2014 Year in Review

Dear Supporters of Mission Athens,

We have had a great year with your support being the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. God continues to use each of us in His service. Below is the 2014 year-end review.

•      13 homeless families moved into permanent housing

•      61 families were assisted with utility payments

•      21 families were provided assistance with rent

•      15 families were helped with transportation

•      15 families were provided food, clothes, or furniture

•      6 clients were assisted with medical needs

•      8 families were provided transitional housing

•      5 water bills were paid

•      3 families were provided heaters

 

That’s 147 families touched by your love and kindness!  Lives have been changed!!

 

We helped provide 110 Thanksgiving meals.

21 Children were able to receive Christmas gifts thanks to all your generosity.

20 Christmas Food Boxes were distributed.

 

Thank you for your support of The Haven!  We have more children than we ever imagined, and a long waiting list!  Our volunteers are also increasing!  2015 is the perfect year to get involved!

 

We are excited to announce our first ever official fund raiser-Magic In Your Heart. The entertainer has been booked (thanks to a generous donation) and the venue has been chosen. If you would like to make a donation of time, money or just purchase a ticket. Please contact us.

 

Thanks again for you continued support. We are looking forward to a blessed 2015!

 

Mission Athens Team

Peculiar People Doing Extraordinary Work in Service to Our King

Peculiar People

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of God who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."  1 Peter 2:9

 

In the first few verses of the book of Jonah, we meet a man who hears God calling him to go on a journey.  God calls to Jonah and tells him to go to Ninevah to preach and teach there because it is a wicked place.  We don't really know why, but the Bible says, "Jonah ran away from the Lord." Jonah 1:3.  For some reason, Jonah really did not want to go to Ninevah, so instead, he went down to the sea, bought a ticket, and set sail for Tarshish.  He was getting out of Dodge, and hoping he could hide from God's purpose for his life.

 

Look at the picture posted above.  Does it look like Ninevah to you?  It certianly does to me.  No one in their right mind would want to go there.  No one would long to be there.  It is a picture of destruction, devastation, pain and sorrow.  It is messy.  It is dangerous.  It is complicated and exhausting.  It is hard to even look at it and not feel tired.

 

Do you ever feel like God is calling you to do something you really don't want to do?

 

We all know the rest of Jonah's story.  You can't run away from God.  The Lord sent a mighty storm that nearly destroyed Jonah's ship.  He woke up from deep sleep in the ship and saw the distress of his fellow sailors.  He knew that God had found him.  He asked the other men to throw him into the sea, and instantly, the waters calmed.  God sent a great fish to swallow Jonah up.

 

Jonah prays fervently to God from the belly of the fish.  "Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them.  But I, with shouts of grateful praise will sacrifice to you.  What I have vowed, I will make good."  Jonah 2:8-9.

 

In the weeks and months preceeding April 27, 2011, Central Church of Christ was undergoing a transformation, although I'm not sure we knew it.  Mission Athens had been formed, and we were in the early stages of trying to establish this ministry as a light for those who had the greatest needs in our community.  We all felt like God was calling us to be disciples, and we were trying, but we weren't quite sure we knew what we were doing.

 

Then, on April 27, a massive storm struck our state and worked to get our attention.  Over 100 devastating tornadoes ripped through Alabama that day.  Power was out for thousands in our community for over a week.  Lives, property, hearts and souls were ripped apart and shredded to pieces. 

 

The soldiers of Christ at Central responded.  We opened a Tornado Relief Center at our church.  This blog was born.  Supplies were donated, volunteers were coordinated, people were fed, and we helped so many people put their lives back together.

 

It was messy.  We didn't do everything right.  We got really tired.  But mostly, we glowed with the light that comes from our heavenly Father who gave us the strength and inspiration we needed to get through that terrible storm.

 

In many ways, in the midst of all that devastation and ugliness, the people of God never looked more beautiful.  We were never more radiant than in those dark days.

 

Time goes on.  Life goes on.  Central Church of Christ has grown so much since 2011.  We are now offering two services on Sunday mornings.  We have a new, larger ministry team.  Mission Athens is a thriving community ministry with a permanent presence in the heart of Athens with The Haven.  Life at Central is good, and the people of Central are doing good work.

 

Then, a peculiar thing happened.

 

Last Monday, devastating tornadoes once again struck Limestone County. 

 

This time, we immediately responded, opening as a Red Cross shelter a few hours after the tornadoes touched down. 

 

Throughout last week, it was easy to feel God's presence at Central Church of Christ.  Women came first, setting up supplies, cooking food, making strong coffee, and ministering to storm victims who were devastated with the loss of loved ones.  These women dove right in to the work, doing everything up to and including rocking babies, and even bathing those poor, broken and battered people who needed the love of Jesus on what was surely the worst night of their lives.

Then came the men the next day with their strong backs and their chain saws.  Everyone worked together to unload trucks, set up cots, organize supplies, cut trees, clear debris, clean up the mess.  The youth group, the young adults, the women's ministry, and the young at heart group worked together with our friends from the community like the football team, the Baptist church, the Methodist church, hundreds of volunteers from every walk of life to support storm victims and do whatever needed to be done.

 

There are so many stories of heroism, big and small, that come to the surface during these trials.  The story of the little girl who donated clothes and toys and included a note that simply said, "I love you."  The story of the sweet church lady who refused to go home but who stayed at the church working day and night despite her own health problems.  The stories of our ministry team sharing the good news of Jesus and His unfailing love with people who so desperately needed His peace....all of these stories inspire me to be a better disciple.

When disaster strikes, most people immediately take care of themselves and their own families, which is a good and worthy thing to do.  Many people, upon discovering their power will be out for a few days, drive to the next town and check into a hotel, or go and stay with relatives.  These would be considered "normal" responses, right?

How peculiar, how incredibly strange, to see so many hundreds of people sacrifice themselves in the service of others.  How beautiful to watch men take vacation time from their jobs to cut trees and break their backs helping complete strangers.  How marvelous to know that people love the Lord so much that they would work day and night in service to Him so that others may feel His love in their hour of need.

God called Jonah to do work that he did not want to do.  No one at Central Church of Christ would have chosen to become a church that specializes in disaster relief.  It is incredibly hard, messy, emotional, exhausting and frustrating.  Yet, it is when we do the things we think we cannot do that we rely most heavily on God's strength to get us through.  He is made perfect in our weakness.

You could not look anywhere at Central Church of Christ last week and not see God's light shining.  He was there in the dark night of the storm.  It was His hands who comforted the mourning souls, His heart that lead us to pray with the devastated.  His feet lead us out into the destroyed communities, and His love lead us to lift and work and sacrifice our time in backbreaking labor to help our neighbors.

God is love, and His love lifted us to one of our finest hours.

If you are looking for a special place filled with imperfect people who love to serve a mighty God, please come and visit us at Central Church of Christ.  Don't wait for a natural disaster to get busy serving Him.  We need you now.  We have so much work to do.  Like Jonah, we have been tested, and we believe in God's purpose for our lives and our church.  What we have vowed, we will make good.

We are a peculiar people.




Help Wanted at The Haven

Today is Saturday...one of my favorite days of the week!  Great time to sit back, relax, and enjoy time with the family.  It is also a great time to reflect on the week that has passed and plan for the one to come.

As you think about this past week, what did you accomplish?  Did you wrap up a big project at work?  Did your child finish one sporting season last week and are you getting ready to start another next week?  Did you stick to your New Year's Resolution to eat right and exercise or did you find yourself in the drive thru yet again?

If you are like me, you checked a few things off your to do list, but there are probably more left to be done. 

A tougher question to answer is this one...how many seeds did you plant in the kingdom of God last week?

As I think back on my week, I hope that the colleagues I worked with felt His love through my leadership and actions, but if I'm honest, I probably missed some opportunities to talk about Jesus and how good He has been to me.

If I'm brutally honest, I wasted quite a bit of time playing Candy Crush when I could have been reading the Bible or praying with my children.

It's hard in the moment to realize we are missing opportunities or wasting time.  Sometimes we just get all wrapped up in the day and become hypnotized by the whirlwind of modern life.  The truth is, I probably spend more time telling my kids to brush their teeth and find their shoes than I do praying with them about their day ahead.  Maybe next week, I will do better.

Whenever we talk about Mission Athens at Central, we are overwhelmed by the support and interest that our church family feels for this ministry.  I believe there is genuine love and appreciation for the Dollar Club and for the work we are doing in the 5th Avenue area of town at The Haven.  Lots of people just like me think "I want to do more at The Haven.  I will try to make it over there next week."  But then life happens, the phone rings, the iPad dings with another email, and we are back in our weekly dance of rush, rush, rush.  Then Saturday comes, and we think, "What did I really accomplish this week?"

I would like to challenge everyone who is reading this blog to do SOMETHING in the week ahead to help the ministry at The Haven.  There are three times when we need volunteers.  Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30 and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 we offer tutoring and homework help.  Thursday evenings at 6:30 we host a Bible study for the families we help with the Dollar Club each week.  At all three times, we like to offer snacks to our guests.  We always need yard work help.  We just got new tables and chairs last week, and we continue to need new books and materials for our library.  We need iTunes cards so we can load educational games for the kids to play.  We need WalMart gift cards so we can buy cleaning supplies and snacks.  The list of ways to help is long.

Most of all, we need people to show up.  We need volunteers who can commit just one hour a week, and our most desperate need is for tutoring on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.  We have a core group of incredible women who we know will be there, rain or shine.  But now that we are a year into this ministry, these ladies are getting a little tired.  It would be wonderful to have enough volunteers that we can count on so that these helpers could have an afternoon off every now and then.

You may be thinking that you couldn't possibly tutor anyone, but you are wrong.  If you can read, write, and add and subtract, you can help these kids.  If you can't, you can still come and just "visit" with them.  They love it!  We are averaging over 20 kids each afternoon, and now that the temperatures are rising, we may have even more.  We desperately need helpers who can talk with the kids and just be a friendly face for them.

Beyond those opportunities, what else can you do to help this ministry?  We have a wish list.  We would love to begin to offer some "enrichment" activities for the kids beyond just the two afternoon homework help sessions.  It would be great to host a painting class one day.  Many of these kids have never been to the movies, and we would love to organize a field trip to the movies one weekend.  Perhaps you can sing and could organize a day to teach the kids a few songs.  What can you do?  How can you use that talent to help out at The Haven?

Please take a moment to think about your week ahead.  Can you find some extra time or money and use it to plant some seeds?  Can you help out at the Haven?  You will be richly and abundantly blessed by your service.  If you talk to any of our regular volunteers, you will see a huge smile as they talk about how much they love the children and how much they have loved getting to know each other better, too.  It is such a wonderful opportunity right here in our backyard to be the hands and feet of Jesus. 

Please talk with Tanya Griffin and Beth Patton about ways you can help.  Take some time each Tuesday and Thursday to pray for the work at The Haven.  Thank you so much for your support of Mission Athens!  Together, all of us are planting little seeds of God's love in this community.  It will be so much fun to harvest them through the years together!

"The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose.  Yet they will be rewarded individually, according to their own hard work."  1 Corinthians 3:6-8

Counting Our Blessings and Sharing Our Abundance

1 Thessalonians 5:18  in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

A few years ago, I was working with a young employee on my team at work.  We were complaining about something work related--I can't even remember what it was.  She was a new college graduate, and I had just given her a "real job in the real world," and I should have been setting a better example.  But, as co-workers often do, we were having one of those moments around the proverbial water cooler, complaining about some new type of company policy that was causing us some momentary stress.

As we groused, she began to smile and asked me, "Have I ever told you about my mother?"  "No," I replied, "but why don't you?"

Turns out this brave young lady has had quite the life.  Her parents married young and started their family.  Her father had worked as the manager of a fast food restaurant while her mother cleaned houses in between caring for their three children.  Devoted Christians, her parents had taught their kids that no matter the balance in their checking account, God is good all the time.  Needless to say, money was tight, and these kids learned the value of a dollar. 

My friend's mother encouraged her children to clip coupons, and she would give them the money she saved at the grocery store with their coupons for their own savings.  She also taught them to be genuinely grateful for the little things in life--a sunny day, a hot meal, a roof over their heads.

When the children were very young, their mother was diagnosed with cancer.  She maintained her strong faith in God, and she battled through her treatments to achieve remission.  Her cancer would come back, and then go into remission again.  Her life became an ongoing battle with this horrible disease.

As the children grew older, they complained as children often do.  My friend said she would call her mom from college to talk to her about the problems in her friendships, her sorority, or her classes.  She said her mom always made her feel better about whatever she was complaining about.

"What was her secret?" I asked, already feeling guilty for my sour attitude.

"She made me count my blessings," my friend said.

"Oh, that's always a good idea," I said.

"But do you really know how to do it?" asked my friend.  "I'm not sure...I think so," I replied.

"Let me tell you my mom's approach..." said my friend.

First, think about where you were born.  Were you born in Africa with no father and a mother with AIDS?  Were you born in a crack house in Memphis?  Were you born in India and literally thrown in the garbage?

If your answer is no, praise the Lord!

Just by simply thanking God for the circumstances of your birth, you begin to realize how incredibly blessed you are compared to millions of people who are less fortunate than you.

Feeling better about your problems yet?

Next, think about your body.  Do you have two legs with two feet?  Do you have both your arms?  Can you see, smell, taste and touch?  Can you eat and digest food to nourish your body?  Do you have a sound mind and the ability to maintain a somewhat "normal" mental health?

If your answers are yes, praise the Lord!  You are beautifully and wonderfully made!  Think of all the people who have lost limbs, had babies who are blind, or who battle mental illness.  Thank God you have a healthy, functioning body with which to serve the Lord!

Feeling better about your problems yet?

Now, where are you?  Are you safe?  Are you sheltered from the elements of nature?  Do you have a comfortable bed and a closet full of clean clothes?  Do you have a car and the freedom to go here or there and exercise your free will as you choose with no fear of the government or police?  Can you choose what you wear or must you veil your hair and face?

Thank God for the gifts of shelter, clothing, and freedom!  Thank God you live in America!

Feeling a little better now?

What did you have to eat today?  Did you have a conversation with your friends or family about what you would eat?  Did you have a pantry full of good, healthy food but choose to eat at a restaurant anyway?

Good for you!  Praise the Lord!

I think you get the picture.

My sweet friend's wise mother had the gift of perspective.  She knew that the Lord had been so good to her and to her family.  She also had the wisdom to help her children overcome the very real problems in their life by turning their thoughts to praise versus pouting.

I think about that conversation all the time.  I thought about it a few Sundays ago when my family left church and my kids got in a huge fight over where we would eat lunch.  My husband and I got fed up and came home to eat--hopefully they learned a small lesson about being a bit more thankful for the treat of a restaurant meal. 

I think about my friend's mom when I hear statistics like these:

80% of the people on this planet live on less than $10 per day.

According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die around the world each day due to poverty.

Around 27-28 percent of the children of the world are underweight or stunted.

Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their name.

Of the 2.2 billion children in the world, 1 billion live in poverty.

These statistics are overwhelming and make my heart hurt.  They also humble me in gratitude to the King of Glory.  My mother used to say to us all the time, "To whom much is given, much is required."  We have been so richly blessed.

As this time of year rolls around, families draw together to enjoy delicious food and give thanks to our Creator.  It is also a time of giving and sharing.  But when we hear statistics about the overwhelming vastness of need on the planet, we can begin to feel overwhelmed and feel so small. 

What difference can I make for one billion children?

Maybe I can't make a difference for a billion children, but I can make a difference for a few.

Mission Athens is hosting a night of service tonight at Central.  Please come and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal and service of psalms and songs as we praise the God of goodness who has so richly blessed us.  We also will be collecting canned and non perishable food items for the food bank at LCCI. 

A few weeks ago, I was dropping off some food at LCCI, and I met a woman there who was getting food for her young children who were also with her.  She had a hard time looking anyone in the eye, but she finally looked at me and whispered "thank you."

I immediately whispered my own prayer of thanks to my heavenly Father that I am in a position to share.  We all have so much we can share, and together we CAN make a difference for our neighbors right here in Athens, AL. 

As Mother Theresa famously said, "If you can't feed one hundred people, then just feed one."

As Thanksgiving comes around this year, take a moment to think about your perspective.  Do you really count your blessings in the way my friend's mom taught her?  I know that I need to do it more often.  We also all have the opportunity to share our abundance with others, and I pray that you and your family will find some small way to help someone in need this holiday season.

What is Poverty?

Perspective

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"  Matthew 6:25

It's been a while since I sat down and really poured my heart out in a Mission Athens blog.  I have posted a few updates about our activities this year, but I haven't sat down and really let it all out in a while.  It's not that God hasn't been moving through Mission Athens--He has.  It isn't that amazing things aren't happening in this ministry--they are.  It really has everything to do with me and my own struggles this year.

It's funny how faith works.  In the past few years, I have felt like my faith has grown exponentially through all that I have studied and learned and discovered.  Much of that discovery has come through Mission Athens and the joy we feel when we devote our lives to service.  But like a river that can one moment be smooth and calm and serene, around the next bend, that same river can turn into the most treacherous rapids and become terrifying--that's a little like life and our faith at times, isn't it?

I didn't really realize how much I had missed blogging about Mission Athens until a few weeks ago when I sat down for lunch with one of our amazing Mission Athens missionaries, and she told me a Dollar Club story that at the same time broke my heart and filled me with joy.  Here's the story.

As you know, the Dollar Club is one of the outreach ministries of Mission Athens and Central Church of Christ.  Each week, members at Central donate one dollar each that we pool together into a gift we use to bless a family in need.  We have told you stories of bus tickets, clothes and shoes for kids, utility bills paid, cars repaired, housing secured.  Each week, we pray for the families we are helping, and we pray most of all that God will use whatever this temporary storm that is happening in their lives to bring them closer to Him.  Sometimes we get to witness the power of God in these families' lives, but most of the time, we just provide assistance, and these people move on.

Well, there are those rare occasions where the opportunity to help coincides with an opportunity to witness something truly amazing.  At lunch the other day, my Mission Athens hero friend Beth told me one of these stories.

You see, last year, the Dollar Club had the opportunity to help a mother and daughter who were living in their car.  As sad as this next sentence sounds, it is painfully true.  We help people who live in their cars all the time.  Unlike some of the desperate souls we meet, this mother was trying so hard to make the right choices.  She was working.  She and her teenage daughter had gone to several agencies around town seeking help only to be turned away.  She was trying to save her money.  But, for a lot of complicated reasons, she was now living in her car.

We were blessed to help this family move into government housing.  We helped pay deposits, secure furniture, and get them started on the road to their new life.  This great family is doing so well this year.  They are trying to help others in the way we helped them.  It is truly an inspirational success story, and one that motivates us to keep on going.

A few weeks ago, this mom called Beth "just to check in."  She said, "I just want you to know we are doing great.  We couldn't have done it without Mission Athens."  Beth was happy to hear this and was encouraging this mom.  The mom interrupted her. 

"I don't think you understand what I am saying.  NOBODY CARED ABOUT ME AND MY DAUGHTER EXCEPT YOU."

Beth said as she got off the phone, that she just bowed her head at her desk and prayed.  She said, "I am just a stranger."

Sometimes, we just feel so small and insignificant when we are faced with this humbling truth--we are all just strangers.  Strangers who are trying our best to share God's love in a broken, cold and scary world.

Back to my weird, challenging year.  2013 started off with a blow--my daughter and I spent New Year's Eve in the bed with the flu.  I have never been so sick in my entire life.  We were both in the bed for a week.  I am not one of these people who gets sick and lies in bed for a week, but I literally could not stand up without feeling like I was going to faint.  Unfortunately, it was a sign of rough waters ahead.

A few weeks into January, I got the news that my company that I love was going to be going through a painful reorganization.  We were told in January to expect sweeping changes, and that we would learn more about our fate in April.  What a long, strange three months passed on the road to April. 

I can be quite obnoxious at times, and I have rather obnoxiously declared to my fellow sisters in Christ that worry is a sin women love to commit.  We worry about our husbands, we worry about our children, we worry about what we will wear, we worry about what we all think about each other, and we worry about everything under the sun.  We women are wonderful worriers.  Again, rather obnoxiously, I have often boasted that my faith in God is so strong, that I have overcome my need to worry.  On more than one occasion, I have said, "I just give it all to God in my prayers, and then I roll over and fall asleep."  HAHA

God has taught me this year that I don't need to think so highly of myself.  In the months between January and April, I worried myself to death.  I worried in the morning, I worried in the middle of the day, and I did a whole lot of worrying at night.  I worried about the people who work for me.  I worried about their kids. I worried about my boss, his wife and their kids.  I worried about my friends and coworkers.  I worried my family might have to move.  I worried that my husband was worried about me.  I worried about my mother and my grandmother worrying about me.  I worried that I might lose my job.  I worried that we wouldn't be able to pay our bills.  I worried that people would know that I was worrying.  I worried my friends would feel awkward around me because I was worrying so much.  I worried that my kids were worrying about mom's job.  I worried, and I worried, and I worried.

I practiced saying sentences like, "I am declaring my faith!  I know that God will see me through this!"  I said sentences like that out loud when I was riding in my car.  I would scream, "I lift my eyes unto the hills!  Where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord!"

After I was done screaming, I would worry some more.  I worried I would get sick and that we wouldn't have health insurance.  I worried my marriage would buckle under the strain of it all.  I worried about my husband's job security.  Turns out I was right to worry about that, because the week before I was set to go to the meeting in April to find out my fate at work, my husband, a government employee, was told he would be furloughed throughout the summer.

Now, with both of our jobs seemingly in jeopardy, I got really good a worrying.  I started worrying about missing house payments, losing our security.  I started reading Matthew 6 every morning and every night.  I tried to say my worries out loud in prayer form so that it wasn't really worrying as much as it was casting my cares upon the Lord.

God sustained me through this time of worry.  I really did feel His peace throughout this very stressful time.  One night, I sat with my husband and read Matthew 6 out loud.  We talked about how very far away we are from living in our car.

"What if I lose my job?"  "You will find another one."
"What if I can't?" "Our parents will help us."
"What if we can't pay our mortgage?"  "We can live in smaller house."
"What if we can't buy groceries?"  "Our friends and church family will feed us."
"What if we get sick and don't have health insurance?" "We will still get health care.  People will take care of us."

You see, when we broke it down like that, we realized God's ABUNDANCE is all around us.  We are so far from living in our car, not because we are wealthy or because we are well educated.  We are so far from living in our car because GOD HAS BLESSED US WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

When you have family and friends, nothing can happen to you that you can't handle.  Our family and friends will be there for us.  They will help us through ANY circumstance.  Turns out my biggest problem wasn't whether or not my husband or I would have a job.  My biggest problem was ME.

I am addicted to self-reliance.  I am addicted to solving problems.  It's what I do for a living.  People call me with a problem--I can solve it.  I can make a phone call, do some research, ask for help, go to the mattresses, fight for what is right, and I can get it done.  Sick kid?  No problem--I can find the best doctor.  Nothing in the pantry for supper?  No worries--we can have a picnic in the car.  I can send a text, make a call, write a check, ask somebody, call somebody, and just plain get it done.  I am a doer and proud of it.  I wake up in the morning and make things happen.  I love it, I live it, and sometimes God just yells:

STOP THE MADNESS!!!!!

LOOK AT ME!!!!

I AM ALL YOU NEED!

Ironically, I have often told people that I thought it was so amazing that at two different churches, 12 years apart, my husband and I both came to the cross and walked down the aisle to the baptistry to the same "invitation song."  That song was...."I SURRENDER ALL."

Perhaps God is trying to tell the Swints something.

It is very easy for me to give God the glory for all the good times and blessings in my life.  I praise Him, I am in awe of Him, and I am humbled by His goodness.  But my struggle is letting go and letting God with the really big things in my life. 

You see, even though I made that all too important realization that God has blessed me with family and friends, I don't know if I really could graciously accept their help should my family ever truly need it.  I am no good at surrendering all.

God has taught me a whole lot of lessons this year, and I am still trying to work through them all.  It's funny, I don't know if I will every fully develop into the Godly woman that I so desperately want to be.  I yearn to feel the power of that sweet surrender.  I pray that God will help me overcome my self-reliance so that I can feel His grace wash over me.  I am thankful for His instruction, and I know that He is faithful to His children.

Happily, I am still employed.  My job changed in every possible way.  We didn't have to move, but my travel did increase.  I am now working in a completely new field, and I have had to work very hard to learn SO MUCH NEW STUFF.  Thankfully, my husband is still employed.  He did get furloughed, but we survived.  We are both praying that we won't have to use words like "sequester, furlough, reallocation, reorganization, or downsizing" in 2014.  But, if we do, I know that God will see us through.

What does this whole long story have to do with Mission Athens, you may be asking yourself?  I have often said that Mission Athens is not just about helping people living in poverty.  Mission Athens is helping ME, and all of us who are blessed to work in this ministry.  I know that God is using Mission Athens to change my life and the lives of all of us who work for Him in our community.

Just when I think I have a lot of problems, I will forever remember the story about the mom and daughter living in their car.  I will think about how far away I am from that situation.  And I will bow my head and hit my knees in gratitude for the God who has blessed me so richly.  I will pray for wisdom so that I might be able to share in words how eternally grateful I am to Him and that my light my shine so brightly to bring others to Him.  But, most of all, I will just pray that He will use my feeble hands and feet to help some weary traveler make it a little further down the road.

We all may just be strangers.  But we are strangers who have been saved by a mighty God, despite our flaws, despite our sin, He loves us and has chosen us to be His peculiar people.  What an incredible blessing and awesome responsibility!

If it has been a while since you have helped out with a Mission Athens project, there are so many ways you can jump right back in this time of year.  We need volunteers at The Haven.  We are kicking off our food drive for LCCI.  In a few weeks, we will be preparing our Christmas food boxes.  There are plenty of strangers out there we can bless--won't you join us?

Mission Athens Night of Service Benefitting the Family Resource Center Parents As Teachers Program

Please mark your calendars and SAVE THE DATE.  Our next Mission Athens Night of Service will be Wednesday, September 11 at Central Church of Christ.  This quarter, our service project will benefit the Family Resource Center Parents as Teachers Program.

Parents as Teachers is a free parent support and education program offered to at-risk families in Limestone County from conception to age 3.  Our program aims to prevent child abuse and neglect, increase parent knowledge of child development, and increase children's school readiness and future school success. Families enrolled in our Parents as Teachers program are able to earn "Baby Bucks" by taking part in personal home visits, groups meetings, and making other wise parenting choices. These bucks can be used in our Baby Boutique on items such as food, diapers, wipes, clothes, toys, bedding, and books.  Due to a recent increase in the families served, we are experiencing some needs in our Baby Boutique.

We are currently needing:

        - Size 3, 4, 5, & 6 diapers of different varieties. (Some babies can use off brands such as dollar general, but we also need Pampers, Luvs, and Huggies for some children due to skin sensitivity.) We are currently out of the sizes listed. 

        - Cloth diapers for emergencies situations

        - Baby soap, powder, and lotion

        - Small training toilets

        - Baby wipes

        - Sippy cups

        - Any other baby items

The Mission Athens team along with the Central Hospitality Committee will be providing a meal of lasagna, salad and bread FREE for all members who bring baby items to donate to support the Parents as Teachers program.  We are partnering with the Hospitality Committee to host this evening of service in conjunction with our Wednesday night meal, so plan on donating your items and having supper at 6 prior to our evening service at 7.  As usual, desserts and drinks are needed as well, so please bring these items to share.

The Central family always GIVES BIG, and we hope September will be no exception.  We are looking forward to collecting lots of baby supplies to help with this wonderful program, and we thank you in advance for donating generously to help babies and moms and dads right here in our community.

If you have any questions about the upcoming night of service, please contact Laura Swint.  We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Back to School, Back to The Haven

"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it."  Proverbs 22:6

We are excited that school is back in session, and after a great summer of fun at The Haven, we are ready to get back into the swing of things with our afterschool program.  As a reminder, The Haven offers afterschool homework help on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m.   We are kicking off our afterschool program on Tuesday, September 10, and we need your help!

Volunteers are needed to help the kids with their homework on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Our goal is to provide help for elementary aged children, and we need lots of folks to help us provide the one on one help these kids need.  If you are interested in volunteering, please contact our curriculm coordinator Lynn Abernathy.

If you are unable to volunteer during those after school hours, there are lots of other ways to get involved at The Haven.  First, you can donate Walmart gift cards to Beth Patton for use at The Haven.  We use these cards to purchase fresh healthy snacks each week as well as to replenish the supplies we need to keep The Haven clean and kid friendly.

If you want to get your hands dirty, consider volunteering to help with the yard work.  You can sign up to cut the grass, and one area that needs attention right away is weeding the flower beds.  No signing up or volunteering needed--if you have a spare hour, just swing by and tackle some of those beds.  The weeds need to go.

We can't wait to see the kids back at The Haven in a few weeks, and we look forward to seeing you there, too!

Introducing The Haven: A Community Outreach Ministry

The Haven

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  Repeat them to your chldren.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."  Deuteronomy 6:5-9

After months of prayer, planning, painting, plumbing, and pruning, the Mission Athens team and our church family at Central Church of Christ are so proud to announce the birth of The Haven.  Located at 810 N. Malone Street in Athens, AL, The Haven is the home of our newest community outreach ministry program. 

Over a year ago, the Mission Athens team began discussing an permanent home where we could reach out and provide services to our community.  Specifically, we were praying for a place that would be easily accessible to school-aged children.  In 2012, we found a house literally on the exact corner we wanted, and we were able to purchase the property.  For the past several months, countless volunteers have worked tirelessly to meet with city officials, develop appropriate plans, remodel the house, clean, paint and landscape, and now The Haven is ready to open our doors to children.

Our initial plans are to be open from 3:30-4:30 on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons beginning Tuesday, March 5.  During this time, specially trained volunteers will provide a snack to the children and help them with their homework, focusing on reading and math skills.  If you are interested in learning more about volunteering at The Haven, please contact Will Grice at Central Church of Christ so that you can complete the required training program.

We invite you to celebrate with us at an Open House at The Haven on Sunday, March 3, from 1-3 p.m.  If you would like to help support the efforts at The Haven, please bring some of the following items to the Open House to help us get ready for our grand opening.  Items needed include:  Ziploc bags, Febreeze, Pine Sol, Clorox or Lysol wipes, liquid hand soap, paper towels, paper plates, small Solo cups, napkins, liquid hand sanitizer, spray cleaner for counter tops, bathrooms and tables, pencils and paper, crayons, markers, trash bags, etc.  You can find a more comprehensive list of items available at Central Church of Christ.

We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the volunteers who have worked so hard to create such a special place for God's seeds to grow in our community.  The dictionary defines the word haven as "a place of safety and refuge."  We are praying that it will be just such a place for these special children, and we solicit your prayers that God's love would be felt by all who enter our doors.

Last summer, the Mission Athens team hosted a cookout at 5th Avenue Park, just down the street from what is now The Haven.  At that time, we were all so fervently praying that God would open the doors for us to work more closely with our neighbors in that community.  We did not know that on that day, we were taking our first steps towards achieving our dream.  All we knew was that there were so many precious children living in that neighborhood who could use some love. 

There was one little girl in particular with pigtails and a blue balloon who captured our hearts.  She was just about to start kindergarten, and she couldn't stop talking about how excited she was about going to "big school."  We are so happy that now we will be her neighbors, and we pray that we can help her and all her friends succeed in school and achieve their highest potential.  We also pray that they will see that there is a God who loves them, and that as we work as His hands and feet with these children, that we will all draw closer to Him.

On the Outside, Looking In

"Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness.  He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, and taken up in glory."  1 Timothy 3:16

Admit it, you are curious.  You must be, or you wouldn't be reading this blog.  What is it about Central Church of Christ that has people so charged up?  The people who attend this church seem so happy--they are always out doing things together in the community.  The other churches of Christ in the area seem so upset about the things we are doing.  Sometimes, there are even passionate editorials written in the paper about what people at Central are doing. 

Yet, our membership continues to grow, as we now have two services and our numbers continue to increase each month.  People seem to either passionately love or passionately dislike Central--something is creating a lot of passion in this place.  What is it?  The answer is infinitely simple and infinitely complex. 

The answer is.....Jesus.

You see, the story of Jesus has been told and retold, all throughout the ages.  Many different denominations have emerged through the years, there are different churches on every corner in this town that seem to have their own "flavor" of Jesus. 

Some people believe that we should worship Him on Sundays, some on Saturdays.  Some worship with huge bands of instruments, others worship Him simply with the sound of their own voices.  Some have Wednesday night Bible studies, and some rely on their preacher to read the Bible for them and just tell them what it says.  Some churches have hard wooden pews and worn out song books, while others have cushiony chairs and Power Point slides.  Some churches have pot luck meals in members' homes, others in the church building. 

Most all of these church people go to church, sit in a pew, check it off their list of "good things I did this week" and go on about their business.  They sit in Sunday school classes and talk about how they have it all figured out, but their neighbor at the church across town, bless his heart, he is totally wrong in his approach to Jesus, tsk tsk tsk. 

These differences get people really fired up and passionate, and fights break out among "church-going Christians" about all these things.

What about the people on the outside, looking in?  What about the people who aren't born-and-raised-three-times-a-week-every-time-the-door-was-open-my-Mama-took-me-to-church people?  What do they think about all this bickering?

I have gotten to meet a few of these people through our work with Mission Athens.  Most of these people, upon hearing of these squabbles, get a faraway, eyes glazed over look on their face.  They just don't get it. 

It seems so ridiculous. 

What about Jesus?

What have we done with our Lord's story?

Where is the love?

Where is the majesty?

Where is the glory, the chill bumps on the back of our necks, wonder of it all?

Take a moment today, close your eyes, and think about the life of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He was born in a barn to parents who lived in poverty.  At the young age of about 12, He began His life's work of serving others, sharing food, telling everyone about God's love for them, preparing the way to His Father's house.  He attracted people everywhere He went.  And then, one sad day, this world beat him up, nailed him to the cross, and stuffed him in a tomb behind a rock.

And then, our Lord overtook death; He conquered the grave.  He was seen by angels and by men and women in His beautiful glory, and He ascended to the right hand of God, and there He is today, watching all of us, and I wonder if sometimes, He shakes His head.

Does our Lord look down at His family, the people who have proclaimed Him and think, what are you doing?

We are His disciples here on earth.  There are so many people here who we need to tell His story.  There are millions who need us to feed them, help them, care for them in His name, and yet, we are pointing our fingers at each other, claiming we have all the answers to the perfect way to worship Him. 

We sit in pews when we should be out in the streets.  We cling to those who believe the exact iterations we believe, who practice our same traditions, instead of working side by side with our neighbors from the church down the street, as a unified body of Jesus, fighting for souls all around this world who need us to proclaim His hope.

Is Jesus on the outside of our churches, looking in?  Or is He in our presence, working in our hearts, serving as our purpose, our guiding light, our sole hope of salvation?

I'm all about worshipping God.  I am so thankful that I was blessed by Him to be born in a country where I have the freedom to worship Him any way I choose.  I am so thankful you have that right, too.

I am not trying to minimize any one's right to a different opinion on the right way to worship.  You do your thing....

I am just so over it.

I am over trying to be perfect.  I am over going to a church service only to walk out feeling like I can never be good enough.  I am over churches that seem so much like a club, and only a few people get to be members.  I am over placing tradition over transcendence.

I just want Jesus.

Two years ago, my family and I were curious, too.  We walked into the doors of Central Church of Christ on Friends and Family Day.  We sat down, started singing songs, began to worship, and over the next few months, we all felt Jesus in our midst in a way we just hadn't before.  My children, who before I had to drag to church kicking and screaming, started asking me on Thursday how much longer until Sunday, Mom, can we go to church?  My husband worked like a dog cutting trees in strangers' yards after the April 27, 2011 tornadoes with teams of men from Central.  All five of us have worked together on Mission Athens projects.  And, for the first time in my life, I am going to teach an adult Bible class starting next month.

We have all grown, all five of us.  We have begun to experience Jesus in our own ways.  We are not perfect yet, and we will never be.  We have learned to accept the beautiful truth that Jesus does not call us to be perfect, just to perfectly love Him.

I am not promising you that you would have the same experience if you came to Central.  You may or may not.  It is certainly not a perfect place, how could it be?  We are all imperfect people who worship there.

You see, I have often said Central is like a refugee camp for people from churches all around town.  Some of us are here because we never felt good enough at other congregations.  Some are here because we sinned and our church families couldn't forgive us, not really.  Some are here because we want to be a part of a body of believers that is living the Gospel in action, not just saying the words on Sundays.  Some are here because we fell in love with someone who grew up in that "not so good" church down the street, and we are trying to find a place our new family can grow together. 

You know who some of the coolest people at Central are, though?  They are the ones who found Jesus for the first time in this place.  They are not bogged down by all this bickering, squabbling, and silliness.  They are the ones whose eyes glaze over when we start talking about all of it.  They are the ones we think about and smile, because we have something in common with them....

All of us are here because we want Jesus. 

Do you want him, too?  Do you feel like you are on the outside, looking in?  Curious?

Come and join us on Sunday, August, 26 at 9 am for our Friends and Family Day.  Stay for Sunday School.  We are having a pot luck meal immediately following, and we would love to have you join us.  We really mean that.

If you are curious, we will be talking about the 40-year history of Central, where we have been and where we are going.  I have only been a part of the church for two of the forty years, and I can't believe how much my life has changed.  I would love to share this wonderful experience with all of you.

We are not a perfect church. 

We do serve a perfect Savior.  We are passionate about serving Him in real, meaningful ways. 

We don't really care if other people talk about us, especially if they have never even walked through our doors.

We know He may seem like a mystery, but we are discovering His truths together. 

Come, discover Him with us.

Mission Athens Fifth Avenue Block Party

"And Jesus said, 'Let the little children come unto me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'"  Matthew 19:14

A few months ago, the Mission Athens team began exploring ways we could have a greater impact on those in the most need in our community.  We invited the director of all of the city's federal housing projects to come to one of our Mission Athens meetings.  During our conversation with him, we learned that Fifth Avenue Apartments housed the largest concentration of women and children living in federal housing in the city of Athens .

During our Central Youth Ministry and Mission Athens combined Spring service project, Spring Into Action, we visited a few of the housing projects around town and worked to beautify their campuses with landscaping, planting flowers and bulbs, and meeting our neighbors.  After that project, we began to think of ways we could continue to build relationships in these areas.

We began planning our Summer Block Party immediately following the Spring Into Action project.  We had originally planned the event for June 10 as advertised on this blog, but we had to push it back due to rain.  At the time, we were disappointed, but now I see God's hand is in it all.

You see, we hosted our Block Party on Sunday, and it could not have been a more fantastic event.   I can't wait to share with you all they ways God blessed us on Sunday.  First of all, following weeks of severe drought, Athens has been blessed with large amounts of rain over the past few weeks.  We are so thankful for the rain; however, we truly prayed we would not have to reschedule our event again.  On Sunday, there was a huge black cloud right over 5th Avenue Park all afternoon.  The wind was blowing, and we were sure we were going to get a rain storm.  However, just before our party started, the cloud blew away, and this is what we saw.

All that dark cloud did for us was cool things off just a bit, and we enjoyed a warm summer afternoon with a gentle breeze.  While it was still a hot summer day in Alabama, it was much more pleasant that many of the 100+ degree days we have endured, and we are so thankful for the heavenly sunlight we enjoyed following that black cloud scare.  Thank you, God!

As we began setting up the tables, food and crafts, our small team quickly realized it takes a lot of hands to pull off an event such as this.  Our Central Church of Christ church family turned out in large numbers, picked up a job and went to work.  It was so awesome to see the body of Christ working together, each using his or her own talents, to serve our community.  Everyone, from the smallest child to the oldest members, pitched in to help make the event such a success.  Here are just a few of the ways our members helped.

Our Grill Master Roy lead a team of men who immediately started grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and did not stop until all 300 were cooked perfectly.  Another of our members had helped us purchase the food earlier in the week at a discount, so everything was organized and ready to go for us Sunday afternoon.  Once again, God blessed us in this, as we had no idea how much to purchase or prepare, but we had the perfect amount of food.  Everyone who attended had plenty to eat, yet we did not have leftovers.  Thank you, God!

I like to call these ladies our Buffet Line Dream Team.  They jumped right in, put in a system for moving people through the line, and I stood back and watched in amazement.  These ladies know what they are doing, and I was blown away by their logistics and strategy.  Clearly no where near as talented with organization of food lines, I humbly stepped away, smiled and cheered them on.  Because they were so extremely capable, I was able to take pictures, talk with our neighbors who attended, and truly enjoy the experience, trusting that all the details were being excellently covered.  Thank you, God, for Central's awesome Ladies!

Even though I am the mother of 3 young children, I truly hate craft projects.  Crafts are just not my thing.  My children, like most, LOVE them.  We knew going into this event that a Bible craft would be a great way to engage the children from Fifth Avenue who attended our event, but I was at an extreme loss and almost started sweating at the thought of having to come up with something.  I have no idea what to do with Popsicle sticks and paper plates--I'm just not crafty.  Thank you God, for Central's amazing Sunday School teachers!  These ladies had Bible verses on the sidewalks with sidewalk chalk, they had balloons, bracelets, and angel wings made from, you guessed it, paper plates.  I stand amazed, and praise God for their talents!

Our Central Youth Group was instrumental in helping us invite Fifth Avenue residents, and they did a great job engaging them in a fun afternoon of football.  We had so many 7-12 year old boys attend, and nothing makes a boy this age happier than playing ball with some friendly teenagers.  I tried to count our visitors, but  the game was so boisterous, I couldn't tell which were our youth and which were our visitors, which was exactly our dream.  Thank you, God, for young people who love to share You with our community.

Finally, I was most thankful for our Children's Ministry on Sunday.  We had so many children from Central attend the cookout, and they were so friendly and playful with the children who attended.  Since the whole point of the event was to build relationships with the kids of Fifth Avenue, we absolutely could not have done it without our children being there, smiling and engaging these kids in play.  I love this picture, because you don't see a "mission trip" here, all you see are two precious little girls racing to the top of the slide.  Thank you, God, for the sweet hearts of children!

As great as it was to see Central's church family come together to create a fun environment, it was much more awesome to see God glorified throughout the day in so many ways.  We were so happy to have so many of our neighbors from Fifth Avenue attend.  All throughout the afternoon, more and more people kept coming over and joining us.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the afternoon of fellowship.





We learned a lot on Sunday afternoon about the needs that are right down the street here in Athens, Alabama.  It was such a positive afternoon in so many ways, yet I would be remiss if I didn't share with you some of the stories that broke my heart.  There was a man there, who I was so happy to spend some time with, who shared with me that he had just gotten to Athens from Arizona.  He has fallen on hard times, has no real friends in this new city, and was beginning to wonder if anyone here cared enough to help him.  He said he knew he needed to go to church, but he was so angry about his circumstances and the lack of anyone even noticing him, that he was about to give up on God.  "Your church has shown me that God's love is still real," he said.  "I am going to go to church on Sunday."  I pray that he does, and that we can help him get back into a relationship with God.

Finally, so many of the children we noticed were really enjoying the food.  I want to share with you the story of one of these precious children, as I think it really is representative of what so many of them go through.  My friend Beth and I had the pleasure of meeting a sweet little 5-year-old girl who is excited about starting kindergarten in the fall.  She talked a mile a minute, as most young girls, do, but her stories would break your heart.  She treasured all her crafts, painstakingly picking up every small thing to take home, but not taking anything that wasn't hers.  We walked her back to her apartment so she could leave her "prizes" there, and then she decided she wanted to come back with us to the cookout.  As we walked, she pointed out the landmarks along the way.

"That's where so-and-so lives.  She doesn't have a Mama or a Daddy." 

"That apartment was totally trashed last week.  The lady who lived there is in jail now." 

"I don't know what happened over there, but the police came the other night and took that guy away."

"My Mama is sick, and we have been taking turns taking care of her.  Can we bring her some food?  We don't have a lot of food in our house, only lunch meat." 

"That's where my friend lives.  I think she is boring, but I want her to come to the party, too, and her Mama wouldn't let her come.  Can you come with me to ask her to come with us now?"

"Sure," we said, as we walked over to pick up her friend.

Upon meeting this sweet little girl, I asked her if she had eaten yet, as it was almost 7 pm. She replied, "I had breakfast."  I said, "Oh, I love having breakfast for supper."  She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "I had breakfast for breakfast."

Oh.....

These sweet little girls impressed me so much with their independence and loving hearts.  When we returned to the cookout, they met up with their other friend, and I watched the three of them for a while.  They took the new friend to the buffet line, fixed her plate with all the food, only taking one of each item.  They chose water to drink, and they sat with their friend while she ate instead of running to play and leaving her behind.  After they were finished, they asked if they could take food to their families, and we helped them carry plates back to their apartments.

I didn't want to leave.  After all the months of being nervous and planning and praying, the afternoon had gone so much better than I could have ever dreamed.  I had a hard time sleeping that night.  I was excited, humbled, heart broken, fulfilled, happy, sad, overwhelmed and full of faith, all at the same time.  You see, Sunday was just the beginning of the story, I pray. 

Our Mission Athens team is prayerfully considering how we can build a sustained physical presence in this community, right here near Fifth Avenue Apartments.  We believe this spot in our city needs the love of Jesus, and we want to help these children and neighbors know that there are people here who love and care about them.  Please pray with us that we will find the right path, and that our community will support us in these efforts.  As we saw on Sunday, when we all work together, we can accomplish truly great things for Him.

I will close with one last picture.  I think the smiles on the faces of the hot but happy Mission Athens teammates show you how thankful we all were that our Mission Athens Block Party was such a success.  Thank you, God!