Guest Column, by Jim Troe

AZ-One sponsors an event called Shinefest, a week of service when local churches (and some businesses) lock arms with the focus of serving our neighbors in practical ways, like Jesus tells us to. This year’s event took place from May 13 to 20.  To start it off on the 13th, we focused on helping the Lakes Committee and the Downtown Association with their cleanup efforts. Then from the May 15 to 19, we turned our attention to a six-block neighborhood surrounding Hawthorne Park, doing projects for homeowners, including landscaping and tree trimming, yard work, basic home repairs, painting and cleaning. We worked at 29 different addresses during the week, with 100 volunteers logging 350 hours on the house projects, with another 40 volunteers (mostly kids) making and delivering crafts to Thorne Crest Senior Living Community residents.

This year held a few highlights for me that I’d like to share.

The first highlight was the weather. When I looked at the forecast at the beginning of the week, my smartphone showed thunderstorms every single day, and if my memory serves me correctly, it did rain or storm every single day, except from 5 to 8:30 p.m. During those hours, the weather cleared, and we were allowed to have a meal together (compliments of Trinity Lutheran’s amazing volunteers) and then work on our projects. At the beginning of the week, my mind was playing scenarios where nothing would get done, but by Friday night, all the projects were completed! It felt to me like God was smiling on us — prompting a mind-weary celebration.

Another highlight was the amazing project managers. Man, did they step up! An event like this is only as good as its leaders, and the people who grabbed the challenge to plan, organize and direct the projects did an outstanding job! I am still in awe.

A third highlight was the businesses that joined us. In particular, Schipp’s Tanker Kleen and Thompson Sanitation came out and did free car washes and free garbage collection. After a long day of work, their willingness to pile on those extra hours at their own expense was inspiring. To top it off, Dave Syverson Auto Center donated a vehicle to a family whose children go to Hawthorne Elementary School, piling a final blessing on the neighborhood.

Thank you to everyone who gave of their time and resources. Great job everyone! Yay God!

Jim Troe is on the organizing team for Shinefest.