Summary

SummaryHi, I’m Bill McDonald, and for 35 years I’ve called Springfield, Oregon home. I was comfortable in lifeβ€”married with a familyβ€”but I still felt a hole in my heart. One day, my neighbors (who just happened to be devoted Christians) invited me to church. I remember stepping into that building and feeling instantly at peace, as if I had finally come home. 🏑❀️

When I was 38, my doctor told me I had a blockage in my heart and needed a triple bypass. I sat in the hospital the night before surgery convinced I was going to dieβ€”my wife had three little ones in diapers. In that moment of fear, two men from my church came and laid hands on me in prayer. That night, I felt the Holy Spirit so tangibly, a peace I can’t fully explain. I went to sleep knowing God had me in the palm of His hand. πŸ™βœ¨

After my recovery, my faith skyrocketed, and I knew I had to share that hope. I showed up at Hamlin Middle School one day with a deck of cards and a few coin tricks, just to meet kids. Before I knew it, I spent 18 years volunteeringβ€”leading Young Life Club events, hosting Saturday dinners for 20 teenagers in my living room, and simply showing Christ’s love in action. Seeing those kids fall in love with Jesus and transform their lives drew me even closer to Him. ❀️‍πŸ”₯

I learned that true success isn’t about accolades or positions; it’s about relationshipsβ€”walking with Christ and pointing others to Him. God was so kind to take the empty places in my life and fill them with His love, purpose, and community. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. πŸ™Œ

Bill’s a true community hero! He spent 20 years investing in the lives of students at Hamlin Middle School as a volunteer.

Here’s his story: what motivated, how he defines success, and who filled the void in his life! This is why he overflows with hope!

Learn more: overflowhope.org

Find & Share on:
Instagram: @overflowhope
Facebook: @overflowhopelane

#overflowhope #springfieldoregon #fullheart #middleschool #mentor #eugeneoregon

Transcript
Hi, my name is Bill McDonald. I’ve been in Springfield, Oregon for 35 years. I met a girl, we got married, we settled down. And as we settled down, we realized, and I realized I needed, there was something missing. We moved right next door to a couple that had three kids and they were Christians. They kind of looked like hippies, and I thought, oh, I hate party people. But they were Christians. And I remember thinking to myself, nobody’s that nice. Nobody can be that generous, that kind, that wonderful people. And slowly but surely, that rubbed off on us. Even though they tried to get us to go to church with them, it wasn’t something we were into at the time. But I remember we said yes, we would go with our neighbors.

We walked in and we felt like we were home. And so we started going to that church. I learned more about Jesus at that time. I learned more about God at that time and about relationships with God. There was no such thing as a kid. I didn’t even understand what that meant until I started learning at it, the church I was going to. I think I was 38 years old when my doctor said, hey, you have blockage in your heart and we need to do a triple bypass on you. I remember going to the hospital the night before and thinking to myself, my wife’s got three kids, all of them in diapers. I’m gonna die here tonight. Two guys from my church came and prayed for me. They laid hands on me and prayed.

And that was the first time I ever felt the Holy Spirit or the presence of God that close to me. I felt such a peace after they left. I remember, I can’t explain it, but I know I went to sleep that night knowing I got this. All I have to do is just show up and he’ll take care of the rest. And that’s exactly how it went. It made me trust in God like I had never done before. Now I needed everybody else to know that. I ended up at Hamlin Middle School because they needed more people there to keep an eye on. I had to rely on a growing school that was more and more kids going. One day I just showed up with a deck of cards and a couple of quick coin tricks and started meeting kids. And it was just a matter of time before that turned into 18 years of volunteering with kids, starting Young Life Club through Joby Jarvis and Ron Sauer, and taking that to another place where we had clubs on Tuesday. And all that stuff builds community in Christ for these kids.

It’s unbelievable. This was part of our life for years. 20 kids showing up in our living room, having dinner every Saturday night for 10 years. There was no plan. It was just show up and let things happen the way they do. And that made me believe in God because he made so many things happen. Jesus made relationships happen over time. When I started to see kids falling in love with Jesus and I saw relationships with change, it even brought me closer to Jesus. Because I couldn’t believe that these kids’ lives were changed so much. And it made me realize that success wasn’t really success.

Relationship was the most important thing we get to do in life. I just believe that walking with Christ is the way to go. I learned to go to him for everything. I think God will do everything he can to get next to you, except for that one step that you have to take. And once you make that step, unbelievable things happen. The spots that feel empty get filled.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

—————– Source —————–

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Overflow Hope
Local stories. Real hope in the Central Lane County community. These are the stories of people in the greater Eugene and Springfield, Oregon community who have experienced Jesus Christ change their lives. Their stories prove Christianity is more than religion and that it's possible to change your life. There is hope when you are hopeless, lack purpose or motivation, struggling with anxiety and depression, or just know there has to be more than life than this. We hope these stories show you that Jesus is alive, loving and willing to meet anyone who cries out to Him.
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