This summer the Ebenezer youth group spent a week in New York City. A team of 30 went to the Big Apple to serve and connect with each other and with people who could loosely be considered from another culture. I was privileged to be on this team. Here are a few of the lessons learned…

1. Don’t work so fast

On our first day at the Stanley Isaac Center, we were tasked with assembling “cold packs” – the refrigerated portion of the meals that are delivered to the elderly of the neighborhood. A carton of milk, a fruit juice, a piece of fresh fruit, a slice of bread and a pat of butter were collected in a plastic bag which was tied at the top and added to a crate with other similar bags. 25 to a crate. Fill 25 crates, or 50, or just go ’til you run out of milk.

I got going on this assignment, and I was a woman with a goal. Stay out of my way – I’m packing bags! I would leapfrog around my team members who were going a little slower than me. In my mind I was looking at the job and trying to figure out ways to do it faster.

And then, we were done. Cold packs filled and tied. Full crates loaded into the walk-in cooler. A job that had taken the few volunteers who worked during the COVID pandemic all day to accomplish, and then only with the help of some of the paid staff, was done in 2 hours! Great work! Now what?

Now, we sit and wait, as the rest of the process proceeds so we can be given delivery assignments.

We repeated this scenario each morning, and we learned something. It wasn’t about how quickly we could accomplish our mission. In fact, the journey/process was part of the mission. Interacting with the youth and the other volunteers and the staff as we worked was as important as getting the bags packed. We could slow down and still get the job done.

Life lesson: Slow down. Remember that the journey has an importance of its own. Our pastor often quotes Dallas Willard, encouraging us to “ruthlessly eliminate hurry” from our lives. Funny that we were reminded of this in New York City, a place known for hustle and bustle…

2. Small things matter

I think it was Ruben who shared at one of our evening de-brief sessions that he was surprised that what we had done that day seemed small but had made such a big impact. Over and over during our week in NYC, people told us how much what we were doing meant to the organizations with whom we were partnering. Not one of us gave a large sum of money or did something spectacular or even out of the ordinary. Yet what we gave and what we did mattered.

Can our youth group solve the problem of homelessness in New York City? Nope.

Can we lift people out of addiction? We can’t.

Can we fund a service project for a month? A week? Unfortunately not.

But, we can show up. We can give what we have, with love and with confidence that our prayers for God to use what we bring are heard and are answered. And sometimes we don’t even hear or guess the power of our service.

Mother Teresa said, “Do small things with great love.”

Jesus said, “and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” Matthew 10:42 NRSV

Some young people from Ohio learned the truth of these words by experience in July, 2021…

3. Bones into armies

Somehow our trip got a theme song. It seemed to happen by chance, or at least without the intention of anyone in the group. Here are the lyrics:

I searched the world

But it couldn’t fill me

Man’s empty praise and treasures that fade

Are never enough

Then You came along

And put me back together

And every desire is now satisfied

Here in Your love

Oh, there’s nothing better than You

There’s nothing better than You

Lord, there’s nothing

Nothing is better than You

I’m not afraid

To show You my weakness

My failures and flaws, Lord, You’ve seen them all

And You still call me friend

‘Cause the God of the mountain

Is the God of the valley

There’s not a place Your mercy and grace

Won’t find me again

Oh, there’s nothing better than You

There’s nothing better than You

Lord, there’s nothing

Nothing is better than You

You turn mourning to dancing

You give beauty for ashes

You turn shame into glory

You’re the only one who can

You turn graves into gardens

You turn bones into armies

You turn seas into highways

You’re the only one who can

Without knowledge of it’s significance to us, this song was planned for our first church service back in Ohio. As we lined the front of the church, singing the song that Sunday, the phrase, “You make bones into armies,” captured my attention.

This is a reference to the experience of the prophet Ezekiel, an author of one of the books of the Bible. In his book, Ezekiel describes a time when God took him to a valley full of bones, “exceedingly dry bones.” Ezekiel is asked if these bones can live. He doesn’t really know how to answer, so he says, “You know.” What a great response! And as Ezekiel continues his narrative, we find that God did indeed know. He asks Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, and the bones come together to make humans. Amazing! But not good enough – there are humans, but they have no breath. So Ezekiel is instructed to prophesy to the breath, that it fills the bodies. It does, and there is an army, strong and numerous and ALIVE.

So maybe this analogy can be applied to our trip. It’s not a stretch to imagine that the members of our team started as bones – disconnected, dry, maybe not lifeless, but certainly not a living organism. And by God’s grace, we came together. We were connected and could stand. And, by His power, the breath of the Holy Spirit filled us, and we became an army, walking the streets of New York City, calling on our Savior for His help, fighting battles and seeing His victory.

Bones into armies. God is the only one who can do that. May we continue to let His grace connect us and His power enliven us.

Jesus, than You for calling us to do the small things without rushing. Thank You for multiplying our efforts and teaching us as we work. Thanks that You can take us when we are lifeless and disconnected and fill us with Your Spirit. Please turn bones into armies all over this world. Raise up armies that can fight darkness and fear with the truth that changes everything. You are the only One who can.

-Leah

In a bit of a word deficiency and also time/energy deficiency. So thankful
God’s Word is never deficient!

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭73:26‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://psalm.bible/psalm-73-26

-Leah

On June 23rd, two little girls joined our family – a 2 year old (she turned 2 the day after she came) and a 5 year-old with nonverbal autism. Not only were we pretty unprepared for a toddler in the house, but neither of us has had much experience with autistic children. Needless to say, we have been learning a lot!

We are settling in and adjusting to a new normal that includes sippy cups, diapers, weighted blankets, and frequent trips to the playground. Free time has become non-existent. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been so worth it.

Part of my new daily routine during the week is driving these two beauties to day care. They both love music, and we have been enjoying some well-known Sunday School tunes on the drive. Last week as we were driving, a familiar children’s song came on. You might know it –

He’s got the whole world in His hands,

He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got the whole wide world in his hands.

He’s got the whole world in his hands.

As the song played, I was struck by the simplicity and truth of the lyrics. I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to overcomplicate things sometimes, and sometimes it’s good to just ponder something as simple as those precious words. He’s got the whole world in His hands.

Things aren’t spinning out of control. We are held in His hands. Elisabeth Elliott said it like this –

“We are not adrift in chaos. To me that is the most fortifying, the most stabilizing, the most peace-giving thing that I know about anything in the universe. Every time that things have seemingly fallen apart in my life, I have gone back to those things that do not change. Nothing in the universe can ever change those facts. He loves me. I am not at the mercy of chance.”

He loves us, and we are not at the mercy of chance. He’s got the wind and the rain in His hands. He’s got you and me, sister (brother), in His hands. He’s got the whole world in His hands.

Father, thank You for simple truths. Thank You that You are in control. When we feel stressed or anxious, please help us to remember that You are holding us. Amen.

I’m in New York City!  I am here with our church youth group on a service trip.  Today was our first day in the city, and it was a good one.  

To start the day, a group of us rode the bus to Graffiti Church, a ministry in NYC that includes a soup kitchen and an after-school program, among other outreaches.  We headed right down to the basement, where Carmen shared with us about their church and explained the jobs she had for us to do.  There was a mini-demolition project on the roof, power washing a balcony, sweeping, mopping, scrubbing and sorting.  As I watched the young people listening to her, I imagined what must be going through their minds – “I hope I get [that job],” “I hope I don’t have to do [that job],” “I want to be on [that student]’s team.”  The job list was passed to our youth pastor, and he divided us into teams and gave us our assignments.  Guess what!  Not one complaint from the kids!  

We got right to work, in some cases, learning as we went.  I was on the stairway cleaning team, responsible for cleaning hand rails, sweeping, and mopping 7 flights of stairs.  At one point, Ella and I were pulled from what we were doing to clean the floor in the church.  

As we worked on that, I thought about what the morning’s work could teach us about our life assignments.  

Like the students, we have signed on to a “service trip” of sorts.  We are traveling together, with a goal of serving God by serving the people around us.  It is so important for us to be ready to listen when He gives us our assignments, and to be willing to do whatever we are asked to do.  We might not get to do the job that seems most glamorous, and we might not get to work alongside the person we like the best, but we can trust that the work we have been given is important and that God has equipped us.  

As we go along, doing our tasks, we sometimes get called away to work on something else.  That can be a difficult mental jump at times.  We have focused on going one direction, and suddenly a door closes and we are routed somewhere else.  We have to trust that God knows best about where we should work and what we should do.  

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”  Proverbs 16:9

Just last week, a friend of mine was essentially forced out of her job.  As I have prayed for her during this traumatic time, I have been convinced that God will work this for her good, that He has a plan.  I thought of her today when I got called away from the stairs to work on the church floor.  While that move couldn’t be classified as traumatic and didn’t carry with it any sense that I had failed, it required a shift in focus and a “giving up” of what I had been doing.  Life does that to us from time to time, and it is often stressful.  Realizing that change is being orchestrated by our loving Father can allow us to more easily adjust and willingly get on board with the new “assignment.”  Heaven rules.  God’s plans are always for our good and for His glory.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28

God spoke these words through the prophet Jeremiah to His people whose experience of change of assignment was exile: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.’” Jeremiah 29:11-14

The trust in God’s providence and goodness allows us to serve willingly wherever we are placed.  I got a little glimpse of that yesterday also.  I heard one young person say, “I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”  And several, when they found themselves done with one assignment, came asking, “What do you have next for me to do?”  Let’s be like that in our life service trip – ready and willing, happy to serve wherever God puts us. 

“Whatever you hand finds to do, do it with all your might…”  Ecclesiastes 9:10

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24

One last note – my sister, the other blogger for Two Sisters One Amazing Savior, has a new assignment!  She has been given the blessing of serving two little girls as their foster mom.  2 years old and 5 years old, one with special needs, they are beautiful!   Please pray for her and for her husband as they pour their lives into those precious children, and pray for the children.  

God, thanks for placing right where You want us.  Help us to realize that our lives are a service trip of sorts, that our goal is to love You and love others wherever You have placed us.  Help us to serve joyfully and willingly, to be able to change course when that is what You ask of us.  Help us to trust Your plan and Your goodness.  Fill us with Your energy and equip us for all the tasks You give us.  Please fill Dana with strength and wisdom as she cares for the children You have given her to love.  Multiply her efforts in their lives and provide for all they need.

-Leah

It has been a difficult week.  The demands and challenges piled up and a few “mini-crises” pushed their way in also.  I’m not complaining, just giving context.  As the week unfolded, overall I felt like I was doing pretty well.  Keeping my head above water (does barely above water count?) and keeping a decent attitude.  Tuesday, I found myself making a several hour trip in my car alone, and I turned on the week’s Revive Our Hearts podcasts.  [As an aside, my sister introduced me to these podcasts, and over and over again they have been encouraging and convicting to me and have helped me grow in my faith.]  This week, Shaunti Feldhahn was the guest, talking about her book, The Kindness Challenge.  Monday’s podcast was great – I do believe kindness is a superpower 🙂 and I was on board with working on showing kindness.  I realized as I listened that I have room to grow in the kindness department.  Then came Tuesday’s message.  Oh my!  

The discussion was about “nixing the negativity.”  Again, I am on board with that!  

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

I realize that my tendency is toward negativity, but as Shaunti Feldhahn talked about some different ways negativity can be expressed, I felt like a spotlight was shining on my last several days.  She made the point that EXASPERATION is a form of negativity.  Yikes!  

Exasperation/exasperated according to Merriam-Webster: “having or showing strong feelings of irritation or annoyance.”  Here are a few synonyms for exasperate: perturb, irk, irritate, rankle, annoy, try the patience of.  Yep, I had spent a fair amount of my time at work Monday and Tuesday in a state of exasperation.  And unfortunately, my exasperation had caused me to be short and even shrill with my co-workers, even though they were not deserving of shortness or shrillness.  As I listened to the podcast, my memory played clips of conversations of the last several days, and I saw a Leah that was not kind.  

What is the opposite of exasperated?  Patient, calm, peaceful, content.  Kind.  As I drove, I listened.  As I listened, I understood.  As I understood, I prayed.  I prayed for forgiveness and for a new approach.  

Exasperation in the face of pressure and imperfect circumstances is not really that surprising.  Maybe you could excuse it – as my co-worker said when I apologized, “you are human.”  I am.  But I am a new creation because of the power of Jesus.  

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”  Galatians 2:20-21

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  2 Corinthians 5:17

I don’t have to default to exasperation, because of the transforming power of Jesus and because of the Holy Spirit who fills me!  It was definitely an ah-ha moment there on I-75 south.  

And I can tell you that the little meeting I had with my Father there during that drive made a huge difference!  I apologized to my co-workers.  I was aware of my mood and my words and non-verbal communication as the week rolled on.  And I can also tell you that the week continued to be difficult.  The sailing was far from smooth, but my internal tide had turned.  

What a blessing that I had listened to that particular podcast that particular day.  Probably not a coincidence.  As I have been thinking about it today, I have realized that the timing was perfect.  The way I was responding to the pressure I was feeling needed addressed.  I had some “down time” to be still and listen to truth, and to hear God calling me to something better.  Pressure often leads to change and brings forth fruit.

There is a song called “New Wine” that expresses that beautifully.  Here are the lyrics:

In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making new wine

In the soil
I now surrender
You are breaking new ground

So I yield to You and to Your careful hand
When I trust You I don’t need to understand

Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus bring new wine out of me

‘Cause where there is new wine
There is new power
There is new freedom
And the Kingdom is here
I lay down my old flames
To carry Your new fire today

So, make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
God, I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me

If you have a few more moments, I would like to tell you how I first heard that song.  I was in Haiti, and one of our translators, Nicholson, told me a bit of his story.  

Nicholson grew up in Miami, the son of Haitian immigrants.  He had an older brother and a younger brother.  The younger brother was born in the US.  When Nicholson was 14-ish, there was a knock on the door, and Nicholson discovered for the first time that he was in the US illegally.  No papers.  His parents and older brother had papers, but they did not have any for him.  His younger brother was a citizen by virtue of birth.  Nicholson was deported to Haiti: a teenager from Miami, without his parents or brothers, sent to live with some extended family in a country of poverty and civil unrest and very limited opportunity.  When I met him, he was 19 or 20, doing translating work for mission organizations when he could.  He worked with us all week, and I was so drawn to his sweet spirit and servant heart.  One day I asked him what his favorite song was, and he said he had lots of favorites, but the one he was liking most at the time was “New Wine.”  Really?  “I came here with nothing, but all You have given me.  Jesus, bring new wine out of me.”  Nicholson’s pressing and crushing makes my “difficult” week seem like a vacation.  

Jesus, use the pressing and the crushing in our lives to make something beautiful.  Help us to be willing to surrender to You, to listen for Your voice and to choose Your way.  Empower us to choose kindness over exasperation.  Teach us to receive Your love and to let it flow out of us onto the people around us.  Transform us and fill us with Your Holy Spirit.  Break new ground.  

“See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”  Isaiah 42:19

“Love is patient, love is kind.”  I Corinthians 13:4

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  Ephesians 4:32

Kindness matters.

-Leah