Like all of us, I will never forget “snowmageddon” in February of 2021. As long as I live, I will remember the hundreds of Beltway people who kept showing up to our buildings without being asked to care for the sometimes up to 700 people residing in our buildings (along with just as many dogs, cats, iguanas and guinea pigs). I saw people not forcing themselves to care for people but living from a love that obviously flowed from deep within. I’ll never forget the story of on one of our local news sites.
An 81-year-old man in Abilene says Beltway Church and the National Guard saved his life after his power went out during February’s winter storm. “How can you say, ‘Thank you,’ to people like that?” said Leon Jacobson. Jacobson called our newsroom, angry that he’d missed our previous story about the good things happening at Beltway during the February freeze. He says he didn’t feel like anyone was thanking them for saving his life during the winter storm“I did not see anyone saying anything about them people and how great they were,” said Jacobson.
But I can tell you that not one person who helped care for people was at all concerned if we got enough credit or not. The people I watched that week just wanted people to know how much Jesus loved them.
I’ll never forget Laura’s story who reached out to us after she participated in our service online. Some of our people reached out to her, and then then the word started spreading.
WOOHOO!!!!!! Laura just had the most powerful conversion. She accepted Jesus for the first time and made Him her Lord and Savior. I will see her on Tuesday, give her a Bible and help her in her next steps with Him. God is SOOO GOOD!!!
I’ll never forget a woman who wrote in, telling us she was struggling from deep depression after the birth of her child. She prayed, asking God to please do something.
Suddenly I heard a knock on my door about 5 minutes later. Annoyed, I got up from my couch and set the baby in his swing and answered the door assuming it was an unexpected visitor friend who didn’t call before coming over. Teary eyed trying to hide my mood I opened the door and said hello. Shocked I looked at my door step to see 3 adults and two toddlers standing there. They greeted me and handed me some snacks and began to explain that they were from a local church (I started to assume they were just going to tell me about an event or ask for donations/ they never mentioned what church at first) but then they explained they were going door to door and asking if they could pray for people. I was fighting back my tears and muttered “yes you can”. When they asked what they could pray for.. all I could get out is that I just had a baby. I was too embarrassed to share the depth of depression I was dealing with. So they prayed over me and I held their hands and tried not to cry so they wouldn’t think I’m some weirdo. They handed me a gift bag and left. I walked inside and looked down at the gift bag that hand a sucker and a church pamphlet and it said beltway on the pamphlet and I just cried in awe of God. How could it be that I said that prayer and the church that I go to almost every Sunday is the group of people at my front door minutes later praying over me.
I’ll never forget watching so many people confessing Jesus in baptism. I’ll never forget all our people going into neighborhoods to serve and share the love of Jesus. I’ll never forget the generosity of our people that not only empowered us to serve in the Big Country but allowed us to be a part of God’s work all over the world.
The numbers below represent an attempt to show some of what God did in 2021 through Beltway. But numbers mean nothing unless we always remember:
Every number has a name, every name has a destiny, and every destiny matters to God.
I’ll never forget 2021 because I saw again and again our God do amazing work through His people to show His love to the people of the Big Country and around the world!