A lady from my parents' bible study recently suggested to my mother that they organize a fundraising dinner for my trip to Guatemala. She felt that it was God's calling to try to make this happen. My mother jumped on board and soon they had arranged for each food item to be donated by a variety of people from our church and community. A sign-up to help sheet went around and we had more than enough help without a problem. Tickets were made, posters put up, and articles for local newspapers were published encouraging everyone to come to "Celeste's Benefit Dinner." I normally do not like all of this attention, however, I knew that this was out of my hands. The dinner wasn't actually about me. It was about something more. It was about supporting community members, working together toward a goal, and encouraging others to follow God's call to do His work and share the love. This is what I witnessed in preparing for and carrying out "Celeste's Benefit Dinner."
In January, my church in Harmonsburg burned down. Many of the members had been attending this church their entire lives. Many of their parents and grandparents attended that church over its 150 + years of existence. It was a small church with a strong sense of community. The entire congregation had to be overly involved in everything going on there just to make sure there were enough people at each event. That kind of involvement can become stressful and push people away, or it can be like family and bring people together. For years it seemed to bring people together, however, the last couple of years before the fire, it seemed to be pushing people away. Attendance was down. Spirit was low. The energy had been sucked out. People had been hurt and no healing was occurring. So, when the fire burned our building down, the natural next step seemed to just go our separate ways. But we didn't. The fire that destroyed our building lit some members' souls. What did the building mean to us? Who are we without it? What is the real heart of a church? What is our purpose?
With plans to rebuild, a small fire is burning in our congregation. Attendance is still down, but spirit seems to be lifting. To me, "Celeste's Benefit Dinner" was a small gust of air to our fire. To see all of the time and resources that were given to make this event a success reminded me of the true spirit of a church. As I watched those around me joking with each other, lending a hand, discussing the latest details of their lives, and generally mixing fun and work, I was reminded that "Celeste's Benefit Dinner" was not for me. It was for the fire. I think it spread a little that day. And I hope that it keeps spreading and growing stronger over the year to come.
A special thanks to Geula Love for organizing the dinner! And thank you to all who are supporting me with your thoughts and prayers. I am truly blessed to have so much support from my community. It is an encouraging thought to know that there are people I don't even know praying for me and thinking about me as I prepare for my year in Guatemala.
