Saturday, June 30, 2018

Making a Difference in Houston

Wanted to share with you a few interactions I've had with people in Houston as we send out 10,000 servants each day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Service Day has us wearing blaze orange t-shirts as we go out to serve. As you can imagine we are disrupting things from restaurants, public transportation, and hotel life.

Sat next to a woman on the light rail train. She inquired as to 'what's going on with all these young people in Houston?' I gave her a brief overview of the ELCA National Youth Gathering. "God bless you," she said. "I've seen them in my neighborhood. It just gives me chills knowing they're doing it as God's work." She is a school teacher.

I'm playing nurse at the hotel for a couple of kids. Went to McDonald's a block away for lunch. Cashier sees my blaze orange t-shirt, smiles at me and says, "Your kids were in my neighborhood cleaning out the cemetery by my house. Thank you."

Looking for soup at Starbucks and the barista is talking to a co-worker. "These kids are all over. They were picking up trash where I live. I wish I could give free drinks to them all. This is great!"

Nice to hear that in spite of the infusion and interuptions that come with 30,000+ extra people in a metropolitan area, people are seeing the witness of the ELCA through our young people who are doing God's Work with Our Hands. Yeah, God!

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