Judson prayer breakfast focuses on hope
More than 320 people gathered Wednesday to hear a message of hope during Judson University's annual Community Prayer Breakfast in Elgin.
Guest speaker Jimmy Mellado, president and CEO of Compassion International, shared his personal story of transformation stemming from when he and his 13-year-old son nearly drowned after being caught in a riptide during a family vacation in 2007.
Mellado said he somehow shed the fear and mustered some hope, enough for him to grab his son's trunks and arm, take another breath of air and swim a little farther. Before long, someone met them in the water and pulled them to safety.
"How dark, how hopeless. I felt absolutely no hope," he told the crowd. "I felt so small and invisible out there, like I didn't matter. But you don't need a ton of hope, just a speck."
Born in El Salvador and having lived in seven countries, Mellado spoke of Compassion International's mission working with local churches worldwide to offer child sponsorships and hope to an estimated 400 million children who live in poverty.
Judson also honored this year's winner of the D. Ray Wilson Volunteer Service Award, Jeff Turner, owner of In the Neighborhood Deli in Elgin.
Turner has organized numerous communitywide meals to feed the homeless, including Elgin's Thanksgiving Community Dinner and the "Have a Heart" community meal around Valentine's Day. The events jointly have served more than 2,000 people in need yearly.
He also has served on the Salsa Challenge for Social Good Planning Committee, organized the "Together We're Elgin Community Cookout," was the honorary chef at the Larkin Center's Cheers for Children's Brunch and for the Ecker Center's Wishes for Wellness Brunch.
Over the years, he has served on several boards including, the Elgin Climate Change Organization, the Elgin Community Network, the Salvation Army, and been a member of the Elgin Green Expo and the Jaycees.
The event also featured a performance by recording artist and vocalist Tina Jenkins Crawley, winner of Chicago Music Awards' 2015 Best Gospel Entertainer of the Year.