Daughter Moved by Youths Generosity

By Jessica Love, Mississippi Conference Intern
 
Photo right: Pictured are youth members of First United Methodist Church in Grenada, Mississippi, visiting Grenada Living Center.  
 
Sometimes, the best gifts are free. Sometimes, there is no price tag, no gift box, or confetti. Perhaps then it is true, the small things, intangible gifts, are most generous. Bishop James Swanson, Sr. may have said it best during closing worship service of the 2016 Mississippi Annual Conference session. "Those who give away their love... they have greater capacity to do greater things."

The youth of First United Methodist Church in Grenada, Mississippi are living out generosity as The POWER of We, and proving just how great and generous the gift of love can be. The flower ministry is just one tier of the youth's summer mission.
Throughout the summer, they take arranged flowers to those who are sick or simply in need. 

Betty Brister, a long-time member of the church, was overjoyed when the youth came to visit her mother. In a candid letter to the church, Brister exclaimed that she was compelled to send the church-wide thank you, not necessarily for the flowers, but for the love and attention the youth gave her mother.  She wanted the parents of the children to know their child's impact on her mom.
"Mama was almost giddy when she told me that there were children everywhere in her room, backed up all the way to the door. But what stood out to me the most was that she (mama) said they talked to her," said Brister who shared how talking made her mother feel special.

"Now to the kids that probably doesn't seem like much, but for young people to take time out of their summer to make a 93-year-old feel special just by talking to her -- that's huge," she added.

In addition, Brister expressed that in a time when there are so many negative reports about young people, she is reminded that there is still good in the world thanks to a special youth group in mission to merely live out generosity.