St. Timothy Lutheran Church

It's been a little over a month since Ike rumbled through here, tearing up our property, and for many people, tearing up lives.  Even a month out, and even in our area, there is still much work left to be done, and we have many very tangible opportunities to go and serve.  In my experiences of preparing for Ike, hanging out here during the storm, and then helping people get things back together afterwards, I have thought and pondered a lot, and have learned...well, at least some, I hope.

This past Saturday, I and a few other people from St. Tim (and one guy not from St. Tim) had the privilege of cleaning up storm debris in the yard of Frank and Janie Pustka.  Frank and Janie are an elderly couple, unaffiliated with a local church congregation, and as their health is somewhat failing, along with their finances, they are unable to clean up much of the debris themselves, nor are they able to pay someone else to do it.  LINC was made aware of their situation, and connected us with the opportunity.

So we arrived, armed with rakes, a chain saw, a machete, and trashbags, and armored with work gloves and mosquito repellent.  Frank and Janie live on 3/4ths of an acre, with lots of trees, which dumped lots and lots of debris on their yard when Ike came through, and a few of them blew over.   One of the first things I noticed was that it looked like each neighbor on either side very carefully located the property line and cleaned right up to that line, and no further.  Unfortunately, this wasn't a new sight, as I'd seen this in my own neighborhood.  

While we were out on our lunch break, we picked up some potted mums and a couple of pumpkins for their patio, hoping to create at least one outdoor space that they might be able to enjoy again.  At the end of the day, we rang their doorbell to let them know that we were leaving, but that we'd be back next weekend, as there was still much to be done.  Seeing what we had done, that we, who were strangers to them, had not only cleaned up part of their yard, but had decorated their patio, and learning that we'd also be back to complete the job, Frank and Janie were overwhelmed.  They had a difficult time finding words to express their gratitude, and hugged us like we were family, in spite of our being covered in dust and sweat.

I learned a few things from this experience.  First, I learned, again, by experience, that it really and actually is true that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”  This work, and the other Ike cleanup in which I have participated, has been difficult, dusty, dirty, allergy-inducing, and sometimes painful, but there is a drive, an energy, and a joy in this work that usually isn't there when I'm doing the same kind of work for myself.  Perhaps it's because, as Jesus said, by serving Frank and Janie, I'm actually serving Him.

The other things that I learned (again), by contrast, were not so positive.  I was saddened by the fact that neither of Frank and Janie's neighbors had done anything to help clean up.  One neighbor was out mowing his lawn (with a riding mower), and so I went over to talk to him.  One of the trees that had fallen over was just on Frank and Janie's side of the property line, and so I asked him if he minded if, next weekend, a few of us were on his property, chopping up the tree.  It was painfully obvious that a voice had awakened in his head, and that it had said “you should be helping!”  He explained to me that “I would be helping, but my brother is in the hospital with a staph infection, and I had to clean up my property from Ike, and I've got enough problems of my own.”  Selfishness is alive and well.

Frank and Janie's other words to us were a sad commentary on Christianity as it exists here.  Among their words of gratitude, one particular phrase jumped out: “I didn't know there were people like you in the world.”  

Houston is saturated with Christians, who, according to the Bible, should be known by their love (John 13:35, 1 John, 4:7), out of which we take action (1 John 3:18).  Were this an isolated incident, it could be dismissed as naivety, but I have heard these kinds of words many times, both anecdotally and personally.  Houston is home to several megachurches, including the largest megachurch in America, as well as a great many smaller churches, but apparently, Biblical Christianity is not alive and well in Houston.  It's time for a change.