VOL .  20,  No. 8     *     A Publication of W. Jim Britt Ministries, Inc.     *     August  2010

Missions: From a New Perspective!

             As most of you know, I have been involved in mission work for over thirty years.  This ministry has taken me throughout the United States and over fifty countries.   However, this month, I want to share an article from a brother who recently went on his FIRST mission trip.  He is a very special person to Judi and I and we have grown to know him and love him dearly since he married our daughter, Heather, last December.  His name is Tim Brown, and he has worked in Law enforcement for most of his adult life, and by the way, been very successful at it. 

             Tim, and our two teen-age grandsons, Zach and Steven, recently went to New Orleans with a group from their church to do construction work and minister to the homeless in the French Quarter.   It was a life-changing experience for each of them!  In the article that follows, Tim shares a few of his thoughts regarding the trip:

                   My name is Tim Brown. I am the very blessed man to win Heather’s heart, I just didn’t know how blessed until recently. I never thought about going on a mission trip until I heard Heather and Dr. Britt talking about their trips. I began praying and asked God if it was for me. Then our church decided to go on a mission trip to New Orleans and God showed me I was to go.  I knew that some youth were going too, so I asked if my two oldest sons could go. They could, so that was something we could share together.  I learned we would paint, hang sheetrock, and do tile work. I thought “great, of all things, PAINT! I hate painting.”  But God had led me to go so I did. 

                   At church Pastor Scott kept talking about the trip being an “eye opening experience.” I really didn’t know what to expect. The first day we worked on a woman’s house that got damaged in hurricane Katrina. She had not lived in the house for 5 years. She was living in a camper in her front yard that the government had furnished her. It was heart-warming knowing that we were there helping this woman, someone that we had never met before.  That, in itself, was enough to warm even the hardest of hearts. But that night was when God really touched me. The other thing Pastor Scott talked about was our “comfort zone,” and little did I know that God was about to take me way out of “my comfort zone.”

                   You see, I am a Sergeant for the Clayton Police Department. I talk to strangers all the time. Some of the people at that moment are at their lowest of lows. I have gone into houses, woods, and cars to get people out, and never thought anything about it. I have had to deal with people with guns, and I just did it. I was scared but I didn’t feel out of my comfort zone. I think the reason was because I had my training and my duty gear, and God was always there whether I knew it or not.  But this trip was something different.

                   The task that night was to just hand one homeless person a bottle of water. Sounds simple doesn’t it? We got out of the van and walked till we found someone sitting around. It didn’t take long. And when you saw them you knew that they were homeless. It took me a while to get the courage to hand a bottle out. I remember walking up to this black man and asking him if he wanted a bottle of water. His name was Bryer. He simply said “yes” and grabbed the bottle from me. MAN what a peace came over me! God tested me and I did what He asked of me. What a joy I got from Him just by doing something as simple as giving out water. I felt so good I gave another man a bottle of water and if I’d had a case of water I would have given every one of them out. 

                   Riding back to the bunkhouse, there was not much talking going on. We had devotion that night to hear how we had touched some of the people. It was mostly the youth that talked. I remember getting in the shower later and crying like a baby. My emotions were so high I could not handle it. I had both tears of joy and heartache because I could not do more. That was just the first night.

                   On Wednesday we met the woman that owned the house we were working on. Her name was Karen. I remember how grateful she was when I met her. She was very humble and so happy for us to be there. The smile on her face was so bright and sincere. It is truly a blessing to give in the name of the Lord and see the joy that people get out of it. 

                   That night we made 32 bag lunches before church, and went back to the homeless. I went up to this black man sitting with his back against a bridge. He had his hat in his hand. He looked to be a fit man. I asked him his name and if he would like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. His name was Donald. He stated that he used to work for a moving company but was laid off. He said that he had been on the streets for about 3 months. I asked him if there was anything he wanted us to pray for him about. All he said was he wanted a job. I told him that I would pray. Please keep him in your prayers.  Donald said that there was another man down from him he wanted us to see. He was very adamant for us to stay away from this one dark area nearby though because we would be putting our lives in danger if we went in there. I thought that it was very awesome that here he was with nothing but the clothing on his back and he was worried about us. That just goes to show that you never know someone’s heart until you talk with them.

                   God touched me on this trip and I have gotten closer to Him.  I can’t wait to see what God has before me and I can’t wait to go. I prayed and told God that if He leads me I will follow. God took care of me on this trip, and there was so much to be done that I didn’t have to paint! But if all I had to do was paint I would have painted her whole house and loved every minute of it because God led me there.

                   I know now that where He leads me, that’s what He needs me to do. I thank God for loving me and blessing me and my family. I don’t know why He has taken such good care of me because I don’t deserve it. But, He knew that I would finally open my eyes and see that He has a plan for me. It took the love of a great woman, her family, and my father’s prayers that I would find the right woman.  God loved me so much that he did what Dad asked of Him.

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A Sermon in a Sentence!

     “Why are we not judged by God as soon as we die?  Because our influence (good or bad) does not cease when we die, but continues for many years.”                   Dr. W.A. Criswell, Pastor