YORK, Pa., (BRN) – This past week (week of March 12), I had the privilege to once again lead a mission trip over spring break. Ten of us from Montgomery County Community College (MontCo) went to York, Pennsylvania, to do disaster relief work from hurricane Ida.
Yes, you read that correctly. Ida, which came in September of 2021, caused flooded basements that were never cleaned up. Due to lack of funding or insurance, these houses, which had up to 14 feet of water, were still left untouched.
Our group of spring breakers tackled each house as if their loved ones lived there and were able to even rescue pictures and clean up family heirlooms from the muck and mire. One of our students, Leo, said, “Even though I am sore from four full workdays of manual labor, I am blessed and grateful that we got to serve the ‘least of these’ homeowners in ways they couldn’t do for themselves, nor pay others to do for them.”
He continued: “As we carried bins of wet, moldy, heavy, old possessions from the basements to dumpsters, I saw the analogy that God in Jesus also enters our mess and graciously cleans up our lives, one pile of junk at a time, in partnership with us, to make us new. We must part with old possessions and ways if we want to be renewed and learn God’s ways. It can be a laborious and humbling process, but it’s worth it. We must surrender the old to receive the new, surrender the seen to receive the unseen, surrender the temporary to receive the eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Another student Mark said, “Being able to share the love of Christ with others in need was really special. Not only was it to push ourselves and build stronger relationships with one another, but also to glorify God in what we were doing. There were some pretty disgusting jobs that we tackled, and without one another and strength given to us by God, there is no way we could have finished them.”
Mark continued: “Helping those that didn’t know Jesus was really special because this was a way that God used us to plant a seed in their lives. I had a great time with the group and getting closer to God.”
All in all, we completed five houses and filled up three-and-a-half dumpsters. But more than the work, we were able to build relationships with the homeowners and their families, helping them get one step closer to getting their house back. A highlight for me was praying with the homeowners after we finished the jobs and getting one final hug as thanks.
Special thanks to our supporters and prayer warriors. Your prayers were answered. Thanks so much to the Baptist Resource Network, Baptist Disaster Relief org., Lend-a-Hand and Servants Inc. who helped coordinate our work and materials. Thanks to Connections Christian Church for allowing us to sleep in your church and providing meals for us. Thanks to Keystone Fellowship Church for loaning us a van to use all week.
For more stories of college ministry and missions from Greater Philadelphia, follow along on on https://bradyrennix.org/.
