Granted, it's not as early as last Sunday when we met at Crossings at 5:00am, but a 6:00am wake-up after a long week is still no picnic.
But what an incredible week it has been.
Yesterday, Group 5 concluded our week at the Andrew Jackson Boys and Girls Club. It was difficult for everyone to say goodbye to these children that we have come to know and love. Their smiling faces will linger in our memory for a long time. We will recall - with great frequency - the games we played and the conversations we shared.
The second half of our day was spent entirely at Feed the Children. Our group worked hard all afternoon and packed 513 hygiene packs. These packs will be distributed to families who need them as a result of poverty or natural disaster. It was brutally hot inside the warehouse but the students were great. They accomplished every task given to them without any whining or complaining.
Following a soul food dinner at world famous Swett's, Group 5 debriefed on pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River. An amazing view. As we reflected on our week of experiences, we had the opportunity to write a brief letter to the people that we met this week who had a significant impact on us. There was a LARGE stack of letters that we left for Jennifer our host to deliver.
All of that made for a great day.
But the most significant event of the day was the worship experience for our entire Crossings group. Once again, there was outstanding leadership from Andy, Leo, Cole and Donnie. But God's Spirit was poured out on these teenagers.
During the course of the worship the students were given the opportunity to share what they were experiencing in one or two sentences. There was conviction, brokenness, transformation and recommitment. There were tears of compassion, tears of confession, tears of liberation and tears of joy.
We also had the chance to audibly pray for some of the people we had encountered during our week of ministry. I was personally moved by the level of connection and compassion that our students expressed for the people of Nashville. It is clear that God has done some amazing and transformational work in the hearts of everyone who came on the trip.
So what is the next step?
Our time in Nashville will amount to little more than a personal enrichment exercise if what we experienced there does not translate into changed lives back home. The compassion that the students extended to the homeless of Nashville, will they extend it to that person who eats alone at school each and every day? The servant's attitude that was so evident daily, will it still be there when it is time to take out the trash or clean up a bedroom? Will the heightened awareness of the plight for the poor and homeless in Nashville lead to an increased acuity of those same problems in our city? Does the work started by the Holy Spirit this week lead to a life more fully devoted to, and in love, with Christ?
Let's not forget the daily routine of life at home. Some of these students will have very hectic schedules when school resumes: school work, extra-curricular activities, jobs and church. Will they continue to daily create time and space for God? And what about the example that those of us who are parents set? What is our mind set toward the homeless and the poor? What behaviors and attitudes do they pick up from us when we encounter the folks with the cardboard signs who stand at many of the major intersections in OKC?
My point is, we can either help foster and nurture the growth these students are facing or we can kill it. It's your choice.
Bill Hybels constantly - and accurately - proclaims that the church is the hope of the world. Will the seeds that were planted in the hearts of these teenagers grow and produce a generation of world-changers?
I certainly think so.
Soli Deo gloria.
Michael
Sent from my iPhone
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