Restoration Ministries: Building Forever Relationships

Matthew 25 lists the only criterion in the final judgment as whether or not you gave yourself away to those who needed you. The Restoration Ministries Interim uses this passage as the foundation for its work. Students on this interim spent two weeks in January living at the Tabitha and Harvey houses in Harvey, Illinois.

Acting on a Christian call to service, students work with recovering drug and alcohol addicts in the homes. They spend time in prayer and devotions with the residents each morning, work in the thrift store, visit elderly people in the community, and work with an after-school program for neighborhood children.

“There wasn’t a minute that they weren’t serving,” said Dr. Mary Lynn Colosimo, associate professor of psychology, who has been leading the interim for over 10 years and working with Restoration Ministries for 25 years.

Living in the houses gave students the ability to build relationships with the residents. For Colosimo it is exciting to watch as the lives of residents and students begin to change.

Syerra Niday ’13 of Corydon, Iowa, described the experience as amazing. “Their testimonies are incredible,” she said.

The relationships formed during the two weeks are “forever relationships,” Colosimo said. The bonds are unforgettable and make possible a better understanding of each student’s call to serve.

“I now have a deeper passion for service. This is only possible through God’s grace,” Niday said, reflecting on the experience.

This opportunity pushes students to step out of their comfort zones and build and honor the lives of the residents at Restoration Ministries. Colosimo encourages her students in this with a saying: “Jesus came to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”