Charge!

At the end of every staff meeting Annie Roberson (we call her Ms. Annie) sends us out with a rousing, “Shalom!” The send-off until only recently was, “Charge!” Regardless of the word, the message was the same. God has called us to a mission in West Dallas to make His peace and presence known, so let’s get out there and get busy.

It was that kind of spirit Ms. Annie brought to work with her every day. It is that spirit that will be dearly missed as Ms. Annie is retiring at the end of December.

Ms. Annie has been with Mercy Street from Day 1. Actually she has been with Mercy Street before day one. We decided to start a mentoring program at George Washington Carver elementary and we needed a strong, faithful woman of God to help interact with the parents of the children, if we were going to be successful. Bill Farrell said he knew the perfect person from his Sunday School class at PCPC. He talked to her about joining the team. She said, “yes.” Bill and I said, “Oh no.” Not because she was not the right person, but because we did not have an organization to join or any money to pay her. (That lead to a basic philosophy at Mercy Street—a principal of action—if we feel like God is calling us to do something then let’s trust Him and start doing that thing and we will figure it out as we go.) Twelve years later, we can say God was faithful to provide for Ms. Annie and the ministry of Mercy Street (sometimes through Bill Farrell twisting a few arms).

What I have learned over the years is that of course Ms. Annie said yes that day. She always says yes to opportunities to advance the gospel. She loves Jesus and wants to see other people know him and love him too.

For those who know Ms. Annie know that she has committed unbelievable amounts of scripture to memory. She is a walking, talking Bible. One of her favorite chapters to recite is Proverbs 31. It says:

She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;

It is an apt description of Ms. Annie. She is indeed a virtuous woman whose wisdom and strength have been an indispensable blessing to Mercy Street. I can honestly say that without Ms. Annie, Mercy Street never gets off the ground.

Thankfully, Ms. Annie will still live in the neighborhood and will continue to love on and minister to the women in West Dallas. The only difference will be she won’t have to go to staff meetings on Monday.

Ms. Annie, I will miss you. I respect you greatly. To you I say, “Charge!”

Sincerely,

Trey Hill