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who is a jazz singer with her own band, over
a year ago, but it was not until Katrina that I
realized that Karen's hand puppet, Olivia, could
be used to comfort the children of Katrina. I
called Karen.
"Karen, how about having lunch with me. I
want to talk to you about Olivia."
Karen was delighted to join me for lunch and
the two of us talked about the possibilities of using
Olivia the Octopus to help the children in Biloxi.
"Karen," I said. "Olivia is wonderful. Let's
develop her message for the children based upon
the transforming power of her hugs and connect
that to the healing power of the human touch.
Olivia can be on a mission in Biloxi for Jesus." I
went on to explain that I had a daughter-in-law
who was once an orphan in Korea. Her life had
been saved because a Christian lady in Minne-
sota adopted her and hugged, cuddled, and loved
her for two solid weeks until she began to im-
prove. You see, she had been told that her newly
adopted baby girl was going to die but prayer
and the power of those hugs kept her alive."
Karen liked the idea. She had already de-
veloped the Hugs From Carolina Campaign in-
spired by Hurricane Katrina and now we would
add an "adoption kit." We were able to con-
vince the City of Columbia to adopt the City of
Biloxi using Olivia the Octopus and the Hugs
From Carolina Campaign.
Phase I was the adoption ceremony on Octo-
ber 14, 2005, which included Dr. Tony Evans
preaching an encouraging message to the peo-
ple of Biloxi and his promise that he would help
with the church adoption process. e revival
was in full swing as the people sang, shouted,
and praised God for His goodness. It certainly
did not feel like the people under the tent con-
sidered themselves "victims," but rather, they
acted more like "over comers." City Light and
Christ Central had been with them for 49 days,
and their enthusiasm for God soared as they re-
alized that we were there for the long haul.
Olivia the Octopus kicked o the Hugs From
Carolina Campaign by "adopting" twenty chil-
dren. ey were so happy to take Olivia home
as their "best friend," and there was something
magical about the small arms reaching up to re-
ceive their hugs. e parents were encouraged
to hear that City Light is committed to nd-
ing churches in Columbia to adopt churches in
Biloxi, and families to adopt families, businesses
to adopt businesses, and everyone to adopt chil-
dren and seniors through Olivia the Octopus
Adoption Kits.
Phase II of the Hugs Campaign will come
when the Governor of South Carolina gives a
proclamation, like Mayor Bob Coble did for
Columbia, that the State of South Carolina will
adopt the State of Mississippi.
Phase III will happen when other states, cit-
ies, towns and counties start their own Hugs
Campaign until all of the people in the a ected
hurricane areas are covered by the compassion-
ate care from God's people.
e last prayer of Jesus for His disciples be-
fore His cruci xion was that they should be one
as He was one with the Father. en, He said
that His prayer was not only for them but for
all those who will believe in Him. (John 17: 20
23) He also said that others would know we
are Christians by our love. e storm of God's
love that has already hit Biloxi can hit all over
the world when God's people come together
as One to lift up Christ and show compassion
to others.
Recently, I asked Redfern how this experi-
ence had a ected him. He thought for a few
minutes and then responded, "It has made me
appreciate my wife, children, and family a lot
more. It has made me more keenly aware that
everything I have is nothing and that I should
not allow anything to separate me from the Lord
Jesus Christ." CityLight continued to partner
with Christ Central Ministries at Compassion
Central for another eight months.