We’ll Help!

The sound of a speaker outside caught my attention this morning and I looked up in time to see a WE-Energies truck go by.  (WE-Energies is the public power company in SE Wisconsin).

Then another.

And another.

And another.

Then more.

I stopped writing to watch and count as a parade of  —get this—  twenty-five vehicles drove by;

pure white with bright orange logos, fully outfitted, with two guys in each cab.

They were obviously ready for work.

Then it came to me.  They’re headed South, I bet, maybe all the way to the Gulf coast, to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.   I have family there, including an uncle near Houston and an aunt who evacuated her home on Galveston Bay to stay inland with her son and his family until this hurricane has passed.

I was moved at the sight of 38 men in 25 trucks leaving my part of Wisconsin to help with the recovery effort.  They have some long days ahead. Unknowns. Risks and dangers. And the opportunity to do a world of good.

My respect for WE Energies rose a couple notches this morning.  I don’t know exactly who said “yes we will” of if our workers volunteered to go or not.  I just know my state is helping our fellow citizens recover from this devastating storm.  We’re in this together, even though we’re hundreds of miles apart. That’s part of what we mean when we say “The UNITED States of Americal”!

Adult Learners – The Best!

I love teaching adults.  I love teaching, period, but I especially like teaching adults.
They think.
They know responsibility.
They know how important it is to laugh
Most have  experienced deep friendships in some form, perhaps marriage, perhaps a close peer-friendship.

When you’ve been around the block once you tend to ask different questions in class than those for whom this is all theory.

But the thing I like most about teaching adults is that we learn from each other in class.

So when I was invited to teach a Sunday Morning life group (like an Adult Bible Fellowship or Sunday School Class in many ways) the opportunity appealled to me big-time.

While we don’t know what the future has in store for us ministry-wise, our church leaders know that and said to me “As long as you’re here, we’d like you to teach.”  Sounds good to me! We don’t know how long we have until the Lord returns, either, Let’s go for it.

I’m looking forward to this fall.  To prepare, to consider a group of others, keeping them in mind all the time, watch for illustrations and applications that will make sense to them, helping strengthen and deepen their faith.  Experience has taught me that I learn the most when I’m the teacher.  Part of my preparation is deciding what to present and what to leave out the adult learners in my class have adequate time to contribute — and we still finish on time.  These are great people with much to share.

This … is gonna be good.