Thank You, Oklahoma

Dear Friends –

Eight high school students and three adults traveled from First Presbyterian Church of Evanston to Oklahoma City for a mission trip from July 13 through 28. Our time in Oklahoma was organized by Next Step Ministries.

While there, we served at two neighborhood missions. On the northside of OKC we painted the exterior of a house associated with the Cross and Crown Mission. On the southside we worked at the Christian Service Center. It is a long, low, nondescript building with a covered front porch where neighborhood residents and homeless folks wait for the center to open. The center includes a food pantry, resale store, and prayer rooms. Our group spent two days serving with Luke, the director, and the many faithful volunteers who make the service center a vital resource for the community. The dedication of the center’s regular volunteers was particularly impressive. Many of them came with their children or grandchildren. The center is open Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for clients to come purchase clothing and household goods, most priced at one dollar or less. Clients can also pick up toiletries and snack bags and groceries. All the food items are donated by local stores. Clothing and household goods for the resale shop are donated from individuals and other agencies. The heart of the center is prayer. From 10-10:30 a.m. on the days they are open, all the volunteers stop and come to a circle of chairs. Scripture is read in English and Spanish and a devotional for the day is read. Then prayers are offered, giving thanks to God our provider and sustainer. Private prayer and counseling also take place throughout the day in prayer rooms. Each person is treated with respect, dignity, and love. Our team’s final workday of our week was spent at the church building where we had stayed. We cleaned and worked on the stucco exterior of the building.

The spiritual emphasis for the week was “Spiritual Heroes.” We used Scripture for guided personal devotions in the mornings and guided group discussions at lunch and in the evenings.

Impressions and opinions are often formed unintentionally. Oklahoma, for me, was one of those states that I didn’t know much about before I arrived. While I may have been in it before, it was likely while driving through during the night to and from Dallas back in 1972. Oklahoma City has an NBA team, and there is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical entitled ‘Oklahoma’ that has some familiar songs, but that was about the extent of my knowledge and experience regarding the state. I was curious to see what Oklahoma and its people were like.

One might think that a week is much too short a visit to make much of an impression. But here is what I saw and learned:

The geography is not the hot, dry, dusty, and bare land that I remember from history class. Our route took us over the rolling landscape that were green and lush from the spring and early summer rains. The crops looked strong and healthy with round bales dotting the large fields of cut hay. Black Angus had plenty of open space to eat and graze. The sky was big and the horizon unobstructed as it stretched all around us. It was hot the week we were there. It reached 102° on Monday but not as hot the rest of the week. The sun was intense though and most natives are not dressed to get a tan; they keep covered to avoid future melanomas.

What made the biggest impression on me was the people. Although I did not have a large variety of contact with the ‘locals’, those I did converse with were extremely friendly. Even those who were not the type to initiate a smile were certainly quick to return one. I found people at the church we stayed at willing to pause their walk to have a conversation. I offered to carry some items to the cars of elderly church members serving at their evening Vacation Bible School, and within 10 minutes I learned that Beth, a stately elderly woman pushing her walker, was serving in her 77th VBS at the church and in the area. Regina was quick to tell me she used to have a catering business. It used to fill orders feeding multiple hundreds of people, but these days it was just too much so she had needed to slow down.

Our week at the church coincided with the South Park Baptist Church VBS, held from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday through Friday. Friday evening was the program for the parents and families. They got to come hear the songs the kids had memorized, they lessons they had learned, and how Jesus was their ‘Rock’ this week. The theme, Breaker Rock Beach; God’s rock-solid truth in a world of shifting sands (from Romans 12:2) was promoted with amazing custom artworks, structures and artifacts built specially to decorate the sanctuary and lobby for the week. The pastor closed the program with a challenging message to parents and grandparents to continue the teaching the children what they had started learning during the week. He elaborated that while the world “is getting crazier more unsettled and drifting” we need to continue to teach God’s word to our kids and bring them to Jesus. Jesus is our Rock in this world of shifting sands (changing ideas, morals, and other beliefs).

This small church in the faraway state of Oklahoma made a huge impression on me. They are warm, friendly, committed and rugged. To live here you must be tough, just like the weather and terrain. But underneath the people are genuine and caring and kind.

Thank you, Oklahoma, for this week to be with you. You are much more than a recognizable piece in a jigsaw puzzle of the United States. I hope to come back one day.

Tom Klamm