Many days it’s easy to wake up discouraged by the routines of life. In March, we experienced several clouds personally and corporately, but the sunshine gets the final word. Clouds came in the form of time change for some. For others it was the cloud of death as several in our church family spent time on the road grieving the loss of a family member. Even Megan and I lost our final grandparents in the last couple of weeks. Additionally Spring break came, and it felt more like a winter break with cold temperatures hindering the plans of many at The Refuge.
It’s easy to focus on the clouds, but we must notice the sunshine that has broken through. On February 26 and March 26, we had two successfulRefuge story dinners with four different families (two at each dinner) deciding to join us in planting The Refuge. Two of these families have joined a Refuge Group, and many of our groups are having conversations about multiplying.
More sunshine has come in the form of workers in The Harvest field. We are blessed to have Shawn Mason willing to step into leading the Welcome Team. Shawn has a great vision for our first impressions and has already implemented some of his plan to improve our first touch as a church.
Finally, with the leadership of our Women’s Ministry Team,Refuge Undone, our church used “March Madness” to create a fun competition between the men and women. March 12 we brought canned goods, March 19 we brought items for a Lawrence Women’s shelter (Willow), and March 26 we brought items for the Pregnancy Center. We finished the Madness with a special offering this past Sunday, April 2, and collected $276.73. This coming Sunday, the winner of the competition (Men Vs. Women) will be revealed. See some of the haul below:
Sometimes we feel like the disciples after Jesus fed the 5,000. We get in the boat and begin to row through the clouds forgetting about the wins that the Lord has just led us through. So we stress and fight and focus on the clouds, all the while the Lord patiently walks to us in the midst of our chaos. He calms the storm and shows us the sunshine. At The Refuge we see the rays of hope! Driving through town several of our families have unashamedly put out yard Signs inviting their neighbors to Easter. 5,000 mailers have hit homes to invite people to The Refuge for Easter.
Our Refuge Groups are doing regular service to the community and region. Relationships are being forged. This much I know. The best is still to come for The Refuge!