faith
IT’S ALL GOOD It’s been almost a decade since Jack Adams began his post-retirement life as a volunteer. He had put a lot of thought into what his new life would look like as he started this new journey. “I’ve been given so much,” Adams said. “One of the driving verses in my life is Luke 12:48 which reads in part ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’ There’s no way I can pay back what I’ve been given. When I retired, I knew I wanted to do something so that other people could have a good life like mine.” Adams had been looking for ways to help in his community and he started out by volunteering with Forgotten Man Ministries. It made sense that Adams, who wanted to help people create good lives for themselves, would choose an organization that helped inmates build new lives through the love of Jack Adams (above) is pictured on the Bertha Mullins worksite with Jackie Thelen who was on a team made up of former long-term volunteers.
Jesus Christ. Adams began to visit inmates in Michigan’s Huron County Jail to deliver books. “I was the book cart guy, kind of like in “Shawshank Redemption,” but I actually went in the cells,” he said.
as a couple. That year they worked on Disaster Relief projects for two weeks and spent a third week at WorkFest working on home repair. This is the eighth year that they have participated in both WorkFest and YouthFest. Lynn is a popular kitchen It was a book written more than two crew leader at Foley Mission Center decades ago that first moved Adams known for her quirky songs and her to expand his volunteer life beyond sparkling personality. his community into Appalachia. The inmates he delivered books This year, during WorkFest and to knew he was looking for direct YouthFest, Adams helped teams service volunteer opportunities and finish a deck on the Mullins’ home. a Kentuckian suggested a book he He appreciated being able to interhad read by Reverend Ralph Bieting. act and mentor the young people he When Adams read about the way met on the worksite. He is inspired Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) by their sacrifice and excited to share seeks to transform lives, it was imme- his knowledge and expertise. diately appealing to him. “These young people give up their “I have no idea how that book got on break to make other people’s lives the book cart in the Huron County better. They are an impressive group Jail,” he said. “After reading it, I called to me,” Adams said. “Working with and said I wanted to come down. I CAP has been everything I hoped it made my first trip in Nov. 2011.” would be. I get to work with young people, which is grand. I get to talk The year that Bertha Mullins lost with them and offer a different perher home for a second time, was spective. I love talking about Jesus, the same year that Adams and his and I get to work with my hands. wife, Lynn, first volunteered at CAP It’s all good!” n SPRING / SUMMER 2019 | christianapp.org/MtSpiritGive
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