And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased Hebrews 13:16
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10
Methodist Church Missionaries Travel Over 600 Miles to Help Albuquerque Woman Fighting Cancer
On Monday, June 18, a group of nine teens and two adults from three churches in the Fort Worth, Texas, area arrived at the home of Franchesca Stevens in Albuquerque to begin a five day trip to replace her backyard fence that had blown down several years ago leaving her property exposed to anyone and everyone who happened to pass by. Franchesca, 63, who lives alone with her dog, is battling stage four breast cancer and had applied for help from the City of Albuquerque after the disease took a heavy toll on her finances.
“When I first contacted the City last year about the repair, they told me there was a long list of people who had asked for help and that they couldn’t guarantee anything,” Franchesca says. “Then, about two months ago, I got a call out of the blue from a group called the Central Texas Conference Youth in Mission (CTCYM) which is connected with the United Methodist Church offering to build a new fence for me free of charge. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I really, really couldn’t. I had never had strangers do anything this nice for me in my life.”
By the end of the week, the team had installed a new, six foot tall wooden fence around her yard and then went on to replace a broken back door, trim two huge Cottonwood trees, and plant a little vegetable garden. Now Franchesca and her dog, Barley, a rescue red heeler, feel more secure in their home and can enjoy some time outdoors. A lot of the church missionaries say they like doing the work because they feel “called” to do it and “blessed” by helping others.
CTCYM has been participating in out-of- state and in-state mission trips since 1994. Each summer, they complete about 215 projects over two weeks’ time with about 1500 volunteers. The volunteers donate between $230 and $260 each to cover the cost of the construction materials they use, their food, and for evening entertainment such as renting a swimming pool for a few hours. Throughout the rest of the year, they stay home and help local people by feeding the homeless, building wheel chair ramps, and sending needy students home with sacks of snacks on Fridays to tide them over until they return to school on Mondays. The church fears some kids don’t get regular meals over the weekends. On two occasions, the youth groups even traveled to help people in Africa and Costa Rica.
Youth minister Jenna Reinke of Crowley, Texas, says she’s been going on youth missions since she graduated from high school in 2002 when she first repaired somebody’s roof in Houston in the blazing sun.
“That’s where I re-dedicated my life to Christ,” Jenna says. “It was in that moment, sweating my behind off, that I knew that ministry and missions is what God was telling me that was somehow going to be in my life…I have been in church my whole life but it wasn’t until that moment–on that rooftop–that it all really kind of clicked for me.”
“Our purpose is to extend a helping hand up to our fellow human beings in the spirit of love and acceptance,” one CTCYM brochure says. “We make a contract with God to put our own needs and desires aside (to) share our talents, love and concern with our sisters and brothers. We strive to be good stewards of all our resources–the funds we raise, the places we stay, the building materials we use, the people we help and each other.”
To learn more about the Central Texas Conference United Methodist Church and its outreach, visit its website at www.ctcumc.org. For more information on the conference’s youth mission work, contact coordinator Claire Condrey at clairecondrey@ctcumc.org or 817-877-5222 or youth group minister Jenna Reinke at crowleyyouth@gmail.com or 512-461-0412.
