We Love You, Aaron!
After working for Christian Service Mission for twelve years, Aaron Parsons is turning in his truck, toolbelt, and time with the mission to work with his son at his landscaping business. I, Jamie Harper, the writer of most of these newsletter articles, sat down with Aaron to ask him about his time at Christian Service Mission. After our short talk, I learned that Aaron came to embody love in a different way than he did when he began his work here.
When he described the man he was when he first came to CSM, I told him I had never met that man. It’s hard for me to imagine Aaron as a man focused on only getting the job done and making money, but I trust that Aaron knows who he was and who he now is. He describes himself as a passionate person; I think people see this as an honest assessment of him. He gives himself wholeheartedly to people and what he does.
When asked what his favorite thing about working here has been, he shares that it has been meeting people in neighborhoods and getting to know them as he works in and on their homes. More than most aspects of our work here, the housing department of Christian Service Mission builds deep relationships with the people they serve, often returning to minister to homeowners long after the work is complete. In visiting job sites, I observed that people feel deeply loved by CSM.
Aaron will miss the sense of family we have here at Christian Service Mission, with those we serve in the housing department, the staff and ministers, and the volunteers who help weekly, monthly, and even annually.
When asked what God taught him during his time at CSM, he says, “God taught me to be a servant, embrace service, and run towards it.” He believes that “service is love.” Aaron says that leaving here to work with his son will still serve people, but it will be different. He won’t be working on getting paid, doing a job, or finishing the job efficiently, which is how he started twelve years ago. Instead, he will serve his coworkers and all the homeowners that want the services his son’s company offers for lawn improvement. It’ll be about the job, but also it will be about the people. He’s taking that away from his time here at the mission. He relates that work is also about your spiritual journey while doing what you are doing. It’s not about where you are going but who you are becoming as you go.
Aaron, whose name means bringer of light, brings the light of Jesus wherever he goes. We are all so blessed to have known you, Aaron, and we wish you the best! We can’t wait to see how you shine the light of Christ in your next endeavors.
