On December 14, a young father walked into our inaugural Giving Hope event at OSC-Midtown, seeking Christmas gifts for his children. What he found was far more than he expected. While the gifts he chose at the free shopping experience were being wrapped, he connected with our prayer team, and in that life-changing moment, he placed his faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior! Just two Sundays later, at the same location where he had come for material gifts, he was baptized. Praise God for this powerful transformation!
This incredible event was brought to life through the collaboration of the Midtown, Lafayette, and Youngsville Campuses of Our Savior’s Church. Families were nominated to attend a shopping experience at Midtown on December 14, where the sanctuary was transformed into a shopping mall, with hundreds and hundreds of gifts sorted on tables by gender and age bracket. The families arrived at scheduled intervals where they were paired with a Giving Hope host, who gave them tickets to spend on multiples gifts and escorted them through the “mall” to find age-appropriate delights. Most of the gifts had been provided by church members who purchased gifts according to age and gender weeks prior. Dozens of volunteers sorted, inventoried and organized the gifts in preparation for the big Giving Hope experience. At Giving Hope, while parents shopped, their children enjoyed their own experience of games, crafts and hearing the Christmas story in another room. When parents had finished shopping, volunteers wrapped their gifts while they shared their stories with ministry partners who prayed for them.
On behalf of Love Acadiana and these OSC campuses, THANK YOU for serving and supporting this fruitful endeavor.
🎁 Here’s a glimpse of what you were part of:
- 200+ volunteers came together to serve 135 families and bless 475 children during the event. All attendees received prayer and the chance to tell their stories to attentive ministry partners who helped ease their burdens. Countless tears were shared, and at least two people gave their lives to Christ!
- An additional 150 children, including foster children, received Christmas gifts after the event, thanks to your generosity.
- Over 300 individuals contributed a staggering 1,600+ hours to make this event possible, working tirelessly through activities such as gift-sorting day, shopping night, set-up and prep days, and more.
- 550+ sponsors stepped up to ensure every child had a Christmas gift, turning hope into reality.
