The first meeting of the ManMaker program was held Tuesday, November 8th with six boys, TJ (the youth pastor at Macedonia Christian Church), and myself. Because I knew that God was behind this program, I expected that the boys would be faced with situations in the upcoming years where they would have to completely trust God. What I didn’t expect was that a situation would arise the very first day of the program.
Of the six boys in the program, three actually have fathers. These three boys were nonetheless selected by the middle school guidance counselor because she thought the program would be beneficial. James was one of the three boys with a father. On the first day of the program, James went home and found that his father was coughing up blood. His mother called 911 and rode with his father in the ambulance to MUSC. Over the next 24 hours, James’ father received 14 units of blood, an emergency surgery, and was put on dialysis because of kidney failure. His liver also stopped functioning. Before losing consciousness and lapsing into a coma, James father told his mother, “I love you and I am ready to be with Jesus.” During the next few days, James’ father was placed on a respirator. Because of his father’s last words and because two of his organs were not functioning, James’ mother decided to unplug the ventilator. As a result, James’ father died within a couple of days.
There is more to James’s story – earlier this year, his mother went through six surgeries and was in the hospital for three months. There’s even more – you might remember 3½ years ago, a tornado hit Strawberry Trailer park in Goose Creek. James and his family were in a trailer when the tornado touched down. Their trailer was destroyed by the tornado. Two years later, Strawberry Trailer park closed down and James’ family had to move.
God has a way of introducing people at the right time. A few weeks ago, I was at the Hardees in Moncks Corner in the morning and noticed a group of men in a Bible study. I essentially invited myself to the group, which was led by a man named Mike. All the men in the group worked at Nucor Steel. After hearing about the ManMaker program, Mike said that his church would like to donate Thanksgiving dinners to all the families. This past Sunday, my wife and daughter, along with Mike, his wife, two daughters, and niece, delivered Thanksgiving dinners to four families in the program. We also delivered dinners to two families in James’ Trailer park.
Delivering the meals was a humbling experience – the boys in the program were from homes not as fortunate as most. After we visited the last home, my wife, who is a first grade teacher at a local elementary school and is the most compassionate person I know, said “every teacher in Berkeley county, Hanahan, and Daniel Island needs to see the homes that we just saw. Then they would understand what these children face.”
During the past couple of weeks, I have had the honor and privilege of going to the hospital to pray for James’ father and praying for families while giving away Thanksgiving turkey dinners. I now know firsthand what Jesus was talking about when he said ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” My prayer is that you will find a way to experience a similar blessing during this holiday season.
