MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Call it the power of prayer.
Deandre Hill is the executive director of Lifeline to Success outreach ministries.
“Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity and thank you for bringing us out to volunteer and give back to the community,” Brown said.
It could be call for action in South Memphis.
“We love you and thank you for the opportunity to serve. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen,” Brown said.
Saying a prayer and using chainsaws, weed trimmers and a lot of muscle, about 30 volunteers with Lifeline to Success are on a mission to lend a hand to an elderly man, a man who needs help cleaning up blight around his home on East Gage Avenue.
“We came out at the request of the Environmental Court. A senior citizen had been cited, and in order to keep him from being fined, we are volunteering to clean his backyard out,” Brown said.
It’s a major undertaking. There is a lot of garbage, weeds and trees that need to be cut and hauled away.
“This is what you see, an accumulation of trash over several years,” Brown said.
This is a lot of work, to say the least. But volunteers such as Bobby Bratcher say the reward of helping others is a great feeling.
“It’s a great opportunity to be among the young people, and I’m a senior citizen. It’s a group program, and I’m proud to be a part of it,” Bratcher said.
“It makes me feel great. We formed this organization to change perceptions and change people. This is how we give back and pay rent for our face on earth,” Brown said.
It shows one person’s trash can be a real treasure that’s in the heart of a community when prayer leads to action in assisting a neighbor who needs a lifeline and a little help from some friends.
“We don’t do this just to say we’ve done it. We do this to make a difference,” Brown said.