Prayers and Good Works
Life-Giving Saturday 2010
 Dick and Sandy Osmun have been in our prayers for months now as Dick has been fighting an advanced stage of bladder cancer. On top of the physical struggles, the Osmun’s basement flooded requiring countless hours of manually bailing water out of their bedroom. In April 2010, Pastor Phil led a team of Life-Giving Saturday volunteers to dig out the foundation of the Osmun’s home to find the leak and patch both the outside and inside of the foundation. As of May 18, 2010, no more water has come in. Praise the Lord!
Dick and Sandy are so thankful for this church body, their prayers and numerous acts of love on their behalf. Would you join us in continuing to pray for Dick’s healing?
|
 Asking for help can be an act of courage
|
Dear WSEFC,
Thank you all so much for the blessings you share with our community. I am a recent beneficiary of your work day activities on April 17. Twenty-plus representatives (sorry, can’t list all of their names!) served the Lord at my home. Their compassion and generosity have added so much to my personal spirit.
I was so overwhelmed with things as I try to juggle being a mom, a student, an employee, and a servant of the Lord. It is such a relief to have been given a jump start. What wonderful work and generous hearts.
Please extend my gratitude once again.
Sincerely, Sherri Z.
|
by Rachel Moury, Life-Giving Saturday Team Member, West Shore Church
I was asked to tell the story of how God used my Life-Giving Saturday (LGS) team (a group of about 20 from the SixTen fellowship group) to impact our host. And while I know she greatly appreciated the weeding, mulching, brush clearing, landscaping, gutter cleaning, tree removal and outdoor fix-up projects we completed, the real story is how God used our host to impact us...well, me.
I've participated in numerous service projects in the past, helping those suffering financial hardship or physical handicap, you know, the "least of these." All worthy service opportunities. But this year, we gathered to help a wonderfully accomplished, perfectly capable woman who simply found herself overwhelmed with the simultaneous responsibilities of raising teenagers as a single parent, caring for a home, working full-time and pursuing a doctorate. With all this, who has time to keep up with the landscaping?
So we helped, and we were able to do a lot in a relatively short period of time. The adage is true that "many hands make light work," but it was our host's act of humility in allowing our group to serve that impacted me the most. I'm a fairly independent person who rarely asks for help, but I learned that it sometimes takes more humility to invite people into your life and allow them to serve than it does to actually do the work. On Life Giving Saturday, our host gave us a gift - the opportunity to live out the mission of our fellowship group and grow together in our love for God and for His people.
"God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them." - Hebrews 6:10
|
|
 Testimony: LGS a spiritual renewal for all
By Team Leader Nicole Gash, WSEFC
Grantham Road Project
Our team had a terrific time serving together for Life-Giving Saturday. We raked, weeded, edged, and mulched for a couple living in Dillsburg. The husband had been recently hospitalized with some brain complications that resulted in him being in a coma and then having a stroke. He is currently in rehab. They were so appreciative of the extra help in getting their yard prepped for summer and they thanked us for being “angels” to them.
This was a project that drew families with children and watching the children serve whole-heartedly was something to behold. We had a team of 12 consisting of seven adults and five children, most of who did not previously know each other. The team harmonized well and comments were made that it is a shame to only go out and serve in this capacity just once a year. It is true that it is more blessed to give than to receive and I think we all felt this way at the end of our project.
|
 Getting by with a little help from little-known friends
In last month’s issue of E-Notes, we briefly mentioned a local woman who, beset by mental illness, is living in a dilapidated mobile home. The extensive to-do list—which included a leaky roof, water damage to kitchen, and even a downed tree in the yard—didn’t deter the volunteers from the Crossroads and Koinonia fellowship groups. The team descended on the woman’s home, Saturday, April 17, as part of the church’s annual Life-Giving Saturday outreach effort. They share their LGS experience here. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Help Resisted, Help Accepted
5 Guys, One Day
A letter came after last year’s Life-giving Saturday from a grateful recipient of our love and gift of time. The dedication and fine work of five people made a big impact on her. We share the story here as encouragement.
 Betty (not her real name) didn’t want to “appear a charity case,” as a single mom in need. It was difficult to accept help from our church.
She says that she works very hard on her farm as well as in her new career as a surgical first assistant. Raising a family put her out of the workplace for many years. Then came “an ugly divorce,” that resulted from long abuse and that drove her out on her own. After four years, she says she is “slowly regaining self-confidence, self-esteem and assertiveness as a strong, intelligent, and capable woman.”
She accepted assistance from West Shore when she realized that “I suppose, allowing others to help me, reaching out to a hand extended, is also a show of strength,
My pride and life-long mission to do it myself may very well be my undoing.”
So she welcomed the offer of help. |
|
Read more...
|
Life-Giving Saturday
Thoughts From Missions Pastor Ian Campbell
 Q: As the pastor overseeing Life-Giving Saturday (LGS), what do you feel it's all about?
A: Life-Giving Saturday is an opportunity for us to really demonstrate that Jesus' love has changed our lives. As long as it's just words and claims and void of any actions of love, it has no credibility in today's world where words are cheap. The only recourse we have is to get out there and demonstrate to people that Jesus cares.
Q: What exactly does that look like?
A: That means going to places people wouldn't choose to go to because love doesn't pick the easy way. It embraces people's suffering and pain. There is a cost we have to be willing to pay in order to get to a place for people to see we really love them. If it's easy love, it seems unconvincing and insincere. The more projects are meeting genuine needs that people have, the more it shows that we really care because it's not us trying to find a project that suits us. It's us doing what it takes to meet a person's need. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
|
|
