The small but amazing Servant Event team of three from St. John Lutheran Church in Green Valley, Illinois were a perfect example of what can be accomplished with willing hearts and eager hands.

Pat and Dan work together to roll up the chain link fence removed from around Building #3

Despite their small number, they worked hard to accomplish small, and big, repairs throughout the hundred plus year old Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) campus.

“We’ve been coming for years,” Pat shared on their last day before heading off to the airport, “We’ve done house builds, and although our team was so small, not coming to YLM was not an option.”  This team knew they could make a big difference despite their small number.

Don and Pat getting the circular saw ready to cut into the kitchen floor

And what a difference that was!  The Dormitory Hall has all new vent covers, all furnaces were checked and filters replaced, and the repairs and renovation for Building #3 have gotten a little further ahead.

Last November, the MOST Ministry group gutted the bathroom, replacing the water heater, floor tiles, toilet and sink, as well as tearing up the carpet in the two small bedrooms.  This team helped create a more open and welcoming exterior by removing the chain link fence, practicing good stewardship by repairing boarded up areas of the outer fence with the removed fence.  They then dedicated three days to the arduous work of tearing up the uneven kitchen floor.

Dan and Don hard at work tearing up the kitchen floor

With each Servant Event team willing to dedicate time, effort, and funds into the repair of this little building, God’s blessings will accumulate within its walls for its future inhabitant.

“We’re wanting to use it as a private residence for a music intern or mission pastor,” Rev Dr. Karl Heimer, CEO of YLM and pastor at San Pablo Lutheran Church, shared in regards to the plans for the little house, “Without funds to repair it, we are truly grateful for the Servant Event teams, and their church families, who decide to bless us with their hard work and generous support.”

As fellow brothers and sisters in Christ choose to dedicate their hard work to improve YLM’s historical campus, it becomes even more special as many hands, hearts, and one faith come together to impact the people coming into this blessed place to encounter the mercy and grace of God through simple acts of kindness.

Thank you Don, Pat, Dan and St. John Lutheran Church for your dedicated support of God’s work at YLM!