said she felt completely "impotente," helpless. She was so angry with God, once again. Her sister asked her what was the matter and as Sandra sobbed through her answer, her sister told her "You can't blame God for this because even when we don't understand, God is good." "No, God is bad," replied Sandra. "Put yourself in my place." Her sister answered, "I would love to be in your place, Sandra. For God trusts you for this huge task ahead. He counts you strong and capable to raise this baby girl who is going to amaze you with His grace." At that point Sandra's life took a turn for the better. She recounted the various surgeries (4 so far) that this child has had and the ways she has surpassed every doctor's and therapist's expectations. She has a will to overcome and experience life to the full.
Well, we prayed for a long time together and I believe Sandra is beginning to understand that God did not abandon her in her times of greatest pain, nor did he cause them to happen in order to "test" her, as she originally had shared. Instead He was there with His prevenient grace all the while. And He can redeem each thing for His good in her life. She does want to marry the baby's father but says that he doesn't want to ("machismo"). I told her to pray about it and watch to see what God can do. My hope is that she will find a connection to a good church close to where she lives. She needs support. I wouldn't say that she made a "rededication" that day at the Christmas Store, but I believe she turned the corner from defiance to trust in God. Please pray for Sandra. Thank you!
1) I served as a GPS Coordinator this year. I love getting to experience service with those we are actually serving and getting to facilitate others enjoying that as well. This is why I signed up.
2) I was reminded how great it is to see and work with people (volunteers and guests alike) who choose to be joyous despite their circumstances or how stressful things are at the time. God has given us the ability to enjoy life through everything, and this was a great reminder to me.
3) My fondest memory happened a lot over the weekend. I specifically got to work where the guests were matched up with a GPS guide. This is where we got to talk with the guest and get to know a little about them and explain what was about to happen. I had numerous instances of getting to know fun and enthusiastic guests in just those brief few moments before they started walking the store. It was great!
4) My simple statement to anyone who is on the fence about being a GPS is this: do it! Sharing the Gospel through relationships is what our Faith is all about. Where else could it be so easy to do so? Where else can you take a small step of faith and realize that God is in control and just needed you to step out of the boat? True joy is found in doing the work of the Gospel. If you have struggled with closeness to God, with backsliding, with not being consistent, then go out and share the Gospel, that is where we find Christ. He is with the needy and downcast, so to draw near to Him all we need to do is go where He is (Isaiah 58)!
Thanks for letting me share!
Post a Comment