When I returned in August after being away from the building for almost three weeks (to Christian Community Camp in Colorado and then a few days of vacation) I had over 1,200 emails. Granted, lots of those were junk email but there were lots that weren’t. It took me a couple of days to make my way through them…and I’m still not completely sure I did that very effectively. Among those emails was one that brought me to tears in my office – “happy tears” as my daughter and I call them.

If you’ll recall, this summer we hosted a mission group from Louisville, Kentucky as part of our pilot summer for MissionKC. Our hope is that we can be a mission station to send people out in our city each summer to serve and get to know the wonderful people who live in Northeast KC. I try hard. I do what I can to make sure things are always ready. But the reality is none of us ever really know if what we’re doing is making a difference. Until we get an email with this attached…

Dear Grace United Community Ministries,

My name is Lily Breitenstein. I am a high schooler from Middletown Christian Church. This summer I went on a mission trip to Kansas City. I had the opportunity to work with your ministry. I helped with your children’s summer program and I thought what you were doing was amazing! I don’t want to see what you are doing stop. I decided to do a little fundraiser for your ministry by making and selling homemade suckers at my church. I was surprised by how many people at my church wanted to help. I am donating all of my profits to you, I know it isn’t much but I wanted to help in any way that I could.

Sincerely,

Lily Breitenstein
How cool is that?

-Monica