“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight”
I love the thought of God “lavishing” redemption and forgiveness upon us. It is so much more than we deserve, and God doesn’t do anything halfway. God’s loving generosity is a model for us, as we seek to live God’s love in the world. Our Salkehatchie missionaries are examples of God’s loving generosity in the world. They give of their time, sweat and tears to make the world a better place.
Today, those in traditional worship heard the stories and saw the pictures of Salkehatchie volunteers who did more than was absolutely necessary for their neighbors, and somehow found themselves to be recipients of blessings themselves. It seems to me that God’s generosity always comes back to bless us.
I’ve created Word Clouds with participants’ responses to questions. The larger the word, the more times it was mentioned.
First, I asked those who attended both Salkehatchie camps to tell me 3 words to explain what Salkehatchie means to them.
With His Hands
Then I asked for 3 words to explain or tell what Salkehatchie means to homeowners.
In His Hands
Finally, participants were asked to write about how helping others through Salkehatchie demonstrates God’s loving generosity.
“Salkehatchie provides people with the opportunity to be the hands and feet of God. We spread God’s love in a way that isn’t accessible in our everyday, comfortable lives. Salkehatchie isn’t just about fixing somebody’s home, it’s about creating bonds with the homeowners and fellow campers”. ~Sloan Jordan
“Helping others through Salkehatchie shows God’s love and generosity by just showing how it doesn’t take much to make an impact on someone’s life and how happy it makes the homeowners. I keep in touch with my homeowners and they thank me all the time for what we did and I remember the girls on our site kept saying this week was so much fun and I can’t wait until I can participate in Salkehatchie too. On our site there were literally tons and tons of shingles on the roof and I forget what the total weight was but it was a huge amount and God’s love for that family kept the roof up. The roof was so bad we were all surprised it didn’t fall through. The girls are so proud of what was accomplished that they have everyone that comes to their home sign the cross we made and they still have not taken their cross necklaces off. I talked to the girls on facetime before answering the second question and they were talking and going on about how happy and grateful they don’t have a pond in their home when it rains anymore. The girls told me we were their family now and they cried whenever we left. They told me their favorite part was getting to work alongside us as we fixed their home and they love destroying what we called the blob room. So that is where God’s love was shown during the week.” ~Jenna Rummery
“God doesn’t care who we are or where we are in our faith. He only cares that we, as Christians, spread his Word and show his love through our gifts. His generosity toward us is shown through the love we feel toward the homeowners and the love of Christ in our hearts in doing God’s work.” ~Bill Silvers
God’s generosity shows in the many works and ways Surfside UMC reaches into the world. I am especially grateful to everyone who participated in and/or supported Salkehatchie missions.
I am also grateful for the generous joy we shared in the Under One Roof worship last Sunday at 11:00. It was FUN and HOLY and I hope we can worship together again in the months ahead.
You are a blessing, and I am grateful to serve and worship with you. However, this week, starting today, August 5, my family and I are on vacation. Have a great week, and I will see you soon!
Faithfully,
Pastor Scarlett