July 23 – “That’s not meat”

Yesterday was all about the park ministry project.  Seaside was asked by the organizers of the Jamaica Beach Craft Fair to be the food vendor of choice for their big event.  So Seasiders kicked into high gear.  All food was paid for by donation, with no set minimum or maximum or even suggestion.  We set up to provide hamburgers (bacon cheeseburgers on request) and hot dogs with all the fixin’s (all grilled on site) and baked beans, as well as an array of sweets.  We also had some soft drink options, tea and lemonade.  As it turned out, though, the greatest drink option of the day was the bottled water.  It was swelteringly hot.  By the end of the day we were giving away the water to keep people hydrated.  We did have one guy ask if we were serving beer, but he gladly accepted the bottle of water. 

The fair was a huge success.  There were 40 or so vendors and hundreds of customers came through.  Our Bethlehem Street Market team handed out flyers for our craft fair in December, and from the sounds of things we picked up quite a few of the vendors to join us then. 

Cailyn came with us, since she is, after all, an indispensable member of the playground team.  And I have to say, she did a fabulous job manning the sweets table.  At one point she had to go to the bathroom, so she called me over.  “DadDad, I need you to watch over my booth while I’m away.”  Gotta love the responsibility.  And when her Dad came to pick her up, the business at the table dropped drastically.  It’s amazing the effect a gorgeous little eight year old can have on sales. 

Someone brought an art car on the premises.  The car was literally covered from top to bottom with, well, all kinds of stuff.  There were quite a few Christian bumper stickers in and about.  But my favorites were all the action figures glued onto the roof and inside on the dash and hanging from the ceiling.  I saw superheroes and E.T. (remember him?) and cowboys and cars and trucks of all kinds.  Great fun to look at.  One family stopped by to inspect the car, and I ended up inspecting them.  Every member of the family, from Dad and Mom to the youngest child, had a moustache.  And the young girl even added a goatee.  Impressive genes, I guess.

As I manned my station just in front of the food booth, one girl came by I knew well from her days as a child at Seaside VBS.  She tossed in a donation and grabbed a package of chips.  I encouraged her to get a hamburger to go along with the chips.  She replied, “No thanks.  I don’t eat meat.”  Not to be deterred, I offered, “Oh, I see.  Well then how about a hot dog?  That’s not meat.”  She had to think about that one for a second or two before she burst out laughing and agreed with me.  She didn’t take a hot dog.  But she did walk away with a bowl of beans.

I heard reports all throughout the day of Seasiders talking to people about the Lord and about the church.  I met one lady who told me she planned to visit Seaside very soon.  Seems she was a liver transplant recipient, and was very happy with the life God has given her. 

It was quite a successful day for the craft fair and for us.  The organizers asked if we were in for the next time they had an event.  We ended up making right at a thousand dollars to go toward the playground.  Looks like we might have enough to get the equipment and the mulch base now.  Oh, and after setting up and tearing down and carrying everything back to the church and putting it away, I ended up with three miles on my step counter.  I do have a question, though.  Don’t I get extra credit for standing up from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.?

James 5:19-20 says, “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”

Father, thank you for the success of the event and for the money we now have to cover the playground costs.  Amen.