Wednesday. Went to work in a pair of jeans...normal wear for a church in crisis. Grabbed my coffee and newspaper from Circle K like clockwork. Met one of the general contractors who had a subcontractor touring the facility to give him an accurate quote. Then unloaded my van with some of the volunteers for our HOPE ministry center. Bought a lot of goods last night plus one of our worshipers dropped off some canned goods and nonperishables as well. Good start to our ministry operations.
A good crew of CFA workers arrived ready to serve and minister to people with the love of Jesus. This transformation of our people toward constant relief ministry is one of the amazing wonders of this flood. We all have such a heart for our community and for those who are suffering. Not man driven, but God centered. Our open facilities in the heart of this flood disaster is touching countless lives on a daily basis. You've got to come and see it to believe it!
Since we had plenty of volunteers for the HOPE ministry outreach center I took a couple of our ladies, Sher and Barb, out on a ministry walk. We walked across the street, how's that for a missions assignment, and starting conversing with our neighbors. Been a little while since I checked on them, so I thought it would be a great day to do this and share the ministry joy with our people.
First there was Bruce. We brought he and his friend some fruit and nut granola bars. He stopped working on his home to chat a while. You could tell he was grateful and appreciative for this drop-in visit. He was upbeat and positive...awesome. His whole home was open studs yet he had a great spirit. We held hands and prayed for him and for his friend.
Next we checked on Lisa's house. She was gone for the moment but we followed up on her as well. She's been sleeping on an air mattress on the floor. Later in the day I called her and she too had a great attitude about things. She was thanking me for the way that our people have checked on her regularly and for the love that we have shown. Lord, why has it taken so long to minister effectively to the people that are closest to our worship center. May we never assume that someone else is reaching them for Christ...help us to win them no matter what the cost!
Next it was off to Carolyn's house. She has been stationed in her garage with a lawn chair and usually has her cell phone up to her ear. When she saw us coming, she said to the one she was talking to that she would call her back. She calls me Pastor Don and gives me a smile when she sees me. I introduced the two ladies and we had another great ministry visit. She also was positive about the progress being made on her house. I assured her that we would have some help soon if she would ever need it. She seemed assured of things, so we prayed for her, specifically for healing in her legs and gave her a hug as we said goodbye.
Then we were off to Denny and Bonnie's home. This precious couple has really been melted by the love they have received from the many workers and friends that have dropped by from our fellowship. We met Bonnie's sister and brother in law. The brother in law was taking measurements for upcoming work on their house. Again we assured him that if they would like some donated labor by people coming for work teams connected to our church that we would provide it. Seemed like a light bulb smile went off from everyone in that room. Amazing what a little love and time will do with folks. Before we left we held hands and prayed...the brother in law stopped what he was doing to get in on the prayer...literally awesome. We shared hugs and then left.
Next, I wanted to check on one of our members who was renting but lost everything. He lived just a block away. While we walked there we traveled down an alley or two to find his home. I mentioned to the ladies that that was the first time I had walked that area. One of them said that it was the same for her as well...both of us just soaking in the realization that we were so close to these homes but had never really taken the time to get to know them. Oh, we had passed out ministry tickets many times, but never really establishing and investing in these relationships. Guess what? One of our vision points for this year has been to "strategically invest and invite." Can you believe that this is coming to pass before our very eyes? God you never cease to amaze me of the ways that you bring these things to pass and then open up our eyes to your wonderful miracles!
Steve wasn't there but the owner of the house was. We chatted a while and mentioned to him that if he saw Steve to let him know that his pastor was out checking on him. He said he would.
Right next door to Steve's I saw a woman struggling with a large box as she tried to maneuver it down the stairs and out of the house. I helped her with the box and loaded it up in her car. We got to talking about her situation and she seemed interested in sharing her story with us. Sherry invited us into her home and showed us the damage where the water had risen in her house. She hadn't received a lot of assistance by anyone and appeared desperate to talk. We introduced ourselves as members from Columbus First Assembly. She said that she had been there as a child, as well as taking her two girls to our many outreaches throughout the year. We mentioned that we were preparing a relief ministry to assist homeowners in repairing their homes. She too was delighted with this news. She didn't know how she was going to do it all since she was a single mother with 2 kids, and not really making a decent wage. Left her my business card and then we prayed with her...so neat to see our two ladies take these individuals to the Lord with their prayers. Priceless!
After this visit we walked back to the church glowing in the ways that God had used us this day. Felt as if we were on a missions trip with the tremendous ministry outreach that we conducted.
Thanks Lord for guiding our steps and leading us to those who needed a special touch of your love!
I had to meet Dave at Red Cross to pick up any remaining supplies since they were shutting down their distribution center. We were able to retrieve jugs of water, bleach, toothbrushes, first aid kits and many other necessary items. Drove back to church...had volunteers to unload these goodies...and then checked on our HOPE ministry center.
Thrilled that Mike was able to secure some command center partitions that would provide a little seclusion for our separate work stations. This temporary office nerve center is really working out quite well. Allison even brought her personal laptop and was able to connect online from our office modem. Plus she was able to utilize a printer as well. Little by little more of our office functions are being returned to us. Can't wait till our new custom built computers will arrive with all the data that was on the old ones. Thanks Lord for your attention to every detail!
Two of our Billy Graham Disaster Relief ministry friends returned with good news today. Paul and Allen glowed with this personal testimony. They mentioned that while stopping by yesterday they followed some people out of our HOPE center. It looks like our volunteers helped them with finding some clothes and other supplies. Because of their hearts being softened Paul and Allen were able to lead these two ladies to Christ. PTL!! More names written down in the Lambs Book of Life. They recognized the seed of love that had been planted in their heart and the ease in praying them home to Christ. Winning souls is what it's all about. Are you doing your part? God's Word says that one plants, another waters but it is God who giveth the increase. Everyone is needed in the harvest fields.
Later today my son, David and I walked over to help another of our members move some of their possessions out of their rented home. It was a joy to serve them...as they are new converts won to Christ this year. Lord, help us to reach more and more people in our city for you!
Looking forward to a little rest tomorrow. Remember I used to take a full day off on Thursdays, but not since the flood. I have an appointment or two tomorrow at the church that I must keep. But I do hope to take some time off from the daily grind. Lord renew my physical batteries to stay in this race all the way to the end!
Enjoyed a bike ride with three of my kids tonight...even if we did get the bikes completely muddy from the dirt trails.
Please pray for these following prayer items...
- Strength for the journey and direction in all of our steps.
- Supplies to be given to our HOPE outreach center...we are getting low.
- Gift to be directed to our FLOOD FUND. We are praying for contributions to assist us in the next phase of our reconstruction, rebuilding and restocking. You can click on the following link and go to our online giving site: www.columbusfirstassembly.org
- Drop by for a visit to witness for yourselves what God is doing in our church. The transformation of our lobby and sanctuary for a food pantry, clothes closet and supplies station is pretty amazing.
God bless you. Get involved in serving somewhere in ministry in your church. The benefits are out of this world.
Love to all.
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