Alabama Rural Ministries [ARM] Celebrates Another Summer of Service
Alabama Rural Ministries, or ARM as it is sometimes known, celebrates another fruitful summer of making an impact in the lives of Alabamians. From ARM’s latest newsletter:
Summer is not winding down but it is transitioning with students starting back to school. Summer creates so many opportunities to share God’s goodness and Good News! Mission teams from seven churches joined us this summer in Tuskegee. They provided critical home repairs to three families diligently working to make homes warm, safe, and dry all the while extending Christ’s love. Youth teams also provided meaningful and engaging activities with elementary age children through an all-summer long children’s camp, SonShine Kids Day Camp. With the theme of Body Body, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians formed the backdrop to our devotions and conversations each day.
The mission teams provided extensive repairs for four families this summer. Groups rebuilt a roof and began the reshingling process. They tore out water damaged drywall in two rooms and removed water damaged carpet. At another home, eight windows were removed and new windows installed providing better insulation to the neighbor undergoing cancer treatments. Some teams rebuilt two new floors from structural framing to finish planks for one of our neighbors. At the end of the summer, our neighbors celebrated the ministry of the church body coming together to serve.
Meanwhile at SonShine Kids Day Camp, thirty-seven children attended camp for six weeks. The mission teams provided Bible stories, high-energy worship and music, arts &crafts, games, and just loads of summer fun. Each week, a visit to the pool refreshed us and capped off an amazing week. We loved seeing our children fall in love with the Bible, volunteer to pray, and get into fights trying to help each other (still some things to work on!).
We hope Jesus smiled as he saw his servants at work fulfilling his command to love God and love neighbor. We hope Paul gave a nod of approval as the body of Christ came together with many members doing their part. What an awesome summer of love!
Thanks to these mission teams who joined us this summer:
Trinity UMC Fort Walton Beach, FL
Dauphin Way UMC, Mobile AL
Madisonville UMC, Madisonville KY
Dothan FUMC, AL
Pensacola F UMC, FL
Centerpointe Community Church-Prattville, AL
Auburn UMC, AL
As we transition into the fall season, we look forward to serving with college students from Auburn and Tuskegee, local churches and businesses, and visiting churches from around the southeast spending a weekend with us. We invite you to pray with us as we love and serve our neighbor through home repairs and extend an arm of Christ’s love!
