Sunday, December 13^th, I woke up and got dressed with the expectation of a great day of harvest at the River of Tampa Bay. I got to the church at 8:00 am sharp to prepare for worship and for the sound check. I observed several buses parked in front of the church and buses leaving the church. The River Kids building had tables and tents set up for toy distribution. The 2^nd entrance had a registration table for our toy outreach where 2 security helpers stood. Handfuls of men and women in orange vests maintained the parking lot area in preparation for the food distribution after service. There were dozens of helpers in place everywhere you looked, ready to serve and in expectation of a harvest and a great victory! You could see in the faces of the helpers that their hearts were eager and excited to share the goodness of God on that day. The congregation was full of the young and the old, the rich and the poor, all backgrounds and races, coming together to seek the Lord and to worship Him and be touched by Him. The worship was amazing as we celebrated the King, the Word of God was brought forth by our pastors, who preached about our Lord Jesus. As I went to help in the nursery, I saw an increased amount of babies of many different backgrounds and economical situations. They were all laughing, playing, crying, or sleeping. One thing remained constant, and that was the love of the helpers, anointed to care for them and show them the love of God that was on the inside of us. In the nursery, I could see a harvest of souls coming to the altar and I later found that 345 souls had given their hearts to the Lord that day. It was such a beautiful thing to see a group of soldiers, on fire for the Lord, who support and believe in the same vision, come together to fulfill such a great purpose. Miracles have truly happened at the River of Tampa Bay. Commitment and faithfulness can get any job done. The food and the toy outreach put smiles on hundreds of faces. His grace, love and goodness are everlasting, never fading. And I know that the seeds sown into those families and children will come back 100-fold on the ministry and into the harvest of more souls, more outreach, and more provision for the people of God.

Karen A