2020 Helpers of People Leave – Chad Hoes

I am so thankful to have the opportunity to give back and serve in meaningful ways.  This year for my Helpers of People Leave I worked with Beltway’s Boots on the ground ministry.  My plan at the beginning of the year was to serve at my church’s (Beltway) kids camp but COVID happened and things changed.  God wasn’t surprised though!  When summer began drawing closer, I began to panic because I didn’t have a plan and couldn’t think of a meaningful way to serve in this mess.  In one of my attempts to find a way to serve, I reached out to Jeff Smith (aka Fuzzy) who heads up Boots on the Ground.  I imagined physical labor and serving in a manual capacity since that is what this ministry does at it’s heart.  However, the Lord (and Fuzzy) had other plans in mind.  When asking Fuzzy if there was a way I could serve I began offering ideas, but he immediately jumped at the opportunity and responded “Excel!”  I’ve done some volunteer work with Beltway’s men’s ministry in the past and Fuzzy has watched my handiwork, so he knew he was asking something I was capable and willing to do.  It’s incredible to see the Lord use me uniquely in a way I’m gifted and aligns with the needs of others.  Fuzzy had been thinking for a while he needed some time of inventory management system for Boots on the Ground and it wasn’t until we connected that he realized I could help.  Let me start by saying he had nothing at all but a warehouse full of things and some thoughts.  So we had to start from the ground up and find a way to track what Boots on the Ground has in inventory and consider a way to convert raw inventory to products in some cases (such as making a ramp out of lumber).  So my service time was spent getting inside the head of Fuzzy (it’s scary in there!) and figuring out what he needed and wanted and making something that would incorporate into his workflow and was also very user friendly.  After some back and forth, we ended on a project that will help him tremendously by letting him be able to track inventory as well as create project sheets (and even has some fancy user interfaces to make things simple while minimizing the manipulation of the workbook itself).  To see the smile on his face and the appreciation in his eyes was truly a rewarding sight.  It is amazing how Jesus orchestrated our working together and in the end how fun and fulfilling it was to be able to give from a place the Lord has blessed me and help others for the benefit of His kingdom.  I’m blessed for the opportunity to serve and will be checking in on Fuzzy soon to see what else I can do to help him.