Farewell

It has been quite a week. We have worked all week long in the community of Oakville, Iowa. It is sad to see the week come to a close and to say farewell to other kingdom residents. There has been a sense of gratefulness permeating all that we have done and it has reminded me that God is at work in ways that are beyond our understanding.

Here are the top five lessons I learned this week.

1. God is at work even though it is not alway obvious to us. I met people this week that affirmed His presence even in the absence of everything that was precious to them.

2. Churches are more equipped to meet the needs of hurting communities than any government agency. Oakville was full of Baptist, Mennonite, Methodist and Nazarene church groups cleaning up houses caused by the flooding. I am assuming that the government agencies will soon finish discussions and begin to work shortly. Until then the church is making the difference.

3. Family connections can make a big difference in those who have lost all of their personal belongings. I met people whose "kin-folk" rallied to their aid and you can see the difference this has made in their life.

4. Good meals can make a work team do extraordinary things. The team ate ham and eggs for breakfast, great sandwiches for lunch and evening meals of pot roast, chicken and steak. A well fed team is a happy team.

5. God's whisper can drown out the noise of devastation. Everywhere we looked this week we saw and smelled the stench of the destruction caused by the Iowa floods, yet it could not drown out the stillness of His voice.

I am thinking about each of these lessons at the close of this trip. I am thankful for each lesson learned and each experience of His Grace.

Tomorrow we head back home and I am praying that I will not forget what I have seen, touched, tasted and savored.

I trust the One who can bring all these back to my memory.