a post-HeartLight post (with a surprise ending)

So, basically, HeartLight was awesome. If you were there, you already know that. If you weren't, I'm sorry you missed out on a pretty much amazing evening. I took some pictures for you, though. I know you want to see.

How great does the dining room look? I don't know if you can see the Powerlines overhead, but they're there and they're great.

This year's HeartLight included a "tour of Memphis", which allowed us to hear real stories of real people living in poverty in our city. The sets were built and decorated by various churches, and actors from Hattiloo Theatre volunteered their time and talents to help tell our stories. The set below was my mom's - aka the "grandmother's house."
And this was our grandmother, who was wonderful. All of the actors were wonderful!
A scene from a public health clinic . . .
. . . another from a jail . . .

. . . and another from a bus stop.
In the center of all these scenes was Babyland.



Mayor Wharton, his wife Ruby, and their personal tour guide and new friend, Tamara, leaving the bus stop scene

After the tour, guests entered the reflection hall, which was lined with scriptures, photos of children served by Agape, and prayer requests from people all over Memphis.

Next was a program in the amphitheater, where we heard great music from my friends Jeremy and Sarah and watched my friend Tim paint (with a little help from some Agape kids).

And then my preacher and friend Josh delivered a message which reminded us that every life in Memphis is precious and worth redeeming.

Then we watched a few videos (awesome videos, by the way!) and heard from Marka, David, and a little boy named Thomas.

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the response hall, which was filled with booths and representatives from Agape and other agencies in Memphis who are working hard to restore hope to the hopeless in our community.

All in all, it really was an amazing evening at the Agricenter, and I believe that God used it to help all of us who attended see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and there is hope for Memphis.

And, little did we know, that not too far from there was a young woman who was in desperate need of the hope that Agape has to offer. While we were eating and visiting and learning how to bring light to the darkness in our city, she was giving birth to a baby girl that she did not feel prepared to parent.


Do I really need to tell you what happened next? Yes, this baby lives at our house now, at least for few days, anyway. This is Jordan. I'll post more about her later, but, for now, I just want to ask you to join me in praying for this sweet girl and for her mother, as she tries to make the right decisions regarding Jordan's future.