Thoughts Along the Way

Tuesday at ConC, students shared testimonies about their Spring Break ministry trips. I've told you about our trip to Panama City Beach. But we also sent a group to Orangefield, TX to do some hurricane recovery work. They traveled with a group from the Prairie Grove Christian Church. The Prairie Grove church got in contact with a church in Orangefield who guided them to a young family (mom, dad, and 2-year-old son) whose home was destroyed by Hurricane Rita. So the Prairie Grove church raised $20,000 and took a group of adults, teens, and ConC staff and students to build a house (or at least start the process) over Spring Break. They poured the foundation, put up the walls (which were framed here in Arkansas), put on the roof, added doors and windows, and put up part of the siding.

Everyone who went has talked of how meaningful the trip was - of the chemistry of the group and the joy of building the house for the family. A local TV station came out and did a story on the group. As they interviewed the wife, she said something along the lines of "the hurricane was really a blessing in disguise. We are getting a better house than we had before. And if you ask my son where the house came from, he will tell you that Jesus gave it to us."

What a great testimony - the house that Jesus gave to them. What a great ministry - to be able to give a family a house in the name of Jesus.

The young family aren't members of the church in Orangefield. They don't go to church anywhere, yet. But they were in church last Sunday. The gift and service given to them in the name of Jesus probably did more to move them toward Christ than ten years worth of sermons.

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The trip to Orangefield was put together by Keith Bostian. Keith is the music minister at the Prairie Grove Christian Church. He is also on the Board of Christ on Campus. And he and his wife, Elise, were in ConC when they were at the UofA.