Bringing the Church Back to Life

Hi everyone! This has been such a busy and great day that I’m not even sure where to start. I will begin by saying this is an AWESOME group! Everyone, from the most experienced veteran to the first-timer, pitched in and worked hard today. You would be so proud!

Last night for our gathering time, Tim shared the scripture in Exodus about Moses seeing God’s glory as God passed by. God placed Moses in a cleft in the mountains and then move in front of him, so that Moses could get a glimpse. Tim then challenged the group to “glimpse God’s glory” as we do our work in the mountains this week. Powerful stuff!

We got up at 6:45 a.m. local time (most of us, anyway), thanks in part to a train that passes within 50 feet of the church building. Two or three trains passed during the night, and each friendly train driver tooted his horn to make sure we knew he was there. Thanks a lot, Mr. Conductor!

After we ate breakfast and packed our lunches, we headed off for our first look at Hazard Christian Church. It’s a beautiful old church, built in 1925. In its heyday, the building must have looked magnificent! Unfortunately, over the years it has fallen into serious disrepair. Sean is right; we could easily spend a month working here.

We got to meet Joe Goodlette and Ivan Woods, both members and elders of Hazard Christian Church. Both gentlemen expressed their gratitude for having us there, and their embarrassment over the state of the building. It was obvious this church was very important to them.

After a tour of the facility, Sean put is to work in several different areas. Our tasks included sweeping and cleaning, scraping off old paint and plaster, pulling down parts of walls and ceilings to be replaced, and scraping old tile off the floor. The church is so big we each could have our own room to work on, but we mainly focused on the sanctuary, balcony, fellowship hall, and classroom area.

While taking a break, Sean, Tim, and I met Mrs. Grier, who lives across the street. After informing us she was “four score and three years old,” she gave us a lively history of the church. It seems everybody knows everybody in Hazard, and Mrs. Grier knew a little about all of them.

The weather today was gorgeous! We ate our lunches outside to take advantage of it. We worked until about 4 p.m., then headed to the Pavilion for our showers and a bit of swimming. The Pavilion is a local recreation center with a nice indoor pool, indoor tennis courts, racquetball courts, and a workout room. We’re very thankful they are letting us use their showers free of charge!

Dinner tonight was roasted chickens from Wal-Mart, baked beans, salad, and a Jennifer Abdo’s birthday cake for dessert. Tonight we’re going to hang out around the church and rest from our first full day. Tomorrow night we might check out the miniature golf place or go bowling.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m tired! There are a lot of steps in the church, and much of the work today was bending, stretching, and squatting. None of the youth seem too fazed, but all the adults are groaning a little more loudly every time we sit down. I’m already looking forward to the hotel room on Saturday!

Tonight, our devotion is going to be from Ezekiel 37. God leads the prophet Ezekiel into a valley full of dry bones and asks him, “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel answers, “Only You know, Lord.” The God commands Ezekiel to speak to the bones, and they begin to rattle. Then God breathes on them and they become alive again. These verses are most salient to our trip:

Then God said to Ezekiel: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.”

Listening to Joe and Ivan, they sounded like these dry bones; their hope is gone and they feel cut off. Our prayer is that, this week, God will use us to breathe life back into this church and help restore some of its faded glory. This is obviously a church with a proud history; we hope God will help us give them a bright future.

Have a great night, everyone. We miss and love you!

6-17-08