Day 2

June 24th day 2 Today we served with the people at The Connection Shelter in Kearney. The facility is lovely; the staff is so very kind and friendly; and the residents are men, women and families who have fallen on hard times.  What is so very evident to me is that no matter what life event has happened, their spirit and inner light shines through. The caring staff helps men, women, teens, families to get back on the right path. Many of the residents will later be called to give back and help others in similar situations We helped out in the office, sorting clothes, providing rides. Tomorrow we will help load sorted clothes on a truck to send to the Hastings location, where they have a thrift store and we'll do activities with the kids at the shelter.  We've had some touching experiences. One of our chaperones helped transport families with children to the pool for the afternoon. During the ride he spoke with one of the residents. They shared stories and at the end of the day, the lady shared that she would like to be able to go to church and take her children to Sunday school - but she didn't have any way to get them there.  We spoke with the First UMC staff, they are going to arrange to send a van to pick the family up on Sunday. We do devotions in the morning. This morning was Luke 10:38-42. The story about Martha and Mary. The two sisters who invited Jesus And his followers to their home for dinner. Mary sat and listened to Jesus speak while Martha did all the work preparing the meal for the group. Martha objected to Mary leaving all the work to her. Jesus told her that Mary made the better choice to listen and learn We discussed how confusing this story is. We'd all be pretty irritated if we were stuck doing all the work and how did Jesus think they would ever get to eat dinner if no one made and served it?  This also seems to be contrary to everything else Jesus has taught -to give kindness and service to others. So what does this mean?  We discussed who we identify more with - Mary, the thinker interested in ideas or Martha - the doer, capable and organized serving others.  Many of us have traits of both. What is important here is that there is a time and place for doing and serving others. To serve grudgingly is to miss the point. But, being a disciple - learning about his teachings and opening our heart to him is more important. The evening devotions are chosen and led by the youth. We have a pair of kids pick from resources, discuss and decide the format. They lead the discussion and then lead the closing prayers. The kids have really done a great job with this We've had chats with the First UMC middle and high school leaders and have been getting so many great ideas for next year. We're so excited!