Coming Together

As you may know I went down to Mississippi this past Thanksgiving with 9 youth and 11 adults to help out with the relief effort there. The first night we arrived at about 9:30 with only 30 minutes to get settled and find a place to sleep before lights out. So we all scrambled around trying to find an open cot while nodding to those we saw already set for bed. There just wasn't much time to meet the people there.

Wednesday morning we headed out to work sites with a crew of about 20 (mostly college students from Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania) to retrieve any valuables we could find beneath the rubble of one woman’s home. While this was very sad work, we all very quickly got to know one another. We passed the time exchanging stories of our lives and just enjoying the shared company.

Later that day some of the youth from our group came out and helped sift through and move even more boards and personal belongings. I can’t tell you how amazing it was to see high school students getting along immediately with the other adults around us.

I saw Michael Vereb and Matt Tracy especially good at mixing together. Matt and Dave (from Lock Haven) hit it off immediately and were working together lifting and moving large portions of roof out of the way. At the same time Michael really hit it off with Abby and Amber. They were swapping stories and helping each-other move things around. Honestly, I’d barely talked to Abby until Michael came in, and now she and I talk almost daily. Returning to the work camp brought an even more incredible sight.

The high schoolers and college students all mingled as one group immediately. During dinner it was hard to find a group of youth that didn’t have a couple college kids with them, and vice-versa. It was so moving to see everyone joining together as one group so quickly.

I quickly forgot which adults were from St. Matthew’s and which were from other groups since everyone was together all the time. In the evenings at dinner we were one large group of 170 people. After dinner the spoons came out and we had two or three tables playing spoons for hours. Nate (who is otherwise very shy) consistently went flying over, around and under the table until he kept knocking into other tables. When is the last time you relaxed that much in a room of relative strangers?

The other thing which really surprised me was how quickly our youth changed. One example there was with Bethany and Rachel Hansberger. Before this trip I’d probably spoken more to their youngest sister Amanda than I had to both of them combined. Our first breakfast there something just clicked and they both opened up. By the end of the trip we couldn’t stop Rachel from talking and Bethany was telling stories and cracking jokes with the best of them. I can’t tell you how awesome it was to see Bethany smile and laugh out loud at something said in the group.

Father Rob and I were walking around the work camp one night talking about the community around us. He mentioned that this is close to what Christ wants the world to look like. He wants a place where strangers welcome you in, tell you their names and share their lives. He wants people who selflessly work together to make a difference in the lives of people who may not even know your name. He wants us to live in a community where we can feel completely safe with those around us (I often left my laptop or camera just laying out on a cot through the day).

God was evident in so many places, but the two most important things he showed me were these:

We need friendships with people outside work and family. People we can trust and be open with (I talk more about this in other blog entries).

God’s plan for us is something we can come so much closer to attaining. When we come together as a family under the Father we can achieve some truly great things. You begin to see the world differently, caring for each person whose only purpose is to help you and follow Him. I will do everything I can to make people in the world realize and live this.

Peace,
+Tom

posted by Tom at 2:36 PM