Who knew Mimi was allergic to gladiolas? Not Michael! They looked beautiful on the dining room table, and when Michael had to “get rid of them,” there had to be another alternative than the garbage. Then the idea struck like lightning. Why not give them to Debra, the Jewish woman who recently moved in next door…So Michael and Mimi, flowers in hand, went to their neighbors. Debra and her husband, Richard, answered the door and were presented with an unexpected gift, to which they said, “Please, come in.” For two missionaries, these are welcome words!…For the next one and a half hours, some of the conversation was about “where are you from,” “do you have any children,” etc. Then it turned spiritual, where Michael shared with Richard about how the Jewish Scriptures, from beginning to end, flow toward the coming of one Jewish Messiah who will both suffer then return and judge the living and the dead, and will bring God’s glory to the ends of the earth.

Michael and Mimi Finesilver are missionaries that Cornerstone supports. They are Messianic Jews reaching out to the Jewish community in southern Florida. I read this story in their newsletter last week, and I was highly encouraged and excited about this simple story they shared. The Finesilvers continue and share about how Richard and Debra are not yet believers, but that they invited the Finesilvers to return and continue their conversation.

I wanted to share this story because it’s this kind of swift, other people focused, servant-hearted attitude that I hope I learn and continue to have with my own neighbors. Flowers, that the Scriptures say will wither and pass away, turned into a conversation that has eternal implications.

Please continue to pray for Michael and Mimi Finesilver as they seek to lead people to know and serve Jesus in their community.

This weekend, we have four projects available. One team of people will be working with ARM and a local family to do some minor repair work on a home. One team of people will continue working with the Lee County Humane Society that we have partnered with for the past few First Saturday events. And two teams will partner with a couple of our local elementary schools, Dean Road and Carey Woods, to do some light landscape work.

I can’t tell you what a great response we’ve had and how thankful our local schools were as we partnered with them through One Prayer Auburn. We want to continue to serve our schools as a thank you for their commitment to this community through education.

If you’re able to come, we’d love to have you as a part of this weekend. We’ll gather at the church at 8:00 am and leave no later than 8:30 am to head to each project and finish up around 12 noon. We do not provide childcare for this event, but there is usually something for everyone to do. In fact this is a great opportunity to demonstrate service to and with our children. If you are coming and know you’d like to help us out with one of the local schools, we would ask that you bring any lawn tools that you might be able to such as rakes, clippers, shovels or wheelbarrows (gloves).

If you want more information on this weekend, I’d love to talk to you about it. You can e-mail me at brian@cornerstonebuzz.org or call the church.