by Alicia Losier — 09 February 2016
Christina was blown away by the results of the delivery of one Box of Love in particular. Christina's husband is the pastor at a one of Cru®'s partner churches in Jacksonville, Florida. After getting some training on how to share the gospel from Cru, Christina and two friends from her church headed out to share Boxes of Love®. The simple act of knocking on a stranger's door led somewhere Christina could never have imagined!
When Dani answered the door, she was greeted by these church folks and a Box of Love. When Christina and her friends showed Dani the box, she gratefully invited them into their home and introduced them to her children and her mother, Lora. Christina shared that God had sent them to give this Box of Love to show His love for their family. The women explained how Dani and Lora could trust Jesus as their savior ... and they did!
After the women prayed together, Christina offered to meet with Dani and Lora to help them grow in their new faith. Lora wasn't sure, but Dani agreed. Dani told her new friends that she was a former drug user, and since getting off of drugs her clothes no longer fit, but she couldn't afford new ones. A few days later, Christina returned with more gifts — new clothes for the new Dani! She was so thankful for their kindness.
As Christmas approached, Dani confided in Christina that she wouldn't be able to provide a tree or presents for her children. So Christina got together with some church members and they brought over a real Christmas tree and decorations! A couple days after that, some other church folks came back with age-appropriate presents for Dani's children.
Dani continued discipleship meetings with Christina every week. She was faithfully attending the church with her children. The family's transformation was just beginning. One of Dani's children especially loved children's church. The church was becoming home for Dani's family!
She didn't miss a Sunday for weeks ... until she fell ill and was hospitalized. Even then, she was able to listen to the church service on speaker phone. When Christina visited Dani in the hospital to pray with her, she learned that Dani had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C, a serious liver disease. Christina asked the Cru staff in Jacksonville to pray with her for Dani to be healed by God, and they heartily agreed to do so.
During her hospital stay, Dani had one of her follow-up lessons with Christina. She was determined to complete them, so she asked Christina to keep their plans and meet in her room. The particular lesson that day was about how we should handle sin in our lives and surrender our will to God's will. Dani's mother, Lora, was visiting during the lesson, and she asked the women to pray for her to fully release her heart to God!
Finally, on Dani's sixth day in the hospital, when Christina was there, a nurse came running in with a wonderful announcement, "Your tests came back negative!" Dani knew it was because of God's goodness and she was in awe of the answer to prayer.
A simple gesture of love in the form of a box of food for the holidays began this story of faith. Dani came to know a love that changes lives and brings hope. We are so thankful for partners like Christina and her church in Jacksonville! Our partnerships makes it possible to work together to show compassion to those in need and share the gospel.
Previous Posts
• What Am I Supposed to Do?
• Unexpectedly Exceeding
• Race Issues Are Gospel Issues
• She Needed God
• Addressing Racial Strife...
Alicia Losier serves as the Communications Specialist for Cru's inner-city ministry.
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