December 22
3“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 3:5)
Good afternoon Family. Well, we accomplished our mission. Exactly one week ago, after I said a prayer for guidance on what I could do to help the victims of the Quad-State Tornado, I received a pretty clear answer. As I prayed and wept for those poor people, I heard the whisper in my soul that said “go.” And thanks to a deer, I knew what ‘go’ meant. I will elaborate on that more tomorrow, but for today, I just want to recap with y’all.
Let me start by saying, what we did was not special. We were definitely not the first, and we will not be the last, to send supplies to that area. And here I am, a middle-aged man, and doing this for the very first time. There are kids my daughter’s age putting together the same efforts, if not doing more. So I know that what we did was nothing new under the sun, it was just new to us, and something long overdue.
We put our faith into action, and watched God work a miracle in us to be a witness to the miracle of many. What we saw in Kentucky was both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. We saw only a glimpse of the destruction in one town, over 30 homes reduced to just piles of rubble, on one street. But the response from America and from many, many organizations was incredible. Churches opened their doors as shelters, donation centers, food distribution points. The Southern Baptist Convention Missouri Disaster Relief was the organization we saw the most in both towns we drove through. The Kentucky National Guard, FEMA, Red Cross, and many others were out helping clear and support the people of Dawson Springs. There was so much donated that we were sent to an overflow collection point, and once we unloaded our truck, that center was about full. We dropped our supplies, dropped our truck, ate a late lunch/dinner and drove to Dawson Springs to complete our mission and donated all the cash raised to a small Revival Center that had opened its doors to be a shelter AND donation collection point. Then we headed home.
I spoke to my father on the way back to Georgia and he asked what I had learned from this experience. There was a lot to learn, but I think the most important lesson is that there can never be too many hands and feet. Give when you can and as often as you can. Go when you can. Do missions. Be an accurate example of the love and generosity of Jesus Christ.
Thank you to all that supported our first mission. It was an expensive donation drive but worth every penny, and generous donors covered most of the cost. For myself and my family, we helped create one of the most rewarding Christmas trips ever. I learned my daughter is a work-horse, as she constantly sought to help load donations and almost unloaded half the truck herself. While I wish this tragedy had never fallen on these poor souls, I am truly thankful for the opportunity to have been able to serve this community.
We did a lot of driving in the last 48 hours-about 20 hours worth-so that meant a lot of time listening to Spotify. I have a new favorite Christmas tune. I have heard “Good King Wenceslas” many times before, but I never really listened to the lyrics until Menna released this BEAUTIFUL version. I wonder how many other times I heard God telling me to serve the poor and I never really listened.
Reading plan: Revelation 22; Malachi 4-Congrats if you have been following the plan, you have now read the entire Bible!
Common Sense Reborn 