I’m sending this from Houston, Texas as our church and First Presbyterian Church, Strasburg are working together on Hurricane Harvey relief and restoration for some of the people here. It has been a wonderful week of service, fellowship, mission and outreach. You should be very proud of our church. Tom Henry, Brian Musser, and Todd Smith have all been excellent servants of the Lord, and it has been really a joy to work along side of them and get to know them better. 

Beyond that, it has been truly wonderful to connect with the owner of the home (Carrie) where we are working. Her experience through the storm was harrowing, but her resilience and perseverance in the aftermath is inspiring. Her deep gratitude for all the people who have come to help her rebuild is a testimony to her faith, and the faithfulness of God. This has been evident all week. There’s also this wonderful sense of accomplishment that we have in seeing what we’ve been able to do each day and throughout this week.

As much as we are trying to help Carrie get back into her home, we feel our mission has been to bring hope, even in a small way, to this hurting community. 

I will close with a verse I shared in our morning devotional on Wednesday. It’s from Isaiah 58:12, 

“Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.  Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.”

We are grateful that God is using us in this way, and we look forward to sharing more with you when we return. Thank you for all of your prayers, support and encouragement. 

See You Sunday,                                                                                       Pastor John

Quote of the Week

“Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can."

                                                                                                                                         John Wesley

John Wesley was an English cleric and theologian who, with his brother Charles and fellow cleric George Whitefield, founded Methodism.