“ When we heard about the tornado hitting, we were just shocked. It was just so crazy to see that the Lord had orchestrated us already being in the area prior to us ever knowing that it needed to be helped. “ “When we heard about the tornado hitting, we were just shocked. It was just so crazy to see that the Lord had orchestrated us already being in the area prior to us ever knowing that it needed to be helped,” said Olesky. Each week, TEAMeffort takes Mondays to come to Mayfield and help relief efforts in any way they can. Partnering with pastors and churches in the area, they’ve been able to assist the community in projects people have requested. Not only this, but groups have also been walking up and down the streets with buckets, brooms, and trash bags - trying to bag up as much as they can from the sidewalks to bring back just the slightest bit of normalcy for the community. “It sounds like such a small thing, but being able to restore a clean sidewalk for people to have is such a huge thing,” said Olesky. “So far, we’re partnering and walking around door to door just to see where we can serve the best in Mayfield.” Olesky just wants to represent Christ within the communities they enter, in the best way they can. By showing love, grace, and compassion that Christ has shown to each and every one. “Just pouring that out into the community in whatever way that looks like, whether it just be if they don’t have any repairs, just being able to talk with them and listening to hear them,” said Olesky. “Building them a new deck or completely redoing their house, if that’s what it takes, just to be there and encourage them and point them to Christ and the love that He has for them.” There’s also more in their underlying work, especially within disaster relief. “I think it’s really important for the world to see that just because the tornado hit in December and it was on the news for about a month – just because it’s not on the news anymore, doesn’t mean that it’s not still happening,” said Olesky. “It’s still people’s day-to-day lives. And that doesn’t mean that people are waking up every day and they are having to figure out how to fix their roof or how to fix their siding and then also work and sustain themselves.” TEAMeffort knew that there was going to be a good opportunity for them to come in, to show love and compassion to the people, and just serve them the best they could. Though also giving a good opportunity for their youth to see the impacts of disasters outside of what the news has to show. Each day may include something new project-wise for TEAMeffort, however, one thing remains the same. Their mission is to lean on one another, and build not only each other up, but the community up, together, through Christ. 84 JULY 2022 | PROMOTING EVENTS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE | INTHEVUE.COM
