Larry's Final Post

Friday, January 13, 2012

As John Durham, one of our elder brothers on the project says, "This is a Hallelujah day!"  Spirits are high in anticipation of the evangelistic service this evening.  There have been a large number of contacts made in the community and we have been praying with great fervency for the salvation of those who will occupy the seats in the quonset hut chapel.  If the past is any indication, Pastor Matt Foreman will be preaching to a diverse gathering of people.  From my perspective, there are a large number of poor in this community and I expect that will be proportional in our meeting.  When Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee he entered the temple in Nazareth.  He stood up and read this passage from Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor."  We will be following that example unto those who are impoverished, either in soul or goods.  

I just passed the dining hall and the chefs are simmering  a huge caldron of Jambalaya which is a  local delicacy.  These generous men have come over from Clinton, LA just to minister to the locals via their culinary skills.  The aroma is filling the area and it is magnafique!  Our Lord offered bread and fish by the sea and we attempt the same with Cajun stew by the Gulf.  Speaking of food, our kitchen crew under the direction of Debra McDearmon, turned in another stellar performance this project.  One change I particularly enjoyed this time was having our food served on our plates by the kitchen staff.  The dining is so enhanced by the pleasant greetings from our young ladies, like Ms. Kay Andrews.  Feeding 160 plus hearty eaters is no small task!

Last evening was our annual night out for dinner.  We invaded the Bay St. Louis area and split forces between several restaurants.  Pastor Don encouraged us to spend our dollars locally, if possible, since the local economy is struggling to support businesses.    Our party tried a new restaurant overlooking the bay that offered us our own upstairs room isolated from the local clientele.  This enabled us to have a wonderful social experience, talking and laughing with our dear brethren.  It also enabled us to enjoy the time without getting strange looks from our neighboring tables.  Since Laszlo was at our table, we got strange looks anyway.

As I'm writing this entry, the young folks are preparing some special music for this evening.  It is very heart-warming to see the camaraderie that exists amongst this gaggle of young folks.  There is encouragement in seeing this sampling of those who will be leading the church into the future.  If you carefully look past the boisterousness and see the underlying character, which has been nurtured by solid family training, hope arises for the body of Christ through the next generation.  

I just paused for a minute to take a phone call, and one of the locals named Oscar flagged me down.  He's a man in his forties who told me of how his wife died of cancer this past May.  He expressed how much he missed his "Baby" since her passing.  He had been invited to the meal/meeting and arrived two hours early.  He wanted to lend a hand, if possible.  I told him that we were wrapping up and there probably wouldn't much to do, but feel free to roam around and chat.  He replied that he do would take up the offer because he wanted to enjoy some Christian fellowship.  I suspect that he's lonely and hopefully, the acceptance he will find in our midst will be a good tonic for his soul, even if it's only for a few hours.  It made me think of the vast opportunities the hurricane brought to this small church.  This type of interaction is typical in the daily routine of the church.   Just rubbing shoulders with the community is a natural routine.  Sure, it's messy and uncomfortable at times to be accessible.  People can be such a bother when we are busy.   We have so much to do and so little time to do it.  Woe unto the church if we are tempted by those sentiments.  If I could take just one thing away from this week, it would be to make a greater effort to listen to the people who are suffering in this world.  Whether believer or unbeliever it doesn't matter.  I need to be prepared for every opportunity to demonstrate compassion and understanding in the name of Christ.  Having speech that is always gracious, seasoned with salt.  I trust that this same conviction will be carried away by all of our project family.  I hope as you read these reflections you will do the same.

Until next year,

Larry Springer