Fueled by Appreciation

I was recently asked to lead the Missional Community (equivalent of Cell or Small Group) that I am part of for a while. Shortly after I had accepted, I was asked to attend an MC Leaders’ Hangout planned for Saturday 6^th July. Now I jealously guard my Saturdays since they are practically the only oasis of calm in the crazy whirlwind of activity that my life currently is. I reserve Saturday for house chores, Me time and social engagements that are neither work- nor church-related.

So I viewed this hangout as an intrusion on my time and told my leader that if I attended I would either arrive late or leave early. She graciously accepted and I grudgingly signed up to attend. Come Saturday 6^th, I dragged myself out of bed early and set out, half asleep, all the time thinking about the different things I needed to work on and at what point in the endless talks I would excuse myself and escape.

I arrived at Worship Harvest Naalya a little later than the scheduled starting time and as I left my car I heard the Welcoming Committee ululating for the person who had gone before me. This did not help my mood. I was quite determined to not enjoy myself. Besides, 9am was too early on a Saturday morning to have this much noise going!!

I got to the entrance and two location leaders were there sounding very happy to see me, cheering, dancing and holding placards with some uplifting messages. I found myself smiling in spite of myself. I received huge hugs and felt my resolve to not be happy start to melt away. At the next point was my location leader whose placard had the words “…heroes and heroines…”. Another big hug. Up the steps I continued and I met more location leaders, all cheering and dancing, offering wide smiles and huge hugs. There was a red carpet and well decorated tables … and breakfast!! Thankfully I arrived before the vuvuzelas were brought out. Shortly after I found my seat, the welcome noise rose a notch higher as little vuvuzelas joined the mix. The looks on the faces of those still arriving were hilarious. They displayed varying degrees of shock as they made their way down the red carpet amidst the joyously loud location leaders.

After breakfast, there was a music session followed by a powerful prayer session. The details are for another day. Simply put, I was awake, energised and optimistic by the time we got to the sharing of the Word. The teaching was on point and practical and the response sessions helped to cement whatever had been shared. There was an award session whereby my MC was one of those commended for an amazing frontier engagement. That was the icing on the cake!!

Long story short, I stayed till the end and even lingered for a while after we had been dismissed. I believe the feeling of being refreshed I had at the end of the day was due to more than just great teaching and insightful discussions. I was uplifted by the appreciation showered upon us by our leaders. A lot was shared that I will long remember, not because I have not heard it before but because of the setting in which it was presented: one of honour and appreciation and saying “You are heroes and heroines…you are doing a great job…we greatly appreciate you and we are cheering you on.” There are lessons I learnt from the day that had nothing to do with MCs or anything that was shared.

Thank you Worship Harvest Location Leaders. You embody true servant leadership and I am honoured to be a part of this awesome movement.