Janet

A couple weeks ago, I got in a car wreck. As far as wrecks go, this one was not bad. Nichelle, the girl driving the Passat I rear-ended, was not hurt. This experience is one that has left me feeling tiny and mortal. It is easy for me to get very absorbed in my own ways, my way of living life. Whether I’m willing to admit it or not, God is able to claim my life at any time. He is in total control… “who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Surrender—to struggle and ultimate give up. To surrender to God is not easy. At the same time, all it takes is giving up. To surrender my pride, to learn humility, to allow God to work through me and to teach me…these are the important things in life. Not to impress people, please the world, or myself.

At Whitworth College, in Spokane, there is a ministry by the name of En Christo. I spent the better part of my Saturday making sandwiches…hundreds of them. Actually, 375 to be exact. Along with the sandwiches, we dropped an apple, a dessert, and a Bible verse into a paper sack. We ate dinner, and went to a room to get a rundown of what we would be doing. After this, we headed downtown.

Downtown Spokane, there are a few low- income hotels which En Christo works with. Certain members of En Christo are dedicated to visiting the residents of these hotels weekly. Their goal is to form friendships with the people there, and to provide for them in terms of love, prayer, and relationship. There is also a street team, which passes out sandwiches on the street, looking for contacts or just people who want to talk. The last team consists of “everyone else,” usually non-regular members of the En Christo team. This was the group I was a part of. Basically, we sat around in a laundromat praying for and talking with the people who came in. It was like an informal soup kitchen, but with personality. Everyone there seemed to know everyone. It was cool. They knew I was “new.” It is exciting to see the ministry of En Christo being done in Spokane, and to know God’s work is being done.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. . . I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me." - Matthew 25:35,40