I was headed to Fairmont with the intent to work. You know, expecting some hard labor, power through it, and feel pretty good about myself. Something along those lines... but what I got was so much more. In honor of Brother Vaughn, I'm gonna say something I tend to hear him say frequently. "I'm going to be transparent with you", about EVERYTHING that I saw and felt in Fairmont, so you can get a glimpse of the greatest that is in store for the city of Fairmont.
We got into town, got dinner and walked into the Vaughn's house to eat, as we were sitting there, Preston started speaking with us about the town, the people, the other churches, the mission field and the connections that had already been made. I'm not sure what I expected from this, but I know I got more than I had bargained for. Never before have I seen such passion within a family for a city that sincerely needs revival the way I did that night. I'm not an emotional person, but I'll admit. I was ready to tear up.
Preston and Gail went on talking about how many doors God was opening, and there was no coincidence in the matter, God is working in Fairmont. We were told about the condition of the building and the state it was in now, after ample work on it thus far and throughout this somewhat lengthy introduction to our Missions weekend (of which I was definitely enjoying), and the power of God was so real it could have brought me to prayer in that moment, in all honesty.
I didn't know what to expect from the church, but after all I'd heard, I was ready to see it and do what needed done. We walked in and I'm not sure that I've ever seen such a beautiful church building before (okay, mine is. But I'm a bit biased.) even with the dirt and grime and everything that still needed to be done, there was a potential and an expectancy for that building and city like I'd only felt before for my own city of Bloomington/Minneapolis.
We started dividing out the work, and I offered to start cleaning, we went straight for the bathrooms and man oh man... did we clean! Those floors haven't seen the light of day like they saw last night! They were sparkling and we were proud of the progress. With floors, toilets and sinks cleaned, walls wiped down, etc. We moved onto painting. Music blasting and laughter in full swing, you could take a look around and see the future of this church in such a powerful way. SO MUCH POTENTIAL. This place was seriously transforming before our eyes... I can't lie, I was really proud of the progress. Wood was being cleaned, trim, walls and doors were being painted and the church basement started to come to life.
We turned in for the evening after singing a song or two (or three, very roughly might I add) in the sanctuary. It was late, we were tired and exhausted but we are still crazy so we went to Perkins to get food and hang out. WE HAD A BLAST. The laughter was so real, secrets were shared and funny stories were told. It's hard to ever come across a better night, but... you know, bedtime.
Saturday, we get coffee (first world problems) and went to the church and got to work. WALLS WERE PAINTED. Were they ever! WOW. So much painting. It was a good day. We sang, we danced around (aka, I danced around) we painted and everything else.
My only comment really about the people I had the opportunity of sharing ministry with is this, I never ever knew how effective and well oiled a team could be, until this weekend. We all really did grow closer and became more unified as a group by working. Hmm... gonna sneak a preach here, when you put your hands to work, unity will grow and strengthen. Okay, I'm done. Obviously with my temper and impatience, tensions were a little high by the end of the day, I am fully to blame for my impatience with anyone and everyone today. haha. We all know me. ;)
At the end of our work day, I looked around the basement and was amazed at the transformation that took place. I'm not gonna lie. I was VERY proud of our work! Wow oh wow. SO GOOD. It looks so good! Is it done? No. But that's okay because any progress made is progress made. It wasn't done yesterday and it's come so far in just a day. So we're done working, we're sore, we're tired, we went upstairs and took pictures and it was time to get dinner and say goodbye. Of which we did and the goodbyes weren't bad or long, we knew we were all exhausted and needed to get on the road. On the way back from Fairmont, our car had conversation about how incredible the Vaughn family is and how wonderful the church is and all of the work we'd gotten done. It's hard to not talk about. I was told to blog this because we all know I use too many words for just a facebook post! :)
I just gave you a lot of useless information but here's what I'm getting at. Ministry has many different outlets, all hold their own importance for different seasons of life and different seasons of change, and I've seen MANY different sides of ministry in my life. I've either seen it or lived it and I can tell you now, singing is important, preaching is important, being an usher is important, etc. Every ministry holds value, however, I've never felt like I had this weekend. I clean my church frequently and I coordinate the cleaning at my church, so I am no stranger to labor for the cause... but I've learned so much about this weekend and I hold no regrets on what I sacrificed to be there and how I spent my time. It was worth every back aching moment because I will NEVER know the impact that my "sacrifice" made this weekend. I will never know just how far this ministry today, will affect their community tomorrow.
Connections are being made, God is most definitely working in that city and I'm so thrilled to have been a small piece in the puzzle in what is going to take place there. Every moment counts, every interaction counts, every smile and helping hand counts... why? Because every soul counts. Every single one.
I can't live in Fairmont and I don't have much money to give to the efforts of their church and mission... but here's what I can do. I can give my time and effort like I did this weekend. I can pray for the Vaughn's and Fairmont. I can fast for their city when I fast for my city and I can continue to encourage them and their family when doubt starts creeping in. You know it will. You don't walk into a city to save souls and expect no kind of retaliation from the enemy. You just don't. I am so privileged to know the Vaughn family and to have visited the city of Fairmont, MN, I am privileged to have had the opportunity to ministry in one of the most un-appealing ways and I am privileged to have ministered with the people I got to minister with this weekend.
The call on the Vaughn family is so strong and it is no doubt exactly where they were called to be. I most definitely caught the vision for that city this weekend and I'm so excited to see the outcome of the sacrifice of labor and love that has been poured into this Home Missions effort.
Thank you for the opportunity to be there this weekend, there was truly no other place I'd rather have been!
Below are before and after photos (before is on bottom and after is on top) They're not the best photos, but hopefully you can catch a glimpse of what we accomplished in a short 24-hours!
Again, I'm blessed and humbled. Go forth and be blessed! :)
Thanks for taking the time to read this and please don't forget to hold the Vaughn family and the city of Fairmont up in your prayers.
