Helping Hands
Last week, I was lucky enough to take some of our children in 4th through 6th grade on an overnight mission trip with the help of Laura. I have been on several mission trips with our youth (middle and high schoolers), but never with our younger children.
We participated in Helping Hands 2019 at Woodlake UMC in Chesterfield. “Helping Hands is an exciting two-day mission experience for children (rising 4th through 6th Graders) offered to all member churches of the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church.” Laura and I drove down on Thursday with our kids in tow arriving midday, just in time for check-in and worship.
Right after an energizing worship, we were sent on to our first mission experience. Lucky for us, we were able to just walk out the door over to the field next to the church. They have a little garden where they were growing peppers and tomatoes for the local food pantry. It was time to turn the soil, repair the hose, and pick the peppers. We had to remove the tomato plants, rake the garden, turn the soil, pick the peppers, and build a rain gauge. The group was excited to have our first task, but maybe not as thrilled once we got outside. The sun was bright and it was 95 degrees out. Without hesitation and without complaining our team got started on all of our tasks. Let me tell you, your kids worked hard in the heat. Then, the rain clouds moved in, and we were soaked to the bone, every inch of us. But our kids kept working and we finished our tasks that needed to be done, even a few minutes after our time was up.
After drying off, we headed to Launch, which is an indoor trampoline hang out. We ate dinner and then had some fun. We played laser tag first. I’m not sure what the deal was, but (I won’t mention names) two of the kids that I brought with me, had it out for me. I was constantly unable to defend myself or my team, because if you get shot, your gun is turned off momentarily. So, thanks for that. And once again, our kids were soaked due to all of the sweat from all of the jumping. We returned for another worship service and then off to bed.
The next morning we had breakfast, worship, then off to our next mission experience. We were sent to Mercy Mall. Mercy Mall is an organization that provides clothing and some household items and food free of charge to those in need. We helped clean and organize their store. In their store they have a list of items that their clients can shop for when they visit. For example the women could shop for 10 tops, 3 bottoms, 2 dresses, etc. Men could shop for 6 tops, 3 bottoms, 1 suit if needed, etc. All of this, of course, based on availability, which is based on donations from those in the community. After we were done, we returned for lunch and closing worship.
It was a whirlwind trip, but I will tell you that I saw God at work. I saw God in the faces of those who ran the event. I saw God in Mrs. Van’s (the garden) mentorship and her knowledge that she shared with our children. I saw God in Misi’s (Mercy Mall) and energy and passion that she shared. But most of all, I saw God in our kids during worship, during the fun we had on Thursday night, during our mission experiences, and mostly in what they shared with each other in small groups. And I am pretty sure that they saw God at work, too. I was very lucky to experience that with them.