Hundreds, Possibly Thousands Came to
Christ at Christian Family Day July 3rd
By Angela Boen
This year’s Christian Family Day (CFD) on July 3rd was an event that will never be forgotten. If you weren’t there, you missed what was possibly the best CFD
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ever held
as five St. Louis Cardinal players rallied
around a cross built on the field by speaker and founder of Kamp Kanakuk,
Joe White. The scene was
reminiscent of the New York City firefighters who rallying around the
American flag shortly after the destruction of the Twin Towers.
The day began at Kauffman Park near Busch Stadium where some
55 organizations representing over 3,000 underprivileged children and
their leaders were fed lunch and entertained by the contemporary Christian
group PRAZ. In addition to some great music, the children
enjoyed the antics of local Christian clowns, Blossom and Andy, and
got to romp around on huge inflatable games. Volunteers greeted the
kids as they entered the park handing out some 10,000 baseball cards
that contained the testimonies of nine Cardinal players.
Former Cardinal pitcher and KPLR TV analyst, Scott Terry and
Cardinal catcher Cody McKay, were on hand to sign autographs for the
children, while Cody’s wife, Tiernan, handed out lots of hugs and love
to any child in need, which constituted each and every one of them.
After the pre-game festivities at Kauffman Park, volunteers escorted
the children to the stadium to watch the Cards take on the Seattle Mariners.
Meanwhile, other volunteers greeted fans at every entrance to Busch
Stadium handing out over 40,000 testimonial baseball cards (the same
ones given to the kids) and extended a warm invitation to stay after
the game for the CFD festivities.
During the singing of the National Anthem, nine CFD underprivileged
children stood with Cardinal players at |
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To
start the event off, CFD Honorary Chairman, McGraw Milhaven along with Cardinal
wives Emiko Taguchi, Deidre Pujols, Wyndee Sanders and Christi Eldred were on
the field to greet and present gifts from the Cardinal organization to 12
special CFD children. After the presentations, Captain Tom Darby, who had just
returned from Iraq, along with his wife, Julie, received a standing ovation as
a display of appreciation for his service to our country.
Fifteen-year-old
contemporary Christian singing sensation, Kaleb Jeffery, wowed the crowd with a
stirring rendition of God Bless America after
which the pace quickened as one of St. Louis’ premier praise bands, New
Creations, took to the field.
Then
came the moment everyone was waiting for: Joe White’s powerful presentation.
Portraying a carpenter who had the job of building Jesus’ cross, White began
with a skeptic’s attitude, but as he finished his task, the power of the Spirit
changed him into a believer.
As
buckets of small, gold chain links were passed down isles in the stands, White
began telling the crowd that in the days of Christ people did not call
themselves Christians, but bond servants to Christ. He encouraged everyone who
wanted to come to Christ, or reaffirm their commitment to Him, to symbolically
chain themselves to Jesus by taking one of the gold links. Thousands of fans took
the links.
In
concluding his presentation, White told the ball players that when their days
of fame were over, all that would be left would be their families and the cross
they were holding up that day. The day then ended with the ball players holding
up the cross of Jesus and, without a doubt, lives were changed for eternity.
To
learn more about Christian Family Day, how you can contribute, become a sponsor
or help out with next year’s CFD, log on to www.christianfamilyday.com or call
(636) 227-9788.