It’s Done! World Changers Bonne Terre 2009 is History
Shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 11, a silence fell over the halls at the North County Middle School in Desloge, Missouri. After a week of mid-summer activity, during which the building was animated by the presence of 296 World Changers participants, the project was over, and the last two groups, Ratcliffe Cove Baptist Church of Waynesville, North Carolina, and First Baptist Church of Marshall, Texas, departed.
As far as World Changers weeks go, and the standards by which they are often measured, it was a success. All of the work scheduled at the beginning of the week was completed, and about 90% of a job that didn’t get started until Friday was also completed. That involved one of the local supply companies donating vinyl siding in order to improve the appearance of a resident’s home that had also received a new roof. A crew that had gotten a taste of the siding frenzy at a home in Leadwood earlier in the week came over and attached the new material, making the homeowner very, very happy. Once the materials became available, the crew rose to the occasion, even working in some rain to finish as much as they could before the end of the day.
As always, there were a few glitches. Some were anticipated in advance, such as the slow line winding its way down the stairs through the single serving line in the cafeteria. When the decision was made to move the project to the middle school as a result of a schedule conflict, the size of the cafeteria raised concerns, not only with the coordinating team but also with the chef. Limited cold storage and cooking facilities made adjustments difficult, but as always, participants rose to the occasion.
Showers, too were a concern, with 170 male participants, and fewer than 130 females, 30 showers seemed not to be enough. What!? Are you kidding me? What World Changers project would not love to have 20 showers, much less 30. Keeping the ladies happy always makes for a good week, and the guys were good sports about it. There were times when they had to wait in line, and most of the time the water was barely tepid, but there was very little grumbling or griping about it. Rather, there were many stories of situations at other World Changers projects when only a small number of showers were available to both genders, and how enduring such discomfort is a mark of missions-trip maturity. So it is. If that is the case, then most of this year’s 296 participants exhibited a lot of maturity.
At rural projects, depending on the funding sources, it is more difficult to choose work sites with an equal amount of work that will keep a crew busy for the full five days of the project. Smaller communities do not receive community block grant development funds. At our project, we depend on funding from East Missouri Action Agency, a provider of services for low income families in several counties, and they are trying to meet a wide variety of needs for their clients. Other funding comes from local churches, businesses and individuals and in some cases, from homeowners who qualify for low-interest loans from the USDA. The idea is to do as much as possible with the resources on hand. As a result, it is difficult to balance all of the work so that each crew has an approximately equal amount. Homeowners qualify for different kinds of assistance. But as always, World Changers rise to the occasion.
This year, one of the suppliers provided some additional vinyl siding. One of our crews which had become experienced at installing it earlier in the week was called on to put as much of it on a home as quickly as possible beginning on Friday morning and, much to the delight of the homeowner and the construction coordinators, put as much of it as they could on the house beginning on Friday morning. Their original house was done, and they could have complained about having to start a new job on the last day of the project, but instead, while the original crew at the house finished the roof, they worked fast, at times in a drizzle, to get as much of the siding on as they could. By quitting time, 90% of it was done. That’s a great example of the World Changers spirit. All of the rest of the work, by the way, was completed.
Though completing the construction work is a high priority, there is other work that takes place at a World Changers project that is left unfinished. The local churches have some follow up to do in the wake of something like 180 presentations of the gospel, and four salvations. World Changers is an evangelistic ministry that primarily plants seeds. The harvest comes down the road, and the participants who came to St. Francois County this week will likely not be involved in the continuing spiritual work except, perhaps, for praying for it to continue. Lives were touched, the Holy Spirit came in the presence of those participants in whom he indwells, and worlds were changed. Keep praying.
There was also work to be done in the lives of participants who came from each of the church groups involved in the project. God had something planned for you, too. Sometimes we wonder, when we see participants who put more energy into avoiding work, or who resist becoming part of their crew, or who exhibit an uncooperative attitude, why they chose to participate. But for those of us who have been involved in this ministry for any length of time, we know that there is an appointed purpose for their presence. Some of the greatest work I have witnessed is not the completion of a roof, or the miraculous transformation of a house, but the miraculous transformation of a life. Sometimes we can see it taking place, at other times, it is there but it isn’t visible. But I believe in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, and in the intensity of a World Changers week, with all kinds of things happening around each participant, the Spirit is definitely at work. God moves and individual lives are changed.
For memories of the week, you can go to http://wcbonneterre.com and find the blog and a picture album. Also, there is a facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=244701925296&ref=mf
