Kansas Missions Teams Impact West Memphis
By Eva Wilson
December 2008
Southbound traffic on Interstate 55 in northeast Arkansas races around a curve to join Interstate 40 in West Memphis.
In the hectic rush, travelers could hardly be blamed if they fail to notice Lakeshore Estates, a modest mobile home community on the west side of Interstate 55.
But two mission teams from Kansas came here in the summer of 2008 and ministered in the poverty-stricken community.
The team from First Southern Baptist Church in Lawrence came right after school was out. Then First Southern Baptist Church, Topeka, brought a team in late July.
Lakeshore Estates has about 480 units with a population of about 1,200 people. Many of the mobile homes are poorly maintained, stating it kindly. Despite “No Littering” signs, trash is all over.
Statistics back up the grim sights in this community: a family’s average income is less than $13,000 annually.
This is the community where New Hope Baptist Mission has planted itself. John Rech, a bivocational pastor, leads the ministry with his wife, Cathy, at his side. Rech, known as “Poppa John,” runs a landscaping business. He sets his business aside when mission teams come.
The two Kansas mission teams provided major encouragement for the Rechs and the small congregation. Both teams staged Vacation Bible School and other outreach activities. Plus, they did construction and maintenance work on New Hope’s modest buildings.
The team from Lawrence also cleaned homes for several of the Lakeshore residents. Pastor Joe Stiles described the homes as “extremely run down.” In some cases, “the living conditions were terrible.”
But Stiles said the team members dived in and put forth their best efforts. The residents were “very, very appreciative” of the help, he added.
The team from First Southern, Topeka, arrived in the middle of the steamy Mississippi Delta summer. Laverta Murphy was bubbling over with enthusiasm as she told of the joys and challenges the Topeka team experienced there. Murphy leads the church’s On Mission team. She and her husband, Don, are retired after a long career of serving small churches in Nebraska and Kansas.
Although the Murphys are retired from the pastorate, they have not retired from ministry.
They gave high praise to Pastor Rech: “He’s the perfect person for that job,” Laverta said.
But with their background in the pastorate, the Murphys had an inside view: they saw the “loneliness and fatigue” the Rechs experience.
The Topeka team also had an emphasis on English as a Second Language (ESL). Gail Davis taught two people to teach ESL so they can carry on the ministry at New Hope.
After getting back to Topeka, First Southern felt the need to follow up on the summer ministry effort. So the church collected Christmas gifts for the children at Lakeshore estates. Church members donated more than 150 shoeboxes in an effort similar to Operation Christmas Child sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse. A couple from the church took the gifts to Arkansas.
Serving at Lakeshore Estates leaves volunteers with lasting impressions.
Stiles said the Lawrence team gained “an appreciation for what we truly have.” They left with “the realization you don’t have to go far to see extreme poverty.”
He added, “There are lots of opportunities down there. John and Cathy have a tremendous ministry they’re involved in, and they need a lot of help.”
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