We had a great summer with 7 weeks of groups and our community summer day camp program! During that time we also completed projects for over 10 homeowners, 3 partners, and ourselves. As we meet physical needs for homeowners, we are having sweet Gospel conversations. Although projects due to flooding will occasionally reveal themselves, we approach those as they come and gospel conversations keep happening. Every time we think we might be wrapping up our time with a homeowner, the Lord reveals another task that needs attention and those Gospel conversations get deeper. While the tasks of porch repairs, wheelchair ramps, underpinning to help with heating bill, clearing property of trees and debris, repairing floors for those with disabilities are important, it is the conversations that are taking place that inspire me and remind me that all those projects matter. I LOVE a good to do list with a place to check off the task. BUT it is the text message conversation with a homeowner that begin with wanting to thank us and the volunteers for helping make their home safer. That text conversation changes to a phone conversation or a conversation on their porch as they wonder why they got to receive assistance.
There are also conversations where someone insists that someone else is in more need than themselves. Each of those conversations fill those project lists with greater purpose. These conversations happen because people served with humility. People experience the Gospel first and then get to hear it in quiet moments. It isn’t just the homeowner learning more about how Jesus sees and hears their hearts. It is also the volunteer who may grumble silently (or even loudly), whose heart gets softened and shaped a little more like Jesus while serving that same homeowner who is learning they are not forgotten. It is the volunteer whose cup gets filled through a conversation with another volunteer as they worked together. All of these moments are God using broken buildings to repair broken hearts.
In addition to home repairs, day camps are bringing kids and families to the Maytown Center from surrounding neighborhoods and hollers. These kids are playing messy games, building cars for race week, conducting crazy experiments for science week, and launching 1000s of water balloons for water days. Each day they are challenged to try new things, laugh belly laughs, and hear repeatedly in seemingly small ways that they matter to a man named Jesus. We started the summer with only 7 kids, but word spread and we now have 20 kids who participated regularly. Do you remember a few years ago when we were planning for THIS moment and we said we needed a van? Well, every Tuesday and Thursday every seat in THAT van is FULL of kids who wouldn’t have the opportunity to be part of day camp if we didn’t have that van! The community and churches are coming together, working alongside each other, and encouraging one another along to BE the Light in our community!
Beyond the van full of kids, we are listening and dreaming about more ways to connect. The Swinging Sensations, a small group of ladies and a few gentlemen, are using our Lunch Room to practice dances for performances at various community events and nursing homes. There are dreams and plans for a sewing club, cooking lessons, cookie swaps, bonfires, square dances, music nights, homecomings, and monthly community meals with multiple churches working together. The conversations that we dreamed about are happening and dreams are becoming reality. We can’t even begin to express our excitement! In a world full of darkness, these kids are learning about the light of Jesus. Thank you for walking with us as we continue to serve with this community.
-CJ Noe, Appalachia Field Director
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