Phyllis' request

At a church gathering we attended in Portsmouth this week I was touched by the sincere devotion given by a woman named Phyllis. Phyllis is 75 years old, has been blind for more than fifty years, has had cancer for over ten years, has had 2 hip replacement surgeries, and her back is so bad she can no longer stand upright. Yet this dear frail woman moved slowly but boldly to the front of the room to share with a group of 50 people what God had laid on her heart, a simple yet powerful message of His love. She shared her testimony and described how people in the congregation have been there to help her through all of her trials, cooking meals for her, giving her car rides, and doing whatever she has needed from them. They have been God’s love to her. She cited aloud John 3:16 and then asked people to consider how incredible it is that God loves the entire world so much that He sent His son to die for us… And then she asked everyone, and this is the part that touched me, “I want all of you to forget Phyllis right now and instead think of someone else who could use God’s love in his/her life right now, someone you should call or write tomorrow to tell them how much you care. It may be a brother, a cousin, a friend who you may not have spoken to recently. And don’t you wait because it may be too late…” Her words had an urgency about them, as though she knew this would be one of the last times she would be addressing a crowd of people this size.

There is just something about a crippled and blind woman genuinely pleading with you to forget about her problems and use that energy to show someone else Jesus’ love that truly reflects His sacrifice. Her words that said “forget about the pain this is causing me, just love others to reflect God’s love” remind me of another story…

Kelly

My Brother's Table

Last Friday night (while we were still in Boston), we served dinner at a soup kitchen called My Brother's Table. As far as preparing and serving the meal and interacting with guests, that was pretty "normal"; but what followed was a first for all of us: a memorial service for Jose.

Jose's home was on the streets of Lynn. He had died two weeks earlier of a possible health condition/drug overdose. Jose frequented My Brother's Table quite often and it was appearant that his death affected the individuals he had come in contact with. I was honored to have been part of this occasion. It was humbling to watch grown men stand up in front of their peers and openly display their brokeness and sorrow at the loss of a beloved member of their community. A community that is often forgotten, ignored or shunned.

For me, this momorial honored the countless "homeless" men, women and children who have died - those who have been forgotten, ignored, shunned or deemed unfit for society. Though hundreds of these individuals may have been considered outcasts, I dare to believe that they were embraced, loved and rememberd by a community similiar to the one I had witnessed. A community of love and respect where they daily gather around "Their Brother's Table" and share not only a meal, but thier joys, fears, struggles and tears.

Stephanie

Denomination

Ask any of the other members and they’ll tell you I tend to get myself into discussions/debates fairly quickly with my big mouth… It is how I best learn. Recently I had a great conversation with a pastor. We were discussing doctrinal backgrounds and beliefs of his church. Meanwhile, another member of the church overheard our discussion and was disturbed that I was asking him so many questions and demanded that I stop. Although the pastor stepped in and told the woman we were having an excellent conversation and that I was trying to learn from him, she continued, very agitated:

“If you’re going to bombard us with these questions than you had better tell us what faith background you are. You could be Mormon or who knows what…”
“I’m Christian.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“Excuse me?”
“What is your denomination?”
“I grew up in a non-denominational Christian church.”
“Are you Lutheran?”
“No.”
“Catholic?”
“No.”
“Episcopalian?”
“No…”

The conversation finally ended when she got up and left as the pastor and I tried to begin our former conversation again. But the damage was done and the whole episode really deepened my distaste for denominations. The fact that she had to know my denominational background before she would allow me to ask questions bothered me. I am not a denomination. I am a living, breathing, thinking human being with my own unique beliefs and understanding. Why must I be put into a box? And where in the Bible does it tell us as a Christian body to separate ourselves on the basis of doctrinal beliefs? Isn’t one of the primary messages of Christ to love others and be ONE body in Jesus Christ? (Eph 4: 4-6, 15-16) Why is separation and competition such an innate human attribute that we allow it to infiltrate even our religion and our love of God? These are all questions I have been struggling with ever since this conversation…

This topic isn’t new to me because we are asked almost daily what denomination Latreia belongs to. Our answer is that we are Christian multi-denominational. But the term denomination is just starting to grate on my nerves. Now don’t get me wrong. I understand that denominations do have many uses and that it is a great way for people to be able to gauge where a church body stands before they even walk through the door, but how cool would it be to have to learn where the church stands through studying scripture and their covenant rather than reading a label on a sign! I know I’m being an idealist here but I can’t help it. I am tired of our focus being on labels instead of on the cross. So I think I’m going to try something different for awhile… If I have to ‘claim’ something, I want it to be Jesus, plain and simple. I want Jesus Christ as my denomination.

Kelly

An Amazing Week in Hartford, CT

The past week in Hartford was a definite learning experience. I couldn’t have asked for a better spring break trip. There are two main things I took from this. The first is to Trust God with everything. It is so easy to say, but not so easy to do. Originally, for this past week, we were supposed to work with an organization in Norwalk, but everything fell through. On Saturday night we stayed in a hotel having no where else to stay and no work to do for the upcoming week. In all honesty, I was a little concerned. I had just flown to Connecticut to do service work for the week only to find out we had nothing to do. Little did I know at the time, God had it all figured out. I had no reason to worry. We showed up at this church Easter Sunday morning and within 20 minutes we had places to stay, work to do and food to eat. God is so Awesome, he never ceases to amaze me!

The other major thing I realized on this trip is how much I need to learn, even about my own faith. I began to wonder if the things I believed are what I truly believe, OR do I just believe these things because that’s what my church believes. Spending time with 4 amazing servants of God this week has definitely challenged me to dig into God’s Word and to become a more faithful servant. I can’t even express how much I have been blessed by this trip. The people I have met, the friends I have made, and the life lessons I have learned, prove that God works in amazing ways.

God Bless, Carrie Van Engen

Life as Normal

These past few weeks we have been so blessed to have friends joining us on vacation and spring break. It has been refreshing to have new faces in what I think would have been five long weeks otherwise due to the time in our journey.

I have had to laugh at myself though. I have been waiting for these past five weeks since we left for Christmas. Weeks that we would see sisters, friends and meet each other’s friends have come and gone. There was so much anticipation, preparation and waiting. Don’t get me wrong I loved these weeks, but I wonder how much of our life is spent in anticipation, preparation and waiting. We do these things and then the “event” happens and we are left with our life again. Thinking ahead to the next “thing” to anticipate, prepare and wait for.

Funny that this all happened with Easter not even a week ago. Do you remember the long forty days of Lent, the anticipation, the preparation and the waiting? Do you remember the longing you had for the event to come? Maybe it was waiting for Easter to come so you could eat chocolate again or drink coffee? Maybe it was waiting to be surrounded by family? Maybe it was the celebration of Sunday service? Do you remember how sweet it was on Easter morning when the time finally arrived?

I know for me, now that the weeks are over that I have been looking forward to I am left with life again, day to day life. I wonder how many of us fall into this trap. Going on to life as normal. Have you gone back to life forgetting how long you anticipated, prepared and waited?

Now that Easter is over, we can’t just go back to life as it was before. Christ has risen! Life is different, or it should be different. Life is new. Look around you see spring, see the risen Christ.

Laura

Lost in the city

I stepped out of Penn subway station in New York City and I must admit I was speechless. I wasn’t expecting to be impressed by yet another large city but this was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The first thing I noticed is how dwarfed I was by the monstrous skyscrapers everywhere around me. The lights were blinding. It was nighttime but it might as well have been 3 in the afternoon. The traffic was bumper to bumper, taxis were attempting to scare bold tourists as they honked and accelerated as the light turned green, and the street vendors shouted their prices in various languages at the crowds of people who swept me along the sidewalk. There’s no time for gawking along Broadway Avenue on a Saturday night. It is an experience. It is one of those moments when you fully realize what a HUGE and diverse world we live in… Millions of people each with their own unique story, purpose, and life. And all of these people have the opportunity to intertwine their stories in this mass chaos of disorder called New York City. The capability to get lost in the crowd is so strong it makes me wonder how many souls there are wandering around to be just that…lost. It would be easy to be invisible in that city…invisible to all of us except God. I smiled as I thought about how God was just as present with our group in NYC as He was when we were in small town Wyoming. As I was feeling lost amongst the craziness on Times Square, the lyrics to my favorite Shawn McDonald song popped into my head:

“Here I am tonight, with my arms open wide, won’t you come inside? Come and fill this heart of mine. I need your love. Won’t you lead me? I cannot do it on my own, I cannot do it all alone. I lay myself at your feet asking you won’t you lead me, God?”

I wonder how many of those hundreds of people were praying the same thing in the big city that night…

Kelly

God's Provision

So, practice what you preach…God is BIG! Pray BIG! Trust Him! Follow Him! Every Sunday we stand at the pulpit and preach these very words.

As many of you may know, all of our plans for this week in Connecticut fell through last minute. We were at a loss of what to do. No church congregation. No place to sleep. No service project. No home cooked Easter meal with family and friends. We almost took the easy way out and stayed another week in New York City where we knew we had a place to crash at night and an organization to serve with.

But God had different plans for Latreia. He had already paved a path that led us directly to Greater Grace Church in Hartford, CT. He had also prepared the heart of the congregation to openly and loving receive six Midwesterners (we were joined by two of Josh’s friends who were on spring break). God tugged at our hearts and gently whispered, “I am a BIG God! Pray BIG! Trust in Me! Follow Me!”

So, Easter morning we showed up at Greater Grace Church. (A congregation? Check!) By the time the Easter Service had even begun, we already had a home to lay our heads for the week! (Place to sleep? Check!) Immediately following the service, we met with the pastor and were informed that this was no coincidence. They would love to have us help out with their Pre-K through 12th grade Christian School for the week. (Service? Check!) A few minutes later, we were invited to a home for Easter dinner (Home-cooked meal? Check!) …with numerous friends and families? (Check! I guess God considers us all brothers and sisters in Christ, right!)

Nothing is too Big for our Lord. I need to keep reminding myself that this is His ministry and He has ordained our days. I need to take a step back and rest in the fact that He is the one in control. And boy am I glad He is!

Stephanie