Surfside Service Project

We had a group of 16 go down to help our neighbors at Surfside last night. As we came to the bridge, we were stopped by police who are keeping people out of the area. They checked us in and we were on our way. At the top of the bridge, it was obvious that things were different at Surfside. The water was incredibly blue and much closer to us than before. The beach and the first row of houses was gone. We checked in with the appropriate people and received bright orange and yellow volunteer vests. They assigned us to Ms. Carolyn's house and we began our efforts.

Carolyn came by and gave us a few specific instructions and we prayed over her. It was a great experience seeing our students gather around her for prayer. I was very proud of them. We only had about an hour to work, but got as much done as we could. When we were leaving, many of our students were asked how they could get in touch with the folks who set things up for us so they could come back and serve themselves. It's such a cool thing when our students start to "get it" and understand what serving the community is all about - it's not about getting "service hours" for our own selfish iunterests, or about feeling good about ourselves. It's simply about loving others and loving Jesus. This was a turning point type of experience for us. I only wish more had been a part of it.

We may be looking for a time to get back down there and serve some more.

You can see more of the pics here.

If you're interested in volunteering or donating to the clean-up efforts, please contact me (Steve) and I can get you in touch with my contacts or just take them a donation if you want to remain anonymous.