Top Ten Mission Trip Lessons
In the spirit of David Letterman's Top Ten Lists, for Today's Sermon I have made up a list of the Top Ten Lessons we learned through our participation in the New Brooklyn Reformed Church Mission Trip.
Lesson #10
To attempt to participate in a huge project like this, you need a rich diversity of people who are willing to become involved. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11, "The body of Christ is made up of many parts," and the body of people from our Church family who were involved included a wide range of committed people. On site, those who enjoyed the blessing of being hands-on involved in this effort ran from a near-80- year-young lady who we had to yell at regularly in order to get her to take a water break out of the sun to a young Second Grade graduate who worked her fingers to the bone. Between these two extremes, there were over 40 people who participated in the on-site work.
Lesson #9
Each and every person within the diversity of the people from our Church Family who participated in this effort made a very important contribution. To continue with Paul's metaphor about the Body of Christ being made up of many individual members who all needed to work together, we recognized that this effort could not have happened without the loving support of our entire Church Family. Whether your support was expressed by scraping paint, shoveling dirt, offering prayers, providing financial gifts to cover the cost of building materials, or any of the many other necessary expressions of support, the truth is that it wouldn't have happened without your help!
Lesson #8
Just as the Body of Christ needs a head, 
and we acknowledge that Christ is the head of His Church that we call the Body of Christ, so our
Mission Team needed leaders to pull everything together. And so we thank
God for Charlie C and his son Peter who were the ones who directed the
volunteers each day of the trip. And we thank God for Doug B. and his
Mission Commission for bringing this opportunity to us.
Lesson #7
Paul also said that faith can move mountains, and that type of faith was definitely needed in this effort. Specifically, there was a mountain of bricks, a mountain of debris in the middle of the yard, and a mountain of renovation leftovers that needed to be moved into a dumpster. All of these mountains seemed overwhelming on Monday but they were moved by Friday!
Lesson #6
When Paul talked about faith that could move a mountain he also said that such faith without love was worth nothing. Let me assure you, there was lots of love experienced among the members of our two Church Families as we worked side by side and enjoyed getting to know one another quite well.
Lesson #5
One example of that love was the way that the people of both Churches worked together to prepare delicious and nourishing meals. In a recent sermon I had referred to an Angel of God who provided nourishment to Elijah at a time of great physical exhaustion in his life. Well throughout our week at New Brooklyn, there were angels of the Lord: preparing meals, providing water breaks, and, my personal favorite, serving ice cold watermelon on a day when the tempature was in the 90s.
Lesson #4
In the midst of the work and fellowship of the week, we saw that truly in Christ there is no east or west...but rather one great fellowship of love. We arrived on Monday as strangers in an entirely different cultural context. By lunch, there were no strangers in our group and we knew, beyond words, that we were sisters and brothers in Christ.
Lesson #3
It wasn't a perfect week. Like the rest of life, there were disappointments and uncertainties that at times left us feeling overwhelmed by the tasks at hand. For instance, on Thursday, we had 37 volunteers on site and Charlie C had to figure out how to provide each volunteer with a meaningful task to perform. It wasn't easy, but he did it!
Lesson #2
In the Book of Acts, Chapter 2, Verses 42-47, we read about the blessings of being part of a caring and concerned Christian community. A community that worked, prayed, ate and cared for one another and with one another. Our Mission Trip provided all of us with another rich experience of that type of inspiring community life. It leaves us anxious for our next Mission Trip and other opportunities, such as a Warwick Church Family Retreat, to experience such community life.
Lesson #1
In Acts 20: 35, Paul writes, "Remember, our Lord said it is more blessed to give than it is to receive." As I look out at our Church Family gathered here this morning and see the faces of the people who gave in so many ways to make this Mission Trip possible, and as I remember the exhausted but smiling faces of the volunteers who served for a day or a week on site, I know that I see in those faces the truth of our Lord's words that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I thank God for the leading of His Spirit, and for each and every person of our Church Family and the New Brooklyn Church Family. The Spirit's guidance and our faithful response has helped to create a miracle this past week. May God continue to guide and inspire us to be involved in such efforts and to Him be the honor and glory today and always.
Pastor Stephen Giordano — July 24, 2005
New Brooklyn Photo AlbumThe Massapequa
Reformed Church
302 Ocean Avenue
Massapequa, NY 11758
(516)799-5158 • Fax (516)799-4725
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