I asked God what I should notice...

Hi Nancy:
I just wanted to share this with you....
Today was a special day for my grandson and I, going to the community center and seeing how happy we were able to make the people there was the greatest feeling ever.
My grandson Jaden is 15 months old and they adored him so much, asked me to come back - I would love to make it something we can do once a month for them or more if possible.
My heart felt so full being able to sit there and talk to them, show them they are not forgotten by us nor GOD...they are never alone.
I met Margaret, Michelle, Sylvia and many more.....I asked God what should I notice today and I think I noticed the JOY & HAPPINESS I was able to bring to many...to see them get up to dance, clap and sing ..the greatest JOY to feel...
I love serving the Lord this way and Look so forward to doing it again, in this way and many ways.
Thank you for letting US be a part of something so wonderful and joyous.
Carol DeMeo - and Jaden.....

I am almost speechless as I write this...

Dear Nancy:

Tina and I have always looked forward to each and every CommunityImpact event we've been a part of since we joined the Community Family and each time, we have been blessed more than we could ever have imagined. Today, however was such a blessing that I am almost speechless as I write this. This morning when we arrived to participate in the Community Impact Day at Kids in Distress, you had explained that a group of young people from The Faith Center across the street from our church had called you and asked if they could join their efforts with ours as we went out to be the "hands & feet" of ourLord in the community. As coordinators, we welcomed the help and thought it would be a great idea to have two churches working side by side as we went to Kids in Distress. As it turned out, we had so many people in our group that we were able to have 5 people from our group join another group that was a little short-handed. What happened for the following 4 hours was nothing short of God just showing how awesome He is! We were met at Kids in Distress by two of the nicest ladies we could have ever hoped to work for - Shiela and Maggy and two of their dedicated maintenance guys. 3 more members of the Faith Center joined us at the work site for a total of 8 people from Faith Center that joined us. We pulled weeds and laid mulch on the entire 5 acre campus and the whole while we were being blessed by this outstanding group of young adults from the Faith Center. We were able to share stories and testimonies of how God had worked to pull all of this together for them to work with us and it was one of the most rewarding days of my entire life (and that is no exaggeration). The group was searching the web looking for some way to outreach in thecommunity and came across "Community Impact" and decided to pursue being a part of it. I AM SO GLAD THEY DID!!! These young adults have such a strong heart for God and such an incredible passion to serve that it was an absolute HONOR and PRIVILEGE to serve with them. I pray that we can have them with us on many future Community Impact Days! What an incredible day! What a diverse group we had - we had a father and son team and a mother and daughter team along with us plus these wonderful people from The Faith Center. When we were done, we all joined together in the middle of one of the court yards and ended the day with prayer (including the ladies from Kids in Distress) and then sang Happy Birthday to one of their maintenance men, Angel. When we parted ways with our new friends from The Faith Center, we shared hugs like I've never felt before and knew that the very Presence of God had spent the morning with us at Kids in Distress. I know that our efforts meant a lot to the staff at "Kids" and I am sure that God was blessed by the outreach, but I also know that for me personally today was much deeper than that. I can't explain what happened to my heart today, but I am still almost in tears nine hours later because of the profound effects of what we experienced today. It was a total out-pouring of love and fellowship and sweat for the King of the Universe by everyone involved. Thank You for all your hard work to continue to make these Community Impact Days a reality. Community Christian Church has given us the opportunity to put a physical and visible hand out there to the community around us and let them know that the God we serve is REAL. I''m sorry this is such a long email - I know you are very busy, but I just had to tell you about what a special day this was!
Thanks again Nancy!
Sincerely,
Duane King

Wanted to tell you what I noticed...

Wanted to tell you what I noticed….
I realize how often the homeless are put down and demoralized. They are often faceless and dismissed. I guess kind of like what you experienced.
They really are ‘real’ people, with real hopes and dreams. I witness several, without hesitation, step in to help haul things to a pod making room for beds.
These men were not personally benefiting from the new room but were more than willing to help.
Real people down on their luck if you want to put it that way.
Not faceless and not nameless.

Joann

A few things I noticed today...

Hello Nancy,

I took your story to heart this morning and challenged myself to see what God wanted me to see at the Health Care Facility. Here are a few things that I noticed today that I haven’t noticed in my previous three Community Impact trips or in the numerous other times that my family and I have visited outside of Community Impact:

1. I noticed that some of the same faces and names are still here
2. I noticed that some are not
3. I noticed that as my life has continued onward their lives still revolve around these same walls and corridors
4. I noticed how few staff are actually working and attending to patients
5. I noticed that as energetic and talkative as Helene once was; she now has been reduced to barley sitting up and can’t talk for very long
6. I noticed their eyes and faces lit up as Tango (the dog) and the kids approached them
7. I noticed the little old man who cares for his wife had the same smile on his face and his love for his wife was still very apparent.
8. I noticed the tears in one of the Community Christian volunteer’s eyes as she pushed a patient to the dining room for coffee.
9. I noticed a very rare smile on the face of one of the patients as she listened to Megan play the flute
10. I noticed one of the patients ate the flower that was made for her in arts & crafts (had to add some humor)

This was once again a very rewarding experience.

Mike Avery

I noticed...

I noticed today that it is not only the people we went to help that needs us. It is everyone that you come in contact with. I met 3 boys from The Hope Center helping out as well. As I talked to them or to any one else, I realized that everyone can use a kind word at any time. People might look like they are fine but in fact have a lot going on inside. Even our own people at Community.

Mayra Nelson