Christmas shopping done right
Franktown Open Hearts is a non-profit ministry in Franklin that provides mentoring, tutoring, recreation and spiritual growth opportunities to boys from low-income neighborhoods. With a number of partner churches and volunteers, activities are held three nights a week and Sundays and all include meals and transportation.

This past Saturday, Dec. 11, families donated their time and money to take Franktown Open Hearts boys Christmas shopping for their families.  This is the seventh consecutive year that Franktown Open Hearts has orchestrated this event. 

The event included a dinner from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at Fourth Avenue Church of Christ, and then the

volunteers took the boys shopping and bring them back to the church to wrap the gifts.

“We were provided the most amazing meal from the volunteers and church members,” said Jodi Rall, mother of a volunteer family. “After that, you meet the boy and leave with him to go shopping.  You help the boy take his money and make the most of it for gifts for his family.  When you get back the volunteers are waiting to help wrap all the gifts.  The volunteers were amazing.”

Ryan Roth, Franktown’s program director, referred to Franktown Christmas as an “annual event where God raises a lot of money so that we can give the boys that we serve an opportunity to go shopping.”

The boys are required to at least spend half of the money that they receive on someone other than themselves. Roth said you would think this is a concept that would be difficult for just about anyone, let alone boys dealing with poverty. 
As the shoppers returned Saturday night from their buying expeditions, Roth was amazed at what he saw on the face of every young man that returned to wrap their gifts was overflowing joy and excitement.

“As I received feedback from the families that took the boys shopping they would whisper to me: (as to not want to let the boy know they knew) "he didn't spend a single dollar on himself",”  said Roth in a newsletter to his volunteers. “Over and over again I heard the same thing, and over and over again the boys were streaming in with bright eyes and smiles from their journey.”

Rall has been actively sharing the story of Franktown ministry in her adult Sunday school class but also with her fifth and sixth grade Sunday school classes at Brentwood United Methodist Church.  She said she had a surprise waiting for her the night of the event.

“I showed the video to Franktown at my Sunday school class of fifth and sixth graders at BUMC  and some kids brought their families.  The mom said she heard about it and just had to come,” said Jodi Rall, a volunteer who came with her family.  “They were just so cute.  They appreciated the simplest of joys.”

“These young men were given the opportunity to experience the deep truth of Jesus' words and give!” shared Roth.  “It was not about the price or the name on the tag, in its simplest form and with the innocence that only children of age and of God can perform in, it was all about the first hand experience of what Christ taught us thousands of years ago.”
Roth believes “this experience is a great reminder of the ultimate gift, the reason for this season, Jesus Christ. The gift of His life in exchange for ours. The gift of our sins in exchange for righteousness, the gift of relationship in exchange for isolation and the gift of life and life to the full (John 10:10)!”

You can see a video of the evening on Franktown’s Facebook page.  Click here for the link and see the joy these boys had in giving.  My favorite part of the video is when they grin talking about what they purchased for their own mothers and fathers.  Some are shy, some are sweet and some are just beaming from the joy of giving their mother a gift.

“As these boys left Saturday night and spread the joy of their opportunity to give to their families, I was challenged and reminded of the age old truth of where blessings really come from,” said Roth. “May God continue to remind me of this and may He afford all of you the opportunity to see the blessing that comes to you when you give and give specifically of your time, talents, and resources to Franktown Open Hearts!”

“It was cool to see,” said Rall of the evening. “Dan and Ryan are my son John’s idols from playing pro football.  What a great example they are to be serving like this.”

For more information, visit www.franktownopenhearts.com.