Serving in Love is winding up the summer outreach programs at the Connection and we think it was an outstanding success. The numbers are impressive: 363 referrals and professional services. Our heartfelt “thank you” to the professionals – Doctors, nurses, attorneys, Para-Legals, Financial counselors, Psychiatrists, United Way Services (211 – a great story), Tutors, Artists and Ministerial Staff – you made a difference in hundreds of lives. Many of those interventions and relation
ships will continue after we have gone. We said it’s about relationships — It really is.
We tutored 20 kids in the summer tutoring and arts classes. We’ll never forget the story a Grandmother told us about how she saw the “Free Tutoring” sign in front of the church after praying for a program for a very special grandson. Every single child was assessed and every single child not only made progress but met or exceeded the State standards for their level. And every child loved the program.
Artist Jim Rickles donated his skill and time to paint with our kids. Hannah Thayer gave piano lessons when our teacher couldn’t come, and Cameron Sprinkle gave guitar lessons.
We held the Darrough Chapel Day for local businesses and neighbors, and served over 60 people from the community as we created relationships. Check out the posting on this blog. Every week we walked and talked in the neighborhood. We created thousands of relationships by showing God’s love in a practical way.
Wednesday evenings, we served free popcorn, cold drinks, and lots of love at the Kokomo Park Band concerts in Highland Park. So far we have served over 10,000 people this summer at the events. And….we have two more to go. 
We have much to be thankful for. Our Pastor, Greg Reed, supported us and was always available to help. Debbie Cowell made certain the messages and materials got where they needed to be. And dozens of people helped in hundreds of ways too numerous to mention. We touched tens of thousands of lives this summer and we are SO THANKFUL to every gift of love that helped us make the program work.
Then there is Cameron Sprinkle, our summer intern. Sometimes it’s hard to find the right words, even though the right words are in your heart. Cameron is an amazing young man. He is an artist, a project manager, a friend, a role model for the kids (even some big kids), a college educated business and marketing scientist, neighborhood asset, big brother, bus driver, lawn groomer, server, and jack-of-all-trades. Most of all, Cameron is a person who wants to reflect God’s love.
We could never have done any of it without Cameron. We have always believed that God will provide every need for our mission. Cameron is another proof that God is faithful and His love is abundant. Thank you Cameron.
McGonigal, Button Motors, Coca Cola, Walgreens, and many anonymous businesses contributed to our summer program success…..but there is much to do. We need tutors in local elementary schools. We need to look at a more aggressive summer outreach next year, and we need to keep on our mission.
SIL will be at the Open House at Darrough in mid August and then we will turn to our fall events: Tutoring hundreds of students, business blitzes, Thanksgiving dinners, and Christmas package wrapping.
Thank you to all who volunteered and served. The most critical metric is the level of the spiritual water in our community. The water went up this summer.
lementary on Tuesday, August 14th. We are so appreciative of our relationship with Darrough, it feels like we belong, sort of like we are family. We love being a part of the family at Darrough and part of the lives of those children. 
year’s supplies to the children. (We have a complete set of supplies for each child — for the entire school year) So when we got invited to be a part of the Open House at the school, we thought we would throw a party —- for the entire neighborhood.
