From Shane Kyles, Director of The Way 2 Serve
God always reveals Himself and His plan when we give up on our plan. Just over a week ago on Saturday, October 19, hundreds of volunteers from several churches came together to serve… in the rain! Although the ground was wet, the spirits of those who planned to serve for My Jerusalem were not dampened! While there were some exclusively “outdoor” projects, we did have other specific home repair projects scheduled to complete on Saturday. It was amazing to see the body of Christ unite and form a plan to go out into the community and serve those who are in need. Projects that could be completed during the rain were, and the rest were rescheduled.
One example of this was the Block Party—as the rain poured down, Joseph (our Grow Coordinator) and I kept our eyes on the weather forecast for the next day which showed a forecast of “Sunny” with very comfortable temperatures. The Block Party happened on Sunday afternoon, and it was beautiful to see the community come together for an afternoon of fun and fellowship. God showed us that although we made plans for My Jerusalem to fall on a specific day, He wanted to extend this focused time of rebuilding the broken walls in our community.
As we sent groups out to serve while rescheduling others for a different day, Mike (our Projects Coordinator and Board Member) said, “God knew it was going to rain today, so he already had everything worked out!”, and I think he was right.
We shouldn’t cease to do what God has called us to just because it rains—we worship Him in spirit and truth.. rain or shine! We can (and should) do it all the time.
What I love about this is that home repair projects that could not be completed in the rain were rescheduled to another day with the same teams. This My Jerusalem service day is extending beyond the “one day” we had planned into several different days that teams have scheduled to go out into the community. We praise God for His faithfulness and for his people who love the community. Here are some images taken from teams serving on Saturday and throughout the week!
You can find more stories on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
We always say that a My Jerusalem service day is “just the beginning” for sharing the love of Jesus in the community, and that takes a different form this time around with teams serving far beyond the day. We hope that becomes a normal occurrence. We can rebuild the broken walls of our community throughout the year.
Would you serve with us on one of the rescheduled projects, or follow up with families that were helped? The work has just begun, and you are needed to complete this good work! There are continual needs in the community. Let’s continue to rebuild homes and restore people in the community… together. Contact us today to get started!
