For Day 27 of 30 Days of Kindness, we broke out the batter, vegetable oil, and deep fryer to treat the good people of Oneonta to some fried funnel cake goodness, and of course, God's love.
The free funnel cake giveaway is one of my favorite AoKs. I did several of them last Spring while I was trying to invite people to church information meetings. I have an efficient funnel cake giveaway kit rigged up that allows me to quickly pull off it off, even if I am by myself; and, I get to eat as much funnel cake as I can stand--which usually isn't more than two.
For this giveaway, I was on my own and I tried out a new location in the park off Dietz street, only 1 block away from downtown. The weather was still too cool for people to be out enjoying the park, so I was hoping this spot would pick up some after-work foot traffic.
Like several of our AoKs, it started off slow, but after one person participated it picked up. I am sure the snowman I made during the downtime helped to lure in several people.
The biggest impact from the AoK wasn't so much the amount of cake I gave away, but it was from making a new friend. There was one SUNY Oneonta student I met that was a mountain bike enthusiast. He was out riding his bike, enjoying the not cold (but not warm) weather. He stopped to chat with me and we hit it off. This young man kept me company for an hour and a half, possibly even more.
We had a lot in common, including our love for pushing down rotten tree stumps when we go hiking in the woods. It turns out that we both enjoy the same kind of music that features horns, and we found a dozen other relatable topics to discuss. It was a good connection and he helped me pack for the evening so I could make it back to the building and close down the art show that was simultaneously going on.
I was able to share my faith with this young man, and he very much appreciated the fact that I had no catch other than to show God's love. Apparently, he had been recently burned by the "survey-turned-evangelism tactic." It felt to me like he wanted to spend the first part of the conversation looking for my angle or my catch, when he couldn't find one, he seemed relieved, and even refreshed after hearing my heart and listening to my message.
It's positive connections like this that help me feel good about picking a college town in which to plant a church. It was wonderful connecting with this SUNY student. Even if I make only one strong connection doing an AoK, it's still worth it.
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