There are just times in ministry when all you can do is stand there with a dumb look on your face and say "Wow!" That was about a week ago for me and it's taken me this long to wipe the dumb look off my face and type. ;-)
I had a call from one of our members, Marta, who left me a voice mail about a donation to the Wounded Soldiers Project. If you've been reading this blog awhile, you know about this project. We've adopted the 28th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad and are sending out sweatpants, t-shirts, socks, and other items to our wounded vets to make their hospital stays and rehab more comfortable. And a bit shout out goes to Scott Corbitt from the USAF in Baghdad who sent an e-mail to his wife, who is the daughter of one of our members ... and that's how it all started.
Anyway, back to Marta. She works at Fort Detrick and she put up some notices about the Wounded Soldiers Project. Well ... it worked ... and then some! Fort Detrick adopted this project for their "Make a Difference Day" and donated over 850 pieces of clothing.
Wow!
People ask me if I really believe the stories in the Bible. Of course I do - and then some. When you see something like this take off, how can you not believe this is a modern version of the feeding of the 5,000? God has taken the efforts of a small group and multiplied them beyond our own imaginations to send relief to the wounded veterans in Iraq. Amazing. We've now shipped over 150 lbs. of clothing - and Marta still has a whole garage full of clothing we need to pack and ship.
Wow! God is good.
3 comments:
erm, I am confused by your confusion. You are clearly following the mission statement as expressed in Luke 6 and Matthew and Mark. Since you are engagued in the work of the Gospel why wouldn't God bless and expand the works of your hands? Quite frankly I think God is probably amazed that there are among all these bitterly battling bellowing Anglicans those whose only agenda is the one Jesus left behind.
THANK YOU. May God continue to bles your lives and works.
I'm not sure I said I was confused, binx. More just awed at how good God is and the abundance that happens when you plug into God's plan rather than one's own.
IMHO, the "bitterly battling bellowing Anglicans" I've encountered are the small (yet vocal) groups on either extreme of whatever is the "issue de jour" (sexuality is "it" today - something else will come along in the future ... probably after I'm "worm food"). Most of the Anglicans I know are just regular folks who are trying to do what Jesus told us to do. That's why congregational ministry is so much more fun than wearing a purple shirt and a pointy hat. ;-)
I liked your comments on the Matriach discussion. And this mission is AWESOME!
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