A Friend of Youth

It seems like yesterday,

almost 36 years ago, 

I started life with this crazy man.

Yes, he's a goof ball.
He still makes me laugh.

Thirty-five years of loving me,

loving youth, 

loving the church,

and 32 years of loving our children
and he's still funny.

From the first moment David laid eyes

on this little girl, he was "Daddy."

Christy enjoyed special time with her daddy on youth trips.

Whatever the role, 

A husband, a daddy...

(ooo.  He looked so young!)

A friend...

 a Grandy...

He is the best!

On his 50th birthday,
we surprised him with a reunion
with all the youth he had taught.

There was a full house.

Some of our former youth now have children of their own,
  second-generation youth.

Some of these guys stayed with us
more than they did at home.

We laughed.

And we cried.

It was this man's dream, my daddy's,
to have a building of outreach for the youth of our community
a place to belong, a safe place to have fun.

For a few years, we had a house, The Naz Shack.

This came after our children were grown.

The wall in the game room was the youth Wall of Fame.

And not one youth came through the doors
without leaving their mark-
on the wall,

and on his life.

Then it was time to tear it all down.

From the top to the bottom.

And raise a new building,
The J. Emory Lindsey Outreach Building,
in memory of my parents who started the
church 60 years earlier.

The ground-breaking was an emotional time.

It all began because one man
made an impact on another man.

(David on the left and my daddy on the right)

The building is now completed.
Daddy is gone and David is taking a lesser role.
However, the legacy continues.

(New Building and Photos to follow.)

Both men,
A Friend of Youth,

Bonnie:)