An 8-year-old cancer patient has a gift from Triad waiting for him back home in Mount Airy — six large trifold boards filled with signatures and notes from children who attended the church’s Vacation Bible School this past summer.

Austin Needham, assistant director of children’s ministries, said the cards for Logan Wood seemed the perfect way to act out the VBS theme of “God’s love in action.”

Logan was supposed to receive them shortly after VBS but has been at St. Jude Research Hospital for Children in Tampa, Fla., undergoing brain tumor treatment.

“All the kids who came through our Adrenaline Peak site were able to sign their name and leave a note,” Needham said. “By the end of the week, we had six boards full of signatures from all the VBS kids (from kindergarten through fifth grade) from morning and night sessions.

“At each VBS session, we also had the kids lead in a special prayer time. They were so glad to be a part of praying for and encouraging Logan and his family.”

The Woods have had a difficult year — chronicled by WXII-TV and other Piedmont media. First, Tracy, Logan’s mother, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then doctor’s found Logan’s brain cancer after an MRI scan performed because of a baseball accident.

For the last four years, Tracy has run a ministry providing food, clothing and haircuts for needy families. News of the cancers prompted an outpouring of community support directed at her and her family this time. That effort eventually reached Kernersville and Triad through local resident Rebecca Lanier.

Friends of Logan’s grandmother, she learned about Logan’s special request.

“He told his grandmother that he wanted to get ‘one thousand’ cards from all over the world,” Lanier said.“When Betty shared Logan’s request with me, I felt a tug on my heartstrings. I’m now on a mission.”

Another friend, Melissa King, told her about Triad’s reputation for outreach, so she called the church to ask if they would help with the card campaign.

“She told me that Triad was a church that loved outreach and she’d just read where Triad was going to have their VBS the upcoming week, and there would be hundreds of kids,” Lanier said.

“As soon as I learned about Logan’s situation, I immediately began praying for him and the family and could not stop thinking of how to make Logan's request come to fruition,” she said. “I knew his family did not want details on Facebook but they did want the world spread so he could get cards. I reached out to many individuals and asked God to open doors. And he did!”

Along with the cards, Lanier said she loved the pictures Needham provided of the children working on them at Triad and giving Logan the ‘thumbs up.’

“God provided, including working through your wonderful church family,” Lanier said. “Thank you for the service you do in God’s name and for His glory. You have made a tremendous difference. Tracy cried and could hardly speak when she heard about what happened at Triad.

“She said she sees and feels God’s presence because of all the love and prayers. From Tracy, Logan, and all the family, ‘thank you!’ ”