The Word perseveres

Arriving to Iowa in July, I could tell the members of Good Shepherd had a lot on their minds. They had been through a lot the past few years.

In 2018, they had to make the difficult decision to close their school. The following year, the Lord answered their prayers for a pastor, giving them Rev. Billy King. In 2020, their mission in North Liberty finally started moving forward when it was approved to receive funding from WELS Home Missions. March threw them a curveball, like every other congregation, in the form of a virus. Even though this meant not meeting together for a while, it did not stop them from going forward with their plans.

All of that came to a halt on August 10^th, 2020. A land hurricane (I later found out the correct term was a “Derecho”) swept through Iowa with only one thing on its’ mind – destruction. The whole city seemed to be without power and trapped because of all the trees on the ground. Everyone raced to the stores to buy up the last of the generators. The church building was damaged, members’ properties were ruined, and no one knew who was safe.

I heard all of this, but it was hard to believe because everything looked in order when I arrived. Yes, there were some trees missing and each member had their own account of what happened, but it looked like a regular church to me. What I loved to hear, were all the different stories of how the Lord blessed them in their recovery. The Good Shepherd family grew stronger and closer together through all of this.

Although the church and the community may have thought this was the end, God has used it for a new beginning. A year later, almost everything is back to the way it was. The church building and most homes are repaired, but I get reminded of what happened every time I see a tree stump or an empty lot where I knew a building use to be.

But all this has not stopped God’s mission. Services are regaining their numbers at both campuses. Bible studies are becoming more and more well-attended. We at Good Shepherd are planning to hold all of our regular events and hopefully add a few more. The mission in North Liberty has not been forgotten in all of this. We are all getting on the same page in order to move forward. Members are moving forward from the past and help in our efforts to serve the community.

This summer has especially been filled with mission efforts for Good Shepherd. We had a great group of volunteers come down to North Liberty and hang door hangers inviting people to worship and come to our Summer Baseball Camp. A group from Lakeside Lutheran High School came down to help teach the kids baseball basics. Another successful event was our Vacation Bible School. Children came and discovered the many wonders of our Lord in God’s Wonder Lab. We even had a small group begin meeting to play disc golf.

It is hard to not hold onto the past and have it not affect your present or future plans. Our plans and expectations may fail but the perseverance of God’s Word will never end. Whether storm or flood, war or famine, “the Word of the Lord remains forever (1 Peter 1:25).”

Written by Rev. Lucas Callies, home missionary at Good Shepherd in Cedar Rapids and North Liberty, Iowa.

 

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