She's the superstar!

Today was an awesome day.
I was a little bit bummed that we weren't able to rally more troops to head down to Detroit to help with the food basket project, but we were happy that our schedule allowed for it.
So, it was much to my surprise when we loaded out of the van this morning in Downtown Detroit and approached the gathering crowd of volunteers just beginning to unload the first truck of food, when Liv asked "Is that aunt Theresa?" I quickly replied "No, Liv....Wait.....Yes it is!" And there she was, along with my nieces and nephew and good friend Michelle, already lined up and heaving boxes. I don't know why I felt honored that they were there helping ME. How ridiculous. This wasn't MY project at all. They simply signed up to help, just like I did. But, it's interesting that Timm and I have been feeling more and more connection with the city of Detroit lately, and it almost felt like they had come to "our turf". I don't know, but I sure enjoyed serving side by side with them.
Of course, it didn't take anyone long to realize who the superstar really is in our family :) Before long, someone was able to detect Theresa's leadership gift from the crowd and quickly put her "in charge" of assembling boxes. It was great. She's running around delegating, encouraging, organizing, correcting, and problem solving. What fun we had.
I was personally so encouraged and blessed by the information I gained about CDC (Central Detroit Christian). You can check out their website here. They are being the hands and feet of Jesus in Central Detroit, and it is so inspiring. THAT is a mission I can get excited about! Also, since we met at Citadel of Faith, Timm and I were able to overhear a few inspiring words given by Pastor Carey there as we were taking some tables into the church, and he was sending out some people from his church to deliver baskets as well.
He was talking about how important it is for us to maintain a humble and loving heart when we are serving people who are needy. If we realize that when we serve the "least of these" we are actually serving Jesus.....that's pretty humbling. It's not simply charity. It's not just an act of kindness around the holidays because we have SO MUCH, and others have SO LITTLE. There's nothing wrong with realizing that fact. But, our heart should be truly honored to be able to serve others. We come face to face with Jesus as we approach a person in need. Anyways, he was inspiring as well. What a great church! You can check them out here.
Great day for our family. We know that God has been stirring us to be a part of an "incarnational, missional church". That's why we feel called to Communitas. But, obviously, we aren't in NY yet. So, to find people in our city of Detroit who are living out those values, doesn't get much better than that!