An (Unexpected) Moment of Grace

         -A Conversation of Grace

We had fun and worked hard that week in Biloxi, MS, on a hurricane Katrina relief trip in 2006. Honestly – I was sore and swollen, but determined that nothing would stop my contribution. After all, that's what it was all about, right? Being God's servant by doing! Hard work, determination – sheet rock that house. Keep working, and don't think - it's the right thing to do! It's about paying back, and not about what we might receive! Then, on that last day – IT WAS FINISHED! The last of the sheetrock was up! Our team was tired, but it was finished! We all hoped we'd made a difference. We weren’t looking for any gifts.

Our Lord had another plan for me. Strangely, I felt drawn to Lee Pearson. Lee is the patriarch of the family. We gathered on the front porch of this house that had been flooded and totally stripped inside after the 26 foot storm surge ravished their one story home in the fall of 2005. As we gathered with Lee and his family, I looked up to say goodbye. And although I was looking at Lee, suddenly I realized I was not looking at the double amputee, the retired policeman, the father. There before me through the grace of the Holy Spirit, I glimpsed the eyes of our Lord looking back at me. Suddenly, the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ was alive within me, and I was ABLAZE, touched by this Moment of Grace.

Like Christ's conversation with Nicodemis [John 3:8], the Spirit had blown through me, connecting my head and my heart to be born anew. A gift beyond imagining! And then I started to cry – I can't explain why. That moment is captured in this photo, as I touched Lee's shoulder. I had to turn away as I fumbled my good-bye.

For an instant I had felt the rustle of the Holy Spirit and glimpsed heaven - in an unlikely place, the eyes of Lee Pearson in Biloxi, Mississippi – blessed by the grace of God. It is a gift of grace He showers on all believers who confess and call upon His name.

An Invitation:
The week of June 24-30, 2007, members of Our Savior's Way Lutheran Church and our sister congregations in Circuit 9 will return to Biloxi, MS. If you'd like to work and make a contribution to rebuilding this devastated area, families in Biloxi still need your help. Please join us! Simply contact Steve King by email at and tell us you want to go. We will put you on our reservation list, and exchange more information. But time is short to finalize accommodations, so please pray about this invitation, and then follow your heart.

Do you have a personal witnessing experience you would like to share with others? Please contact Martie Dunnett, Pay Sheehy, or Bill Pfancuff.