Part of a saga of evacuees who are living in Dallas.
I read this and thought, this is what life is all about.
Sunday morning, songs of praise filled the Prestoncrest Church of Christ: "Living by faith in Jesus above, trusting, confiding in his love; From all harm, safe in his sheltering arms ... "
Near the back of the sanctuary, the family filled nearly two pews. They are devout Catholics. No matter, said Linda. "The thing is to give thanks to God, no matter what church it is."
Over the weekend, the church had delivered Wal-Mart gift certificates to all evacuees staying at the Residence Inn. Determined to thank the congregation, the family filled five vehicles and caravaned to the church this morning.
As the Rev. Bob Chisholm led the church in prayer, some members reached for the hands of Oscar's family.
The bread was passed around, and the family partook. When the collection plate was passed for donations to help hurricane victims, they, too, dug into wallets and purses, pulling out crumpled bills. A church member begged them to take their money back.
When members were invited to greet one another, many came to greet the family in the back of the church. A blond woman clung to Noelia, both of them in tears.
"We love you guys," said another woman.
Oscar was invited to speak, and with his wife and son, Oscar Jr., he stood before the strangers who opened their hearts to them.
"Beloved brothers and sisters, today we are here because God has decided it," he said. "We came from the soil where we lived because God willed it a long time ago. But we should not fear because what God does, he does perfectly. ... Texas was where God wanted us to come."
After the service, church members surrounded them. They offered hugs, prayers and jobs.
Maria Valladares, who had a beauty salon in her home, landed a housekeeping job. Regardless of the pay, "I'm going!" she said. "And I offered to give them a manicure and a pedicure."
"I have jobs immediately for you," someone said to some of the men. "I'm not the boss, but I have a way to put you in touch with the boss. He needs workers."
"It was beautiful," Linda said on the way to the hotel. "We're going to come back next Sunday."
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Sunday, September 18, 2005
Living water
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6 comments:
Isn't it wonderful how God moves in your life? It is nice that those people came to church to thank all of those who helped them. I think the Lord blesses those who show gratitude. Bless your church for being so kind.
Amoungst all the horrible things that the media has shown us, I think there is so much more good and lots of caring people who are helping. My hearts leaps for joy when I see all the love being shared.
Sounds like you attend a wonderful church. I feel blessed to have my church also.
Glad you enjoyed the muffins. I love cooking with whole wheat flour too.
I was just watching an airplane with people who have now been to the third evacuation center.
What was really neat was that the governor of Arkansas was there to personally meet each of those people who came from Houston.
Nice to see everyone welcome them. They are Americans, and they deserve no less.
It's great to hear how the church is supporting physically and spiritually the evacuees from the recent storms.
Seeing those we are helping gives us a different perspective than just dropping a few dollars in the contribution basket and wondering where, and who, will benefit from the proceeds.
That was really neat. It touches my heart to see Christians reach out like that! The church I attend has done that as well and I am proud of them. How long have you been at Prestoncrest? Some beloved friends of mine were sponsored as missionaries by Prestoncrest many years ago so I was just wondering...
Our church housed 150 evacuees in our community center. Most of them only spoke Spanish. On Sunday morning, the church sang Jesus Loves Me in Spanish for them!
Susie,
I don't attend Prestoncrest, I copied the article out of the Dallas Morning News. I live in Midland.
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