Breaking Storybox News

 Diana was outside working in the garden when I came home one Friday afternoon recently.  Out there among the tomatoes and kale, the peppers and radishes, the eggplant and corn, she was practicing square foot gardening.  I strolled into basement, then into the spare room to check the mail.  Looking over the inbox I saw a note from David Firth.  “David Firth, who is David Firth?”  It’s probably junk mail, ”  I thought.  Then I read it. Jumping to my feet, I ran out the door.  “Why didn’t you tell me about the email?” I called to Diana.  Her reply was a confused glance that said, “Huh!”  I yelled back, “Maria won!”

Last March the youth group attended a Dare2Share conference in Dayton, Ohio.  It’s a ministry that equips teens to relationally and relentlessly reach their generation for Christ.  Zane Black is one of the conference speakers and his wife Rachel helps to host the event.  They also work at Timberline Lodge.  This is the same couple we met at the Rocky Mountain Roastary while we were in Colorado hearing stories of beater cars, long distance courtship and God’s provision. 

 

At the conference Maria connected with Rachel who insisted she take a brochure for the drawing.  She took it but with little commitment or enthusiasm.  Back home she learned a paper also needed to be written and a deadline met.  It took her a few weeks of procrastination to get around to it, but she finally did it just meeting the deadline.  We waited for word of a winner but heard nothing.  The time of the drawing came and went.  We continued to wait, eventually resigning ourselves to the fact that someone else had been awarded the prize. 

 

Then came the letter came from David Firth.  “I am delighted to confirm that you have won the 2012 Scholarship Challenge competition.  This means you can attend a Torchbearers Bible School program of up to 12 months from any of our participating centres around the world.”  What?  Could this really be so?  I wrote back, “Our daughter Maria won the 2012 Scholarship Challenge competition? Our daughter? Just want to make sure before we get overly excited.”  In just a few moments came the reply, “Yes she did! From over 200 entries at 7 different Dare2Share conferences, Maria's name was drawn (by our founder's wife, Joan Thomas).”

 

Here’s one that belongs in the story box along with the other stories we are keeping alive.  Maria just won a complete one year scholarship to any of the 26 Torchbearer Schools of her choosing.  Australia, Costa Rica, England, Colorado, Austria, Canada, Texas, Japan all await.