SERVE Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Recently Dick and I were part of a team from Greencastle Baptist Church who participated in the SERVE Wilkes-Barre/Scranton missions weekend. Partnered with the Baptist Resource Network and the Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief, 500 volunteers descended on the area to minister to first responders, nurses, and veterans, and to help a Spanish-speaking church plant reach out into their neighborhood to share the Gospel.

The team we joined up with made hundreds of bead and rawhide “Witness Bracelets” like the one in the picture. Our team then divided up into groups of 3-4, with at least one Spanish speaking person in each group. As we walked the streets, we passed them out to anyone the Lord put in our path who was willing to listen as we explained what each bead meant:

Yellow: Heaven is God’s holy home. (Revelation 21:22)

Black: Everyone sins and is far away from God. (Romans 3:23)

Red: Jesus died on the cross as payment for our forgiveness. (Romans 6:23)

White: Jesus blood cleanses us from sin (1 John 1:7)

Green: We need to grow in grace and knowledge of God. (2 Peter 3:18)

Through the efforts of all the teams, 24 people came to know Jesus during the SERVE Wilkes Barre/Scranton missions outreach! So awesome! Hundreds of people were prayed for and invited to Christ-centered events and churches. We pray that the spiritual seeds that were planted will be watered and nurtured by the Holy Spirit.

This mission opportunity showed me that I need to work on my face-to-face witness to others. While it’s easy to talk about Jesus on this blog, it’s not so easy one-on-one.

If you ever get the chance to participate in a community outreach to share the gospel and pray with others, I urge you to do so. I guarantee you will come away with new insights and a sense of awe at what God can do when we are willing to step out in faith.

Be encouraged!

©2025 Pamela D. Williams

Step by Step

We are having our kitchen countertop and sink replaced. Our house was built in the early 90’s and has had very few updates, so it was time to make a few changes.

We contacted a local company who they sent a man to give us an estimate. It was reasonable so we gave them the go-ahead. A week later a different fellow arrived to make a template. A third man spent an entire morning leveling up the cupboards that the countertop sits on. Next two other fellows installed the countertop. The next day a guy and his apprentice hooked up the plumbing. Two days ago, a guy came to install the backsplash but it had been cut wrong so he is coming back today to install the new one. I didn’t realize it would take seven steps and seven different men—each one building on the work of the one who were there before them—to reach the goal.

The countertop process reminded me of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, 10-11. “I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds. For there can be no other foundation but Christ.”

When we share Jesus with someone, we want them to accept Him immediately. But we may be just one step in a series of steps that God has in place to reach that person. We are to do our part, like the different jobs each man did to install our countertops. That part may be at the beginning, like the template-maker, while other times it is in the middle, like the leveler. Occasionally, we are like the one adding the last bit of backsplash to complete our beautiful kitchen transformation.

Sometimes we lay the first foundation of faith in Jesus and other times we are privileged to pray with someone as they admit they are a sinner and experience the beauty of a life changed by inviting Jesus in. We must be sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit in the person’s life and not push for our own agenda. As Paul said, “It is God who makes things grow.”

Be encouraged!

   ©2025 Pamela D. Williams