The Greatest of These Is LOVE

April 27th marked a day of devastation in the southeast, and especially the state
of Alabama. It has been a month since the tornadoes hit our Sweet Home Alabama,
and it has been truly miraculous to see individuals, organizations, communities,
and the nation come together to help those suffering in Alabama, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
We want to thank everyone who has been involved in the recovery process, from
prayers, donations, volunteers, and with those spreading the word of helping those
in need. In this process of recovery there is a verse that comes to mind:

"Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these
is love." --1 Corinthians 13:13

Through the rubble we have hope of rebuilding, and we have hope for a better future.
Through suffering we have a tested yet stronger faith in our Lord and Saviour.
But it is the love that has been shown by the Lord and the love of those who responded
immediate after the storms that has been so telling, and it is love that will continue
to be strengthen us. The process of this recovery comes in three phases

Phase I: Servicing the immediate needs. We were able to mobilize our efforts at
Christian Service Mission in order to meet the immediate needs after the tornadoes
hit. We will continue to service these needs.

Phase II: Rebuilding and Reconstructing. Now the initial shock is over, the broken
and the rubble is being removed to rebuild. Physical buildings and homes are being
rebuilt as well as the spirits of these families and communities.

Phase III: Investment and Care. It would be easy to finish with Phase II, but it
is this last phase that is the most important. As mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:13
the greatest of hope, faith, and love is love. Phase III demonstrates love, servicing
not just the physical needs but holistic needs of the individuals, families and
communities.

This video, created by Tate Hipps, demonstrates how the resources are connected
with the needs at Christian Service Mission while truly demonstrating these phases.

The 3 Steps to Connecting RESOURCES with NEEDS - CSMission

How can you get involved in this process?

We will be mobilizing teams to be involved in all the steps of this process. We
will continue to need volunteers at our warehouse to sort, package, load and unload
items for the communities, but we are sending volunteer teams out into the communities
to be involved in cleaning, rebuilding, and reconstructing. This Friday, June 3,
we will be sending a volunteer team to Webster's Chapel in Wellington doing these
things. You can also invest and walk along with these communities through recovery,
whether it be in Wellington or another community in which we can help foster the
process. It is difficult to explain what this looks like because each investment
and relationship is different, but we are here to connect those resources of investment
with the needs of recovery. You can also share the Mission.  You may not be able to get out there yourself right now, but you can connect the resources with the needs by sharing the Mission to those who can go out those and rebuild, reconstruct, and invest.

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A Servant's Heart

One of the biggest blessings at Christian Service Mission are the volunteers. Volunteers have come at our warehouse every spare minute they have, which shows not only their dedication but their servant's heart. One volunteer in particular, Gwen Harkness, has been here since the first we first started mobilizing for the tornado relief efforts. Gwen was personally effected by Katrina, and knew what is was like going through a natural disaster. Today is Gwen's birthday, and she is spending her birthday serving others at Christian Service Mission. Rubin Grant, a freelance writer, was personally touched by Gwen's spirit and decided to write about her. Below is his story of Gwen and how much she has not only impacted our organization but those effected by the tornadoes. Thank you Gwen and Rubin for everything you have done, and Happy Birthday Gwen!

Love for People Inspires Volunteers to Help Tornado Victims

by Rubin E. Grant

Gwen Harkness looked diligently in the box for a sleeping bag, one of the items requested for victims of the April 27 tornadoes in Alabama. She grabbed a trash bag with something in it and tossed it to another woman, who tore the bag open. Inside was a large quilted comforter and Harkness told the woman to take it because the folks could use it. Moments later, a man approached Harkness with a list of things on a notepad. She hurried off with him to a waiting truck to make sure he had loaded what was needed.

Harkness is one of the many volunteers who have shown up at the Christian Service Mission on the Southside, which has been used as a supply house of food and merchandise for tornado victims. An energetic blond woman who turns 63 on May 22, Harkness arrived at CSM on April 30, the day after it began receiving donations and sending specific items to people in need around the state. “I just love helping people,” Harkness said. “I love a project. I build things. I built my granddaughter a castle and my grandson a fort.

“When I saw the damage the tornado had done, my heart went out to the people. I was so appreciative that God had spared us, so volunteering here is the least I could do. Harkness has been at CSM each day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., working as a supervisor over the clothes and bedding donations. The only day she hasn’t been at the CSM since she began volunteering was Mother’s Day. Her take-charge attitude earned her a CSM name badge, awarded by CSM executive director Tracy Hipps. “On the first day, I saw a lot of Indians and not enough chiefs,” Harkness said. “Tracy told me if I could keep the clothing department moving that would be a great load off him.” She used a little humor to explain why she’s a perfect fit for the assignment. “I’m just a loud mouth Cajun from Louisiana and we like bossing people around, so I got the right job,” she said with a laugh.

“I try to take a difficult situation and put a little humor in it,” she added. “Humor is part of the healing process from all the trauma going around.”

Harkness has had her own share of hardships. She has been a widow since 1998 after husband Carlos died of a brain tumor. The couple was married almost 28 years. She moved to Birmingham from Opelousas, La., eight years ago when her daughter Kristina O’Quinn was expecting Harkness’ first grandchild. O’Quinn and her two children, 7-year-old daughter Aine Rose and 5-year-old son Jacque, also have been at CSM volunteering, making it a family affair.

Harkness, who attends Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church, has witnessed the heart rendering impact volunteering at CSM has had on others. “One of the most moving things was a lady from Mountain Brook who came in visibly distraught,” she said. “She said I have everything, a house and cars, anything I want. To see all these people lose so much when they didn’t have anything, I need to do something. I feel so guilty. “She was crying and I put her in the toy section (to separate the toys). With every toy she picked up, she cried and said she hoped it would help. At the end of the day, she found a little toy and said, ‘Can I keep it? I want to use this as a reminder.’ ” For Harkness, showing compassion for the tornado victims by volunteering at CSM was a no-brainer. “How can you not do something?” she asked rhetorically. “If you’ve got the time, the energy and a willing spirit, you ought to be out here.”

(Rubin E. Grant is a freelance writer living in Birmingham)

Email: ruegrant@aol.com

Phone: 205-789-3343

This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon

The past few weeks has been a whirlwind, and those of you who have volunteered and helped us know about this organized chaos. Even though the storms damaged our homes and neighborhoods, they have not destroyed our spirits or communities but only strengthened them. The passage 1 Kings 19:11-12 comes to mind through

The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

It has been truly a blessing to see the outpouring of people, organizations, companies, and communities come together in this time of need and we want to thank everyone who has donated or volunteered with us. We have sent these supplies to the Birmingham area, Cordova, Pleasant Grove, Walker County, Hackleburg, Smithfield, Hueytown, Cullman, Tuscaloosa, and more. Even though we have been able there for these communities, relief efforts are needed for months. I came across a quote that perfectly coined the relief efforts--"This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon." Currently we are serving basic immediate needs, but in the coming months we will be moving to provide more long term needs.

Our mission here at Christian Service Mission is to connect resources with needs by loving, serving and investing in community relationships to meet the holistic needs of our neighbors and we have been able to carry this out in the past few weeks. We cannot take credit for all that has happened for the past few weeks, but it is all for the glory of God, and Christian Service Mission serves as an organization to carry out God's work.