On Maundy Thursday, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. Jesus then instructed them, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

In her bible study “A Woman’s Heart, God’s Dwelling Place”, Beth Moore lists seven reasons we have difficulty following this command of Jesus.

• We don’t know who we are. Most Christians do not have the confidence in Christ to humble themselves.
• We don’t want to leave the table. We fear that we will lose what is familiar to us and are unable to get outside our comfort zones.
• We would have to lay aside our outer garments. We would have to make ourselves vulnerable.
• Our pitchers are empty. When we fail to be filled, we have nothing to pour out for others.
• We do not like feet. They are smelly and ugly. It would be easier to help people if they just stayed behind their sparkling facades.
• We’d have to get on our knees. I might get on my knees before Christ, but before “one of the least of these”? Maybe not.
• Perhaps I have never let Christ wash my feet, minister to me, love me. Until I let him serve me at the point of my need, I will never be free to serve others.

Having a servant’s heart is what the Heseders desire. It is what unifies us as a group. We seek to be used by Christ to serve others and demonstrate God‘s steadfast love for all. In Haiti we did no grand jobs, but many humbling, footwashing type jobs—painting, scrubbing fish tanks, building beds, giving blood, plumbing and lots of sweating. Upon our return, we helped Tim Maxwell clean his home after the High Park Fire, much of it on our hands and knees.

In June of 2013, we will be going to New Orleans. We will again do cleaning, building, painting, caring for others and other dirty types of jobs. If you and your family are interested in servanthood, consider coming with us. It will be hot and humid, and you will have the privilege of washing the feet of some poverty-stricken souls in the Ninth Ward. We will meet some of the “least of these” in the world’s estimation, but we will learn much from them, and share much with them.

This will be a relatively inexpensive trip—under $500 per person. We are seeking applications soon, so contact Nelly or Joel Sanford (337-304-4231 cell) if you are interested in attending. Those who are participating in the fund raisers (Garage Sale and Festival of Praise Bands) will receive at least 50% reimbursement, depending on the total number who attend.

If New Orleans is too tame for you, check the bulletin board by the office for info on upcoming trips to India and Peru!

“Hesed” is a Hebrew word that means “kindness”, “mercy”, “loyalty”, “loving-kindness” or “steadfastness.” It’s the way God intends us to live together—a “love your neighbor as yourself”, active, selfless, sacrificial, caring-for-one-another brand of living contradictory to our fallen natures. The “Heseders” are continually looking to work together to share some small measure of God’s extraordinary love. Won’t you join us?