Thank you all for your prayers for the mission that I led this past weekend! I had the opportunity of leading a group of 10 participants from New Life Christian School, West Virginia! This group upon their arrival Friday afternoon was ready to dive in! And… well… we did just that!
They arrived and immediately we unloaded the vehicle and then did a very brief orientation for what the afternoon held. We had the opportunity of serving two families.
Ms. Sylvia and Mr. McAvoy. Half of the group went to help Ms. Sylvia with a shed that needed some much needed organizing! AIM and other mission groups have been helping little by little for over a year now to get her house safe and functioning. While the house is now functional and safe it has many improvements to be done to it! We were able to organize their personal belongings and materials for future groups to come in and continue to bless Ms. Sylvia.
The second group went to the McAvoy’s to fill in a large hole in their yard that was created after a water-main had broke. Kristen, the co-leader for this trip went with the group to the McAvoy’s. Here’s an excerpt from her blog:
“One group went to the home of a woman
named Mrs. Sylvia, where they did manual labor around her home. My group
went to the home of the McAvoys, who needed a trench in their back yard
filled in. Mrs. McAvoy’s story is
named Mrs. Sylvia, where they did manual labor around her home. My group
went to the home of the McAvoys, who needed a trench in their back yard
filled in. Mrs. McAvoy’s story is
heart breaking. Her husband has Stage
Four lung/brain cancer. She’s had a grandchild die, her father-in-law
has cancer, her mother-in-law is in terrible back pain, her sisters-in
law have cancer, and she has diabetes and gout. She needed the trench in
her backyard filled in so her family could have an Easter Egg hunt for
the little ones next weekend-perhaps the last one with their
grandfather, Mr. McAvoy.
Four lung/brain cancer. She’s had a grandchild die, her father-in-law
has cancer, her mother-in-law is in terrible back pain, her sisters-in
law have cancer, and she has diabetes and gout. She needed the trench in
her backyard filled in so her family could have an Easter Egg hunt for
the little ones next weekend-perhaps the last one with their
grandfather, Mr. McAvoy.
This was my first time interacting with the team, seeing them in
ministry. I settled in taking pictures, helping where I could, and
talking with each person. The students were so great… I really enjoyed
hearing their stories, learning about their lives, and talking about
Jesus with them! We settled into a rhythm, and not too long after, I
noticed one of the students, Tabitha, talking with Mrs. McAvoy. She
later told me that normally she is REALLY shy, but that her father had
Stage 4 cancer and God healed him. She felt like she needed to share
that with Mrs. McAvoy. It really encouraged her. We were able to pray
for Mrs. McAvoy before we left (her husband was asleep) and she thanked
us over and over, telling us how great it was going to be for them to
have the Easter Egg Hunt as a family. She kept saying she would never
forget us.”
ministry. I settled in taking pictures, helping where I could, and
talking with each person. The students were so great… I really enjoyed
hearing their stories, learning about their lives, and talking about
Jesus with them! We settled into a rhythm, and not too long after, I
noticed one of the students, Tabitha, talking with Mrs. McAvoy. She
later told me that normally she is REALLY shy, but that her father had
Stage 4 cancer and God healed him. She felt like she needed to share
that with Mrs. McAvoy. It really encouraged her. We were able to pray
for Mrs. McAvoy before we left (her husband was asleep) and she thanked
us over and over, telling us how great it was going to be for them to
have the Easter Egg Hunt as a family. She kept saying she would never
forget us.”
The first day was an opportunity to be used by God by stepping out of their comfort zone to not only meet felt needs but to be relational and share their stories and experience with the Lord.
