Midland Flood Relief Update from Sue Zwyghuizen
A huge thank you to 28 volunteers who stepped up with a very last minute notice to help Midland Reformed Church with flood relief. The Midland church staff (they have 4 staff and we met them all) were very grateful for such a great response as the usual Relief Organizations seem to be tied up with "red tape" because of the current COVID crisis.
Not only did we have 28 volunteers who traveled 2.5 hours to work for 7 hours, but we also had people donate gas money, awesome homemade cookies, and bottled water. We also had a great many prayer warriors that prayed for safety in travel and on the work sites.
Community Reformed Church humbly represented the hands and feet of Christ in a real way. Thank you! We may go again if we are needed. I will keep you posted.
There are some prayer requests from the church and the people we worked for. I have also attached an Amazon Wish list for items that the Midland church needs as they continue to support their community.
Prayer Requests:
Stamina for victims as they work to clean up and deal with the messes that have been left and in many cases the loss of precious memories.
Peace for the victims as they deal with the losses in the middle of a pandemic. Many people are experiencing high levels of anxiety.
Prayers for the church as they continue to reach out to many people who were already feeling isolated because of stay at home orders and are now dealing with the losses. Many of these people are not Christians.
Safety for the volunteers and the many outside workers that have come into their area.
Devotional from Pastor Kurt
Yesterday my family went with 13 others to Midland to serve the people there who have been dealing with flooding. Sue Zwyghuizen led the trip. As we were driving up to Midland I realized how much easier travel is when you are following someone else. I didn’t have to worry about what route we were taking. There was one point where I was thinking we were going to turn - and we didn’t. But I wasn’t worried. I was following Sue - and she had made this journey on Wednesday. She could be trusted. I didn’t have to worry about how fast we were going. I didn’t have to worry about the truck in front of Sue that was slowing us down. I didn’t get upset when we stopped to let someone go to the bathroom. I noticed that my vehicle got much better gas mileage. I noticed cool scenery along the way. I was much less stressed when I was following a Leader. And it was more fun.
I noticed some drivers along the way who didn’t seem to be enjoying their journey as much. They were in a hurry. They were frustrated. And some of the choices they made even seemed dangerous.
I enjoyed the journey. And we got where we were going on time. And we got to do the work that God had for us to do. It was a great day. And I wasn’t in charge. And I didn’t need to be.
I Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our anxieties on God because He cares for us.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has plans for us - good plans - to prosper us and not to harm us. Plans to give us a hope and a future.
So why am I usually in a hurry? Why do I get stressed about the details? Why do I think I know where I’m going? Why do I want to go my way?
Life has slowed down the past few months. And I noticed that I’m healthier when I’m not going at the pace I used to travel. Breathing slow and deep is good. Listening is often better than talking. And following a leader is recommended.
Sue did a great job. And God does a perfect job. I don’t want to go back to the pace I used to live at - and I don’t want to go my way towards my plans. I want to know the plans He has. And the best way to get there is to slow down, calm down, and follow the leader. You’ll be glad you did.
Volunteer Opportunity
Mobile Food Pantry - Thursday, June 4
We need people from 3:45 - 6:00 pm. Report to the East parking lot by Door F. Please bring a mask.
We are currently in Phase 1.
Links to the Community Reformed Church website are listed below:
