Last week, DayBreak was full of bags of school supplies, hot dogs, prizes, games and more! Preparations were underway for the 9^th annual Back-to-School Carnival! The flyers were handed out and Marvin Gaye Park was awaiting the crowds.

Saturday, August 21^st came and it was a beautiful morning with no rain in the forecast…here’s a little of what God did throughout the day through some amazing volunteers!

8:00 am
Pre-craziness staff prayer time!

8:30 am
Volunteers began making appearances and the mass exodus of carnival stuff began to make its way from DayBreak to the Riverside Center.

9:00 am
A group of volunteers came to the Riverside Center ready to cover the day in prayer!

9:30 am
All volunteers gathered for instructions on what to do and how things were going to work.  Over 60 people from McLean Bible Church and Frontline, Sergeant Memorial Presbyterian Church, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Zion Church and others came together to serve for the entire day.

10:30 am
Volunteers jumped right in to their tasks. They made posters, set up tents, moved tables and chairs and ate lunch somewhere in between! Without these volunteers, the DayBreak Back to School Carnival would just be another day in the park! We are so thankful for every single volunteer who came and gave their time!

12:30 pm
The music started, the games opened and the crowds started ascending! The Carnival was open for business! We watched as over 750 children, youth and adults enjoyed the Carnival throughout the day, and we even got some surprise visits from the DC deputy police chief and 6^th district commander, the city council chairman and a few other local political leaders!

One of our goals for the Carnival was “to address physical needs by providing school supplies to children.” 410 bags of school supplies were donated to us by churches in the area. Throughout the day, children and adults played games to win tickets to “buy” a bag of these school supplies. By the end of the day, all the bags were GONE! 410 children are now able to start this new school year with the supplies they need!

Our ultimate goal for the Carnival was to “to reach the community of Lincoln Heights with the Gospel message and the hope they can have in Jesus Christ.” The name of Christ saturated every corner of the Carnival as Christ-centered hip-hop/rap music was being projected from the speakers. David Robinson, also called Fundamentals, was the featured artist and clearly shared the Gospel through his music throughout the day and through a message at the end of the carnival. Kids were getting bags of school supplies with a clear Gospel message printed on them: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8), and a tract explaining who Jesus is could be found inside. Additionally, volunteers were sharing Christ with carnival-goers. The name of Christ was on people’s ears on Saturday and seeds were planted. We may never know the impact this day had on certain carnival-goers!

4:30 pm
It was time for the carnival to wind down & cleanup to began. By the end of the day, nearly 700 hot dogs were eaten, the bags of school supplies were depleted to zero, many prizes were bought and most importantly, the name of Jesus Christ had been heard by hundreds! Please pray for those who heard that message. Also, please continue to pray for Lincoln Heights and for DayBreak’s ministry here. We look forward to all that God will continue to do here and are thankful He is using us in His mission!

Check out our photos from the day on our Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/DayBreakKids