Rodney Howard Browne explains that even in human relations, you can fail if you do not work on the relationship and if you leave everything up to the other person.
Bob and I were sitting in the church van number two (on stand by), ready to rush off and pick up the crowds that could not fit on the chartered tour buses. There was excitement in the air as the huge tour busses continued to turn into the vast palm tree lined parking lot at the River. Our excitement increased with each bus, bus after bus, one purple, some white or bright yellow came into view from the city’s interstate highways.
As the buses rolled up to the front entrance, the passengers with many excited children, hurried up the walkways to the draped cloth covered tables under the awing. An excited greeting party waited to enroll the first time visitors and present them with a gift from Pastors Rodney and Adonica Howard-Browne on this special Spanish Outreach Sunday. There was an air of expectation from all the students of River Bible Institute who had labored with all of the staff, during the hectic and rewarding previous weeks of preparations.
In the spacious newly renovated lobby the large screens flashed out the sights and sounds of the worship team on stage in the sanctuary. Original pieces of art work by the hand of Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne were on display throughout the lobby as well as a plethora of his encased works of teachings on CD’s and DVD’s and books.
The smell of Starbucks coffee emanated from the River’s Café Organic, as the excited masses viewed the array of bicycles to be given away to the children today. Many greeters welcomed the arrival of the first time visitors, the faithful, and the many streaming in from a packed parking lot with vehicles that had license plates from New York, Illinois, Maryland, Georgia, and many other states. The abundant flags of all of our proud states of America mixed with most of the world’s flags waved in the slight breeze from the light polls, on this sun basked warm winter morning, here at the River.
The west parking lot and south parking lots were alive with activity as the huge busses were being filled with hundreds of boxes of food that were being loaded by the green fork lift and numerous volunteers, volunteers, volunteers everywhere with their orange vests, sorting gifts, directing traffic, and even selling hot dogs and sodas to the sound originating from the local Spanish Radio Station’s sound truck.
The parking lots were lined with yards of red and yellow ribbons to section off areas for the food distribution and hundreds and hundreds of gifts to be given to the children after the Big Event which climaxed with an altar call of hundreds. Yes, hundreds stood, many weeping, with the acceptance of the Lord Jesus into their hearts. Yes, the hand of God is here, the movement of the Holy Spirit has a free reign here at the River; and that is the most exciting feeling, expectation, exposure, we can ever have: the move of God that we have come accustomed to here at the River. It is always exciting here at the River! As we follow our leaders in reaching the Harvest in the United States of America.
