Community

My main ministry is the work I do at CCH but on Wednesday mornings I go to a women’s Bible study at one of the churches in town, Northside. We are going through the book The Shelter of God’s Promises by Sheila Walsh. We sit in table groups of about eight ladies at each table and discuss the promise for the week.

Personally, I have really enjoyed this time because I have been able to interact with women in the community who I would otherwise not see. In my group there are women in all stages of life. There’s me, a newly graduate of college, few are new mothers and a few are grandmothers. Likewise we are all in different stages in our spiritual lives. One woman started following Christ later on in her life but because of how broken she was before she met Christ she has a lot to share and teach us. Another woman just started coming to Northside because her son said his friends from school went there and so he wanted to go there too. Another woman found Christ and her husband saw a change in her and wanted to know what had happened, so for years now instead of pretending they are Christians who went to church every Sunday they live their life for Christ. Another woman grew up in church like me; her and her husband went to a Christian college together. I may be the youngest but since I work at the Christian Campus House everyone seems to assume I know the most.

Our conversation usually starts out talking about the promise for the week. This morning it was the promise of hope, Hebrews 13: 5-6. In the process of our talking we start asking different questions and the topic moves from hope to actually knowing if God is there when you are praying to Him to how to forgive, to eating right, to Halloween to Christmas to being a good wife.  

I have left challenged every week to search for answers to their questions. I pray every week when I am sitting at the table for the Holy Spirit to give me words to say to speak truth into these women’s lives. Sheila said this morning to tell the truth, don’t hide what God is doing in your life, someone needs to hear about it.

This Saturday night I drove to Joplin to volunteer with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They were building 7 houses in 7 days. I heard about volunteering through one of the students whose hometown is near Joplin. By the time I had a chance to sign up the night sifts were the only shifts available so I decided since this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity to work from 8pm-2am.  A few days before, I got online to get instructions and maps of what to do and where to park and that sort of thing. It said to get there an hour before your sift started. So I left Warrensburg around 4 and didn’t have any problems getting there. I eventually found the parking lot and asked the shuttle driver if I was in the right spot. He told me of another parking lot that was closer to the sight. I found my way to the sight, which is across from the hospital that was hit really bad. I could see a few houses that no longer had roofs and looked untouched from when the tornado came through.

The 7 houses are in a row on the street. I guess I expected cookie cutter houses, where they all look the same. But in front of each house was a large poster of the family and the theme of the house. There is the cabin house, the dollhouse, the eco house, etc. That impressed me, that even though they were building houses for families who where struck by natural disaster it was not just about providing them with shelter, the team took the time to listen to what the family wanted in a home.

My first job was sweeping the floor and picking up the plastic and cardboard the kitchen cabinets were wrapped in. It’s like how they show on TV where everyone looks to just be running around but they all know what they need to be doing. My next job was raking. Some volunteers were digging in the front yard for irrigation. I raked the rocks out of the yard and into the street. Then when the bobcat brought fresh rock-free dirt we raked it evenly over the yard. House 6’s yard will look the best!

I met a few people who were volunteering. There was a couple from California, Missouri, a woman from Kirksville, and some college girls from MSU. In the volunteer tent there was a 6’x8’ map of the United States and we were asked to put a piece of string from Joplin to where we were from. This map had some many pieces of string on it from cities all over the US!

In case you were worrying. I didn’t stay until 2 and then make the drive back to Warrensburg. I think I left around 12:30 and fell right to sleep when I got home.

Thoughts from DIG...

“The wilderness holds answers to questions man’s not yet learned to ask.” –Nancy Newhall

This quote reminds me of what my professor would tell us all the time about the “real world.” She would say, “You don’t know yet what you don’t know.” Meaning she had taught us four years worth of interior design knowledge but there were things we had to experience for ourselves in the work force that could not be replicated in a school setting.

The wilderness is where you grow when you didn’t know you needed growth. David was in the wilderness running from Saul in 1 Samuel 24 & 26. He learned to ask, “Should I take revenge?”  Jesus spent time in the wilderness in Mathew 4:1-11. When Satan was temping Jesus He relied on His father instead of Himself.

The wilderness does not have to be a scary, dreaded place. Brad pointed out the wilderness can be fearful and awe-inspiring at the same time. This afternoon I was talking with Meagan with three a's and she imagined when in the midst of the wilderness the fear would take over more than the awe but when you think back on the experience you will remember the awe more than being afraid.  It is an important part of our stories where we get answers to questions we don’t know yet to ask.

Click here to listen to Brad’s message this week from the Life of David series.

Repeat that one more time please

When I went to Haiti last January one of the lessons God taught me was that I can’t do it alone. I just saw things I wanted to fix in the Haitians’ lives and I couldn’t. But I also saw the love and passion growing inside my group members for the Haitians and I was encouraged. With our different talents and resources we could make a difference.

This last Sunday God reminded me AGAIN of this lesson. I went to Graceway in Kansas City. They are doing a series called Why Church? They are answering this question by studying through the book of Acts. This past week in Acts 9 the answer to the question Why Church? was Because together we can impact the world.

You can listen to the entire message here

Paul could not have done what he did without the church. (I need to stop and point out that the church here is not one specific church but is referring to all believers) After Saul has an encounter with God and his name changed to Paul he spent the rest of his life telling people about Jesus. He didn’t do this by himself. Some men and women went with him while others stayed behind to invest more where they were at. When Paul was writing to the Philippians he thanked them for providing for him without him asking, because they were praying for him they knew he was in need.

None of us can reach the world by ourselves but all of us have a part in God’s mission for Him to be loved, served, and worshiped by all peoples.