2 Days to Go - Celebrate Freedom 2008
Posted by Holly V., Marketing Director on June 25th, 2008With just 2 days to go until the launch of the 2008 Celebrate Freedom in Frisco, Texas we’re thrilled to see tumbleweeds! 
Ok, we are not seeing literal tumbleweeds-(but this is Texas!) and after last years deluge of torrential rain with flooding - we’re mighty happy to have a little dust on our shoes-if you know what I mean! Put simply, we are praying that there isn’t any mud wrestling on the agenda this year. 
So far the forecast looks perfect!
The team is busily working onsite at the new location – Pizza Hut Park. If you’ve been a part of Celebrate Freedom previously, you know that for the past umpteen years it has been held at SouthFork Ranch. We love the ranch, but in an effort to be more centrally located (between Dallas & Fort Worth) our partner here in Dallas, KLTY is trying out Pizza Hut Park this year! We of course do new venues for Palau festivals constantly, but this is the first “stadium” event in quite a while, so we could use your prayers as we adjust and continue prep for the festival!
Duffy & Charis Johnson have done a fantastic job of navigating the partnership waters and moving everything to fruition. It has been amazing to watch this year speed by! This brings us to year two of this amazing partnership between 90 Days of Blessing, Global Day of Prayer, KLTY and our Palau team. Over 300 churches are on board this year and nearly 600 volunteers will help make all the ministry happen this Friday & Saturday! Plus, the 90 Days initiative of community service will continue on for a few more weeks following the festival!!
Lots more ‘behind the scenes’ activity has been happening to prep us for this event this weekend!
Technically speaking, we are ahead of schedule with 2 ½ days left to go until the festival – it’s a great place to be in! Today we have youth groups finishing off setup by delivering boxes to tents, placing the flags on the field, and hanging signage. Thankfully, our new venue opened their doors to us 2 whole days earlier than we anticipated. It’s proved to be VERY helpful! However, soon this stadium will be overran with hundreds and thousands of people taking in over 40 musical performers, top pros in the action sports arena, a monster truck, stunt man Sammy Maloof, Bob & Larry from the Veggie Tales, dancers from all over Texas, Luis & Andrew and much much more!
Luis lands in the Dallas sunshine tomorrow and Andrew shortly thereafter. They both hit the ground running and would appreciate your prayers! Luis has the main stage as the evangelist just like last year! Andrew will be the main speaker in the Livin It Action Sports park and then later in the evening from the mainstage. Both are great opportunities for Andrew to share his story and a message just for Dallas!
Lastly, please be in prayer for our staff. So far, the spiritual attacks have been bouncing off of us as the Lord has answered prayers and given us the words and grace to deal with people and problems in a spirit of love and patience. As we are 2 days away from the festival at this point please join me in prayer that:
Thanks for your faithfulness...we appreciate you standing in prayer with us to see all that the Lord will do in and though us this amazing weekend of ministry!
And for fun...Charis sent this poem out last week and I thought you’d appreciate the humor...and the appropriateness of festival life. 
“Twas the week before the Festival”
By: Charis Johnson
‘Twas the week before the festival, when all through the city
Not a creature was still, there was no time for pity;
15 billboards were hung by the highways with care,
In hopes that Luis Palau soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of the Festival danced in their heads;
Charis in her kerchief, and Duffy in his cap,
Only wish they could hide and take a quick nap,
When there on the radio arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
“Celebrate Freedom is here!” announced the news flash,
“Like nothing that has ever been done in the past”.
Announced twice an hour – wouldn’t you know
The announcements came during every DJ’s show!
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But commercials on CBS 11, our TV premiere!
With a handsome young director, so lively and quick,
The Dallas team went after grassroots with a banner and stick
More rapid than last year’s rain fell - they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called partners by name;
“Now, VERIZON! now, CARE NOW! now, CHIC-FIL-A go!
On, CAPTIAL ONE! on CB AUTO! Too many to know!
500 tickets were printed – thousands that would be (500,000)
The 375,000 magazine ads are a sight to see
And then, in a twinkling, they appeared all around
56 banners covered the North Texas ground
Emails went out - and counselors poured in
Thank God for the 500 volunteers to take care of them!
The events—how they twinkled! The VIP how merry!
10 articles, 3 papers, the press did not weary!
We continued to pray for no rain and no snow
You never can guess Texas weather you know;
We spoke not a word, but kept straight to our work,
Replying to email, when Charis turned with a jerk
And laying a finger on the calendar and date
Smiled when she realized they would not be late
Duffy sprang to his golf cart, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“TO THE GLORY OF GOD, WORK WITH ALL OF YOUR MIGHT.”
Posted in Andrew Palau News
