Welcome to our new blog as well, a first for us.
It’s been a year for firsts… the first time we had a team of over 80 people, the first
time the Disciples of Christ Church made up 40% of our work teams, the first time
95% of all construction projects consisted of home renovation, and the first time I
got so excited over 10 great teams for the year, at least since 2004 when I was just
getting going (pre-Covid years averaged 30+ teams). I was so excited as that’s 10
more than we had last year, and we were thrilled to see so many faces we hadn’t
seen for years, and to see so many more for the first time. It was also the first time I
met someone from a team that was my personality doppelganger. I have to admit, he
really is a great guy!
While reviewing all the firsts we had this year, I remember other firsts in my life…
the first time I saw my wife or heard my daughters’ heartbeats, or the first time that
I had to trust God to get me out of the mess I was making of my life. That was the
first of many. Also the first time I felt God tug at my heart to leave traditional church
work in the U.S. and take it on the road, bringing me here almost 20 years ago.
In most cases we are quick to remember firsts and lasts, and there’s actually an
academic study technique based on that fact. Some lasts are burned in my mind as
well. At 9, seeing my father for the last time alive, being loaded into the ambulance. I
remember the last time I spoke with a friend before she committed suicide, and I
have dissected my words and my role in her life, and hers in mine, many times since.
Also the last time I gave into my addiction, as a young man, and how I decided then
that I was through, if God would help me.
With so many of you I remember the first time we met, and the last time we saw
each other. I remember working and playing and resting and fellowshipping,
sweating and bleeding at times, laughing and crying with you. You’ve helped God
fulfill my calling for so long, and I’ll always remember the first time I realized that
God was really with me in this work, shown so clearly by your involvement, through
prayer and deed. It’s something I’ve been shown over and over again through these
years.
Thanks from the bottom of my heart, welcome again, God’s blessings be upon
you and yours, and I look forward to the next time I see you. For some, it’ll be a first.
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