Bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’”

Every year Resurrection collects Christmas gifts to bless the kids of families in Belair-Edison, a neighborhood in Baltimore. This year an emphasis was put on creating deeper relationships with those families. Each family was assigned someone from Resurrection to get in touch with them specifically and not only ask them what toys and clothes they wanted, but ask them if there was something they needed prayer for and to pray with them if they felt comfortable.

Jack Grubbs is the staff member liaison to the volunteer-led Faithworks team which heads up the Christmas gift drive and the other ministry partnerships in Baltimore. “Faithworks is a catalyst at Resurrection to help members of our church family meet and build relationships with people, particularly in Baltimore city. In addition to giving help and support where needed, we want to become friends and walk together as we discover the immense love Jesus has for all of us,” he explains.

Tara Boucher agreed to contact a family for the Christmas gift drive and sent a text to Eve*, a single mother of two children.  Eve texted back that she would like to talk on the phone and two hours later Tara and Eve hung up, having shared a lifetime of stories between them. “I kept trying to guide the conversation back to what kinds of toys her kids wanted, but an hour into the conversation I realized that Eve wanted someone to talk to. I realized God was doing something and I better quiet down and get out of the way.”

“I didn’t expect a stranger to open up about such personal things. I hung up and said ‘Oof, she will be on my heart for a very long time.’”  

One thing that Eve shared with Tara was that her son Michael* needed a bed. “I just couldn’t stop thinking that getting a bed is something that could be done immediately,” Tara said.

Tara spoke with Jack Grubbs and Regina Martin, who was organizing the Christmas gift drive, and they were able to get a bed to Michael by contacting Michelle Chase, a friend of Eve’s and Resurrection’s partner in serving Belair-Edison. Michelle located a  bed and brought it over to their home.

Tara painting Michael's room

Meanwhile, Reba Scharff was buying gifts for another family. She was told about Eve and said she felt a tug to do more. After the bed was found for Michael, Reba and Tara asked each other, “Why don’t we remake the whole room”? Together, Tara and Reba spent the next several weekends cleaning, painting, getting a rug, and putting up curtains and posters. Kate Valdez heard what they were doing and donated critical items such as a rug, hamper, pillows, and a trash can.

Before or after working they would pray together with Eve and Michael in the room. Tara recalled, “The time together kept not really being about the room. We were just connecting and talking as moms. We were able to be two girlfriends that Eve could share things with, such as what it’s like to be the mom of a stinky teenage boy.”

Reba said “I knew God had his hand on this from the start. He put all the pieces into place and encouraged us along the way. We immediately felt comfortable with Eve and Michael. We could joke with them the instant we met them and felt like we had always known them. It could have been awkward but it wasn’t.”

Tara brought her daughter, Josie, along with her sometimes and Josie and Michael would play video games in the room next door while Reba and Tara worked. Tara remembers, “They would make a crazy amount of noise laughing, yelling at the T.V., just being kids. They had known each other for a mere thirty seconds and they were already friends. Two kids and two families coming together to help each other and share their joy. That is a picture of the Kingdom.”

Reba said “The last thing we did in the house was say a prayer in Michael’s new room. I remember because I cried and Michael so sweetly got me a tissue.” After they prayed Eve told them that they were family now.

Tara admits “To be honest, it feels odd to share this experience publicly because this is not a project or a box to check off. Eve is our friend and we just continue to love her and she loves us.”

If you want to get involved in serving with Res in Baltimore, contact Jack Grubbs at [email protected].

*People’s names have been changed to respect their privacy.

Michael's finished room