On Sunday, July 6, the U.M. Army will be in town for a week, and staying at the First United Methodist Church in Edna. 80 kids and 20 adults will arrive that evening to begin mission work in the community and help people who need help on their homes.
What’s the U.M. Army, you might ask?
FUMC Pastor Jacob Hunter explained the U.M.
Army is a religious organization which began in Houston 46 years ago. The groups, composed of junior high and high school kids, plus adults, go to different towns and help rebuild for people in need.
“Only two rules really apply,” Hunter said. “The people must own their house, be in need of work being done, and have a hardship in getting that work done. They don’t do anything electric, or anything that might need plumbing.
“It blows my mind that these kids pay $275 for the opportunity to sleep on the floor of a church for an entire week and work five days in 100-plus temperatures to help people with their homes. They jump at the opportunity.”
FUMC Edna hosted a camp in 2018: the kids brought the energy then, and plan to bring it again.
They come from everywhere, but a large part is coming from Houston.
They work for six to seven hours a day, shower and eat at the church and enjoy an activity every evening.
Hunter has been involved with the U.M. Army since 2008, while serving as a youth director in Brownsville. He’s taken groups to Junction, Goliad, Burnet, Hallettsville and Uvalde.
Currently, groups will be visiting San Marcos, Weslaco, Mason, and of course, Edna.
The pastor told why being a part of the U.M. Army means so much to him in two stories.
“For one trip, I was part of the worship team, meaning my job was to get them to worship in the morning before they leave and worship when they get back,” he said. “We decided we wanted to give the kids communion near the last day on their worksite. Well, the kids were re-roofing a house and were a little behind, and they didn’t want to stop for a break until they were done.
“So we went on the roof to give communion so they could keep going. I remember passing the cup and bread around, all on the roof of a house.”
His second story said it made his heart feel good, and it’s a little bit of a tearjerker. Pastor Jacob said he was asked to show up at a house in the afternoon to see something. When he arrived, the owner of the house ran up to him, speaking Spanish. He spoke back with her in Spanish, but wasn’t sure if something was lost in translation.
“She showed her front door, brand new. I said ‘wow, they got you a new door,’ and she said ‘no, they gave me a door,’” he said.
“Upon further talking, she explained, ‘mijo, before then I had a blanket there, never a front door,’ and she’d lived at her home for over 20 years,” he paused.
“That evening the kids sit in a circle in a private moment and talk about the experience they had. They didn’t realize some people don’t even have a front door.”
Hunter said that’s the kinds of things they do: re-leveling floors, walls, building wheelchair ramps for people, or even build a porch. He said FUMC’s Wesley nurse, Lindsey Floyd, helped them find sites for the kids, and site teams have been to Edna twice already to prepare.
“Plans are in place, and the kids get a little training with their work team adults who guide them,” he said.
“It’s going to be great for the community to know what they’re coming to do.
“And hopefully everyone will be as excited as the lady with her first front door.”
