You Can't Please Everyone

Well, apparently there have been several complaints from the adults of the large work group about how things were run at the Mission this past weekend. The truth is, I asked for feedback. What I got, though, was surprising:

-Not enough notice as to what job they would be doing. Stick to the schedule.
-A certain portion of the church service should have been done "like we do it at our church."
-We slept uncomfortably on the floor.
-We couldn't sleep co-ed at the Women and Family Home.
-There was no comfortable place for the adults to hang out together.

Notice a theme here?

• Convenience
• Conformity
• Comfort

To quote our CEO, Ken Porter, "Was this a conference at the Hilton, or a Missions trip to the inner city?"

Now, from our end, as I said the other day, we worked long and hard making as many jobs and lists as we thought the group could handle in two days. We did more prep than usual, simply because of the sheer size of the group! To further bless them and not have them spend their entire time cooking, we provided meals for them, including a turkey dinner, even having four extra staff work through the weekend without a day off.

The other factor was allowing them sleep in our facility to save them money. It was a real burden on the residents as they had their entire home invaded for several days. For a person in recovery, this is not an easy hurdle to get over. In the same way we need our space, as well as calm and order, in the life of an addict, they need structure and a peaceful environment to heal. (Think Holy Ghost Hospital.) That being said, some irritants are necessary and good to prepare them for stressors they will encounter once they leave the Mission.

All in all, we thought it was well worth all this effort, as we also recognize the sacrifice and gift this group made to come to our Mission to serve the Lord. They accomplished so much and they never stopped working the entire time, from sun-up to sun-down!

We are just so thankful they took time out of their regular routine and joined us. If any of you are reading this, thank you for giving to the Lord. I trust that once the smoke clears and you catch up on missed sleep, you, too, will see that this trip accomplished much needed assistance for the Mission, but also, strengthened your family, your youth, and made you a little more greatful for how the Lord has blessed your life.

I particularly enjoyed meeting each one of you and getting to know you a little bit better during our relaxing fellowship time Saturday night in the classroom. Thanks again!

And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow You wherever you go. And Jesus said unto him, 'Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.'