Sharing our gifts

Sharing our gifts
It’s hard to accept God’s underserved love through grace, and we don’t have to do anything except that which makes me want to give back in return. I find it impossible to just sit back and watch things happen. If there is a need to fill, I jump in and help. That’s why I wanted to work with kids even after I retired from 34 years of teaching. Since I was young that was always my gift to share; connecting with and teaching kids things they might not always receive elsewhere.
I ended up at Hope at the Brick House and have been there for about five years. A St. Paul friend said, “I have a place for you.” It was divine intervention that led me there. It takes a lot of hands to get things done. It doesn’t just magically happen.
— Paula McPherson

In 2002, I went to a work camp on an Indian Reservation in North Dakota with a church group from our former church. That was the first time I really felt the presence of God in my life. After that experience, I started getting more involved. I know that trip sparked something special in me; it was because of those 300 kids and adults on an Indian Reservation. When I got there, I thought I’d just be working, and I was made a crew chief, leading a crew of seven kids for the week. That’s where I really saw God’s grace. I see grace often and, in many places, especially with being married to Paula, but that trip ignited something in me.
— Dave McPherson