My Summer As A Missionary Part 2- Impact Richmond

My next mission trip wasn't too far from where I live. In fact, I didn't even have to leave Richmond. Impact Richmond was started several years ago with the mission to help under-privileged area residents.

The first day of the trip, our youth group and youth from several area churches met and were divided up into work groups for the week.

We slept on the floor of one of the churches and had breakfast at the church each morning. After worship, we went to our work sites. This was our daily routine throughout the week.Teams of seven or eight youth were assigned to work sites throughout the area. This was a great opportunity to meet teenagers from other churches because the work groups included teenagers from different churches. This year, there were around one hundred and thirty teenagers serving their community during the week I attended. This year, Impact Richmond included a second overnight week and a week of short-term tasks that didn't involve staying overnight in addition to the week I was there.

The site I worked at was the home of a 91-year-old woman named Mrs. Johnson. Her house started out being nothing but a storehouse for junk but once we were done with it, it looked like a completely different house. It needed a new paint job and the roof needed to be replaced, both of which were completed as the week progressed.

Mrs. Johnson's son, [Dave], told us a story about his mother from a few years ago. A man broke into her house and attempted to steal some things. When [Dave] found out, he went over to call the police but his mother said "Wait a minute. Before you do that, I want to give him something to eat because he might be hungry." I'm guessing that since she used to be a pastor, Mrs. Johnson was more concerned for the man's well-being than she was about any harm being done to the house, which most people would think was crazy.

After seeing Mrs. Johnson walk out onto her porch during our last day, I could tell that we had made a difference in her life just by putting on a fresh coat of paint and patching up the roof. She told us how much she appreciated what we did and how blessed she was to have us working on her house.

I'm glad that I was able to make a difference as an individual. This week made me feel that what I learned at Lake Junaluska is true: one person can make a difference.A description of the program from the Impact Richmond website: a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization striving to be the hands of Christ in our community by preserving and revitalizing houses and communities, providing adequate shelter to homeowners via home remodeling, and providing hope by sharing our faith. Our program enriches the lives of the youth participants, adult counselors, and neighborhood residents it serves.

My Summer As A Missionary Part 1- Lake Junaluska

My summer started off with a mission trip to Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. Our guest speaker this year was a man by the name of Shane Claiborne. Shane lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and works for an organization called the Simple Way. He lives in an abandoned warehouse with several homeless kids and their families. Shane told us several stories about things he has done in his life. The first story he told us was about when he met Mother Teresa, which was a blessing because very few people can say they’ve had that honor.

Shane told us that Mother Teresa told him, “You don’t have to come out here to Calcutta to help people. You can stay in America and find your own personal Calcutta to help people.” That pretty much means that you can help people who are having a hard time in your own backyard and not have to leave your hometown or home country. As the week went on, Shane told us about a time when he had a “Jesus party” in a park with some homeless people. They served communion and sang Christian songs for most of the night until they were arrested. Shane said he walked into the courtroom the next morning wearing a t-shirt that said “Jesus was homeless.” The judge called Shane over and said “I never knew Jesus was homeless.” Shane replied “Of course he was. He never stayed in one place when he taught his disciples and healed people.” Hearing Shane’s response, the judge dropped all of the charges and let Shane and the others walk away.

That story was truly amazing and I definitely sensed God’s presence during the entire week that Shane spoke. The last two days, we had another speaker come and talk to us. His name was Will Boyd from Invisible Children, an organization that raises awareness of the war in Uganda, Africa and informs people that children are being abducted and forced to kill people that they love. After viewing the DVD that Will brought with him, I felt a calling to do something to help. I’m still not sure what it is that God wants me to do but I’m sure he’ll tell me when he thinks I’m ready for it. Like my youth minister, Joe Torrence, said “The revolution begins with us.” I believe that statement and I think we can all make a difference and help the Invisible Children of Uganda. God Bless.