Spring Bash 2013

The Spring BLiR Bash is over, we had it on Friday and as promised..............fun was had. At least, that is what everyone has told me so far. We will get to that more later. The car brought in for the car bash was a Cadillac El Dorado that was in good condition bodywise. I got to take a sledge hammer to the windows then turned the sledgehammer over to everyone else, as well as some spray paint.

We started the day by setting up. Thanks to Connor from New Life Church for all of his help in setting up. The entertainers began showing up and doing sound checks. A thank you to Scott from New Life Church for doing sound and media for the event. The car was delivered. We iced the soda and water we were provided and set the sweet stuff out. We went and picked up the pizzas at 5. They had 80 pizzas ready to go when we got there. It was way smoother than I anticipated for that.

As people began to arrive, we had them begin eating. The first thing we did from there was have a martial arts demonstration. That was pretty cool to watch. Seeing some of the board breaks made my body hurt, I know that much. Then came the car bash, which was a huge hit. After the car bash came more games, which was fun. Here is a list of the games we played: Cheeto Head, The Racing Egg Head, Drunk Goggle Course Race, Minute to Win It Kleenex Pull and the Minute to Win It Kleenex/Ping Pong contests. All of the games went well, and there was a lot of group participation.

Then we went inside for the music and testimonies. It was an amazing night. I cannot believe the talent that we had volunteer to play for free. There was Kelsey Snapp with her original songs, which are amazing. Kayleigh Amstutz was uber talented. I heard an adult say she sounded like Norah Jones. Then The Legacy rocked the stage. It was a great night to hear wildly talented people playing awesome music!

Ellie Hagen was the first speaker, between Kelsey and Kayleigh. She is such an inspiration. She has already impacted so many people and is only 12. Darin Mendez spoke between Kayleigh and The Legacy, sharing his story of addiction and abuse to where he is now, living a life of recovery after serving 10 1/2 years in prison. I was the last speaker, coming out after The Legacy. It was weird for me to speak without sharing my testimony. I was there to talk about the evening and to point people in general and youth in particular to a life that is worth living. We talked about how to live a life filled with hope and the ability to work through stressors positively.

We were hoping for 200 plus people, and we did not have that. We did break 100, which wasn't bad for only our second event and the first one we have had in Springfield. I talked to several organizations that didn't make it and I was saddened by that. I also spoke to about 20 youth pastors and only of them showed up. Not sure what that is all about, either. Maybe it was bad timing due to Spring Break or  maybe they already had something scheduled. Not sure, but I do know they missed out.

There was games, music, food, positive messages, prizes and just good old fashioned fellowship. I have heard a lot of good things about the event from everybody so far. I am hoping to get some more feedback for the next one, so that we can see if everything was a hit, if we need to take something out or add something, or if we should use more or less of some of the things we had. The trailer video of the night will be put together in April and as soon as it is completed I will have it posted!! If you have any videos or pictures that you took please share them!

Thank you to everyone who came out and shared their evening with us. Remember, please give us feedback whether it is positive or negative. I want this to reach the most people it can and have the biggest impact it can. We are hoping to have one either the end of summer or beginning of Fall this year. IF YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HELPING OUT, PLEASE CONTACT ME. WE WILL NEED DONATIONS/CASH FOR PRIZES, FOOD, DRINKS, GAME SUPPLIES, PRINTING OF PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS, LOCATION (would like to use a neutral location like Remington's), T-SHIRTS, HATS, BANDS and SPEAKERS as well as VOLUNTEERS!!



Thanks again to:
Kelsey Snapp
Kayleigh Amstutz
The Legacy
Ellie Hagen
Darin Mendez
Henry's in Nixa
Incredible Pizza Company
Martial Arts, USA
Coca-Cola of the Ozarks
Rural Compassion
Alternative Opportunities, Inc.
Mardel's
Ryan Garrett
Taco Bell
New Life Church
Michael Dube
Susan Highley
OTC Printing