The Philadelphia Project

This past week I went with a part of my youth group to work with The Philadelphia Project. It was an incredibly humbling experience to say the least. Let me tell you about it:

First, an introduction of TPP. The Philadelphia Project serves the community by allowing youth groups from all over to come in and do major home repair on many houses in the Mount Airy area. They hire roughly 7 interns to stay at Mount Airy Presbyterian Church all summer and lead different groups of kids to the houses that they'll be working at.

When we got there, people in yellow shirts were screaming at us, taking my belongings, and literally sweeping the ground in front of me on my way from the bus to the church. My first thoughts? Here we go, a week with a bunch of tool bags telling me what to do.

My initial thoughts weren't proved wrong until much later that night during the first "Club Time" in which there was a worship service paired with a lesson that in some way promoted the good news of Jesus. The first night one of the yellow shirts, who I quickly formed a relationship with, gave his testimony. In all honesty, and through no fault of his own, I don't really remember much of what Andrew said. What stuck out to me that night was the challenge that was given to me by the founder of the Project, Ray. He asked us if we were right with God, ourselves, and others. Like other members of my group my first response was: no way. To tell you the story of how I got to the answer that I now BELIEVE with all my heart, mind, and soul, I must continue on with what happened through the duration of my time there.

As a believer of the same God that I worship, Ms. Linda greeted us with thanksgiving and humility early the next morning as myself and 6 other members of my group were thrown into work projects that we hoped would be complete by Thursday at 2:30pm. However, our earthly hopes quickly turned into prayers, and our prayers transformed from a secular mindset to one that revolved around God. As the gospel was preached each night, and praises were lifted to my God, I began to understand the why? That is the question that I hope to answer. The question that I hope to know, understand, and live. Let me tell you a story.

On the last day, we were sweeping, weeding, picking up litter, etc. on the block where Ms. Linda lives. I was walking around with a trash bag and a dustpan picking up the piles that the other members of my team were making when I overheard a conversation between my friend Ben and a Muslim woman in her car. The conversation went something like this:
Woman: Are you guys doing community service?
Ben: No, we're with The Philadelphia Project (he went on to explain what that was)
Woman: Oh, awesome. You guys can put this on your resume.
Ben: No, we're doing this for Jesus.

That is the Why? Plain and simple. Why would I take a week out of my summer to go and help those less fortunate than I? Because of Jesus. Because in the story of the good samaritan, I am the one on the side of the road beaten, bruised, and broken. And Jesus calls me to do the same to others. My brother Scott, one of the interns at TPP, taught on that famous story and God spoke to me through his words. We help our brothers and sisters not only because Jesus commands us to, but because Jesus helped us first. Because out of love for the One that loved us, we can break barriers, forget our worries, and die to ourselves in order to love others.

When this apparent truth has even the slightest presence in my life, I live differently. While putting up a large piece of drywall with my friend and brother Luke, we encountered every possible problem imaginable; but we stuck to it. Not because we were getting paid (we weren't), not because we felt obligated (we didn't), not because we wanted Ms. Linda to thank us (we didn't), but because we were doing it for Jesus. You see, originally I arrived at TPP ready to work, but not ready to work for Jesus. And now, through experiencing his love through the love of other people, I worked for my creator and friend, Jesus.

The greatest thing about working for Jesus is that He walks with you every step of the way. By Wednesday morning I was physically wiped out. I had no energy, I was sore, and the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed to spackel and drywall all day. I prayed that God would change my heart and give me physical strength to get through the day. By the time I got to the worksite, I felt no more pains, and didn't have the slightest desire to go to sleep. Not only that, but I was singing God's praises that I had the opportunity to work on Ms. Linda's house. You might think I'm crazy, but a miracle was performed in my life that day. By no works of my own was I able to work tirelessly from 9am-2pm on Wednesday, August 1st.

To all those that made this week happen: thank you. Words fail me when I try to describe the love that captured my heart through everyone involved at TPP this past week. Interns, your mission to live out Zechariah 7:9 is not in vain. Thank you for welcoming us with open arms and wasting no time in getting to know who we really were, not just on the outside, but who we are in light of God's love. Throughout my entire time at TPP I felt a strong sense of community. There are so many more stories and blessings that God poured out upon me that I could write for pages and pages about, but I'll spare you all.

Now to answer the question, Am I right with God? The answer is not "no way" Nor is it just "yes" But instead, it is: Yes, but only through the blood of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.