Wow!!! God is so good and so faithful to give us over and above what we ask! We, as a board and individually had asked Him to bless our First Annual Heart of Hope Carnival, and He did not disappoint! I just want to openly praise and thank HIM for His favor on Heart of Hope, the carnival, and the ministry that He has called us to pursue.

First, I would like each of you to know how much we appreciate your sweet spirits and your willingness to help make this year’s carnival a success. I know each of you worked hard and got tired and hot, but your work did not go unnoticed both here and in Heaven. The publicity provided by the news media, the paper, the billboards, and just the exposure of Heart of Hope to the public and the surrounding communities was effective in conveying the message of the ministry. I love when God uses laughter, fun, and most importantly little children to further His kingdom. What could be better!

	One Step Closer Campaign You can be a partner in this legacy of HOPE by purchasing one square foot or more for $50.00 each. Foot by Foot we will move one step closer to opening Heart of Hope. $ “My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.”              Psalm 62:5

The carnival got off to a great start at 4:00 sharp. Duvall’s had all of the inflatibles up and ready to go. Jeannie Pederson and I had a great time trying out the bungee run. Just ask her all about it!! By the way, Jeannie, as well as so many other volunteers, made the carnival flow without any major hitches and we are so thankful to each of them. Parker Perot from Perot Plumbing put in several water spouts that were desperately needed and did not charge us a thing for his time. Thank you Parker and Tammy!

When Ce Ce the clown got there we knew the party had started and she did a fantastic job entertaining the kids with balloon sculptures and lots of laughs. Mr. and Mrs. Adcock provided the momma and baby goat for the petting zoo. They are such sweet hearted people and donated the proceeds from the sale of the goats to Heart of Hope. The Navarre family graciously allowed lots of little buckaroos to ride their miniature ponies and patiently pulled them around in the heat of the day. Parts U- Pull- It donated the car for the car bash and can I say, “It was a HIT”! Chick-Fil-A came with the train and the line never ended. Paul Bison from Bison Farm Supply provided the hayride that enabled each guest to tour the grounds and voluntarily take a tour of the future Heart of Hope Maternity Home.

The band that entertained us all afternoon was “Emerge” and several times during the course of the afternoon I know I was personally moved by the music. It was awesome! We are truly so appreciative to Radiant Life Church for sponsoring the Radiant Rolling Thunder Rally, as well as those beautiful ladies in pink donating their time, goodies and proceeds to Heart of Hope. Thank you to all those sweet ladies who baked all of the beautiful desserts. Nobody went home hungry! Thanks to Delia and Tammy for their work on the Silent Auction which raised $920.00! Also, to all of the men and women behind each booth, thank you for your patience and hard work in making everything run so smoothly. Thanks to Cypress Baptist Church and Allison for the great smelling popcorn. That definitely set the mood for FUN!

Johnny’s Catfish was delicious and gave us something to munch on while watching our kids. Thanks to the Heart of Hope Bronco volunteers for running the concession stand so effortlessly. Oh, and we can’t forget Hank Groll, who had the field and the concession stand looking great! We love you Hank! The students at Calvary and surrounding churches and schools were such a big help and were able to get service hours for the different school clubs they are involved in. Shreveport Bible Church did an incredible job at the dunking booth and the “dunkees” entertained us all afternoon.

Our corporate sponsors were a blessing because that money allowed us to pay for the inflatibles and other expenses that were incurred. Many thanks go out to Jeff Luce at Classic Inc. for the beautiful signs that were donated. They were better looking than the ones we purchased and we want you to know how much we appreciate you and the sweet ladies in your office that took the time to do these.

We sold 350 armbands and calculated that attendance was at least 500 people for the afternoon and evening. Approximately $5000 was brought in after expenses. We are well on our way to getting renovations underway and look forward to opening our doors in 2009! Mark your calendar now, since we plan to host our Second Annual Heart of Hope Carnival the weekend after Labor Day, September 12, 2009. It will be BIGGER and BETTER! Hope to see you there!!