"We went to help the broken, and God used them to break our hearts."
-Justin Baxter, 12th grade
Justin shared the above quote on Sunday morning during the 11:00 service. His comments continue to send chills up my spine because they are so accurate...God broke our hearts, and moved among us. God used our students to show compassion and grace to the least of these, but God used the least of these to change us. None of the 30 people who went our the trip last week are the same...Thanks be to God!
Some highlights include:
-In one house we drywalled the living room and kitchen, including the ceilings. We remodeled a bathroom from the floor boards up. We took out a window, reframed the wall, insulated and sided. We sanded and taped drywall in the bedrooms and eventually painted it all. As we left, the husband looked at his wife and said "This is looking like a home, rather than a shack."
-In one trailer, we skirted the trailer, replaced the windows and door and eventually fixed the back wall of the trailer that had been ripped from the back by building a frame to reattach the wall to the trailer. Pretty incredible stuff for 22 teenagers!
-Toward the end of the week, the students approached us because they wanted to paint the drywall in the house. Two teenage girls lived in those rooms, and our girls had forged a new friendship with the girls, and our girls wanted to do something extra for their new friends. Unfortunately, money wasn't going to allow paint (or new lineolium in the bathroom) and our students decided they wanted to give their own money to buy paint. Their hearts were broken, and a coat of paint quickly covered the walls.
-The lady who lived in the trailer lived there without electricity or running water. She had lost everything that she had in a fire about 10 months earlier. As our students worked, they decided she needed new curtains for her windows, and after a trip to Wal-Mart, she had new curtains, a new area rug, and sheets and blankets for her bed...that they paid for with their own money. Toward the end of the week, a guy pulled out his wallet and handed me all the money that was inside. When I protested and told him that it was too much he said "I have a paycheck at home...They have nothing. It's the least I can do."
-On Tuesday night, we began devotions. I had my devotions ready, but I wasn't even close to being prepared for what was about to happen. In what I consider a Pentecost moment for our group, the Holy Spirit showed up in a powerful way. I began to speak and towards the end, I offered an invite to accept Jesus Christ (this was not in my original plan!). That night, three students accepted Christ and 7 others rededicated their lives to Jesus. For the next three hours I talked to students and prayed with students. One student made the decision to get baptized and give his life fully to Jesus. Two senior high guys poured their hearts out and told me about the many struggles they encounter. Toward the end of our conversation, i said "What can I do to help you guys follow Jesus?" and with tears one guy responded "This. Talk to us. Go to Taco Bell with us. Play frisbee golf with us. Let us know that we're not hopeless and help us follow Jesus." I still cry when I think about that Holy moment and the absolutely overwhelming affirmation of my ministry there. It hit home for me, as I had been questioning my ministry effectiveness...Thanks be to God for being bigger than my missteps and using me for God's greater purposes.
-On Friday, the homeowner wanted to thank the kids for their hard work. She left about 2 PM and returned about 3 PM with six pizzas from Little Caesars. She couldn't afford the pizza...it was extravagant and an incredible thank you and the students knew that. That night I told my students that I wanted to serve them communion with pizza, just so they could get a picture of God's extravagant grace. May we always embody the extravagant grace that is given to us.
I have more stories and more pictures...Too many to put here. But I'll close with the statement I made to the congregation on Sunday morning...
"I put a hole in the bus. Two actually. I accidentally got the church bus wedged between a cliff and the overhang of a cabin and promptly put two holes in the roof of the bus. I didn't mean to do it and I'm sorry. But the hole in the bus can't begin to compare to the brokenness of our hearts."
Thanks be to God.
