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St. Luke's United Methodist Church
My prayers were answered!
A few months later, the life shaking event happened. We lost Michael (the kids father). Having this church by our sides was exactly what our family needed.
That's just a small bit of my testimony, that God really does answer prayer and he does provide everything that you need.
Here at St Luke's you can tell that we are all in this together and that is why we are wanting to join the church today.
Six members of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church of Maryville, IL and a volunteer from Ohio returned to Maryville on Sunday, February 25th from a mission trip to Vidor, Texas. “It was a great experience for us and for the family we assisted,” said Andy McKellar, Community Emergency Response Team Trainer and trip coordinator.
McKellar explained that he and his wife Dannette used to live in Texas and when he saw the devastation that occurred there during Hurricane Harvey he felt compelled to organize a team to help those impacted by Harvey.
The team of seven worked to replace insulation, hang dry wall, mud and tape dry wall and clean up some outside areas of a four bedroom home in Vidor, Texas.
“We were so happy to be able to put this family closer to moving back into their home,” said McKellar. “They have been living in a small travel trailer in front of their home for the past six months and trying to juggle jobs and home repair during this time. They were so appreciative of our time and work and couldn’t believe that we would travel from Illinois to help out in Texas.”
McKellar said team members all expressed what a blessing it was to be able to help the family and experience the feeling of accomplishing something very worthwhile.
Note: This blog is from a press release, and was previously published in the Troy Times Tribune Newspaper
At the end of January 2017, a lady who was very important to me passed away very unexpectedly. The news of her passing hurt even more because I had just had the opportunity to see her a few weeks prior and I let my life get in the way of seeing her. I knew there was no way I would miss her wake.
The night that I walked through those doors at church, the Holy Spirit instantly spoke to me. It wasn’t like we were sitting there having a conversation; it was a completely overwhelming feeling of, ‘Son, you need this place. It’s time for you to come home.’ The message was so clear to me that I instantly listened and went back to church the next Sunday.
While I stopped following Christ, I dealt with some pretty tough hardships. I would look at them and say, ‘Really God? Why me? If you love me as I have always been taught, why can’t you make my life easy?’ Now I realize that I should have been asking God to help me deal with the challenges. Since I figured out to ask God to help me find the answers to my problems, my life has been changed for the better.
Recently, I was having a bad day and I came home grumpy. I decided the best thing to do was get in bed, pout like a child and listen to some “church songs” as my kids call them. It’s clear to me that God has a sense of humor because as I lay there pouting and asking God what I needed to do, he instantly answered my prayer. My daughter Keylie came in, threw a package on my chest and said, ‘Here Daddy! You got this in the mail today.’ I opened the package from a good friend of mine to find a daily devotional. When I turned the pages, my answer was there in bold letters – keep praying.
If you feel you are missing something in your life or are dealing with hardships, give it over to God. If you want change in your life, God will help you find the answers. Feel free to reach out to me if you need someone to pray with you or for you. I’d love for you to come visit our church. I know what an impact it can make on your life because I’ve seen it in my own. Coming “home” again has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
My prayers were answered!
A few months later, the life shaking event happened. We lost Michael (the kids father). Having this church by our sides was exactly what our family needed.
That's just a small bit of my testimony, that God really does answer prayer and he does provide everything that you need.
Here at St Luke's you can tell that we are all in this together and that is why we are wanting to join the church today.
Six members of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church of Maryville, IL and a volunteer from Ohio returned to Maryville on Sunday, February 25th from a mission trip to Vidor, Texas. “It was a great experience for us and for the family we assisted,” said Andy McKellar, Community Emergency Response Team Trainer and trip coordinator.
McKellar explained that he and his wife Dannette used to live in Texas and when he saw the devastation that occurred there during Hurricane Harvey he felt compelled to organize a team to help those impacted by Harvey.
The team of seven worked to replace insulation, hang dry wall, mud and tape dry wall and clean up some outside areas of a four bedroom home in Vidor, Texas.
“We were so happy to be able to put this family closer to moving back into their home,” said McKellar. “They have been living in a small travel trailer in front of their home for the past six months and trying to juggle jobs and home repair during this time. They were so appreciative of our time and work and couldn’t believe that we would travel from Illinois to help out in Texas.”
McKellar said team members all expressed what a blessing it was to be able to help the family and experience the feeling of accomplishing something very worthwhile.
Note: This blog is from a press release, and was previously published in the Troy Times Tribune Newspaper