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A week away from home. 
                       A week off of work. 
                                            A week away from our normal routines. 
                                                                   A week set aside for ministry in a little town I’ve come to love.

Cairo, IL

 

So much was contained in this one week mission trip with our ComLife group. 

One week of…

…reunions with old friends at the Cairo House of prayer

…love given freely to the people of Cairo

…cupcakes and juice given out to kids in the McBride projects

…visiting with shut-ins at the High Rise apartments in town

…worship and prayer together when old friends meet new

…meals shared in the midst of testimonies being told and God being exaulted

…VBS with the little ones at the Elmwood projects teaching them about God’s power by creating a wall of Jericho and parading around it shouting as the walls come down

…strategic prayer happening around a town desperate for declarations of hope and restoration

…food given to those without means with smiles and the kindness of Christ

…tutoring students in a school system that has a 75% drop out rate as kids enter high school

…honest team debriefs that reached new levels of vulnerability and openness

 
 
 

There were plenty of things that stood out during our one week here. Each point above could be its own blog, but one comment made by a dear sister in Cairo impacted me the most this week. She said:
 
  True community comes when you

 

stop escaping from one another

 
and start escaping to  one another.

 

Her heart in this matter has been tested and tried by three years of intentional community with a little tribe in this town. The truth is that you can’t really get away in Cairo. There are no cute coffee shops to hide away in, no outside friends your age to spend time with, no shopping malls to shop in, no music or entertainment to spend time on. In Cairo, we had to learn to lean on one another for everything and our group here in Gainesville is learning this simple truth too. 
 
 
We’re learning how to love each other and how to be intentional. We’re trying to reach God’s heart and to see it in our brothers and sisters. We’re saying yes to intentionality and saying no to escaping from each other. Instead we’re committing to each other under Christ’s love. And that’s the first step. 

Jesus, teach us how to hold one another up. Teach us how to love. Teach us about one another and how you’ve gifted each one. Help us to help each other and to spur on the passions and dreams you’ve deposited in us. Give us your heart for one another. Teach us how to forge ahead in all you have planned for us. Thanks for your grace through the process.