Friday at Lakeshore went too quickly for me to fit in a blog post so I will wrap things up here. The ministry team spent the morning distributing fliers, the kitchen team was busy preparing for the Friday night dinner, and the construction crew were finishing clean-up and miscellaneous projects around the camp. The dinner and service that night went well. The turnout was not as high as previous years, which could be due to the unusually cold weather. The kitchen crew did an excellent job at coordinating the meal and serving our guests. Pastor Don's message was very moving as he recounted the history of the Lakeshore Baptist church buildings, and then used that as an opportunity to share the Gospel.
After the service we all pitched in to help the kitchen crew clean the Mercy House and church building. It had been announced that there would be s'mores and singing around the campfire when these tasks were completed, so that added an extra level of incentive! We enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship together on our last Lakeshore evening. It is hard to describe the bonds formed during the week. Although there were people I didn't have the opportunity to talk with much, I felt like we had all become a family. It was definitely hard to say goodbye and know that we would not be meeting again at Lakeshore next year.
This year was a challenge from a media perspective because it was somewhat anti-climactic after last year. In previous years, our goals have been impressive from even a worldly standard. From working through the night to set the church foundation to battling unusual hard weather while siding the building last year, our goals have been remarkable even to those outside our group.
Our vision for this year was much less concrete. While we established a goal for the week, clearing out and demolishing a building does not carry the same level of weight as digging through Mississippi mud to set the pilings for a new structure. Spending the week cleaning, organizing, and finishing many small projects is not impressive like building homes in the community. Our vision this year has been described as anti-climactic, and that is true in some ways. After the culmination of so much labor in the first worship service last Sunday, it was tempting to think our work was done. But this year, our task was not the grand beginning of something, but rather the quiet work of closure to a project nearly completed. We have spent years working in "crisis" mode as the community struggled to survive and heal after Hurricane Katrina. And finally, they are moving into a new phase of normalcy. While it has been true in previous years, our position as support to the local church was especially evident this year as we worked with the goal of leaving them with a clean and organized church grounds. The week was a good reminder that the work of the kingdom is not often remarkable in the eyes of the world, because we live for eternity, not for this temporary life. It was with sadness that we prepared the church area for our final departure, but we were also filled with great joy for this congregation as they are beginning to move forward into a new phase of church life. Though we will not see them every January, we continue to pray that God blesses their faithful service for the kingdom. And we look forward to spending eternity with our brothers and sisters in Christ, serving our Lord together.
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