Coming back home from New Orleans, we were seated by man returning to his home in St. Louis from Orlando. He had been at a pet expo all week, related to his job with a well-known pet food supplier. We shared pictures and stories of our four-legged babies. We talked about Nebraska and the flooding. I mentioned Crete, and he said he knew where it was because of his company’s facility there.
Before landing in Omaha, there was just enough daylight left that we could see the flooding and destruction in that region. My, my. I was thankful to know that our Bishop asked for special offerings to be taken in our United Methodist churches for our brothers and sisters in Nebraska dealing with the aftermath of the bomb cyclone. We did so last Sunday in Milligan and Fairmont, and will accept additional donations this Sunday. I was thrilled to learn Sunday that folks from Milligan who have ties to Hooper and Winslow were hoping to fill a trailer with collected items for people and animals. They asked to park the trailer at the church during the week. Oh, yes! And they will take the donations to Hooper and Winslow on Saturday. I had known from Facebook that our niece, Anna Elting, and others had been gathering donations in Thayer County to take to folks along the Niobrara River. Monday, she told me that she, her husband Reuben, and my youngest brother Chance left last Saturday with a 16-foot enclosed trailer of supplies for people and livestock and a small semi of hay. They made stops in Lynch, Verdel, and Niobrara, but couldn’t get 7 more miles down the road to Santee without crossing first into South Dakota. They spent the night in Yankton, then made their way to Santee on Sunday. It’s all about people helping people. It’s about using your God-given abilities and resources to help meet the needs of people as you see and learn of them. In whatever ways possible. In the church, we call that ministry. Someone told me Purina in Crete had sent a truckload of pet food up north for flood victims. Hmmm. Grace and peace … --Pastor Pat
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Pastor
|