What do you get when you put a talented guy, who loves his job, who is adored by the folks, who does taxes in the evenings and, by the way, is also ‘Borique,’ a professional wrestler? Well you will see Edwin, the Area Manager, which includes Simpsonville! He is one of those type of people that everyone loves to have around. The ‘don’t-mess-with-me-yet-get’er’-done’ type of folks who is a gentle giant of a man. What a great team is here to serve in this community. That wide mix of talents was also a picture of the folks who showed up to help in this community. We had a friend come from Indiana who is disabled and noted, ‘Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to come serve a community with you all.’ What a great compliment! But isn’t that what is’s all about anyway?
Simpsonville is a beautiful community and yet we found many who were not to keen on having strangers knock on their doors. So what to do? Well, as David, one of our lead team member put it, ‘we do what we do and find the ones we are meant to find. Mission accepted!’ Those are some great words which put on display the heart of Impact Cares. We are here to have an impact and to show the community that we do care. How do we do that? By knocking on doors, creating relationships, inviting folks to a community dinner, getting neighbors to nominate neighbors who need a helping hand, fixing a deck, painting a home, replacing some skirting and in a whole host of other small ways.
Simpsonville is a beautiful community, a microcosm of the world at large. Especially at this time of year when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are reminded that we live in a world that is so utterly lost and broken and yet, the gift is there for the taking. As we knocked on doors, passing out invitations to dinner, asking them to nominate a neighbor in need, so many times the doors were closed or flyers handed back with a ‘No thank you.’ You have to wonder, do they even know what they have just given up without a second thought? As Impact Cares comes into a community, it is always a challenge at one level, not knowing anyone, to knock on doors, invite folks to dinner, see if they are willing to nominate a neighbor who needs some help, all without the residents fully or hardly knowing who it is that is speaking. Yet, with persistence and great grace, doors do come open, homes are improved, relationships are begun and lives are changed.
Yet, is that not the story of Easter? The price has been paid – all the wreckage you see around a home (think someone’s life) is a result of brokenness of one sort or another. This often leads to being very wary of letting others in, even those who can help, which only leads to further isolation. The challenge that faces every single one of us is this; will we let the ‘One’ in who can give us the gift of ‘Life’ itself, begin the process of cleaning up our brokenness, start knitting us back together again and setting us on a journey that leads to great joy and peace? You see, like all those residents who opened their doors, listened to what was being offered and ‘took a step of faith’ and were willing to go to a dinner, have strangers work on their home and in the end, lives were transformed and a community was encouraged and improved. You could take that step today!