Published: June 24, 2009 09:46 pm      

UM Army touching lives in Palestine

PALESTINE — Fulfilling the call of Christ to serve, the UM Army has taken that mantle this week in Palestine as they work to make the lives of area people better.

“The kids that come here do this because they love the Lord,” said Paul Amos of Kingwood, director of the local UM Army group. “The students pay to come here and be a part of this.”

There are 178 volunteers this year from Kingwood United Methodist Church near Houston. Amos said 99 of them are students and the rest are adult volunteers.

The group arrived in Palestine on Sunday and will stay and work in the area through Friday, and head back home on Saturday. While they are in town they stay at Palestine’s First United Methodist Church, and take their showers at Palestine High School after a hot, sweaty day of work in the community.

They are here, Amos said to serve, noting Christ’s words to his disciples when he said, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

While they are here they help people make their homes liveable and safe again, Amos said, but they also develop a relationship with the clients that goes beyond simple home repairs.

“We encourage the teams to build a relationship with the clients,” Amos said. “When they come here a lot of what they do is rebuilding a porch or building a (wheelchair) ramp but they are doing so much more than that. They are building a spiritual relationship with the people.

“Where else are you going to go to find high school kids willing to pay $250 to go and work like this for a week,” Amos added.

Working with, helping and serving others makes a heavy impact on the students, Amos said, noting that UM Army is just a first step, as many go further in the mission field and head to Africa and other places to offer their help in the name of Jesus Christ.

For Justin Rickerman, a 17-year-old from Kingwood, seeing and meeting other people gives him a blessing.

“I come here and see people who have so little and they are so happy, we just take so much for granted,” Rickerman said. “To see them happy with what they have is inspiring to me and teaches me a lot.”

For others, just the opportunity to serve Jesus on a real life basis with people who need it keeps them coming year after year.

“Really, Jesus is why I come back every year,” said 17-year-old Austin Beran, also in his third year working with the UM Army. “When I first decided to come I thought it was going to be a lot of fun — like going to camp. But when we would see the clients and talk and work with them, it gave me a sense of satisfaction knowing that I was serving the Lord.”

Palestine resident James Madison was benefiting from some of the work the UM Army was doing as they patched a hole in his floor and roof and did other work around his home.

“I guess I claim all of them as my children,” Madison said. “They are so much more than what I expected. I have to commend these young people and the spirit they do things in, in the name of Christ Jesus — they have truly been a blessing.”

Supporting an army is a tremendous task. Amos said the army is broken up into six fundamental areas: Administration, kitchen, safety, sites, tools and program staff — all coordinated in an effort to facilitate the work of helping people.

At the end of the week, Amos said 45 to 50 projects will have been completed in the area — with many more lives touched.

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Wayne Stewart may be contacted via e-mail at wstewart@palestineherald.com