Looking back on 10 years - What have we learned (part 2)

LHCC celebrated its ten-year anniversary this past month. Perhaps you noticed and have seen the social media posts and videos of what our families and children have shared about their experiences.

It has been a blast! God has blessed our ministry abundantly this past decade. In this the second of three anniversary installments, we reflect upon all that the Lord has done, and our key learnings. What have we learned in ten years as a ministry serving the diaspora of Hispanic and Asian families who settle in Charlotte? It is indeed a united nations of people groups residing here and seeking to find a future world to raise their children.

Here are our core takeaways from serving the people that God has placed in our path:

1.  We are a ministry that cares more for people than we do programs. It’s family. It feels like we function best when we are present, always seeking to learn from our neighbors and finding common ground. We have as much to gain as those we serve. We call it exquisite mutuality. The ballroom is the place of exquisite mutuality. Let me explain …

2.  Developing authentic relationships with children is easy. Fostering deeper relationships with adults, who often seem to live in the shadows, takes time, and sacrifice on our part, but it’s truly worth the effort when you see the results and transformation in the lives of our neighbors. We call this kinship. Unleashing the power of unexpected relationships. When the feeling’s mutual, we are seized by a tenderness that elevates us to the very largeness of God. As Christians, we want to bridge the gap that exists between people. Even in service, there is a distance. “Service provider … service recipient” Service is where we begin, yet it remains the hallway that leads to the ballroom., the place of exquisite mutuality.

3.  Parental involvement in their children’s education is key to their future and well-being. We cannot want for their kids what they cannot associate with. They must want for them more than we do.

4.  We do best when we refer to our LHCC participants as LHCC family and encourage social bonds between adults and children alike. After all, these are the only family many of them will ever have this side of the border. And probably this side of heaven…

LHCC will continue to strive to be the hands and feet of Jesus for as long as families are resettling in our community, and we have the discernment, human and financial resources to address their needs in an authentic manner.

We’ll be back in about two weeks with our third installment about what we believe the Lord has in store for the LHCC family and ministry in the near future.

Until next time,

I am,

Brent Morris

August 12, 2022

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Looking back on 10 years!