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by: Audrianna Powell (Harbor Church Intern) I was thinking the other day about Harbor Express, our service for the elderly that we do once a month at the Clipper Harbor Homes, and I found myself asking, “Why is this important?” Most of the residents fell asleep the first time I went this service. Some of them didn’t even seem to know where they were or what was going on. Honestly sometimes I think if we never came back they wouldn’t notice. So why do I keep going back? I would love to say, “Well it is a God given love for people, and the desire to see His kingdom come in Portsmouth.” But the truth is it is one of my responsibilities of my internship. I can’t say that I have a heart for serving the elderly. I have a hard time making myself go see my grandmother, and I find it difficult spending time with people I don’t even know. Recently what has helped me is reading a series of blogs by Nigel Ring on serving the poor. He wrote, “If you aim at nothing you are sure to hit nothing.” It would be very easy for me to slack off with Harbor Express and not make it everything God wants it to be. I believe God has given us two goals for this ministry. The first one is to build relationships with the residents. God has been showing me what a difference we can make in people’s lives just by talking with them, asking questions and showing them that we care about what is going on in their lives. This has really helped us to build relationships at Clipper Homes. Our second goal is to pray with every resident. As we talk to the residents I want us to be listening for things that we can in turn ask if they need prayer for. Prayer has a way of quickly establishing relationships. There is one lady that I pray with every time we go, and I have seen how each time her prayer requests have become more personal. At our last service I asked another lady what her name was and she began to open up about how she felt so lost and lonely. Her family had not been to see her very often and they live down the road. I was encouraged when she then allowed me to pray for her. Elderly people are some of the most neglected and lonely people in our community. Many of them wonder if their families care for them because they don’t get to see them often. You can tell when you talk to them that many of them feel they no longer have something to contribute. Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters; you were doing it to me!” Society labels the elderly as some of the least, but that is not how God sees them. They are still his magnificent creation and he still has purposes for their lives. Nigel Ring also said that we need to see it as a privilege to serve the disadvantage. God has been very good to show me what a privilege it is to bless the residents of Clipper Homes. He has been faithful in changing my heart towards them, and giving me love for each of them. If you are interested in getting involved with Harbor Express please let me know. You can read Nigel's blogs by clicking here.
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