the Church

What follows is an excerpt from a journal entry written by my girlfriend Brittany on July 22 this summer. Her church college group took a trip down to help with Hurricane relief in Mississippi, and the opportunity proved to be an incredible experience for all who were involved. They experienced life as the Church; one unified Body of people acting for the glory of God.

It has been an incredibly long time since I've experienced the unity of a group like I felt this whole week. Barry said it best when he told the group that, though he was sorry he didn't know every one of them, he felt love for each. I felt and understood this. Finally, I found the Church. Here it was, and here I was within it. At this converted Napa warehouse without so much as a cross, I found the Church. We were functioning as one Body with many parts, and the poor and helpless were the benefactors. We lived together and learned daily from one another, though none of us was ever isolated from the world or the need faced by so many. The needy had faces and names, and we served out of love rather than obligation. We took no offering for the "poor" but spent our days meeting their needs. We received outside support from people like the man who brought the ice cream and bread for family night. This trip was a beautiful illustration of so many ideas I have been analyzing this summer.

So here was the Church, but the beauty and mystery didn't stop there. It went further because Jennifer, the massage therapist from Boston, also sat in on the devotional that night. In the middle of the sharing time I was praying that God would help her see something different in our group, and I was praying for her heart. I was so joyful when I saw her hand shoot up to share. She began, through tears, to describe to the group how she came to Mississippi to do something for herself by serving others. She’s going through a divorce and didn't even know exactly why or how she ended up at Camp Katrina. It was hauntingly obvious to the rest of us that God had drawn her there intentionally and with a very specific purpose. She could hardly speak as she told us that she had never before experienced such immediate love and acceptance, and she realized there was something to what we believed. It was such a beautiful moment to see her free to share to a group she had known for only one day. I am excited to hear what God continues to do in her life. What a joy she was to our group!