Happy Birthday. Happy New Year. Happy UM ARMY. :)

          This past week has been full of excitement.

          On December 29, my blog turned 1 year old. Over the course of the year, I posted 33 blogs, had 2,529 pageviews, and had readers from 10 different countries. I've made it further than I thought I could in a year and I can't wait to see how my blog will continue to grow. I can't thank my readers enough for helping me get where I am now. 

          January 1 was the start of a new year. And i believe I ended 2015 and began 2016 in the best way possible. 

          I spent the past 7 days at UM ARMY. For those of you who don't know, UM ARMY stands for United Methodist Action Reach-Out Mission by Youth. High school and college students and adults spend a week going into communities to work on projects at the houses of people who can't fix the problems themselves or don't have the money to do so. 

          My shower home family brought something to my mind one night that I had never really thought about. Their grandchildren were staying with them for a few days and they were explaining to the kids why were we showering in their home. The man explained what UM ARMY is and that we paid to come work on sites for free. The granddaughter was a little shocked at that one. WE PAID TO COME WORK. How crazy does that sound? But it's more then just replacing a water damaged ceiling for an older lady in the town. There was never one time this week that I didn't feel God's presence. He was there in worship. He was there in our lunch devotionals. He was there in our shower homes. He was there in our work sites. Even when I was tired and ready to go home, God was there. God was everywhere. It sounds crazy that we pay to work, but we really don't pay for our work. We pay to come to a camp to serve others, to share God's love, to build relationships with each other. 

          UM ARMY is life changing- for the client and for the worker. On client night, a cancer survivor told how she was able to come to church because of a ramp the workers had built, and without it, she wouldn't have been able to be in the church that night. Another team's client was living in a small portable building most likely smaller than your own bedroom. That was all he had. The team built an extension on to the building which included a toilet, sink, shower, and closet. That man couldn't help but smile when he saw the blessing that UM ARMY had given him. There is no better feeling than knowing something you did affected someone in a way that little else could. These people will never forget what the teams completed in their homes. 

          On New Years Eve, we spent the last minutes of the year worshipping God and began the new year in the same way. We had a midnight worship service and it was one I will never forget. We ended the old praising and serving our Lord and we began the new praising and completing what we started. I honestly can't think of any way that could have been better. 

          This year I hope you can be the light in someone else's life. Step out of your comfort zone and go help somebody who needs you. You may not see them yet, but there is always someone for you to bring out of the darkness.