Originally published in the August 25, 2008 issue of The Evangel.
They were mission volunteers who thought they were going to fix a leaky roof. If that were true, then why was it raining when Wilburn Honeycutt, Ric Herrera, and Richard Roselle arrived at Providence Christian Church in Riverview, New Brunswick? Had God dropped the ball on this one? Maybe it was because God had something other than a leaky roof in mind and had sent the very people He needed. Let's let them explain and tell about their experiences. Here are slightly edited excerpts from their testimony/report on the trip.
From Ric Herrera:
Pastor Frank preached about "small things" last Sunday and spoke of the mustard seed and how small things can become very large. That was like our team to Riverview, NewBrunswick. We had just three members: Richard Roselle, Wilburn Honeycutt, and Ric Herrera.
We thought we were going to work on fixing a leaky roof. We arrived there and found they really had two other major problems and could actually fix the roof themselves. Those problems were water leaking into their basement. This was a BIG problem for them because they operate a day care in that basement. The other problem was that a retaining wall to that basement entrance was collapsing. The day care earns money for the church and provides an outreach opportunity to many young families in the city. They had no expertise in those areas and had been given an estimate of $15,000 dollars and had only about $3,000 to do everything.
We "just happened" to be in the unique position to provide our engineering and past knowledge of that kind of problem to not only solve the problem but to do it at a fraction of what the contractor had asked. After solving both problems they had enough money left to finish the roof repairs themselves after we left.
Our goal had been to fix their physical problems and also to reach out to them spiritually and provide the encouragement to them so they could do a better job of reaching out to their the community. The Providence church has an amazing core group of people so ready to reach out; we have a church that has so many gifts and abilities to help them do that.
We have talked about future projects to bring non believers to their church and help them deal with their issues. Richard suggested a way to bring the young couples of this small community to the church and I would like to take the Living Free program there...also bring a mini marriage conference and help them with the children's programs. We are praying for directions. I know our church has the people who can do that!
From Richard Roselle:
I can't add much more to what Ric has said except for three bullets:
When we were at their church service that Sunday morning, Aristide read from Ephesians Chapter 2. I noted verse 10 about we need to help others and verse 19 about we are all members of God's family.
I remember Mike Thomson sharing with us during our prayer time with him and Todd about we do not need to build it and they will come, but we need to go out a share God's love.
The people there show the true meaning of being content....and will give you the shirt off their back to help a brother. We can learn from them!
From Wilburn Honeycutt:
Richard and I attended the service at Providence Christian Church on July 20. There were approximately 30 persons in attendance. We found an enthusiastic and caring fellowship. After the service, many of the participants joined us for lunch at one of the homes and remained for fellowship until time for the 6 PM evening service. Throughout the day, they shared how they had come to faith in Christ, their prayers, and their concern for the lost members of their families and friends.
We went to install a new roof on the rear of the church and to correct basement drain deficiencies but due to rain on Monday - Tuesday were unable to accomplish the roofing work. We did work on the basement drains, found several areas that were blocked, and opened them. We also removed defective retaining walls at the basement entrance for the daycare, and built new replacement walls.
Each day started with breakfast at the Homestead Restaurant. Several members would join us each morning. Likewise, during the day members would come by to help as their schedules allowed. Many would come in the afternoon and work until 9 PM. I believe that at some point, each of the 30 that were there on Sunday came by to visit or help. Can you imagine FBC having 750 show up for a mission activity!
I always wonder prior to a trip how God will use us. We were useful in addressing some of their building problems and providing a safer environment for their facility. We were able to observe how God is at work in this local community. Most of this congregation had come to faith in Christ as adults. They were excited to be Christians and eager to discuss their faith with others. This congregation lived out Acts 2:42-43 before us.
From Janet Terris - Richard's host:
What wonderful memories we all have from our time with you [Wilburn] and Richard and Ric. We so appreciate all you guys did to help us, and all the fun we had with you. My prayer is that some day in the not too distant future that a group from Providence can go and do for a church elsewhere and use the new skills that we all have learned over the past couple of years!!!
I don't know how to thank you enough, people we didn't know one week and felt so close to a week later!! Our God is amazing!!
Thank you again and love and blessings from Canada" - Janet
From Todd Nielsen - one of the members who worked with us when rained out of his day job:
Thank you also for the kindness and encouragement you showed to my son Zack. He told me when I picked him up that last day that he felt like you guys were his friends and that he was going to miss you. I know his dad (me) can tend to be weak in the encouragement area towards Zack. I suppose that's because he's the oldest of my kids, I think you guys really filled up his "love-tank".
