The construction and traffic problems from our church restoration project did not discourage the Walk on Water (WOW) kids from leading our worship service today at Sunrise Community Church in Fair Oak, CA. Four years ago Dan Brown's eyes slipped away from Pastor Rich's sermon to the basketball hoops in the multipurpose room where we worship. He had a vision of young people with disabilities playing basket ball in that room, and that day gave birth to the WOW program. 
Dan wrote notes as fast as he could during church, sorry Pastor Rich, and afterward began praying and putting the program together. He doesn't really like to call it a program because it's become a great opportunity to meet and build friendships. After he sent invitations to the first meeting, he expected maybe five or six kids would show up. Imagine his surprise to see twenty kids, many in wheelchairs, come to the meeting. More than thirty went to camp this year.
After the first year, Dan prayed for a partner and this year Young Life partnered with him to take the kids to a Young Life camp near Flagstaff, AZ. Videos of these kids having the time of their lives brought tears to my eyes. We heard story after story from the kids about their favorite activities, and several letters to God. The letter that touched my heart was from a young man who thanked God for loving him and giving him WOW friends. He said, "I hope to see You soon," and after signing his name, "P.S. I hope you like basketball." What a fulfillment of Dan's dreams!Thank you, Lord Jesus, for using Dan and his WOW team to transform lives inside/out. Amen.
5 comments:
What a wonderful program, Sue. Did you partner with the Capernaum group of Young Life? Coleen Short heads up that effort in the area.
Hi Chris, Thank you for reading the story. I added the pictures from camp. I am pretty sure that Coleen is the person who came to our church this morning with the kids. She was awesome! An accident on Greenback Lane knocked out power in our church during worship, but we felt God's incredible power and presence. Coleen made herself heard and helped the kids give their testimonies.
Great story Sue! I love to hear about people moved by God to do incredible things.
AW! Thanks for sharing this! I was a Leadership Camper at Camp CoBeAc 2 years ago and I counseled a girl with Downs Syn. Ever since then, disabled children have held a special place in my heart!
Thank you, Beth and His Princess Warrior. I am glad you share my passion for God's work, especially with special needs children. Blessings to you, Sue
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