Serve Moore

The Paradox is sending four teams to Moore, Oklahoma to help serve with disaster relief. Below are several stories from our first trip. If you are interested in helping with an upcoming trip email jessica@theparadoxchurch.com.Do you ever feel useless? I mean really useless. Like you’re not just wasting your time, but others’ time as well. That’s how I felt the first morning of our mission trip to Moore, Oklahoma. We were supposed to be helping to rebuild and restore a community hit by a tornado. Instead, it was noon and we were sitting in the back of our pick up truck waiting on supplies. We had already gone to two other houses where we weren’t needed and were now sitting in front of a trailer where we were needed, but didn’t have the right equipment. The homeowner we were supposed to be ministering to, Christy, was holed up inside her trailer. Not exactly the way I had planned out our first day in my head. And that’s when God has us right where he wanted us: helpless.A God-send of a team from Colorado eventually showed up with the much needed supplies and we quickly went to work fixing roof leaks, repairing an outdoor stair case, and doing some basic car maintenance.  And then something even more amazing happened, a few of the women on our team followed God’s leading to knock on Christy’s door and engage her in conversation.  She spent the next three hours sitting outside with us sharing her story, her needs, and her hopelessness.  And then our team got to share God’s story, his grace, and the hope found in him.  By the time we left for the day, Christy was in tears as our team showed her the work we’d been able to finish and explained to her that the work we did to her home and car were nothing compared to the work God wanted to do in her soul.  Before we left we got to pray with Christy as she said a tearful goodbye to us.  As we return home, we’re still praying for Christy.

"She spent the next three hours sitting outside with us sharing her story, her needs, and her hopelessness. And then our team got to share God’s story, his grace, and the hope found in him."

 If that one encounter was “all” God did, it would have been enough.  But that wasn’t the end, it was just the beginning.  Like the story of Gideon in Judges 7, God had to strip us of our façade of control so that everything we did would so obviously be by his power, not ours.  And from there, his grace just kept flowing.  Craig, shared how God used the trip to minister to him:

I was beaten down by work and the stress of leaving town as we drove away from Fort Worth, dwelling on all I needed to do at work...  Yet, the Spirit blessed me richly through conversations with other Paradoxians and those from across the country who traveled long and far to come give a little back because they have a heavenly father more generous than we can imagine. I came home spiritually refreshed.

On Sunday, we got to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ at Love and Justice Church in Moore.  Love and Justice was hit hard by the tornado, including Pastor Andrew who lost his house.  But here was a community united by their brokenness.  As we worshipped with them Sunday morning, tears began rolling down our faces.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many bearded men cry at once.  Maybe we were exhausted.  Maybe we were broken.  Probably both.  But God was pouring his spirit out on us, reminding us of the grace and love we have in Jesus Christ.  As Zoe put it: “I was really touched by the church and how strong their faith was in Christ despite their circumstances. It was a joy to see so much life and joy for The Lord when you could easily just turn away.”That Sunday morning, as we were exhausted and weary, it was God who was serving us, speaking to us:This city is your life.  Sin came like a deadly tornado, ravishing everything in its path.  It tore through your home, your family, the most intimate areas of your life.  It shook you to your core and threatened to claim not just your life, but your soul.  At your lowest and worst, it defined you.  But I sent my son to rescue you, to restore you.  He led the greatest mission trip, descending from heaven into the disaster zone of earth.  He braved broken hearts, battered lives, and broken families.  He helped you knock down your condemned house that was built on the sand, and helped you build a new one on a solid foundation. He brought you into a new family, a body of believers.  The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you!Joel described the significance of that kind of love: “God showed me himself that morning and my heart has been different ever since. In that service I experienced an intimate love connection with my Creator and I knew like I've never known before that He loves me.”If you're interested in going to serve Moore with one of our upcoming trips talk to your City Group Leader or email jessica@theparadoxchurch.com.