Those we work for during this week are invited to worship on the next to last day. Several years I have done this and not many come. The few that do always have a great impact on my life. During worship they are asked to speak to the group if they feel led.
The lady with the dark skin and hair sits in the front pew and turns to speak. Her accent sets her apart...not born in the states but here now. She describes her team with love and speaks of the work she helped with. Claims it is her best Christmas gift ever. How they worked and ate together. The time they spent sharing God's word and the stories of their lives.
The lady bent over with a brace on her arm. She gets around in a wheel chair but works to stand and speak. She thanks the group for the steps out of her kitchen door and painting her wheel chair ramp. She reveals that her shoulder surgery has kept her isolated...the team her only human interaction in weeks.
The daughter of an elderly couple says how proud they are of their new ramp. Her father walking up and down the ramp showing how well it works...even trying to coax his chicken into the fun.
A couple who hosted the team in their home so they could take showers. She talks of feeling down after her grandchildren leave when the holidays are over. Says how this team has filled the void and made this week bearable.
The custodian at the church who comes in at 2:00 and leaves at 8:00. Her son joining her. She stands and tells the kids she will miss them not filling up the church when she is here...how the love they have shown her son is so incredible. He asks over and over when it will be time to go see his friends at the church.
UM ARMY is so much more than teens with hammers. My friend in the kitchen...she describes UM ARMY as "thin". A place where there is very little space between God and us. It is. A place so thin that all hearts seem open to the love of God in Christ. A love that lasts longer than shingles we have replaced and paint on walls and ramps where wheels roll up and down. No this love...it lasts...to eternity.
