When you ask a college student what they plan to do for spring break, odds are good that they will say a beach vacation, or a week of relaxation. For Martin Luther Chapel (MLC), at Michigan State University, you will not hear those answers. You will hear the words “Servant Event”. For several years now, MLC has sent as many as four mission teams to various locations in the United States and Central America. YLM is an annual choice for one of the mission teams. This year, the team consisted of 10 servants, only one of whom had been here before.
The team spent Sunday afternoon hiking at Franklin Mountains State Park, from the base of the mountains, about half-way to the top to a small caved called the Aztec Cave. Workwise, they spent three days at the home of Margarita Gonzalez in Horizon City. Mrs. Gonzalez lives in an older model trailer home, and her floor was in need of repair. The servant group ripped out old carpet of half the trailer and one bathroom, reinforced the floor in spots, and put down new tile, ceramic in the bathroom and vinyl in the bedrooms and living rooms. In addition to the tiling, the group rebuilt a porch and painted it, then sealed it to prevent future water damage.
The final day of work was spent at the YLM campus, beginning to build a porch on the outside of the kitchen building, and preparing the outside of building number 4 for paint. Once complete, this porch will provide a covered area to enjoy the great weather here. Each night, two different members of the team led bible study. One night, after enjoying $1 scoop ice cream, each person received a tasting spoon from the restaurant. The study focus on “backstabbing”, “cutting down”, and how we a Christians feel when that happens to us, and how we should treat others. The final line of the evening, which still resonates within me is when the study leaders closed the discussion with this line: “forks are for stabbing, knives are for cutting, but spoons are for serving”
This looks like a great group, and I especially like that they like my grand dogs. I would have also enjoyed their bible studies, I think, AND the time working in Horizon City.
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