“You are not a burden”

“What, a free burger? What do I have to do to get a free burger?” said Phylis who is paralyzed from the waist down. When we told her nothing tears began to flow down her face. 

Phylis was in a terrible car accident several years ago and it left her paralyzed from her waist down. She lives by herself in the government subsidize housing in Bastrop. One of our Bastrop sites is set up down the street from her front door. As you can imagine life is a challenge for her, not to mention she feels like she’s a burden. 

Most of you know how it feels to feel like a burden to others. Now imagine your life having to depend on others all the time. Phylis is a believer in Christ and knows that her time on earth was not suppose to end when she had her accident. She was 1/4″ away from severing her spine in half and dying. Phylis says “she wished everyone would have a life transformation and know that Jesus is there and loves them.” And so do we!

Earlier this week at the site we saw Phylis outside by her house. We walked down to check in on her and the first thing she said was “what are you cooking today, a burger?” We told her yes and had a conversation with her letting her know she’s welcome to come every week, not just when she’s in dire need. Then we walked back to the site with her and she gave us an update on herself letting us know that she was hungry. She said she was glad to see us set up and was thankful we came down to visit her because she feels like a burden. We assured her that we miss seeing her and she’s not a burden. She told us that her ride wasn’t able to take her grocery shopping yet and she had no food in her house. There was joy in our hearts that God was using us, as this is why we were there!

Mission U-Too strives to feed people physically and spiritually. We never know the battles that are going on in the home or within one’s heart. When you are hungry physically life around feels like it’s in shambles, but when you are hungry spiritually you feel alone and empty. Phylis was feeling both and, with the relationship we have built with her the last two years, she finally felt like she could stroll down in her wheelchair for the first time instead of us taking food to her, and enjoy a hot meal in the presence of her Mission U-Too family.