Mission Makers
Brought to you by: Community Partner Tom Douglass,
Every third Saturday morning of the month, Christian’s Place Mission (CPM) volunteers converge upon Nauvoo United Methodist Church (UMC) to give out food and clothing and spend time with about 450 people in the rural poverty-stricken area of Winston and Walker County. Matt Morris began volunteering at Nauvoo with his Sunday School class. Morris says the passion his friends had for this ministry led him to Nauvoo and what he experienced has kept him coming back.
“I’d expected a small rural community that we’d help pass food out to. What I didn’t expect was the number of people in need. When I arrived the first time for a ‘serve day,’ I was immediately moved by the number of folks there in need. I wasn’t worried about whether or not I would be wasting my time…I must have spoken to and listened to 20 people over the next few hours. Time flew. I heard about what poverty was, and how hard it was without an industry or work. I heard about how much those folks needed the things that were provided from food to clothes to diapers, but more importantly I was moved by how much they just wanted a chance to vent, to explain their plight. And while I believe the things we talked about were important, I think just the physical act of being there and giving them someone to talk to was just as important. The thing I was most impressed with was that several of the people, despite their lack of sources for income, food on the table for their kids, or inability to even drive to a job should it become available (for lack of transportation) was their faith. They wanted to pray. They believed that this was a phase of life that would not last forever. Even in death, they knew that they’d eventually be with Christ, and that moved me. It moved me that the things one tends to believe to be important, aren’t. and faith can exist even in our greatest state of need. I was filled with the Holy Spirit to want to hear more. Too often we try to keep up with the Jones’, and ultimately we will feel empty even when surpassing them. These people, despite having nothing of material substance, were filled. Filled with something man can’t provide. It is these people that keep me going back to Nauvoo. While we give them food, a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen, they give us more. They give us the ability to listen, understand, believe that faith isn’t something that comes from being blessed. It is something we can have no matter our material wealth or good health. Something by the grace of God we can have- eternal life with Him. If you decide to volunteer at CPM you will be blessed in ways I find hard to put into words. It will touch your heart, mind, and soul.”
To learn more about CPM visit www.christiansplacemission.com, find them on Facebook @Christians Place Mission or call 205-529-6123. The ministry especially needs monetary donations and work/casual clothes.
-Brought to you by: Community Partner, Tom Douglass, Brik Realty 
205-999-2780, [email protected]
Member www.Convenenow.com
