Operation Serve 2009 - WOW!

Ok, so if there is anyone still reading this, you are probably thinking where did Christy go??


Well I have been immersed in Operation Serve 2009... it is an awesome day that our church does each year. We serve our community in over 50 projects during this event.

I spent lots of hours at work in preparation for the event, but it was worth each and every minute to see the lives changed on Saturday. We typically have an average of 1500 attendees on a Sunday and we had over 1200 volunteer on this day.... to me that is AMAZING!

We had projects all over the city... the Safehouse, Salvation Army, Hope Pregnancy Center, Loaves and Fishes, Nursing Homes, several local elementary schools etc...

One of the biggest projects of the day were the 17 homes that made up our "Extreme Neighborhood Makeover" project... these homes were in some cases, the worst of the worst in this city. For the families that lived in these homes, their lives were forever changed on Saturday as teams of people converged on their homes in what looked that something we usually only see on TV...

Steve worked at one of the home sites and Emily & I were on a team that made dinner and cookies for these families as well as taking them a new plant for their "new" home. The first few hours we mixed casseroles, decorated cookies and planted flowers, but the last few hours were the best part as we delivered them to the homes where the other teams were working. These people were so grateful for the tangible love the people of Grace showed them, truly touched that someone would do that for them.

I am so glad to be a part of a church where my child can see these things first hand, she loved interacting with the kids at each house and I truly think she came away with an appreciation of the blessings that we have and the desire to help others in need. It was a tangible way for her to see how to show God's love to others, how cool is that!

Our local paper covered the day here and here's a video we compiled...