The Circle is Complete

At the April 15, 2006 FaithWork event, a group of FaithWork volunteers did some extensive yard work for Sandy, a Resurrection member who had a near-death experience that included a coma and then months of recovery. Sandy recently wrote me to share the rest of the story:

“I wanted to thank you for doing so much for me at a time when I REALLY needed it. I recently married a wonderful man, who also attends Resurrection with me. Before coming to this church, he had never attended a Bible study. He has been so excited to learn all these Bible-based truths at Resurrection and to grow spiritually. It has given us a foundation and purpose for our marriage.

I am doing a FaithWork project at Grand Avenue Temple with my Life Worth Living Class. I am blessed to give back just a wee portion of what the other FaithWork volunteers have given to me.

Your volunteers made a big difference in my life. I thank God for the support FaithWork gave us.”

Way to go, team!

Don’t Miss the Fun!

  What was the coolest thing Resurrection members did in the inner-city last summer? It may very well have been our Paint the School project, in which 1,300 volunteers painted all the classrooms and hallways and repaired the gym floor at Phillips Elementary. The fun didn’t stop there though. Our children’s ministry provided supplies for the classrooms, our volunteers gave teacher appreciation gifts and luncheons, hosted holiday events for the students and much more. It was a BLAST!

The fun continues this year as we seek to bless Troost Elementary, an urban KCMO school. This year, we hope to round up 1,500 volunteers and judging by our congregation’s enthusiasm, I don’t think that will be a problem!

If you are interested in participating but hesitant to drive to the inner-city or want to go down as part of a team, sign up for our Bless the School Project at the June 21 FaithWork. We will provide free bus transportation and the bus will return to Resurrection by about 1:30 p.m. Volunteers for this project only must be at least 12 years old. If you wish to participate, you must reserve a spot on the bus by contacting me at Cathy.Swirbul@cor.org Then plan to meet in the Resurrection lobby at 9 a.m.

Don’t miss out on the fun!

 

How Awesome is That?

When you’re feeling blah in your faith, overworked and out of touch, I’m convinced that the best way to reconnect with God and others is by serving those in need. From the reports I’ve received, the FaithWork folks who went out to serve last Saturday certainly experienced this.

One team of teen girls went to Hillcrest Transitional Housing, which helps provide shelter and self-sufficiency for homeless families. They helped clean and paint an apartment that will soon be occupied by a new family. After they worked for a few hours, the other formerly homeless families cooked and served the volunteers a wonderful BBQ lunch! The families shared their stories of hopelessness and then renewal with the volunteers.

“Our Hillcrest residents wanted to feed the volunteers lunch and they wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” said Marilyn Minter, Hillcrest’s director. “The residents wanted to serve the meal as part of their community skills class  in which they are learning to show appreciation for others. I think our residents learned just as much as the volunteers did that afternoon.”

Then, I just received an e-mail from an adult that accompanied the girls on the project. She said that these teens have been contributing to a missions fund (These kids rock!) and want to send the donation to Hillcrest. They were so impressed with the way God has used Hillcrest to turn around the lives of these homeless families. The blessing continues!