Greatest Volunteer

I’m writing this jewel to all the volunteers out there. I know that volunteering can be one of the most thankless jobs you ever encounter. There have been many times when I’m at soup kitchen and we are serving a meal that was generously donated to us to serve our brothers and sisters and people complain about the food. I know when I was feeding my family with food given to me by a local restaurant I was grateful to have it regardless that it was the same food every week. There are times we bring clothes and someone will take most of them and we find out later they sold them. We have people that take meals for their “friends” that aren’t there or the ones who are drunk or mentally unstable that just plain yell at us for whatever's ailing them. We deal with the ones who may smell offensive or whose breath is so bad I have to hold mine while talking to them. There are a lot of reasons not to volunteer at soup kitchen and I’m sure if you’re a volunteer of any kind you may have your own list. BUT I want to tell you why I will never stop volunteering.

 
Matthew 25:40-45 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Those are some powerful words and I want to do whatever I can for my sweet Jesus.
There’s another reason I volunteer. I love when I see a person’s life transformed by the love of God through the hands of His people, me and you.

 
Like when I see a guest show up for the first time and he or she is holding onto everything they have for dear life and after a few months they are giving some of what they have to a late comer who has nothing. Or when they get back on their feet and come back and help us serve. When a guy who used to show up drunk and angry is now leading a prayer before we leave the site. Or the woman who is pregnant and is going to have an abortion but because you loved her past her decision she decides to give her baby up for adoption and you just happened to know who she can contact to help her with that. Maybe you’re the one that’s lucky enough to lead someone to the Lord because you loved her past her smell. I have made friends with some of our guest that I truly treasure. These are just a few examples, I’m sure you have a bunch you could add.

I want to share one very special one with you. It’s about my dear friend Brenda. I met Brenda about 2 years ago. She is a trip to say the least. She’s originally from Rhode Island and like some of us her life took one turn after another for the worse and before she knew it she was homeless, living in Florida behind a vacant building on her own. When we hear the word homeless we tend to get a visual of someone uneducated or an alcoholic or drug addict but in today’s economy that is not the case. Brenda is far from uneducated, truth be told she’s way smarter than me. She’s vibrant and beautiful, witty, charming and a definite leader. How she got where she was is not important, how she left where she was is. I was honored to lead Brenda to the Lord and hang out with her every Tuesday night. I never sugar coated my message to her and trust me she never sugar coated hers. I remember I didn’t go to soup kitchen one night and didn’t let her know I wasn’t going to be there and I got a text the next day from her that read "What The F… where were you last night." If that offends you, get over it. I was thrilled that she felt comfortable being real with me and more than that she missed me!

 
I had the honor of helping Brenda see herself the way Christ saw her. I asked her one time why she didn’t go back home and she said she was scared. This blew my mind. I'm thinking what could be scarier than sleeping behind a vacant building outside in the cold and rain and heat of summer. I told her she was one of the bravest women I ever met.

 
Brenda was known to hang out at the local Burger King during the day so I would randomly show up there and take her to lunch or just hang out and pray with her.
OK so where am I going with this? I’m so excited I can barley type. Brenda finally tied up her loose ends here in Florida and decided to go back to Rhode Island and bring closure to things she left behind there. As much as I wanted her to leave and begin a new life in Christ I hated to see her go. I will miss her terribly.

We said our goodbyes a few weeks ago at the soup kitchen site and a group of us prayed over her. I hadn’t heard from her and was beginning to get nervous. A couple of weeks ago I went to my Wednesday morning Bible study and I usually shut off my phone or mute it but felt like the Lord said to leave it on so I did. My phone did ring and when I looked down I saw a Rhode Island number! My heart literally leaped in my chest.

It was my Brenda on the other end and she was at the hospital with her whole family. She told me her aunt was dying. She said a priest came in to pray and I don’t know her exact words but it was something like “I was like what the heck kind of praying is this! That’s not how Gena prays. It did nothing for me so I needed to call you and have you pray.” I laughed and said I would pray for her but she needed to get her butt back in the room and do the praying for the family. I told her I didn’t spend all that time training her for her to call me to pray.” She laughed and agreed she could do it. Brenda told me how much she was missing me and the gang from Tuesday night and at that moment the Holy Spirit gave me a message for her.

He told me to remind her that the Brenda her family knew no longer existed but they didn’t know that yet. They were relating to the old Brenda and for her not to go back to that one, that she was and is a new creation in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 

I told her the Lord sent her back at exactly the right time for her to pray for her aunt and her whole family. I reminded her that she needed to give her family time to meet the new Brenda. I told her it may take a little while but her transformation was already done and the only way that would change was if she changed it. We had a great conversation and it was so good to hear her voice.
Gems being a volunteer can be a thankless job but moments like these are priceless.

 
Mark 4:30-32 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

To me this is what volunteering is about. We plant the smallest seeds in peoples lives, believers and non believers and watch what the Holy Spirit grows. The seed planted in us becomes shelter, protection, encouragement and love to those who find shelter in our branches. This gives us an opportunity to do for the least of these and share the love of God with our brothers and sisters.
Fellow Volunteers I hope this will encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing especially when you feel like no one really cares if your there or not. Someone not only cares He's hoping you obey, His name is Jesus and He truly was the greatest volunteer!