During a recent JE mission trip to San Antonio, one of our guides & staff members, Kayci Zinkgraf, got to experience a new perspective of being the body of Christ.

“In the middle of April, I was a guide on a trip to San Antonio. During this time, we saw the sights (cue ‘Remember the Alamo’) intermingled with mission opportunities. On the first missions day, we partnered with the local food bank. Here, we sorted food in the warehouse that would then get divided between families and other organizations.

The following day, our group worked with an organization that received some of the goods we had sorted.

This ministry is a small church in a neighborhood of San Antonio that is not the safest. Every Wednesday, the church hosts hundreds of families and gives away bags of food, sets up showers, has nursing staff and civil servants available for informational sessions and giving vaccinations, vet staff vaccinating pets, giving brown bag lunches, offering housing support, and much more. They meet the immediate needs of the community for free in order to pursue the ultimate eternal needs of those visiting. Church members and volunteers faithfully give their time and resources every week to further the kingdom.

Immediately, as we walked off the bus, we started grabbing boxes of food to take in with our belongings. They were so excited we were joining them and were amazed at how many of us there were. I spoke with the point person, Denisse, and she was in complete shock as she saw how many of us there were helping out.

We asked Denisse what happens every week when extra volunteers didn’t show. She just said that from the early morning hours of gathering food from the pickup location of the food bank, all the way until the people arrive, their handful of church members work tirelessly to make sure they had food for the visitors. We had completed a task that normally took numerous hours in less than one.

Before the community showed up, our group was prepped as they wanted to be transparent. Residents with various backgrounds would be showing up, from being on drugs, experiencing homelessness, prostitutes, or simply low-income residents.

Two members, Gary and Tim, took every possible opportunity to encourage and share the gospel with our group. The stories and memories they shared were encouraging to hear. Gary had been a part of the community before coming to know the Lord, selling drugs and running with hard crowds. Tim expressed how lost he was before knowing Christ, pursuing desire. The conversation always circled back to “But God…”

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:4-10

“I was blind but now I see.” It continually plays through my mind as I think about our time of service together. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. This church is a beautiful picture of being the body of Christ and proclaiming the gospel so that all may come to know Him.

The community relies on these volunteers and they go above and beyond to meet as many physical needs as possible. There are regular visitors who know they have a safe place of refuge, free of judgment to simply visit or seek help. The community sees Jesus whether they realize it or not.

We talked as a group later during devotionals about the students’ experiences. The heart they shared as they served through uncomfortable circumstances but out of joy inside was beautiful. They even remarked on the boldness and conviction of Tim and Gary as they spoke, using every moment to share the good news.

What a gift it is to know Him. To live in hope and in community with fellow believers, all pursuing life with the same eternal mindset. We are never left to handle life on our own. Praise the Lord we get to rest in His finished work, not our doing, but through His power.”