Recently, our church organized and supported a “mission trip” that very few of us knew anything about. Some mission trips require a called, willing heart plus hours of preparation and hundreds of dollars. Other mission trips, however, require only a called, willing heart and a couple of phone calls.
Stacy D. recently experienced a mission trip of the latter type. She spent a week of her vacation time from work to serve at Forest Avenue Women’s Shelter. The trip didn’t require a passport, airline tickets, or immunizations. I followed up with her after her week to hear about how it went…
Q. What circumstances led you to volunteer at Forest Avenue?
I have to fill out my vacation request in March for the year. I’ve been volunteering for our Vacation Bible School for the past three years. That far out, I guessed VBS would be the first week of June. Wrong! Now, I had a week off work that I had been planning on doing God’s work, and no work to do! I called Jimmy and he set some things in motion for me to choose from. I had been thinking of Forest Avenue several times, so when he mentioned that, I knew where I was supposed to go!
Q. What type of activities did you do there?
I helped sort donated food and put it away. They had moved their food pantry to the basement, so I helped by sorting and organizing the soups and vegetables. Now they can accurately see how much of each they have. I did some laundry – towels, sheets, and bedspreads – and started organizing their linen closet. I also organized a closet full of Bibles and other Christian literature.
Q. Can you tell about an event that impacted you greatly?
I wasn’t expecting a group of teenagers to be volunteering also. Two different youth groups – probably 75 kids total – were at Forest Avenue while I was there. One group from Texas was a choir. They would volunteer until a certain time, get cleaned up, and then go sing a concert each day! It was very encouraging to see so many teenagers doing for others.
Q. How were you changed by serving at Forest Avenue?
I got to see more of their facility, hear about how things work, and get a better idea of the items they need for donations. For instance, they have a very limited supply of washcloths, so now I can donate more specifically to their needs. I enjoyed helping out. I thought a lot about how blessed I am, and that I should take more time to help others.
Q. Is there anything else from your week that you’d like to share with our church family?
Anyone can be helpful to them at Forest Avenue. I am certainly not “trained” in a certain field and there were plenty of things that I could do. It will be more of a blessing than you would ever dream!
Thank you, Stacy, for your willingness to give of your time and effort to serve at Forest Avenue. If you are sensing the Spirit's call to serve God on a short term mission experience, please talk to Jimmy Woodall. He is always ready to help a called, willing heart.
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