Dear Lord, I humbly ask that you bless this event. I pray that your Holy Spirit will be so noticeably present so that everyone there will be able to feel it and be blessed by it. Even those who may not have a relationship with you yet, God, I pray that they will notice that something is different about this – that it’s part of something bigger, part of your perfect plan.

These are words I had been praying for the past several weeks leading up to the 1st Annual Live Like Jersey Family Bingo event that took place April 20, 2024. I had been looking forward to witnessing this day ever since tragedy first struck our community in September 2023, when 11-year-old Jersey Poff suddenly passed away, leaving a gaping hole in the hearts of so many loved ones, friends and even strangers.

I remembered how Alison Poff, Jersey’s mom, took Jersey on an adventure on Jersey’s birthday each year, just the two of them. So in her honor, I decided to make the day of the bingo event a “mother-daughter” day for me and my oldest, my 7-year-old daughter Elise.

These one-on-one opportunities are pretty rare for me and Elise these days, as I have her two younger siblings, Casey and Via, to tend to most of the time, so I went all out to make it special for Elise. We went to a salon to get our hair done together, spent some time at a park she’d been wanting to visit, had lunch together, stopped in at a local toy store and then went to Myla’s Frozen Yogurt for a sweet treat.

But as fun and special as all that was, it didn’t hold a candle to the precious memories we were about to make at Live Like Jersey Bingo.

Elise and I arrived at the Union Hall in St. Marys that afternoon to set up for a craft activity we had planned for the event – memory bracelets. I’ll be honest – I was not prepared for what I was about to walk into (but in a good way).

We walked in to see Nicole Brewer, Alison, Kylee Klausing and others putting the finishing touches on the decorations. It was simply breathtaking!

(I took most of these photos myself, but I also borrowed a few – Photo credits to Jennifer Craft and Leslie Wobler)

The tables were decorated with pictures of Jersey throughout her life with family and friends. A lump caught in my throat as I walked around and looked at each of them as sweet songs, both country and Christian, played in the background. For a moment, it brought me back to how I’d felt when I attended Jersey’s viewing.

Let me just say – it’s amazing how much this sweet girl accomplished and experienced in her 11 years … and made such a lasting impact on thousands of lives.

For our craft activity, Elise and I put out hundreds of jibbitz (croc charms) we had collected over the past few months – every charm represented something that Jersey enjoyed or appreciated. Kids in attendance picked out the charms they wanted and used them to make a memory bracelet to take with them.

Words can’t fully describe how much joy filled my heart as I watched the kids’ eyes light up as they created their bracelets. Jada, Jersey’s sister, was the first one to make a bracelet, and Jersey’s other siblings and close friends followed. When all was said and done, over 100 bracelets were made – my hope is that they will be a treasured reminder of just how special this event was.

I thought back to how I had been in their shoes 22 years ago when my cousin, Lauren, passed away at age 14. I would have loved to experience something like this back then. This was a way for me to pay it forward and invest in the future of my community. I felt absolutely honored and blessed just to have been a part of it.

“This is so unbelievably special,” I thought to myself several times throughout the evening. To put it in the words of Jody Poff, Jersey’s dad, it was the very essence of Jersey’s “own kind of special.”

Then, as I was thinking about it again this morning, it suddenly hit me. What was it that made this event so special?

It was none other than the guest of honor – that’s right, the Holy Spirit showed up.

He made himself known in so many ways. The Holy Spirit was ablaze in the hearts of all who had so lovingly organized, prepared and assisted in making this event a reality. Every little detail, from the decorations to the bingo to the fun surprises – it had Jersey written all over it. And think about it – who knew Jersey best? Who created her being? Who walked with her every day of her life? It was Her Jesus.

My prayer was certainly answered, along with the prayers of countless others. It was the start of something new and beautiful, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!

Psalm 30: 11-12