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What A Gift! |
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Location: Blogs Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 8/13/2008 2:19 PM | Greetings on this gray day,
Last week we had a great “Promotion Sunday” gathering in the fellowship hall during the Sunday School hour. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, a chance to celebrate the importance of our Christian Education ministry at BCC, and an opportunity to let our kids know how much they mean to us. Under the leadership of our Director of Christian Education, Debbie Kinney, our Christian Education ministry has become one of our signature ministries. When you get a chance, give Debbie and the whole CE team a word of thanks.
At the Promotion gathering, we played a Bible Trivia game that resulted in 16 backpacks being loaded with school supplies. (Don’t ask me to explain how this worked, just trust that it did!) We had a great time displaying our Bible knowledge and doing something good for someone else. You see, these backpacks were being filled with supplies and then donated to the clients of the Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of Atlanta (RRISSA). This is an organization that works closely with Church World Service, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Episcopal Church in order to assist refugees from war torn countries and oppressive political regimes in relocating to Atlanta. They come with almost nothing, many coming straight from the squalor of make-shift refugee camps to this strange new land with strange new customs. They come grateful for the chance to start over and flourish, but they come with some fear and trepidation of what awaits them. That’s where RRISSA comes in. They work with churches to gather furniture and household goods, to help arrange for employment possibilities, to assist with housing. They help with language barriers and cultural barriers that allow them to find their way in this place so far and so foreign from their home. They come from all over the globe, working with our government for a chance to start over in a place where freedom is a right, not a privilege. A right that I for one, take for granted far too often.
On Tuesday morning I drove to the RRISSA offices in Decatur to drop off the backpacks and a big box of leftover school supplies. When I entered the offices, I was greeted by a scene out of a movie. The waiting area was filled with people of all ages, all colors, all manner of dress, all speaking in different languages, all new to this country. As I met Tom VanLaningham, a Disciples minister on staff at RRISSA, he showed me around the place. He introduced me to staff members from several different countries, and I again saw many clients from all over the world. But what really caught my attention was the children. Some of the parents seemed a little skittish, a little standoffish. Unable to speak the language, unsure of what to expect next, I understood why they might seem a little subdued. But the children, ahh, that was a different story. To a child they were squirming, smiling, laughing, eyes bright with excitement. They reached out to touch me and smiled broadly when I reached back and acknowledged them. It was a sight to behold.
Then Tom and I carried in the backpacks and the school supplies. I explained to the program coordinator that each backpack was outfitted with school supplies and the box of extra supplies was to be used however they needed it. She looked at me and said, “Oh, my, this is a miracle! We just ran out of backpacks and we need 9 more for two families who are here, and then we need 7 more for this afternoon. How many are here?” When I told her “16”. She threw her hands to her face and exclaimed, “That’s just what we need! And I just got through telling someone we needed more scissors and rulers and I can see a whole bunch of scissors and rulers right on top of this box! Oh, this is a miracle. Please let your folks know how much we appreciate their generosity.”
How often do we do things because they are a good thing to do, but don’t always think about how good a thing they are? The people of BCC are generous folks who work to help others. We bring food on Sunday morning knowing that it will help, but maybe not fully comprehending just HOW MUCH it will help the family who needs to be fed. We bring items for hygiene kits for our homeless brothers and sisters at the City of Refuge, but don’t get to see what a huge difference they make in the life of someone on the street. We donated items for backpacks, again, a simple thing, not knowing how it will thrill a child and make it possible for them to attend school. From the folks at RRISSA, the folks at the Oglethorpe Food Bank, the folks at the City of Refuge and the other wonderful ministries we support, I bring you their sincere thanks for all that BCC does for others.
I would like to propose that we think about other ways we can help out the good folks at RRISSA. They are always in need of household goods, furniture, linens, and the like. Is that something we could do? They are always looking for churches to “sponsor” a family, which means to help a family get settled and signed up for school, learn how to use MARTA and those things that would be helpful to getting assimilated in Atlanta. Is that something we might want to think about doing down the road? They are always looking for prayer to help undergird their ministry. I know we can do that!
I wish everyone had been able to witness what I did just before I left RRISSA yesterday: the looks on the faces of the children as they were handed their new backpacks. Their eyes wide, their smiles as bright as the sun, their joy unable to be hidden. As I left, the last thing I saw was two small children, each with a backpack on their back, hugging each other tightly, jumping up and down and jabbering with delight at their good fortune. Thank you for that.
For your prayer list
Please continue to keep, Vessie James, aunt of Loni Smith, who suffered a massive heart attack and stroke yesterday in Los Angeles.
Continued celebration for the Forstner boys: Jakob and Thomas, born Friday August 8. Mother and father and doing nicely, too.
Announcements
After an initial training period, I am pleased to welcome our new bookkeeper, Pam Anderson. She joins our Office Manager, Ruth Luckett in rounding out our support staff. Pam comes with some 20 years of accounting/bookkeeping experience and will be doing our books and financial work in the evenings, so will not be in the office during the week. She is a member of First Baptist Church of Atlanta, is very involved in Habitat for Humanity and has participated in several international mission trips over the last few years. She is also a committed Denver Broncos fan, but hey, nobody’s perfect! If you need to contact Pam, simply send her a message at pam@brookhavenchristian.org
Due to the change in office staffing, the office will be closed on Fridays for the foreseeable future. If you have an emergency on Fridays, you can call me at home, or leave a message on my office voice mail, which I check midday and at the end of the workday.
Coming up soon: More Hands for God Day! Mark your calendar for Saturday October 25th where we will spend about ½ a day in service with our brothers and sisters from the Atlanta area Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregations. Those who participated last year know what a great event it is as we gather at the City of Refuge in Atlanta about 8:00 and work with the folks there in a variety of ways and finish up with lunch early in the afternoon. Look for sign-ups soon and watch for details for the beginning of a drive to gather toiletries and hygiene articles for the folks at the City of Refuge.
I hope you can make it to worship this Sunday as we once again celebrate the Lord’s Day together. I will be continuing my sermon series “We Call Ourselves Disciples: An Exploration of Our Faith Heritage” with a sermon entitled “People of the Book.” The scripture lesson is from 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5. Have a great rest of the week. And come Sunday, don’t forget your Bibles, or a few cans of food to support “The Miracle of Abundance” to assist our brothers and sisters in need.
Be peaceful,
Brad
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