From the Pastor’s Amen Corner

GOD’S SPIRIT MOVING THROUGH THE WALK TO EMMAUS

     Darlene M is excited about attending the Walk to Emmaus on October 13^th through October 16^th.  Three other women in the Church have asked for an application for a future Walk to Emmaus.

     The Walk to Emmaus does not involve walking.  It involves Amazing Fellowship,

Listening to testimonies, Praise Music, Great amazing Food and Snacks, Unique worship experiences, and scriptures that come alive.  It involves much more but it is best to be surprised.

     At each table will be around five individuals attending for the first time.  There will be a Table Leader and Assistant Table Leader.  A third individual will be standing near the table whose job is to provide snacks, drinks, serve your meals, and help you with any other needs.

     The Walk to Emmaus is not an evangelistic tool.  The Purpose of the Emmaus Walk is to renew and revive the spirit of Christian believers.  It is not to manipulate or pressure an individual, but to give them three wonderful days to relax from the pressures back home and on the job and focus upon what they need for themselves.

     Often when someone goes on the Walk to Emmaus, the spouse says they have seen a change.  When Harlana Steppe went on her Walk to Emmaus, her two teenage sons said, “Mom keeps telling us how much she loves us.  She now seems to be always smiling.  We keep wondering when that smile is going to disappear. 

     Men often go on the “Men’s Walk to Emmaus” because they see how it has strengthened their marriage, and what a difference it has made in their spouse.

     Men please consider going on the Walk to Emmaus.  It is better than playing golf or going fishing.  As George Fleming, a basketball coach said, it was worth missing the NCAA Basketball Championships, for what he received from his “Walk”.

     Linda Fleming owns her own business.  She thought her life was too busy to attend the Walk to Emmaus.  She said, “Because my life was so busy I needed to go on the “Walk to Emmaus” more than other people. 

     If you are interested in going on a future “Walk to Emmaus”, ask for an application from Pastor Randy or Becky.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

     I was moved by Kay Oursler, 71 years old and a member of Christ of the Hills United Methodist Church.  After her marriage of 46 years dissolved, she joined the Peace Corp.  When her service with the Peace Corp ended she decided to stay in Uhekule, Tanzania.  She decided to build an orphanage for the children whose parents had died of AIDS.

     She went back to the U.S. to raise money.  She found a retired architect to design the blueprints.  The villagers made 90,000 bricks and started on the work.  A woman in Little Rock donated a tractor so the orphanage could be self-sufficient in growing it’s own food.  A man in California donated a Solar Power installation.  Kay has donated six years of her life in the little village.  In May, 2011, the first orphan was accepted.  She now has 10 orphans living at the orphanage.  The orphanage has room for 60 children, but more revenue is needed to provide staff to expand.

     She works in the morning in her potato patch to contribute income for her orphanage.  When she was interviewed by Fran Walsh, reporter for the United Methodist Committee on Relief she said, “I never had any doubts I could do this.”  “I just wasn’t sure how to get started.”  “I just had guidance all the way through.”  “It’s hard for me to explain it…  I’ve put everything I got into a project.  I eat, sleep, dream about it.”  “If I get sick, I’ll have to come home, but for right now, I still have energy; I still have challenges; and I still have lots to do.”

     They were malnourished, their clothes were raggedy…Now, they’re so happy, they’re getting three meals a day…They got shoes…and they even look different now.  They have a glow about their skin, and their eyes are just sharp as can be and they’re happy kids.”

     Kay Oursler said she notices many villagers have adjusted their own expectation for their children of Uhekule village.  They speak of education beyond the primary school and the potential productivity of organic farming methods that Kay is working to establish along with a fish-farming operation.

     Kay said “I’ve had to learn how to have more faith than I’ve ever had in my life that God would get me through it.  I hear him over there, I don’t hear him here in America, maybe cause I am not listening…He gives me strength.  He gives me everything I need to do the job, except patience.  I do not have patience.”

     As I read about her service in Africa maybe the reason she hear her voice in Africa and not America is because this is where God is calling her to serve and live.