Rhonda Palmer, my mentor, serves and loves her church family, coffee shop baristas, Barberitos employees, and “second children” as a full time job. Her camera is always flashing, and her hand always contains an iced coffee from Jittery Joes.

If you know Rhonda and her husband Mark, they lead Ekklesia Athens, a small church filled with working hands and humble hearts. As a couple, they have made a promise to be different, to step out, and to “Love God, Do Good.” I aspire to lead a life of service the way they are modeling it for future generations.

Here’s a little about serving in the Classic City from Rhonda’s eyes:

“On an  humid, August, Saturday morning in Athens, GA, I (Rhonda) stepped into my first Habitat for Humanity build. I arrived to meet the soon to be owner, Camika & her mom, and was greeted by early morning Ekklesia family showing up with food ready for lunch and a heart to serve. I loved watching the excitement on Camika’s face as she talked about her new home in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Camika & Lawrence (the guy in charge of the Habitat build) proudly showed us her soon to be new home. With a bunch of hard work, helping hands, and some love, Camika and her son Malachi’s home will be beautiful.

Our Ekklesia family was spread across Athens that day on three different build sites. I loved working with the Ekklesia gang on Camika’s house. A bit after we arrived, Jo Fazio arrived with a smile on her face. “Hello there! What can I do to help?” Mark had me rolling paint onto the walls all morning, but as soon as Jo arrived, he handed her the paint brush (I’m not trusted with it! HA!). I am pretty sure he knew the brush was safe with Jo.

As usual, I was walking around with camera in hand. LOL! What I found was smiles on everyone’s faces serving with our Ekklesia family. It was as if the work being done was on their own homes.  I was able to drop by the other site after lunch, and I arrived to find a tailgating lunch of fresh tomato sandwiches being made, with lots of other foods around too. I loved seeing everyone just sharing lunch together.

New & old friends, bonded through sweating & serving in Athens.

I found the same thing at the second site as the first: excitement & passion for helping someone have a home. It was a day that made me reflect on all the blessing that I have been given. It was simply an honor to work with such an amazing group of friends.

Since this workday, I have been able to sit by Camika in church at Ekklesia, share lunch together, & serve dinner at the Salvation Army along with Malachi her son. God is so Good. Thank you Jo Fazio for your passion to serve. All of this started through Connect Ministries, Half Marathon! I look forward to our days ahead serving together. Love God, Do Good!”