When the Southeast Alabama Baptist Association asked its churches to adopt a department at Southeast Health in Dothan during the pandemic, Pleasant Plains Baptist Church in Ashford was among the churches that stepped up to the plate.
“We prayed about taking on one department,” said Dewayne Efurd, pastor of Pleasant Plains. “I thought about everything the laundry department handles and realized that’s the one we needed to pick.
“Anything we can do to help lift somebody up, I’m all about it,” Efurd continued. “It’s part of carrying out the Great Commission. While we’re here and serving, we’re supposed to be the hands, feet and voice of Jesus until He returns.”
Ministry of encouragement
Pleasant Plains started bringing gifts and encouraging notes of appreciation quarterly to the laundry department in the spring of 2021, which was a particularly uncertain and stressful time for health care workers.
Despite the option to only serve the department for a few months, the small church’s ministry didn’t end with the pandemic. Pleasant Plains decided to make it an ongoing churchwide project that’s led by the Women on Mission.
“The [association] really didn’t give us a deadline on how long to do it,” said Claudia Gamble, who serves as the mission action person for the church’s WOM. “I think most churches have already quit participating, but we just enjoy doing a quarterly blessing for the department.”
Consistent effort
For nearly two years, Gamble and her husband, Brian, have consistently delivered the church’s gifts to the laundry department. Although they haven’t been allowed to physically go inside the department to thank the workers due to COVID-19 protocol, she’s hopeful that day will come soon.
“Fortunately, I’ve been able to meet different people from the department who will come up to the lobby to get the gifts that we bring,” Gamble said. “One month, it was simply writing each member of the department a letter of encouragement and a thank you. We asked several of our church members to do that. If it’s a big project, our WOM will work on it for a couple of nights and put the little gifts together.”
In addition, the group has provided doughnuts, pizza, candy, gift cards and devotionals to the department.
“Y’all are the ones who bring us a surprise!” one of the workers said to Gamble. During another drop-off, Gamble and her husband prayed with one of the staff members who was worried about an upcoming doctor’s appointment.
“That was an opportunity we weren’t expecting that day, but God dropped it in our lap,” recalled Gamble, who’s a retired teacher and coach.
Although Gamble was hesitant to start the project because of the commitment, she concluded, “I get more of the blessing than [the healthcare workers] do.” She and the church are constantly brainstorming new creative ideas to send to the laundry department the next quarter.
“As long as the Lord has that door open, I think we’ll continue to do it,” Gamble said. “I look so forward to it.”
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