I was so proud of the body of Christ today:Ricky is a man that one of our members at Grace Community Church of Frederick met at the Frederick Rescue Mission. Ricky was homeless and one of our members (Erik) took Ricky in, had him over to their house several times for dinner. They starting picking Ricky up to bring him to church. A couple of months ago Erik baptized Ricky as a disciple of Jesus at our church. Ricky has been attending faithfully and is a valued part of our body.
On Saturday, Ricky was rushed to the ER with significant health issues that placed Ricky in the ICU. Ricky's family is out of the picture. But Erik was right there with him. Erik slept overnight at the ICU to be by Ricky's side. The Dr.'s met with us to communicate Ricky's condition and asked who we were (since we were not family). All we could say is "We are disciples of Jesus and Ricky is a part of our Church." When no one else was there; the church was.
Today I learned something new about making disciples of Jesus- that following Jesus sometimes means sitting at the ICU hospital bed next to a homeless man to share Jesus' love. It means sleepless nights and prayers upon prayers. And I'm telling you this incredible act of kindness was not done by someone who is paid to be a pastor, but was done by a regular church member; someone who realized it was their life's calling to be a sold-out Christ follower.
That. Was. Awesome.
Please pray for Ricky- He has a very serious liver condition. The next steps and future is uncertain.
-Scott Avey
