Soma Austin

On June 11th, we held our quarterly church-wide Renew Austin renewal projects. In considering the needs of their community, each Soma Group asked how they can bring physical, social and/or spiritual renewal in Austin. It could be cleaning up a park, painting a neighbors home, serving a community in need, or hosting a meal to bring social renewal. Below is each groups (short) story of their day.

South Austin Soma Group: Apartment Cleanup & Outing with Our Adopted Family
By Sarah Russell (Richard Russell's tween daughter)

We served a family of three. Some of us cleaned their walls, steam-cleaned their carpets, and cleaned their fridge and washed their dishes. The rest of us took the family to Gatti Land and played lots of games.

The mother, Elaine, was widowed several years ago. Her son, Devon, is fifteen and suffers from Fragile X, which is a genetic condition that has left Devon with a significant mental handicap. Despite the mental and physical challenges he faces, he is full of life and in many ways is just a typical boy. Elaine's daughter, Ashley, is twelve and loves Justin Bieber. We chose them because we had adopted Elaine and her family to bless this last Christmas. We knew them through Austin Henderson, who met them through his job at CPS.

The day went smoothly, and we had lots of fun helping. My favorite memory from the day was seeing the family’s happy faces when we helped them. It made us aware that there are people all around us who are experiencing deep spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. I think I learned that we have it good, it taught me to be grateful for God’s blessings and not take them for granted.

South Lamar and South Congress Soma Groups: Neighborhood Cookout
By John Churchill

For this combined group outing, we hosted a cookout at Matt and Monica Cooke's home. All of us invited a couple of people from our jobs or neighborhoods whom we either interact with or see on a regular basis. It was a time of just good community and time spent with people who don't know the gospel, interacting in a normal, everyday situation. It was great because the setting created an easy outlet for conversation because it was comfortable and fun. We played horseshoes, ate good food, got to know one another, and played other games as the night went on. It was a good kick-starter to more opportunities to pour into the lives of the people we interact with regularly.

Central Austin Soma Group: Fellowship at the Austin Nursing Home
By Paige Bennett

In our society, it’s often the elderly that are overlooked and ignored. With that in mind, we spent Saturday morning visiting with residents of the Austin Nursing Home, some of whom rarely receive visits from their family. For a few hours their loneliness was forgotten, as we played games, talked, and enjoyed sweet baked goodies. (And let me just say, the residents of Austin Nursing Home can eat! They love their cookies.)

Perhaps the most uplifting part of this service project was getting to learn the stories—stories of heartache, of joy, of life. There was Rosie, who came to Austin in 1947. Having lost her daughter many years before, Rosie shared her experience of placing hope in one day seeing her daughter again. At one point during the visit, Rosie broke into song, sharing some of her favorite hymns.

There were others, seemingly strong and stoic, who opened up easily about their brokenness and the brokenness they’ve seen throughout the years. While there were definitely moments of sadness, there were, just as in life, moments of laughter. There were the sassy women giving doe eyes to the young men and spirited residents sharing nursing home gossip (like who’s dating whom) with the gals.

We will continue to visit and become a part of the their lives. We will learn more, listen more, laugh more with these residents. We will be the gospel in a place where young people so rarely walk in. After all, Rosie has more songs to sing.

North Austin Soma Group: Yard Work & Encouragement for a Family in Need
By Amanda Kubicki

We were honored to help a family who lost their home during the April 17 Oak Hill fire. Doug and Janice Todd’s uninsured home of 32 years was completely ravaged by the fire as houses around were completely spared. We started in Oak Hill at their burned out shell pulling nails from studs. Once done there, we made our way into Dripping Springs to the house where Doug and Janice are living now, bringing 30 yard bags and yard tools in hand, thinking this job would be simple with our 8 people in tow.

Once at the house, we got to visit with Doug and Janice. We discovered that their new rent home was actually donated to them by a complete stranger who had been driving through Doug and Janice’s Oak Hill neighborhood and saw them working to salvage anything they could from their house. The house had been vacant for 3 years, and little yard work had been done. Doug is on an oxygen tank, and unable to do much yard work. We quickly realized this wasn’t as simple of a task as we had thought. Our short day turned into a long day, so 64 full refuse bags and 15 brush bundles later, we called it a day at 4 pm, all still with a heavy heart for this family. We were able to sit and hear their stories as well as help make an improvement on their yard, but not to fully finish the task at hand. A couple weeks later we went back and finished up the rest of the work, hoping to make an impact and continue to build a relationship with this family.