An awesome donation

Martha and I will never forget May 30, 2009. That's the day we received the largest financial donation in the nine-year history of Love In Action.

Late 2008, we applied for a Wal-Mart Foundation grant on the Internet. A few months later we received an e-mail that our application had been accepted, but an amount wasn't given. Then a few weeks ago I received a phone call from Carolyn Broadwater, Market Assistant for the Wal-Mart Dothan, Ala., region. She asked if her and other top managers from the Wal-Mart Dothan region could come to our cookout and present a check to us. Of course I said yes. Still, we had no idea what the amount of the check would be.

On May 30, we arrived at the LIA warehouse early to start preparing the food for the cookout for the homeless we were hosting. Later in the morning while I was grilling chicken, the Wal-Mart representatives arrived. We went inside the warehouse and talked for a while. They were genuinely interested in what we were doing and what our plans were for the warehouse.

Then, Wal-Mart Market 74 Manager Greg Livingston said he was happy to present us with a check for $10,000. Tears filled mine and Martha's eyes, and my mother's eyes as well. When they saw our reaction, their eyes teared up as well. I don't think they realized the magnitude their financial donation would be for us. For a ministry where every penny goes into the ministry, their gift of $10,000 will do a tremendous amount for the homeless.

Greg, Carolyn, Terry Wallace, Monica Salinas, Jesse Deal and Ricky Ernest were all wonderful. They were very interested in what we are doing for the homeless. In addition to the awesome donation, they talked about other things they may be able to do to help us. Wow! It was simply an incredible moment for us.

It's amazing what God has been doing. We have been able to accomplish a lot recently at the warehouse. The water meter has been set and plumbing ran into the warehouse. The first restroom is nearly complete, and a wall to separate the ministry area from storage has been completed. Everything is being built according to city code.

Now we can move forward with our plans of having two restrooms and two showers, so the homeless can come in and get clean. We will also have a washer and dryer to clean their clothes. Once all of that is completed we will start on the kitchen so we can cook and serve food to the homeless. One of our goals is having a Saturday night service and dinner at the warehouse. Currently, our Wednesday night Bible study has been a great success. We average between 14-20 people each week. It continues to grow. The more it grows the more people we can lead to the Jesus.

I want to thank Wal-Mart for their amazing donation. I also want to thank our home church, Harvest Church in Dothan. They provide excellent financial support, and members volunteer to help us minister to the homeless and prisoners. Pastor Ralph Sigler has been very supportive of LIA. Three members - Franklin Moore, Jim Kaye and Kelly Hudson - have done a great amount of work at the warehouse. Franklin is in charge of the construction at the warehouse. Church member Bill Dorminy, who owns Goldfinger restaurant in Dothan, has donated cases of chicken for an outreach in Atlanta and the cookout in Dothan on May 30. Doug and Janet Sommers do a great job of mentoring the men at Houston County Community Corrections Work Release. They bring the men to our Wednesday night Bible study as well. Many other church members have donated financially and items such as clothes, food and hygiene items. And, many have volunteered in a variety of ways.

I thank my precious wife for everything she does, and all of our board members - Susie Tuck, Mike Shroades, Brian Turner and Justin Swasey. We have a wonderful team.

I thank everyone for your prayers, financial support and your time. We couldn't do what we do without each of you.

Most of all, I thank God for His wonderful Son, Jesus Christ.