Trey (far right) with his World Race squad mates

It’s time we introduce you to someone we consider very special. Meet Trey Genser. This good-looking, beach-loving, surfer dude from Jacksonville made a life-changing decision recently. To visit 11 countries in 11 months on a mission called The World Race with the Adventures in Missions organization. This is no travel cruise of tourist hot spots. No, Trey chose to travel to countries far from convenience and far from God, bringing the heart and word of Jesus to others, as well as practical, hands-on help.

Why did he do it? He went on a week-long mission with his local church and felt God calling him to mission work so strongly he just couldn’t shake it. With his family’s support, Trey went to work raising the necessary funds. Circle K was more than delighted to join his friends and family in helping this young man follow his call to mission work.

We are going to follow Trey’s journey in the coming year, starting at Tree of Life Orphanage in Buriram, which is in northeast Thailand. Picking up a bit of the local language already, Trey is not letting language be a barrier as he jams on the ukulele for the kids, playing and worshiping God together. He and his team have already begun the hard work of relocating and restoring a playground and outhouse and filling in huge potholes. What really blew him away was the opportunity to teach children school lessons at the local elementary/middle school!

Trey is still amazed that God chose him for this work. As Trey puts it “I owe it all to God. His gracious nature is the reason I am alive today and in Thailand. We are here to spread His glorious word, and I am so blown away that He chose me.”

…Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:17

We may never understand why some little kids have to struggle with illnesses, but we do understand that it is up to each one of us to help make their journey a bit brighter.  The folks here at Circle K have been truly blessed, and nothing makes us happier than to be able to pass that blessing along to others.  Especially little guys like Antjuan Sanders.

To watch this sweet 10-year-old boy smile and interact with others, you would never know he struggles with a life-threatening disease.  He greets all of his challenges the same way he greets every person he meets…with a huge smile and an expectation of something good to come

Recently, we had the opportunity to bring a bit of sunshine in his family’s life.  Partnered with Dreams Come True and the Gator Bowl Association, we arranged for Antjuan and his family to have the best seats in the house for the Gator Bowl game.  Antjuan, his mom and his Godmother got to sit on a brand new Lane sofa in the stadium.  Better yet, they got to take it home.  Actually, we delivered it along with more furniture to finish out a new living room for their home.

Many thanks to Dreams Come True for arranging it all, to the Gator Bowl Association for their contribution, and to Antjuan for giving us the chance to be a part of his life.  He is a remarkable young man.

Nothing is more important than giving our community’s children the chance to be loved, healthy and well cared for. Afterall, when we are old and gray, or older and grayer as in my case, they will be our leaders and our care-takers.

That’s why Circle K is joining forces with Foster Closet. And we are asking you to partner with us, too. When you make a purchase at Circle K, you’ll have the opportunity to “round up” your purchase. Those extra few dollars will go to pay for the needs of foster children in our very own community. Foster parents have lots of love, food and time to give to these sweet little people at a very confusing and heart-breaking time in their lives. But often they don’t have all the clothes, toys, bedding, etc, that is appropriate for every age child. Many of these kids are placed in foster homes in the middle of the night, with only minutes or hours notice to the foster parents. Foster Closet comes to the rescue to help fill in the needs of the children that the foster parents don’t have on such short notice.

Foster Closet is funded entirely by donation. Next time you make a trip to Circle K, make sure you “round up” for the kids. Learn more about this worthy organization by visiting their website at www.FosterCloset.org.

Time. Christmas Time. What do we do with our time on Christmas. Aside from the parties and family gatherings, opening presents and cleaning up messes, I mean. This year, it is our wish that you do what we are going to do. Take a break. Go to church. Think about the reason for the season.

Our employees asked us if this year they could have Sunday after Christmas off in order to go to church. We thought that was a grand idea. It is the season to celebrate the reason for our hope. So we’ll be closed Saturday and Sunday this year.

We want you to know that we are making wishes for you. Of course, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We wish that your Uncle George doesn’t wear a lampshade at the family party this year (or whoever and whatever your particular holiday dread is this year). We hope you don’t have any presents to return. But most of all, we wish you the gift of faith, the blessing of hope, and the peace of God in your life. We wish you time with our Savior, Jesus. We wish you the kind of joy and love only Christ can bring.

From our family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas!

P. S. Come on in Monday morning at 10am for our huge After-Christmas Sale. Big, big bargains, of course!

Travel-weary passengers find some respite in the forty rocking chairs from Circle K Furniture at the Jacksonville International Airport.  JAA provides the chairs as a courtesy to the travelers moving in and out of their busy airport.  When they realized their old chairs (which did not come from Circle K) were showing signs of wear and tear, they turned to Circle K for a better quality chair that would hold up under the strenuous use they’re subjected to at the airport.  Roger Haller, General Manager, knew that the quality rockers from Troutman Chair Company would perform beautifully.

Wayne Turczyn, the Troutman rep suggested that Circle K take it one step further and dress the chairs in comfortable cushions honoring the Wounded Warrior Project.  Believing in giving back to our community, Circle K agreed that was an excellent idea.  Circle K purchased the cushions with a portion of the purchase donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Wounded Warrior Project is a non-profit organization based in Jacksonville, Fl.  Their mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors.  They strive to raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, to help severely injured service members aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs.

We at Circle K Furniture are proud to support this project and honor our wounded veterans.  We encourage you to support them, too.  And the next time you’re at the airport, take a load off, courtesy of Circle K Furniture!

The Howard Family needed some extra holiday cheer this year.  So Circle K Furniture teamed up with Dreams Come True and the Gator Bowl Association to make this local family’s dream come true.  On Monday, December 21^st, members of the Howard family, from Northwest Jacksonville, were surprised with a gift of tickets to the Florida State vs. West Virginia game at the Gator Bowl, plus a new Lane sofa and chairs for their home.  Even Gator mascot, Patches was there for the presentation.

The Howard family is just one of thousands of families impacted through Dreams Come True for the past 25 years.  Michael Howard, age 11, (front row, center) received a Disney trip in 2002 and has been the recipient of various “Special Times” events provided through the organization.

“It was an honor to be part of making a dream come true for this very deserving family” said Jose Lantigua (second from the left in back row), owner of Circle K Furniture.  “As a family-owned, Christian-based company, it is important to us that we serve and give back to the community in which we live.”