Unemployment is a real stress factor for most people. Due to COVID-19 the loss of jobs in 2020 swelled to more than 14 million Americans. It has shot up from 3.8% in February to 13% in May according to Pew Research Center, and I’m sure those numbers are growing. Most Americans cannot afford to live on one income and the situation can be catastrophic and unnerving.
I lost my job even before COVID-19 became an issue. Last October the company I was working for told me that they were doing a re-organization and no longer would be employing an HR Manager. They stated these duties would be outsourced. However, the week before, my boss had given me a written warning on some truly made up issues. These were things we could have easily discussed. I supposed she was trying to cover her bases. To top it off, the contractor she hired was a friend of hers. Needless to say, I was very upset. This was not the first time I had lost a job due to “reorganization,” and it is never easy to swallow. However, my husband has a good paying job and this helped with the stress level moving forward.
The down time from a 40-hour a week job gave me an opportunity to take care of some medical issues, clean out my storage room and closets, and learn some new vegan recipes. Boredom and isolation began to set in as I am used to a very busy schedule. Every day I did my hour of bible study and prayer, pleading with the Lord to give me a “calling.” I’d go on my three mile walks and discuss this with Him explained that I didn’t want to work in the secular world anymore and that I wanted a “calling.”
Nothing happened. Months past and I continue my discussion with the Lord. The angry thoughts about losing my job kept creeping in. I didn’t know what to do with them but knew that they would only make me bitter. As I was praying, the Lord instructed me to pray for my boss every time one of these entered my mind. Her salvation was much more important to focus on than the wrong she had done to me. As Matthew 5:44 tells us:
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
Not only did I pray for her, I started praying for everyone who had been in the office with me. I also kept praying for God to use me whether it would be in small ways or big ways. I was His vessel.
The first part of July, my husband and I went to the camp meeting at Red River Outpost Center near Stanton, Kentucky. This was a double treat since our son also worked there. One of the speakers was Gabriel McClover. He and his wife, Vonnell, along with five children, own a vegan restaurant called the Vineyard just north of Atlanta. He spoke about his passion to spread the health message through a community outreach program called the “10-Day Challenge.” That weekend they fed some of their wonderful food to 200 camp meeting attendees. I was privileged to help them serve on Sabbath. Little did I know I would be working with them again very soon.
A few weeks later, the McClovers were asked to come to the Black Hills Health and Wellness Center (BHHWC) near Rapid City, South Dakota, to train the staff on the 10-Day Challenge and sign up participants from the community. They also planned to offer 2-Day detoxes and a free cooking school. This is a unique program as two meals a day are brought to a home, an in-home cooking class is held to teach them how to make the vegan food, and a trip to the grocery store helps them find the products they will need on this new health journey. Through my son, Robert, and a series of God-ordained circumstances, I was told that they needed volunteers to help out with this community outreach.
Of course, I knew this was my “calling.” I answered with a quick YES and was on the road the next day for the 8 ½ hour trip to BHHWC. With this being my first ever mission trip, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I quickly discovered that God had sent me to a true sanctuary. The setting of the Center was breathtakingly beautiful. There were lofty red-soiled cliffs, babbling brooks, scenic overviews, and flourishing houses and farms along dirt covered roads. We enjoyed early morning walks in the cool air.
However, the days in the commercial kitchen were long. They varied from 8-9 hours to one of almost 15 hours. Our group shared the responsibilities of washing, peeling, grating, blending, chopping, seasoning, cooking, baking, etc. Whatever Vonnell needed us to get done, we got it done. We laughed and sang our way through sweet potatoes, breads, salads, soups, grains, and puddings. I’m amazed we didn’t wear out the commercial dishwashing machine with the amount of dirty dishes we accumulated! We were even able to help the BHHWC cooks prepare food for 60 Maranatha volunteers who were to arrive the day after the Challenge ended.
Liz was one of the participants who signed up for the detox and the 10-Day Challenge. Last year she had a double mastectomy and hysterectomy along with chemo treatments. She was ready to get her life back on track and restore her energy. It was a joy holding the cooking class in her beautiful home and teaching her that vegan food is not hard to prepare. She was all smiles when we left.
As a treat, we were chauffeured by a BHHWC staff member to take a little break from our work and do some sightseeing. I had been to Mt. Rushmore before as a child, but not Crazy Horse. A Sabbath afternoon drive through Custer State Park was also fun.
Here are some of the things I learned:
· God wants to use us and always hears our prayers when we say, “Here am I, Lord – use me.”
· He equips us for doing the mission.
· The days are long and exhausting but the Lord sustains us.
· People you meet are forever treasures.
· Things don’t always go as planned.
· Sometimes there are disappointments, but God does not send us on a mission to fail.
· There are little surprises that are welcomed and unexpected.
· His angels are watching over us as we travel to do His work.
· We never go home unchanged.
Ellen White writes in “A Call to Medical Evangelism and Health Education” the following,
“We must educate, educate, educate, pleasantly and intelligently. We must preach the truth, pray the truth, and live the truth, bringing it, with its gracious, health-giving influences within the reach of those who know it not. As the sick are brought into touch with the Life-giver, their faculties of mind and body will be renewed.” P. 262
I didn’t go home unchanged. During that two-week time period, I knew the Lord had a purpose for me learning the things I did at BHHWC. I’ve come back with a renewed interest in health ministry. I’m offering the 2-Day Detox to my friends and family and also reaching out to my neighborhood community to conduct vegan cooking classes. When the body is healthy and the mind is cleared, the voice of the Holy Spirit can be better heard and understood.
So here are my challenge questions: Are you willing to be employed by the Lord? Are you praying for Him to use you? I pray you will answer YES as I did and GO.
****