Penitas, TX – Jan. 19-25, 2025

I have seen 19 years of short term volunteer groups giving up a week or more of their lives to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus.  Many are memorable. One group of young Amish men from Pennsylvania still comes to my mind often.  Partly due to the wonderful hymns from “Heartland Hymns” that they chose to sing for devotions each morning.

“Jesus Has The Key” is one of those songs.  It is not easy to sing, but these guys did a good job and the words carried the message clearly.  The hymn, written by Mrs. Elizabeth Drudge, tells of closed doors, problems blocking the way, and dark passages.  It also assures us that Jesus will be there to unlock the gate. Mrs. Drudge is the composer of many hymns that have found their way into Amish and Mennonite songbooks.   Prairieview Press has a book “Echoes of Triumph – Book Three” containing only hymns composed by Mrs. Drudge. The Drudger Family sang at the MDS All-Unit meeting in St. Catherines, Ontario in 2007.

Has some door been closed by the Father’s Hand

Which you hoped to see open as you planned?

Trust in God and wait in serenity,

When He shuts the door, Jesus holds the key.

Last week at the Penitas MDS response, it seemed like several doors would slam shut just when we planned to pass through them.  The short term volunteer group from the Northern Michigan MDS Unit were ready to move our two houses along the pathway of completion. Some were experienced from several MDS trips and some were making their first venture into the world of MDS response projects.

The path was blocked by severe cold weather for the southern Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  We did not have windows installed in their openings so the 15 and 20 miles per hour north wind whipped through chilling every one.   We did delay the time to start work a couple of days to allow the temps to rise and precipitation to lessen, if not cease.  The good news was that these volunteers had come from winter in Michigan, so working in 30 degree weather may not have been comfortable but was manageable.  Some exterior work was accomplished and the rough-in of electrical and plumbing systems were started.

Is some problem lodged in your path somewhere

In a passage dark and you feel despair?

Jesus knows all things, He will bring to light

All the hidden things when the key fits right.

There were numerous problems lodged in each of the paths forward.  Most were caused by delayed, incomplete and incorrect delivery of materials.  Despair was seen in many people.  It is really hard to make progress on either plumbing or electrical installations when the most urgently needed materials are missing. Since the job sites are both close to the base camp, crews were given free reign to return for coffee or hot chocolate and just warm up for a while.

In some cases the instructions for installations were not as well formed as needed and sometimes not understood.  The result was some confusion in how the installations needed to be done.  It is hard to look back and identify various shortcomings besides the material availability, but some of the volunteers were struggling with the tasks assigned.

On top of all that, one of the men from Michigan had unknowingly contacted and brought the latest Covid virus with him.  He found that out on Wednesday morning by testing positive, after testing negative on Tuesday.  Given our fairly tight quarters and shared lodging spaces, it was assumed everyone had been exposed to some extent.  On Thursday two long term volunteers tested positive, including yours truly.  The remainder of the week was hampered by the lack of face-to-face meetings and coaching, but we endured, made it through the week and accomplished some good progress as the temperatures lifted into a more typical range for South Texas winters.

Jesus has the key to unlock the gate

Of Life’s mysteries that around you wait.

Do not be dismayed for our Saviour knows

Every lock and key of each door that’s closed.

Our friends from Michigan are all on their way back to the frigid north.  We pray for their safe travels and also that they can look back to see that meaningful work has been accomplished for these two families.  Our Long-Term volunteers from Ontario, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas and Michigan are resting this weekend and looking for doors to be opened and blocked passages cleared for the next week and beyond.

From the MDS Penitas Response in Hidalgo County, Texas

Ellen, Janey, Laura, Rosie, Andrew, Ben, David, Kraig, Ryan and Carl