When Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary!
I am just an ordinary girl. That is how I feel before going on a mission trip. I really have no skills or abilities that make me uniquely qualified for the job. Now picture in your mind with me – close your eyes if you need to. No falling asleep. I fell asleep in the car and I am just waking up as Jim, I and the kids are entering West Jackson, and this is what I see. I see businesses, houses, churches abandoned and decaying. Window and parts of roofs are missing and some of these buildings have been burned out. I see bars on every window of every home. ‘No Trespassing’ signs hung on many trees. Broken bottles and glass strewn everywhere. Homeless people roaming the streets. Now open your eyes. West Jackson, Mississippi is a 90% black community. This town is dealing with issues of racism. It is a town that has shifted from home ownership to home rentals. Cyclical and generational poverty is a part of many citizens’ lives. It is a city that has been faced with social and economic decline. I saw this and felt very ordinary. I prayed that God would use us. Then we started interacting with past and present members of the Voice of Calvary Ministries. Their mission in Jackson is: Building Communities – Life by Life – Brick by Brick – Dream by Dream. All for the glory of God. Through each person I met, I was reminded that when God works through the ordinary, their efforts become extraordinary. First we met a man named Shorty. When he stood next to Pastor Adam, you knew why he was so named. Shorty was from Mobile, Alabama. He worked very hard to support his wife and child. It was very difficult, for when he looked around him, he saw drug dealers with deep pockets full of money. So he decided to deal drugs. He admitted he tore families apart through this activity. He was busted and spent four years in prison. In prison, Christ came to Shorty and re-established a relationship with him. Shorty and a fellow inmate started a Bible study. By the time he was released, the Bible study had grown to 30 people. Now Shorty is the job foreman for the volunteers who come to work for the Voice of Calvary Ministries. Shorty and his volunteers are tearing down vacant homes, and rebuilding new ones to change the city from renters to owners for God. This is God using the ordinary for the extraordinary. We then met Lee, who was one of seven children. Lee felt God calling her to go to college. After college, she worked for the Voice of Calvary Ministries. During her speaking travels, she experienced her very first coffee shop. She saw it as a place where diverse people could come together and share something simple – a cup of coffee. In Jackson there is not a Starbucks on every corner like there is in Grand Rapids, MI. After some contemplation she followed God’s call and opened the Koinonia Coffee Shop in West Jackson. Here God has brought together a diverse group of city leaders for what is called Friday Forums. During these forums the group works together to set plans for solving the issues of racism and economic decline in West Jackson. This is God using the ordinary for the extraordinary. Mrs. Govan is a former member of the Voice of Calvary Ministries. She is the mother of eight children. When five of them were in college, she felt God calling her to go to college and get her social work degree. Now at the age of 81, she still carries a social work case load. “People God sends her to help”, as she says. Mrs. Govan is helping to change one life at a time for Christ. This is God moving in the ordinary for the extraordinary. In meeting each of these people, God reminded me that when he surrounds us, fills us with the Holy Spirit, and we answer His call, we are no longer ordinary; we become extraordinary. So in Christ there is no such thing as an ordinary girl or boy. It was wonderful to see how God worked through these people and our group to make extraordinary things happen. It is extraordinary to see 15 kids under the age of 13 come together and work for a week without complaining. It was extraordinary to hear my son say to me at the beginning of the week, “Mama, my heart is shaky and scared because there are so few white people here.” At the end of the week he said to me, “Mama, you know we really have a lot more in common than we are different.” That was an extraordinary lesson for an eight year old to learn. I think the Voice of Calvary Ministries was surprised by the extraordinary amount of work accomplished with 15 kids being part of our group. I want to thank our church for supporting this trip. This is not something a family could do alone. I am very grateful. If your group is interested in serving with 'Voice of Calvary', please contact ServieLink at volunteer@crcna.org. VoC accepts families, youth groups, adult groups and intergerational groups. Back to 'Stories'
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