Service Project

Hey church, Phil Southan here,

I heard about this summer of service promotion, but a lot of us are very busy and it is hard to get out and do the big projects that some are doing. Well, there are young men and women from Arkansas of the 188th fighter squadron that were deployed to the hot, dry, dangerous region of the war in Afghanistan last Wednesday. My next-door neighbor, Brad Allen, has been deployed there twice and he and his friends have been on my heart this past week. 


I thought it would be nice if these men and women received letters of thanks and encouragement from us. This is something we could do at home in the evening before we all settle in for the night (might be a good idea to skip America’s Got Talent for the night). 


I have provided envelopes and address labels in case some of you have a care package you might want to send. The envelopes and labels will be available on a table in the welcome area at church or you can come see me. All you have to do is address it to a Servicemen and add a label sticker. Remember that these men and women are your neighbors, schoolmates and members of your community. We can show them we care and that they are the precious children of God deserving of our love. 




*You can also e-mail Phil for more information at southanphillip@gmail.com.

Thoughts from the Gypsy Camp

From Alex Cornett:


I remember a friend, Matt Pierson, sharing about creation. He spoke about God's design
and us as a part of that design. He used an example of music and talked about how
our ears discern as pleasing, those rhythms, tones and cadences that fit the rhythm of
creation. Conversely, when we hear a cacophony of noise with no rhythm, rhyme or
reason, it is noticeable regardless of culture or preference.

He shared something similar when he expanded the conversation to include those
things we enjoy with our eyes. Seeing the beauty of creation as an engineer, he
demonstrated how our eyes enjoy shapes and designs that are often consistent in
creation.

This same principle did not exactly apply to the things I saw this week as I traveled with
John, Lesley and Teresa among the gypsies in Mukachevo, Ukraine. By American
standards, the camp was not beautiful. It consisted mostly of houses cobbled together
with rudimentary supplies often salvaged from the local dump. The children were mostly
dirty and in need of various hygiene to bring them to what we consider minimum good
health. As I share this, I recognize I could easily have used these same words
to describe my historic trips to Honduras, Tibet, Mexico or other parts of the world.
Why I recalled Matt's message in the middle of this trip became clearer as I spent more
time with them.

As with other places and experiences, the inner beauty of the people began to surface
and slowly replaced the initial view that marred my first impression. The noted
external appearance was slowly replaced by a new picture painted with the unique
personality, dreams, cares and desires of those I had a chance to spend time with.
When I saw them with pity, I was unable to clearly see the beauty of God's design.
When I saw them with indifference, I missed miles of scenery through their eyes. When
I saw them as His creation, beauty and potential blossomed before my very eyes.
For me, the ongoing challenge of consistently seeing creation through the eyes of the
Creator is real. In those fortunate instances that I do, my conscience is heightened, my
discernment grows and I enjoy blessing and beauty far beyond what I could ever have
imagined or experienced left to my own design.

Lemonade and a Smile

From Sean and Julie Smith:


We have been talking to our oldest daughter Brighton about serving others since before the Summer of Serve started, and I've been challenging her to think of ways that she can serve others even as a kid. Well, she came up with an idea while talking to Julie about a week and a half ago, and they (along with our other two little girls) put it into action this past Monday.

Julie, Brighton, Berkeley and Boston all headed over to Second Mile (a ministry connected to UBC that serves the poor and needy in the community) Monday morning and set up a lemonade stand on the front porch. They gave away free lemonade, water, popsicles and cookies all morning long to everyone that came to Second Mile.

It may seem like a small thing, but it is pretty awesome to see kids "get it" that serving others doesn't have to be complicated.  It can be just a smile, a cup of cold lemonade and a reminder that God loves you, even when life is hard.

go7 Saturday

Here's a report from Sean Smith from Saturday's volunteer time with 7 Hills:


Thank you all so much for coming and helping this past Saturday morning with the 7 Hills "go7" project in Prairie Grove. Jen Boyle, the program director, shared some information about this past Saturday.

Prairie Grove highlights:

236 people served in just over 1 hour

$10K in product - gathered from shareholders excess, United Way Gift in Kind, food drives for 7hills, volunteer vendor donation

30+ volunteers served

We asked the community "What is your greatest need?"

Answer:  food, personal care items, "everything," also a lot of requests for detergent

Jen also passed along her thanks and said that everyone from Grace was "fabulous" and that she'd love to serve with any of you again in the future.  

Thanks for serving!

It's the Summer of Serve at Grace Church: a time to get off the couch and go serve the community and people around us. We look forward to sharing your stories of service here on the blog.