Love in Action (Guest blogger: Jennifer Howes)

Jonathan asked me to be a "guest blogger" today to express from my perspective the special work I see God doing through some Graystone folks. One of the most exciting things that my kids and I have become a part of is the ministry going on at Gwinnett Estates under the leadership of Jim and Melinda Hollandsworth. Joelan, Julia and I are part of the team that tutors children in this trailer park and we go twice a month on Thursday afternoons. Each one of us has really enjoyed being used by God to love the kids and also help them with their schoolwork. We also participated in the garage sale, fall festival and the clothing drive earlier this year.

Yesterday was the final tutoring day for 2009 and Melinda had planned a party for the children, so I loaded up the van with my kids (Jessie, too) and 3 of their friends and drove 2 miles to Gwinnett Estates. (Yes, this mission field is in our backyard!) When we arrived, there were kids EVERYWHERE and each of them had huge smiles on their faces and hugs for Jim, Melinda and the other Graystone volunteers. Randy, who is the facilities manager for the trailer park, was also there with a smile on his face. You see, when Jim and Melinda had the idea for this ministry, he told them it would never work.

Melinda gathered all 70 children (plus about 15 parents) and using the nativity set she got in Ecuador, explained the story of Jesus' birth. The children's eyes were glued on her as she described the love of God that came to us in the form of His Son. She beautifully explained that this is not an American story and that Jesus did not speak English as a boy, but was from Israel. They understood that the story of Christ is an international, world-wide message that bridges the gap between all people. I was in the back, holding Jessie, listening with tears streaming down my face as the children and parents heard the words of the gospel- and I prayed that they would come to know Jesus as their Savior.

We then helped all of the children make a star Christmas ornament to help them remember to follow Jesus. Joelan and his buddies made hot chocolate for all of the kids and each received a Christmas cookie. As I was vacuuming up the trailer from all of the glitter, I looked at Randy and said, "Melinda is very special, isn't she?" And he smiled and replied, "She sure is". Jim and Melinda had the opportunity to invite him to our Christmas Eve services.

Thank you, Jim and Melinda, for providing such meaningful opportunities for my family to serve God and love people!

What is love? I John 3:16-19
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.