Yesterday I delivered my conference on Lottery Winners, Money and Religious Faith in a school in Doncaster. I was delighted that Joel Cribbin, a gifted youthworker came with me to observe the conference. I had to squeeze a 90 minute conference into 55 minutes which was very challenging.
Here's an entertaining conversion story from 2011.
Sal Bentivegna, a New Yorker, thought the Christian faith was ridiculous. He loved taunting his devout Catholic mother Gloria and would often get combative and sarcastic. He told his mum that she ought to pray "to her God" and ask for 'dinero' to sort out her financial difficulties. Gloria refused to do this but she had been praying for her son's conversion for several years. She told her son that he was more than welcome to pray on her behalf.
Spain's national lottery, known as "El Gordo" (the Fat One), was first established in 1812 and operates somewhat differently from most British lotteries. It has a total of 1,800 winning tickets. Each ticket costs a whopping €200 but it is then sub-divided into ten 'decimas' which cost around €20 each. The 'decima' is then broken down into individual 'participations' that cost about €5.
I really love what I call 'heartwarming' stories. And here's a cracker.
A generous Canadian couple have given away £7million they won on the lottery! Pensioners Violet and Allen Large said the jackpot win earlier this year was a "big headache".
So they decided to help out family, friends and other good causes with cash gifts.