The Ditch

The trip we took to Mississippi was what AIM calls a “Level 2” trip. This means that the emphasis of the trip is not necessarily on work: building, tearing down, cleaning, whatever; but more of the trip’s focus is on relationships. One may argue that this is all that matters, but it is important to realize that not everyone is on the same level, ministry-wise. Some of us are very comfortable walking up to a total stranger and striking up a conversation. Others…not so much.

 

Having said that, the groups that we had were ready for anything God wanted to throw at them. They had VBS lined up and were prayer-walking and doing neighborhood ministry. Even with this, they wanted to work! So, we got the list of stuff that needed to be done at the Green Hill UMC Mission from Pastor Jon Walters and put them to work. They painted a large room, replaced a wall panel, organized the library, sorted clothes, worked on the computer network, and dug a ditch in the hot, Mississippi sun. These guys could do it all!

 

Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t expect you to perform on the same
level as the people around you, but instead meets you where you are?
The irony of this, in my experience, is that we tend to expect people
to meet our own personal level of competence and are contemptuous of
people (ie: other believers) who are not where we are. What we should
do is treat our brothers and sisters with the same love and tenderness
that we get from our Father and do our best to help them grow in Him is
image, not in ours.

 

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www.flickr.com markie13’s Mississippi Choctaw Work photoset