Darkness. Despair. Hopelessness.
Until recently, these were words that had a vague meaning for me. But to be quite honest, I had not truly experienced them. Oh, I thought I had. In my selfish world, when I was the center of my life, there were times when I thought that was where I was. But since I have come back to Christ, and I have devoted my life to trying to live by His example, my perspective has changed. When I thought I was in those places, experiencing those feelings, it was all based on my perspective, not God's. Now, I understand that what I can see is not the whole picture. I realized how little I had actually suffered in my past, and how ridiculous it was to associate my life with such pessimism. I had no concept of the depth that those words can go.
These past few months, my eyes have been opened in wonderful (and scary) ways. My first encounter with the true meaning of these words was in Arizona. When we joined with 3:18 ministries for a week, doing God's work on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, I saw what darkness, despair, and hopelessness is. Parks designed for fun that are ravaged by layers of graffiti. Broken bottles that seem to cry out with the agony of the generations of teens who broke them, the glass shards so abundant and so thick on the ground-- no, IN the ground-- that it feels like darkness has taken root in the place. Kids who know death so well that even the accidental death of a friend is met with a shrug and "oh well, that's how it goes." Just--sadness. It had a profound effect on me. Broke my heart for them. And left me overwhelmed. This is a place where we can do our best to shine God's light (which we did), but it seems like we were just candles in a hurricane.
Then, my lovely wife got into a geography class at LBCC. But what she thought was going to be basic geography is actually cultural geography. The second assignment focused on Eastern Europe and Russia. And while she was reading about them-- highest murder rates in the world for "modern" nations, suicide rates that are the highest anywhere, alcoholism numbers that are astronomical-- that same feeling of being overwhelmed hit me again. And don't even get me started on Africa, where they don't even keep records.
And now she is doing an assignment on the ethnic strata right here in Long Beach. Another shot to the system. There is that same profile again, only in a much more condensed area, right in our own backyard.
Such a sense of loss. Darkness so deep that the people in it are numb to pain. I can only imagine the tears that must flow when God looks down at these areas of the world.
And yet, here we are, the family of God, clinging together like the army at the Alamo. We come to church, and we take comfort in ourselves, in being together. We build our defenses against the onslaught of the world. We picture ourselves as a lighthouse, standing against the crashing waves, a beacon for those who are looking for rescue.
If seeing these things and learning about them has taught me anything these past few months, it is that our view of the church may be a bit wrong. I can't remember where I read it (if anyone reading this can help, thanks), but I read recently that the church should be more like a M.A.S.H. unit. We should be here to encourage each other, but our main goal is to strengthen and then send each other out into the fight again. At the time, I liked the concept. Now I realize that the author may have hit the nail on the head.
I'll take it a bit farther. We see ourselves in the church as a lighthouse, but maybe we need to think smaller. Instead of preventing a crash, maybe we should act as the rescue party. You see, the world has already crashed. There are places here that have been wrecked for so long that they have not seen God's light in years, decades, maybe ever. The people there are surrounded in darkness, and they are so absorbed in that way of life that they don't see any other choice. Just imagine how bright a candle, or a flashlight, would be for them. Maybe we, every individual in Christ, are God's flashlights. And imagine God's joy when he sees the bright centers of the world, His church, spreading out, even as tiny flickers, into the darkness, finding survivors to bring home! Even better, imagine what He can do once His light has reached their eyes!
It makes sense to me, and seems to be in line with His calling for us. I just never realized how big of a task we have in front of us, and the depths of darkness that we can penetrate when we follow God's will. And now that I have been awakened to what is out there, how can I go back to sleep? I can't. I can only devote myself to following Christ's example, and to being the best light I can be.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Arizona trip-- Looking back
It has been a couple of weeks since we got back from Arizona, so I have had some time to reflect back on everything that happened, everything we experienced, and what I came away with. Here are a few of my observations:
1) We had an incredible team. 14 people that were so diverse and unique, and we all got along. There was little to no conflict, and we worked together so well every day to accomplish amazing tasks as work, and to be Jesus for those kids. I am proud to have been a part of that team.
2) There is so much of society that flies under the radar. We spent a week in a small part of the country that has been largely ignored, but in reality, we could have gone only ten minutes into the city and we would have also been in an area that is largely ignored. I think I have realized that while I cannot spend several weeks doing mission work offsite, there is so much opportunity just within our community. I have made it a goal that we are going to be doing much more service as part of our HSM small group. In fact, I have already started moving in that direction.
3) I went there expecting to see miracles happen. And in that, I was disappointed. For you see, the miracle that happened was not external to us. We didn't see God's hand moving. Instead, we were being God's hand. And it felt natural, easy. When we are in line with God's will, it is like leaving the shore and just flowing down the river current. If we just stop fighting it and relax, it can be quite a ride. And I am sure that there are rapids and waterfalls and such, but wow! What a ride that can be!
Anyway, I learned what I think is the point: we are supposed to be God's hand. I mean sure, there are lots of times when we have to rely on God stepping in and working things beyond what we can do. And we can't forget that it is all Him working through us. But being God's hand, and being like Jesus to those around us, that is what we are supposed to do.
We are God's children, after all. And I think He may get more satisfaction from seeing His kids demonstrate what they have learned and loving like Him than when He has to do it all Himself. As parents, don't we like that more? Aren't we proud of the kids when they show what they can do with their learning? My son just graduated from high school, and I can attest that I was super-proud that he did the work, even though I know I could have done that work, too.
4) I was just reading through my list of cool quotes and stuff that I have been collecting through the years, and I came across this one:--"It only takes a single point of light in a dark night sky to lead the lost wanderer back home." It struck me that we were being single points of light in the midst of a dark night sky on the reservation. And Kara and Tory of 3:18 Ministries are there as spotlights all of the time. It really did seem like we were doing so little compared to what really needs to happen there. But I know that God was using us, and I can only hope that we have helped lead some of the kids from the darkness.
That's it for the Arizona trip blogs. Have a great night, and thanks for reading!
1) We had an incredible team. 14 people that were so diverse and unique, and we all got along. There was little to no conflict, and we worked together so well every day to accomplish amazing tasks as work, and to be Jesus for those kids. I am proud to have been a part of that team.
2) There is so much of society that flies under the radar. We spent a week in a small part of the country that has been largely ignored, but in reality, we could have gone only ten minutes into the city and we would have also been in an area that is largely ignored. I think I have realized that while I cannot spend several weeks doing mission work offsite, there is so much opportunity just within our community. I have made it a goal that we are going to be doing much more service as part of our HSM small group. In fact, I have already started moving in that direction.
3) I went there expecting to see miracles happen. And in that, I was disappointed. For you see, the miracle that happened was not external to us. We didn't see God's hand moving. Instead, we were being God's hand. And it felt natural, easy. When we are in line with God's will, it is like leaving the shore and just flowing down the river current. If we just stop fighting it and relax, it can be quite a ride. And I am sure that there are rapids and waterfalls and such, but wow! What a ride that can be!
Anyway, I learned what I think is the point: we are supposed to be God's hand. I mean sure, there are lots of times when we have to rely on God stepping in and working things beyond what we can do. And we can't forget that it is all Him working through us. But being God's hand, and being like Jesus to those around us, that is what we are supposed to do.
We are God's children, after all. And I think He may get more satisfaction from seeing His kids demonstrate what they have learned and loving like Him than when He has to do it all Himself. As parents, don't we like that more? Aren't we proud of the kids when they show what they can do with their learning? My son just graduated from high school, and I can attest that I was super-proud that he did the work, even though I know I could have done that work, too.
4) I was just reading through my list of cool quotes and stuff that I have been collecting through the years, and I came across this one:--"It only takes a single point of light in a dark night sky to lead the lost wanderer back home." It struck me that we were being single points of light in the midst of a dark night sky on the reservation. And Kara and Tory of 3:18 Ministries are there as spotlights all of the time. It really did seem like we were doing so little compared to what really needs to happen there. But I know that God was using us, and I can only hope that we have helped lead some of the kids from the darkness.
That's it for the Arizona trip blogs. Have a great night, and thanks for reading!
"If the Arizona trip were made into a movie, it would most definitely be a musical"-- Evan McElrath, Saturday Version
Day Six, Saturday--"Sing, Sing, Sing"- Chris Tomlin
Phew-- the last day.
This was to be the day when I just laid it all out there for the Lord to handle.
Late on Friday night, I found a tire store near Phoenix (about 90 miles away) that had tires for the truck. So we decided that I was going to pack all of the gear I could stow into the truck, then head out before breakfast down to Phoenix. Hopefully the timing would work out and I could just join the van as it passed by later.
And that is exactly what happened. We got up and started packing the truck with our gear, and I helped clean up around the church for a while. Then it was time to part ways. We said a short prayer, and I headed out.
You see, those 90 miles were through the mountains we had driven through on the way here, and there was little to no phone reception until the last 15 miles or so. So if I ran into trouble along the way, it was going to be bad. And with a donut spare and a tire with a large screw in it, there was nothing I could do except rely on God. Oh yeah, did I tell you that I could actually hear the screw tapping the asphault as it hit on every turn of the tire? The devil was still trying to make me despair, but at this point that was a feeble attempt.
So I took a cue from the Israelites when God gave them Jericho. I didn't try to fight, I just praised God for the miracle that He was going to perform for me. I rolled my window down, turned up the music, and shouted praise to the Lord for the next hour and a half. And it worked. Faith does work.
It was going to take about an hour for the tire replacement, so I waited with baited breath for the rest of the group to catch up. According to the timetable, they should have caught up while I was still waiting. But they never showed. And I knew that there was no reception in the mountains, so I kept waiting. And waiting.
Right about the time I was ready to head back towards Globe to find the group, they texted that they were out of the mountains. Turns out they had left a bunch of Tory's stuff in the van, and they had to turn around 1/2 an hour out of Globe to get it back to them.
The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Terry rode with Zach, Evan, Kaitlin and I on the way to Blythe, and we had some awesome conversation playing 21 questions. In Blythe, four of us acted like we were in a car and tried to act our way through the drive-thru at Taco Bell. It was a mediocre fail, but we had a great time acting out the parts.
We made it home the rest of the way on a mix of Disney songs and Evan's ipod. It made for a good soundtrack for the way home.
When we got home, it was a pleasant surprise to see Christine and Matt waiting for us at the church. I had really missed them, and wished more than anything that they could have experienced it with us.
So today's lesson was faith. Jesus said "ask as if you have already received," and that was what I had to do. I was so thankful and full of praise, knowing that the Lord was going to take care of us. And sure enough, He did. Faith. What more can I say?
Phew-- the last day.
This was to be the day when I just laid it all out there for the Lord to handle.
Late on Friday night, I found a tire store near Phoenix (about 90 miles away) that had tires for the truck. So we decided that I was going to pack all of the gear I could stow into the truck, then head out before breakfast down to Phoenix. Hopefully the timing would work out and I could just join the van as it passed by later.
And that is exactly what happened. We got up and started packing the truck with our gear, and I helped clean up around the church for a while. Then it was time to part ways. We said a short prayer, and I headed out.
You see, those 90 miles were through the mountains we had driven through on the way here, and there was little to no phone reception until the last 15 miles or so. So if I ran into trouble along the way, it was going to be bad. And with a donut spare and a tire with a large screw in it, there was nothing I could do except rely on God. Oh yeah, did I tell you that I could actually hear the screw tapping the asphault as it hit on every turn of the tire? The devil was still trying to make me despair, but at this point that was a feeble attempt.
So I took a cue from the Israelites when God gave them Jericho. I didn't try to fight, I just praised God for the miracle that He was going to perform for me. I rolled my window down, turned up the music, and shouted praise to the Lord for the next hour and a half. And it worked. Faith does work.
It was going to take about an hour for the tire replacement, so I waited with baited breath for the rest of the group to catch up. According to the timetable, they should have caught up while I was still waiting. But they never showed. And I knew that there was no reception in the mountains, so I kept waiting. And waiting.
Right about the time I was ready to head back towards Globe to find the group, they texted that they were out of the mountains. Turns out they had left a bunch of Tory's stuff in the van, and they had to turn around 1/2 an hour out of Globe to get it back to them.
The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Terry rode with Zach, Evan, Kaitlin and I on the way to Blythe, and we had some awesome conversation playing 21 questions. In Blythe, four of us acted like we were in a car and tried to act our way through the drive-thru at Taco Bell. It was a mediocre fail, but we had a great time acting out the parts.
We made it home the rest of the way on a mix of Disney songs and Evan's ipod. It made for a good soundtrack for the way home.
When we got home, it was a pleasant surprise to see Christine and Matt waiting for us at the church. I had really missed them, and wished more than anything that they could have experienced it with us.
So today's lesson was faith. Jesus said "ask as if you have already received," and that was what I had to do. I was so thankful and full of praise, knowing that the Lord was going to take care of us. And sure enough, He did. Faith. What more can I say?
"If the Arizona trip were made into a movie, it would most definitely be a musical"-- Evan McElrath, Friday Version
Day Five, Friday--"The Circle of Life"-- The Lion King
Today's theme was a bit hard to come up with, because I really had a roller-coaster of a day. But in the end, I remembered a quote from J.M. Strazinski (sp?) regarding an episode of Babylon 5 when one of the main characters had a day that went from good to bad. He said "The wheel turns, and if you forget that it eventually turns on you, you'll be ground beneath it." When I think back on today's events, I can only come to the conclusion that there was some real spiritual warfare going on that day. Read on, and you'll see what I mean.
The day started out innocently enough. We were all to be working at the fitness center today. Some of us were to be working outside finishing the last 20 feet or so of the wall, while the remainder were inside painting bathrooms and putting a cool stripe in the aerobics area. We loaded up as we had every day this week after breakfast, and started on our way. It was a good 25 minute ride into the reservation to get to the fitness center.
I had Evan, Casey, Kaitlin, and Courtney with me in the truck. We were the last car in the caravan, just standard operating procedure. Listening to music, talking back and forth. Suddenly, the tire alarm went off in the truck just as I felt a slight pull on the wheel. Sure enough, we were driving at 60 mph with a flat front tire. I was able to pull over, and Evan and I quickly got to work changing the tire. The hardest part, believe it or not, was figuring out how to get the spare down from its cavity under the truck. We turned Casey onto the manual, and quickly had it out.
The biggest problem, as it had been all week, was the heat. We left the car running so the A/C would stay on, but the engine heat was venting right into us as we changed the tire. But we still managed to turn it into a half-way learning experience for those who did not know how to change a tire.
We were back on the road in about twenty minutes (it may have been less, but we definitely were NOT the Duke brothers) and we took a shortcut to the fitness center, where the rest of the group was waiting for us.
Of course, Rachel's sense of humor was in fine form today. She had already assigned the project teams, and wouldn't you know it, our truck got to paint outside! We laughed (a little), then got down to business. Turns out we were able to finish the wall, touch up from the day before, and paint a little pony wall that was part of the entrance. In other words, our outside team rocked it again.
For lunch, we had the food in the truck. However, we forgot that when Rachel borrowed the truck to go to lunch in town. So we ended up not eating until we got back to the church, where we met Rachel with the truck.
We had about an hour until we had to report for VBS, so I decided to take the truck around and try to find a new tire. The spare had plenty of miles left on it, but it was just a donut, so I wanted to get it taken care of. What I found out was double-trouble. Not only did no-one in town have tires to fit my car, but the other front wheel had an identical screw to the one that had killed the flat tire. It was only a matter of time before the screw either broke or blew out, and I would be stuck with two flats.
So I was a bit dejected when I got back to the church, needless to say. It was at this point that the war for me that day was at its greatest. It seemed that there was little hope, and that I was going to let down the rest of the group.
But right then, I remember feeling this calm come over me. It is the same calm certainty I have felt at the critical times in the past: Sara's test to match bone marrow, Gerhard's heart transplant, the birth of all of the kids, etc. It was a turning point-- despair or faith. Failure or hope. I felt God telling me that even though I didn't know how, it would be okay. So I decided to go with God. I embraced the calm and the hope, and it carried me. Not that I didn't worry the whole night what exactly I was going to do, but I knew that it was in God's hands, and that was reassuring.
The VBS was almost exactly like the 2nd day at the other neighborhood. The kids were waiting for us, having opened up and allowed themselves to relish the joy and love that we were pouring on them. There was even a pair of sisters that brought their baby sister, who could not have been more than 8 months or so old.
It was especially fun today because we had inadvertently added ice to the play water, so the kids were filling their squirt guns with ice cold water. Many a leader, HSM'er, and child were shocked with the cold. And when that ran out, we just kept up with the hotter water, too. It was great fun, and once again we said bittersweet goodbyes at the end of the day.
For dinner, Tory and Kara had arranged a poolside BBQ at a friend's house. So we all went over there, and amused ourselves watching the high schoolers find creative ways to go down the slide into the pool. We also had a great discussion with Terry that went over into the next day as well.
Once we got back and debriefed the week, it was time to go out and see the stars for the last time. But of course, as with everything we do with HSM, we did it to the extreme.
It started out just Shelby and I going out to explore into the hills behind the church. But we didn't have light, and the first time we heard the brush rustle we headed back for lights and reinforcements.We found Garrett and Conner, and a flashlight, and headed back to where we had gone before. The others were trying to come along, but not until we were already a ways into the brush, so we just continued.
Up about 3/4 of a mile into the hills was a set of huge water towers. We decided to head for the towers, and stumbled our way there. Once we got there, we climbed up onto the wall that surrounded the towers and went around the periphery as far as we could. That must have been when the others passed us, because we did not see them when we got around, so we headed back.
The others had a quite different experience. Instead of heading for the tower wall, they went on up around the tower to another trail that led further away from the church. Apparently, they went far enough to feel a bit worried, then headed back in the general direction of the church. At one point a coyote howled not too far from them and gave them the chills. Their final adventure happened when they ran across some suspicious activity between some trucks just before they got back to the church. That was when we met up with them again.
While they were telling us their story, some police cars came up looking around at the towers and right by the church. The plan was that the kids were going to run inside while I talked to the police, but fortunately they passed right by us without a second thought. Not sure what was going on, but it was definitely weird. Hopefully they were going after the trucks.
That pretty well ended the night. By this time it was about 12:30, so we all decided to turn in.
Today's lesson was about worry. You see, between the flat tire, the missing lunches, and the lack of tires, the devil was definitely trying to end the trip on a sour note. Because I was worried about control of the situation. We thought we had it all figured out. And by tripping us up, he was trying to get me to despair and lose hope. But God stepped in at exactly the right time, as He always does. His calm kept me from the abyss, and allowed me to recognize that He was in control. And more than that, His grace made it possible to continue pouring out His love on the kids, even when things were looking sour. Its amazing what He can do.
Today's theme was a bit hard to come up with, because I really had a roller-coaster of a day. But in the end, I remembered a quote from J.M. Strazinski (sp?) regarding an episode of Babylon 5 when one of the main characters had a day that went from good to bad. He said "The wheel turns, and if you forget that it eventually turns on you, you'll be ground beneath it." When I think back on today's events, I can only come to the conclusion that there was some real spiritual warfare going on that day. Read on, and you'll see what I mean.
The day started out innocently enough. We were all to be working at the fitness center today. Some of us were to be working outside finishing the last 20 feet or so of the wall, while the remainder were inside painting bathrooms and putting a cool stripe in the aerobics area. We loaded up as we had every day this week after breakfast, and started on our way. It was a good 25 minute ride into the reservation to get to the fitness center.
I had Evan, Casey, Kaitlin, and Courtney with me in the truck. We were the last car in the caravan, just standard operating procedure. Listening to music, talking back and forth. Suddenly, the tire alarm went off in the truck just as I felt a slight pull on the wheel. Sure enough, we were driving at 60 mph with a flat front tire. I was able to pull over, and Evan and I quickly got to work changing the tire. The hardest part, believe it or not, was figuring out how to get the spare down from its cavity under the truck. We turned Casey onto the manual, and quickly had it out.
The biggest problem, as it had been all week, was the heat. We left the car running so the A/C would stay on, but the engine heat was venting right into us as we changed the tire. But we still managed to turn it into a half-way learning experience for those who did not know how to change a tire.
We were back on the road in about twenty minutes (it may have been less, but we definitely were NOT the Duke brothers) and we took a shortcut to the fitness center, where the rest of the group was waiting for us.
Of course, Rachel's sense of humor was in fine form today. She had already assigned the project teams, and wouldn't you know it, our truck got to paint outside! We laughed (a little), then got down to business. Turns out we were able to finish the wall, touch up from the day before, and paint a little pony wall that was part of the entrance. In other words, our outside team rocked it again.
For lunch, we had the food in the truck. However, we forgot that when Rachel borrowed the truck to go to lunch in town. So we ended up not eating until we got back to the church, where we met Rachel with the truck.
We had about an hour until we had to report for VBS, so I decided to take the truck around and try to find a new tire. The spare had plenty of miles left on it, but it was just a donut, so I wanted to get it taken care of. What I found out was double-trouble. Not only did no-one in town have tires to fit my car, but the other front wheel had an identical screw to the one that had killed the flat tire. It was only a matter of time before the screw either broke or blew out, and I would be stuck with two flats.
So I was a bit dejected when I got back to the church, needless to say. It was at this point that the war for me that day was at its greatest. It seemed that there was little hope, and that I was going to let down the rest of the group.
But right then, I remember feeling this calm come over me. It is the same calm certainty I have felt at the critical times in the past: Sara's test to match bone marrow, Gerhard's heart transplant, the birth of all of the kids, etc. It was a turning point-- despair or faith. Failure or hope. I felt God telling me that even though I didn't know how, it would be okay. So I decided to go with God. I embraced the calm and the hope, and it carried me. Not that I didn't worry the whole night what exactly I was going to do, but I knew that it was in God's hands, and that was reassuring.
The VBS was almost exactly like the 2nd day at the other neighborhood. The kids were waiting for us, having opened up and allowed themselves to relish the joy and love that we were pouring on them. There was even a pair of sisters that brought their baby sister, who could not have been more than 8 months or so old.
It was especially fun today because we had inadvertently added ice to the play water, so the kids were filling their squirt guns with ice cold water. Many a leader, HSM'er, and child were shocked with the cold. And when that ran out, we just kept up with the hotter water, too. It was great fun, and once again we said bittersweet goodbyes at the end of the day.
For dinner, Tory and Kara had arranged a poolside BBQ at a friend's house. So we all went over there, and amused ourselves watching the high schoolers find creative ways to go down the slide into the pool. We also had a great discussion with Terry that went over into the next day as well.
Once we got back and debriefed the week, it was time to go out and see the stars for the last time. But of course, as with everything we do with HSM, we did it to the extreme.
It started out just Shelby and I going out to explore into the hills behind the church. But we didn't have light, and the first time we heard the brush rustle we headed back for lights and reinforcements.We found Garrett and Conner, and a flashlight, and headed back to where we had gone before. The others were trying to come along, but not until we were already a ways into the brush, so we just continued.
Up about 3/4 of a mile into the hills was a set of huge water towers. We decided to head for the towers, and stumbled our way there. Once we got there, we climbed up onto the wall that surrounded the towers and went around the periphery as far as we could. That must have been when the others passed us, because we did not see them when we got around, so we headed back.
The others had a quite different experience. Instead of heading for the tower wall, they went on up around the tower to another trail that led further away from the church. Apparently, they went far enough to feel a bit worried, then headed back in the general direction of the church. At one point a coyote howled not too far from them and gave them the chills. Their final adventure happened when they ran across some suspicious activity between some trucks just before they got back to the church. That was when we met up with them again.
While they were telling us their story, some police cars came up looking around at the towers and right by the church. The plan was that the kids were going to run inside while I talked to the police, but fortunately they passed right by us without a second thought. Not sure what was going on, but it was definitely weird. Hopefully they were going after the trucks.
That pretty well ended the night. By this time it was about 12:30, so we all decided to turn in.
Today's lesson was about worry. You see, between the flat tire, the missing lunches, and the lack of tires, the devil was definitely trying to end the trip on a sour note. Because I was worried about control of the situation. We thought we had it all figured out. And by tripping us up, he was trying to get me to despair and lose hope. But God stepped in at exactly the right time, as He always does. His calm kept me from the abyss, and allowed me to recognize that He was in control. And more than that, His grace made it possible to continue pouring out His love on the kids, even when things were looking sour. Its amazing what He can do.
" If the Arizona trip were made into a movie, it would most definitely be a musical" -- Evan McElrath, Thursday Version
Day Four, Thursday-- "The Happy Working Song"--Disney, from the "Enchanted" Soundtrack
Thursday saw our group back together again, working as one unit on the fitness center outside wall. On Wednesday, the team that was there had painted a fascia about 4 feet high that went along the top of of the wall. They had to paint most of it from the roof, and from the heat we felt working on the ground, it must have been blistering up there. But we now had the entire wall to paint, along with a second smaller piece of wall and an entrance way that was going to be white.
So we split into three teams: big gray, little gray, and white. Zach was quick to claim leadership of team big gray, but he lost it again after about 20 minutes. You see, it was a brick building, and we were painting with rollers, so it was really hard to get in the spaces between bricks. Zach was given responsibility for filling in behind the rollers. I think he really ceded his leader position after one too many jokes about how he needed to "take care of" someone's crack. :-)
Once the real leadership was established (Evan had team big gray oversight), we all got to work a little more seriously. I use that term lightly, though, as all of the teams were having a great time (even though the other teams were losing!). It was so hot that all we could do was think of ways to entertain ourselves to take our minds off of the fact that we were melting. So we sang. Disney songs. Lots and lots of Disney songs. To the extent that more than one fitness center customer went inside shaking their heads in wonder (at least I can't think of anything it would have been besides wonder). But we all found new levels of talent within each other. I truly believe that no other group besides a church group can sing so well. I mean, we make it a practice to sing every week together in worship, so it would just make sense that we would sing good together outside of church, too. No other groups can claim that. Just listen to them sing happy birthday at restaurants (I stole that example from Mark Gungor, but it is true).
After work, we went back to the cultural center. Herb had invited us to lunch today. When we got there, we realized just what he meant. He woke up at 4:00 AM to start preparing the meal, and he closed the center, his means of income, for the day just to host us. We were awed by his generosity and his desire to spend some time with us, and we hadn't even tried the food yet.
Herb had indeed prepared a feast for us. Using traditional Apache methods and spices (including the acorns that we had seen on Tuesday), he made dumplings, stew, frybread, and Apache tamales. He also prepared an iced tea that used herbs that promoted cleansing. His aunt, who looked like the traditional picture of ancient Indian women, had helped. But they made it all in the back patio of the cultural center. Their BBQ pit was literally on the ground, and there was a sense of authenticity and tradition that permeated the place. It was really cool. And the food was amazing.
For VBS today, we moved to another neighborhood on the reservation. Believe it or not, this park was even less happy than the first place. Here, the slide on the playground had been burned to the point that it was just a melted, charred, mess of plastic. The glass here was even more abundant. The basketball court was fenced, but there were so many holes in the fence it just made it look violated. And there was no shade except one canopy that we brought with us.
The neighborhood kids echoed the park. There were still lots of kids, but this time they were "harder." The kids didn't open up as quickly, preferring to keep a tough, macho exterior through the lesson and the craft. It wasn't until game time, when we all poured our hearts (and copious amounts of water) into them, that they really started to show the joy we had seen in the other group. But once that happened, the same miracle we had been a part of at the other neighborhood started working here. And we were all immersed in it fully this time. In fact, the time there passed so fast, I don't think any of us wanted to be done when it was time to head back into town.
The camaraderie we had enjoyed through the day continued into the evening. At dinner, Tory and I ogled the Legos catalog while Rachel and Evan laughed at us. Zach, by virtue of his strapping good looks (You are welcome :-)), was linked to Evan as his nephew by one of Tory's kids. That turned into great laughs for the rest of the week when we realized that Kaitlin might then be his mom!
After dinner we went to Dairy Queen where we met some of the teens that have broken through some of the despair thanks to the ministry out there. The best part of that trip was all of us running full speed out the doors and into the cars to hide from Katie and Shelby, who had gone to the bathroom.
For our debrief that night, instead of the normal lessons learned, we drew names and wrote letters of encouragement to our fellow teammates, seeing as how we had one more day of labor and VBS to go.
That night saw the biggest gathering of us outside to look at the stars. The meteor shower was in full swing, so we all got to see a few really good shooting stars against the backdrop of the Milky Way, all the while having some good conversation about movies, theories, and life in general.
Looking back, I think my lesson for today was about perseverance, patience, and endurance. When we were working, especially at the beginning of the day, it seemed like we were making such small progress that we would never be done. At Herb's, we learned about how you have to wait for the acorns to cure before you can process them to make the spice. At VBS, we had to persevere through the lesson and craft before the kids really opened up to us. And watching for shooting stars is all about patience.
None of today was done on a timeline that I could control. I was certainly part of the action, but the timing was all governed by God. I just had to jump into the action, and let His timing control the pace. Once again a lesson about putting myself under His control. Even if it seems that things are not going as easily as it should, just trust Him. His time is coming, and the results will be better than you can imagine.
Thursday saw our group back together again, working as one unit on the fitness center outside wall. On Wednesday, the team that was there had painted a fascia about 4 feet high that went along the top of of the wall. They had to paint most of it from the roof, and from the heat we felt working on the ground, it must have been blistering up there. But we now had the entire wall to paint, along with a second smaller piece of wall and an entrance way that was going to be white.
So we split into three teams: big gray, little gray, and white. Zach was quick to claim leadership of team big gray, but he lost it again after about 20 minutes. You see, it was a brick building, and we were painting with rollers, so it was really hard to get in the spaces between bricks. Zach was given responsibility for filling in behind the rollers. I think he really ceded his leader position after one too many jokes about how he needed to "take care of" someone's crack. :-)
Once the real leadership was established (Evan had team big gray oversight), we all got to work a little more seriously. I use that term lightly, though, as all of the teams were having a great time (even though the other teams were losing!). It was so hot that all we could do was think of ways to entertain ourselves to take our minds off of the fact that we were melting. So we sang. Disney songs. Lots and lots of Disney songs. To the extent that more than one fitness center customer went inside shaking their heads in wonder (at least I can't think of anything it would have been besides wonder). But we all found new levels of talent within each other. I truly believe that no other group besides a church group can sing so well. I mean, we make it a practice to sing every week together in worship, so it would just make sense that we would sing good together outside of church, too. No other groups can claim that. Just listen to them sing happy birthday at restaurants (I stole that example from Mark Gungor, but it is true).
After work, we went back to the cultural center. Herb had invited us to lunch today. When we got there, we realized just what he meant. He woke up at 4:00 AM to start preparing the meal, and he closed the center, his means of income, for the day just to host us. We were awed by his generosity and his desire to spend some time with us, and we hadn't even tried the food yet.
Herb had indeed prepared a feast for us. Using traditional Apache methods and spices (including the acorns that we had seen on Tuesday), he made dumplings, stew, frybread, and Apache tamales. He also prepared an iced tea that used herbs that promoted cleansing. His aunt, who looked like the traditional picture of ancient Indian women, had helped. But they made it all in the back patio of the cultural center. Their BBQ pit was literally on the ground, and there was a sense of authenticity and tradition that permeated the place. It was really cool. And the food was amazing.
For VBS today, we moved to another neighborhood on the reservation. Believe it or not, this park was even less happy than the first place. Here, the slide on the playground had been burned to the point that it was just a melted, charred, mess of plastic. The glass here was even more abundant. The basketball court was fenced, but there were so many holes in the fence it just made it look violated. And there was no shade except one canopy that we brought with us.
The neighborhood kids echoed the park. There were still lots of kids, but this time they were "harder." The kids didn't open up as quickly, preferring to keep a tough, macho exterior through the lesson and the craft. It wasn't until game time, when we all poured our hearts (and copious amounts of water) into them, that they really started to show the joy we had seen in the other group. But once that happened, the same miracle we had been a part of at the other neighborhood started working here. And we were all immersed in it fully this time. In fact, the time there passed so fast, I don't think any of us wanted to be done when it was time to head back into town.
The camaraderie we had enjoyed through the day continued into the evening. At dinner, Tory and I ogled the Legos catalog while Rachel and Evan laughed at us. Zach, by virtue of his strapping good looks (You are welcome :-)), was linked to Evan as his nephew by one of Tory's kids. That turned into great laughs for the rest of the week when we realized that Kaitlin might then be his mom!
After dinner we went to Dairy Queen where we met some of the teens that have broken through some of the despair thanks to the ministry out there. The best part of that trip was all of us running full speed out the doors and into the cars to hide from Katie and Shelby, who had gone to the bathroom.
For our debrief that night, instead of the normal lessons learned, we drew names and wrote letters of encouragement to our fellow teammates, seeing as how we had one more day of labor and VBS to go.
That night saw the biggest gathering of us outside to look at the stars. The meteor shower was in full swing, so we all got to see a few really good shooting stars against the backdrop of the Milky Way, all the while having some good conversation about movies, theories, and life in general.
Looking back, I think my lesson for today was about perseverance, patience, and endurance. When we were working, especially at the beginning of the day, it seemed like we were making such small progress that we would never be done. At Herb's, we learned about how you have to wait for the acorns to cure before you can process them to make the spice. At VBS, we had to persevere through the lesson and craft before the kids really opened up to us. And watching for shooting stars is all about patience.
None of today was done on a timeline that I could control. I was certainly part of the action, but the timing was all governed by God. I just had to jump into the action, and let His timing control the pace. Once again a lesson about putting myself under His control. Even if it seems that things are not going as easily as it should, just trust Him. His time is coming, and the results will be better than you can imagine.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
"If the Arizona trip were made into a movie, it would definitely be a musical"-- Evan McElrath, Wednesday Edition
Wednesday-- "Smokin' in the boys' room"--Motley Crue (or Brownsville Station)
OK, I know you are all thinking that HAS to be a mistake, but just hear me out. Trust me, it works. :-)
At breakfast, we laid out our plan for the day. One group of us had to return to the cultural center to finish the painting there, while the others headed for the fitness center to start the outdoor project there. We decided that I would take myself and two others to the cultural center to attack the restrooms and the kitchen area. Although I knew we would have to work hard and fast to get it done, at least we would have the A/C. And when we stopped for gas, I filled my monster cup with ice so we would have cold water.
While we were prepping to leave for the day, dividing up supplies and stuff, Tory and I got to talking again. We had hit it off the prior two days, mostly because once he understood that I am an engineer he could see the method to my madness. That and our common fondness for Legos had pretty much sealed the deal. But little did I know that a simple snag would bring us even closer. You see, we were loading and tying down the ladders on the trailer for the fitness center, and Tory's rope had become tangled. When he dropped a piece of the knotted mess and started working on one end, I quickly dove in to tackle it so we could get it undone twice as fast.
And that was when it happened. I heard Tory laugh as I started on the rope mass, and we got talking about our love for untangling knots of all kinds. That was like the third thing we have in common, so now, by default, we are good friends. Rachel called it a bromance. I just call it destiny :-)...
Now, when we got to the cultural center, we were all set to have a hardworking but comfortable day (see above). However, what none of us had realized the day before was just how much edging was left to be done. And Herb didn't turn on the air for us today (turned out it was by accident that he didn't turn it on), so the heat got pretty stifling.
It was Becky, Casey, and me as the initial team at the center. We got done with the rest of the kitchen in pretty good time, so at that point I was figuring we were good to go. However, when I started taping the bathrooms, I noted that we were going to have a LOT of edging to do, and that was going to take time. Fortunately, I had two of our ace edgers, so the girls would edge and roll while I rolled ( I am definitely NOT an edger).
About half an hour after being in the bathroom, it started to feel more like a sauna. The three of us were all working in a room that was about 7 X 7, and it was getting hot. But, being the troopers they are, the girls kept working at it, and by the time help arrived we had pretty much finished the girls' bathroom.
At about 11:45, Tory brought Courtney and Hannah over to help finish up, because even with all of the work we were doing, we were going to be close on time. Turns out that Courtney was suffering from a bit of heat stroke/dehydration, so we got her back on her feet while we turned our attention to finishing the boys' room and replacing the furniture and fixtures in the conference room, kitchen, and girls' room.
Needless to say, we barely eked it out, and at one point had four people working in the boys' room to get it done. With the heat it really was like a sauna, thus the title for today. And once again we ate lunch on the way back to the church. We met back up with the rest of the team there, where we learned that they had also had a hot day on the roof, and Evan had been mortally (well, the pic was better than the real thing) wounded while valiantly carrying a ladder for Shelby.
It was probably Wednesday's VBS that really showed me just how desperate these kids are for God's love as demonstrated through us. While Tuesday had been very cool, and we had been part of that great migration of kids to the park, today was the day when we would really see if they wanted to be around us, if they were really drawn to what we were doing there. I think that was my biggest worry as we drove out. That all of the work that the HSM'ers had put into yesterday would be just a flash in the pan, and that the kids would not show up on the second day, or at least not in the numbers we'd seen the day before. All I can say is that it was great to be wrong, and to see that God's light does draw people out from the darkness.
When we pulled up, there was already a gaggle of kids waiting for us. The park had these shades over the concrete pads, and in the heat of August (110 degrees and more) in the afternoon there is only just a small area that actually gets shade. Well, there were about 10 kids all huddled in that small area of shade just waiting for us. When we started getting out of the trucks, they literally exploded over to us and latched onto the HSM'ers. It was awesome to see.
As we were waiting to start and more kids came over to the park, I saw Miguel walk up. He couldn't have been more than 4, and he had walked from his home to the park all alone. And when I say walked, it was not a short walk. And he had to cross a fairly busy two-lane road. Anyway, Miguel and I had played yesterday when he managed to lasso me with a rope. So I went over to say hi, and he looked up eagerly and said "I waited and waited all day for my clock to say 4." To me, that was a testament to how much the kids here need hope, need love, need God's light on them. And these kids are still young. Imagine how much the teens need that, after years of living in darkness and not knowing anything else. It is just heart-breaking, as can be seen in this blog from Kara (http://3-18ministries.blogspot.com/2010/08/life-cut-short.html). She felt it, and I could feel it through her words.
Anyway, VBS was once again a big success. We had extra play water this time, and the kids used it to nail just about everyone in the group. The hardest part was actually saying goodbye, because we knew we were not coming back to this neighborhood on this trip. It is sad when you see what God can do, and then you have to leave. You are left hoping that their short exposure to love and happiness will linger on and have an impact on them. God knows how much they need it.
At dinner that night, Tory gave us a black light to use to look for scorpions in the brush around the church (they glow really cool in black light). We then went home with several of us eager for the epic hunt that was to take place. When we got back, we did our debrief with Rachel, then had our second big bug sighting. The girls found a scorpion in their showers. We did what any good scorpion hunters would do: shut off the lights and watch it glow. But sadly, it seemed that there would be noone sleeping if it wasn't dead, so we terminated it.
Seeing the scorpion inside got our hearts thumping for the "real" thing, so a few of us then bounded outside to look for scorpions in the wild. It all started out exciting: we were overturning rocks, kicking plywood sheets to see if any ran out, rolling old barrels out of the way. But alas, we saw no scorpions. Kind of a bummer. But we had two more nights to try!
We went inside with slightly less exuberance than we went out with, but it quickly turned happy again when we had a scorpion sighting in the gym. This time, it was up too high to see with the blacklight, but we considered ourselves partially successful. At this point, I went out to view the stars again, then retired for the evening.
Today my lesson was about trusting God. Every time I think about how "we" can or can't do something, or about how little influence we have, God shows up and says "Yeah, well, I was behind that, so just look at what I can do!" It boils down to relying on God rather than ourselves. You see, I am right. "We" can't do it, at least not alone. But when we have God on our side, and we are doing His will, He can make miracles out of us. "Now to Him who is able to far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory"-- Ephesians 3:20-21. Amen to that!
OK, I know you are all thinking that HAS to be a mistake, but just hear me out. Trust me, it works. :-)
At breakfast, we laid out our plan for the day. One group of us had to return to the cultural center to finish the painting there, while the others headed for the fitness center to start the outdoor project there. We decided that I would take myself and two others to the cultural center to attack the restrooms and the kitchen area. Although I knew we would have to work hard and fast to get it done, at least we would have the A/C. And when we stopped for gas, I filled my monster cup with ice so we would have cold water.
While we were prepping to leave for the day, dividing up supplies and stuff, Tory and I got to talking again. We had hit it off the prior two days, mostly because once he understood that I am an engineer he could see the method to my madness. That and our common fondness for Legos had pretty much sealed the deal. But little did I know that a simple snag would bring us even closer. You see, we were loading and tying down the ladders on the trailer for the fitness center, and Tory's rope had become tangled. When he dropped a piece of the knotted mess and started working on one end, I quickly dove in to tackle it so we could get it undone twice as fast.
And that was when it happened. I heard Tory laugh as I started on the rope mass, and we got talking about our love for untangling knots of all kinds. That was like the third thing we have in common, so now, by default, we are good friends. Rachel called it a bromance. I just call it destiny :-)...
Now, when we got to the cultural center, we were all set to have a hardworking but comfortable day (see above). However, what none of us had realized the day before was just how much edging was left to be done. And Herb didn't turn on the air for us today (turned out it was by accident that he didn't turn it on), so the heat got pretty stifling.
It was Becky, Casey, and me as the initial team at the center. We got done with the rest of the kitchen in pretty good time, so at that point I was figuring we were good to go. However, when I started taping the bathrooms, I noted that we were going to have a LOT of edging to do, and that was going to take time. Fortunately, I had two of our ace edgers, so the girls would edge and roll while I rolled ( I am definitely NOT an edger).
About half an hour after being in the bathroom, it started to feel more like a sauna. The three of us were all working in a room that was about 7 X 7, and it was getting hot. But, being the troopers they are, the girls kept working at it, and by the time help arrived we had pretty much finished the girls' bathroom.
At about 11:45, Tory brought Courtney and Hannah over to help finish up, because even with all of the work we were doing, we were going to be close on time. Turns out that Courtney was suffering from a bit of heat stroke/dehydration, so we got her back on her feet while we turned our attention to finishing the boys' room and replacing the furniture and fixtures in the conference room, kitchen, and girls' room.
Needless to say, we barely eked it out, and at one point had four people working in the boys' room to get it done. With the heat it really was like a sauna, thus the title for today. And once again we ate lunch on the way back to the church. We met back up with the rest of the team there, where we learned that they had also had a hot day on the roof, and Evan had been mortally (well, the pic was better than the real thing) wounded while valiantly carrying a ladder for Shelby.
It was probably Wednesday's VBS that really showed me just how desperate these kids are for God's love as demonstrated through us. While Tuesday had been very cool, and we had been part of that great migration of kids to the park, today was the day when we would really see if they wanted to be around us, if they were really drawn to what we were doing there. I think that was my biggest worry as we drove out. That all of the work that the HSM'ers had put into yesterday would be just a flash in the pan, and that the kids would not show up on the second day, or at least not in the numbers we'd seen the day before. All I can say is that it was great to be wrong, and to see that God's light does draw people out from the darkness.
When we pulled up, there was already a gaggle of kids waiting for us. The park had these shades over the concrete pads, and in the heat of August (110 degrees and more) in the afternoon there is only just a small area that actually gets shade. Well, there were about 10 kids all huddled in that small area of shade just waiting for us. When we started getting out of the trucks, they literally exploded over to us and latched onto the HSM'ers. It was awesome to see.
As we were waiting to start and more kids came over to the park, I saw Miguel walk up. He couldn't have been more than 4, and he had walked from his home to the park all alone. And when I say walked, it was not a short walk. And he had to cross a fairly busy two-lane road. Anyway, Miguel and I had played yesterday when he managed to lasso me with a rope. So I went over to say hi, and he looked up eagerly and said "I waited and waited all day for my clock to say 4." To me, that was a testament to how much the kids here need hope, need love, need God's light on them. And these kids are still young. Imagine how much the teens need that, after years of living in darkness and not knowing anything else. It is just heart-breaking, as can be seen in this blog from Kara (http://3-18ministries.blogspot.com/2010/08/life-cut-short.html). She felt it, and I could feel it through her words.
Anyway, VBS was once again a big success. We had extra play water this time, and the kids used it to nail just about everyone in the group. The hardest part was actually saying goodbye, because we knew we were not coming back to this neighborhood on this trip. It is sad when you see what God can do, and then you have to leave. You are left hoping that their short exposure to love and happiness will linger on and have an impact on them. God knows how much they need it.
At dinner that night, Tory gave us a black light to use to look for scorpions in the brush around the church (they glow really cool in black light). We then went home with several of us eager for the epic hunt that was to take place. When we got back, we did our debrief with Rachel, then had our second big bug sighting. The girls found a scorpion in their showers. We did what any good scorpion hunters would do: shut off the lights and watch it glow. But sadly, it seemed that there would be noone sleeping if it wasn't dead, so we terminated it.
Seeing the scorpion inside got our hearts thumping for the "real" thing, so a few of us then bounded outside to look for scorpions in the wild. It all started out exciting: we were overturning rocks, kicking plywood sheets to see if any ran out, rolling old barrels out of the way. But alas, we saw no scorpions. Kind of a bummer. But we had two more nights to try!
We went inside with slightly less exuberance than we went out with, but it quickly turned happy again when we had a scorpion sighting in the gym. This time, it was up too high to see with the blacklight, but we considered ourselves partially successful. At this point, I went out to view the stars again, then retired for the evening.
Today my lesson was about trusting God. Every time I think about how "we" can or can't do something, or about how little influence we have, God shows up and says "Yeah, well, I was behind that, so just look at what I can do!" It boils down to relying on God rather than ourselves. You see, I am right. "We" can't do it, at least not alone. But when we have God on our side, and we are doing His will, He can make miracles out of us. "Now to Him who is able to far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory"-- Ephesians 3:20-21. Amen to that!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
"If the Arizona trip were made into a movie, it would most definitely be a musical"-- Evan McElrath, Tuesday edition
Arizona Trip, Day Two, Tuesday--"Gonna Fly Now"-- Bill Conti (from the "Rocky" soundtrack)
I have to admit something upfront here. I know that I snore. Some have even said "loudly." So I tried very hard to be the last one to sleep at night so that it didn't keep anyone awake. If I did and you were quiet about it, thanks, but next time just kick me and tell me to roll over. It really does help, and I try to accommodate.
Anyway, I set my cell phone alarm to get up about 1/2 an hour early each day. That way I could be ready, have some Bible time, and be out of the way of everyone else getting ready. When you live in a house with four teens and a wife, you learn about mornings the hard way. And this was ten teens and a Rachel, so I knew I would be in for trouble. But surprisingly, everyone gelled pretty well during wake up time, and we made it to breakfast at Tory and Kara's house on time.
After a wonderful breakfast of biscuits and gravy, we all had to make our sack lunches for the day. All I can say is that it was good to see that Kara's kitchen survived.
We made our way to the Cultural Center on the reservation, about 25 minutes from Globe down a two-lane highway. There were plants that I was not familiar with alongside the road, and as you enter the reservation you dip into this valley with mesas and mountains in the distance. It was beautiful, but stark. After all, it is mostly desert. What struck me was shame for our government, who back in the day decided that the AZ desert was the best place to "dump" the Apaches. There is a little water, and they have built up some farmland, but for the most part it is a hostile environment. If it wasn't for the Apache pride, their ability to work together, and some grace from God, I don't know how they could have survived.
At the Cultural Center, we met the owner/operator Herb. He is super-friendly, and welcomed us all. He is Apache (of course), and he has had a multitude of jobs through the years. Now he mainly runs the center, and he makes traditional herbal remedies. In fact, when we were done for the day, he took us out to his truck, where he was drying some acorns. He had traveled into the surrounding mountains to gather them. I didn't even know acorns were edible for us, but he showed us how to shell and eat them. I must say, they taste like sunflower seeds.
While we got to know him, we prepped the conference room and kitchen/hallway for paint. We were going to paint the bathrooms too, but we didn't get that far on Tuesday. So Herb, Tory, Evan and I set to moving the furniture away from the walls, taking down pictures, etc. Evan found a dead bat under one of the bookcases-- awesome!-- and then we were ready to get started painting.
This turned out to be a perfect activity for the first day. We were inside and Herb had turned on the air in the conference room, so it was pretty comfortable. And since we were all inside a pretty confined area, it gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better.
The surprise of the morning had to be the condition of the exterior wall. While there were windows that I am sure provide a great view, Herb had to close them up with plywood to prevent them from being broken so that from the outside you wouldn't even know there are windows there. And he had to have some work done due to a water leak, and he paid a huge amount to have someone come in and drywall the repair. However, it quickly became apparent that the drywall job was not so good. So Tory, Rob, and I spent most of our time patching holes with the caulk we had while the others painted. We got the entire room done and about half of the kitchen before it was time to leave for lunch and VBS.
We ate our lunches on the way back to the church, where we were able to take a break for an hour or so.
After the break we headed over to Tory and Kara's so we could make our way to the VBS. They said it was going to be at the neighborhood park, so we all had an idea of what to expect. Needless to say, when we got there all of our expectations were destroyed. When we hear the word park, most of us expect a playground, some grass, etc. But this was not the case. I think I actually gasped when we pulled up. It was a fenced off area at the top of a hill. There was a playground that was literally covered with graffiti, and two slabs of concrete under shades, also full of graffiti. And a concrete slab for a basketball court. Otherwise, it was all just dirt and glass. LOTS of glass. Broken bottles, to be precise. And it seems like it is layered there, years and years of broken bottles just settling on top of each other. It was profoundly sad, because here is a place designed to bring joy for children, but instead it is where the teens, for generations, have been literally breaking their hearts and dashing their dreams via bottles.
Rachel sent out a group to wander the neighborhood and pass out fliers for the VBS while the rest of us tried our best to clear the concrete under the shade of all of the glass shards so the kids could sit down. We did not know what to expect, and even Tory mentioned that they had had only a mediocre turn-out the last time they were there. And it was the first day of school to boot.
After about fifteen minutes we saw the group coming around a corner down the hill. They were walking together down the street towards the park. All of a sudden, a huge group of kids lined up in front of them and started walking with them. When they reached the corner diagonal from the park, even more kids seemed to come out of nowhere and ran to join them. This is when the Rocky theme struck up in my head. I think I even let out a tear of happiness at what we were seeing, as the kids scrambled up the hill to the park. And even though Rachel had not been there for a year, one of the little girls ran right up and jumped into her arms. We were giving them something to be happy about, and to hope for.
The rest of the VBS was all about the high schoolers. They gave the lesson, played out the story with the children, and then conducted water games with them. I don't think there was a leader there who was not SUPER-proud of them.
Once playtime came, we all got into the thick of things. The kids are so starving for attention, for hope, for light, that it is infectious. You cannot stand back and stay uninvolved. So we were all playing with them-- basketball, frisbee, jumprope- you name it. The joy on their faces is indescribable, because you get the feeling that they don't get to express that emotion very much.
After VBS we went back to Tory and Kara's for dinner. We had our first big bug sighting there, a large stink bug that had wound its way up around the shoes in the carport. We were trying to decide how to let it live and get rid of it when Rachel came out, saw the bug, grabbed a random flip-flop, and struck down the stink bug with great fervor and enthusiasm. Poor bug...
When we returned to the church that night, we had our first debrief, where it was clear that Rachel wanted us to focus on building relationships with the kids. That was important for me, because here we are touching these kids' lives, and if we just turn around without another thought when we go home, what have we really learned? Then was some relax time. I stayed in the gym for a while, then went outside to watch the stars with some of the kids. It was beautiful once you got out of range of the porch light.
That was my lesson for the day. Just like leaving the porch light, sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone, where you can see what is going on clearly, and step into the darkness, into the unknown, into the uncomfortable. Then you can see a bigger picture, and even though it seems scary, there is a world you never knew that is just waiting for you to shine.
I have to admit something upfront here. I know that I snore. Some have even said "loudly." So I tried very hard to be the last one to sleep at night so that it didn't keep anyone awake. If I did and you were quiet about it, thanks, but next time just kick me and tell me to roll over. It really does help, and I try to accommodate.
Anyway, I set my cell phone alarm to get up about 1/2 an hour early each day. That way I could be ready, have some Bible time, and be out of the way of everyone else getting ready. When you live in a house with four teens and a wife, you learn about mornings the hard way. And this was ten teens and a Rachel, so I knew I would be in for trouble. But surprisingly, everyone gelled pretty well during wake up time, and we made it to breakfast at Tory and Kara's house on time.
After a wonderful breakfast of biscuits and gravy, we all had to make our sack lunches for the day. All I can say is that it was good to see that Kara's kitchen survived.
We made our way to the Cultural Center on the reservation, about 25 minutes from Globe down a two-lane highway. There were plants that I was not familiar with alongside the road, and as you enter the reservation you dip into this valley with mesas and mountains in the distance. It was beautiful, but stark. After all, it is mostly desert. What struck me was shame for our government, who back in the day decided that the AZ desert was the best place to "dump" the Apaches. There is a little water, and they have built up some farmland, but for the most part it is a hostile environment. If it wasn't for the Apache pride, their ability to work together, and some grace from God, I don't know how they could have survived.
At the Cultural Center, we met the owner/operator Herb. He is super-friendly, and welcomed us all. He is Apache (of course), and he has had a multitude of jobs through the years. Now he mainly runs the center, and he makes traditional herbal remedies. In fact, when we were done for the day, he took us out to his truck, where he was drying some acorns. He had traveled into the surrounding mountains to gather them. I didn't even know acorns were edible for us, but he showed us how to shell and eat them. I must say, they taste like sunflower seeds.
While we got to know him, we prepped the conference room and kitchen/hallway for paint. We were going to paint the bathrooms too, but we didn't get that far on Tuesday. So Herb, Tory, Evan and I set to moving the furniture away from the walls, taking down pictures, etc. Evan found a dead bat under one of the bookcases-- awesome!-- and then we were ready to get started painting.
This turned out to be a perfect activity for the first day. We were inside and Herb had turned on the air in the conference room, so it was pretty comfortable. And since we were all inside a pretty confined area, it gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better.
The surprise of the morning had to be the condition of the exterior wall. While there were windows that I am sure provide a great view, Herb had to close them up with plywood to prevent them from being broken so that from the outside you wouldn't even know there are windows there. And he had to have some work done due to a water leak, and he paid a huge amount to have someone come in and drywall the repair. However, it quickly became apparent that the drywall job was not so good. So Tory, Rob, and I spent most of our time patching holes with the caulk we had while the others painted. We got the entire room done and about half of the kitchen before it was time to leave for lunch and VBS.
We ate our lunches on the way back to the church, where we were able to take a break for an hour or so.
After the break we headed over to Tory and Kara's so we could make our way to the VBS. They said it was going to be at the neighborhood park, so we all had an idea of what to expect. Needless to say, when we got there all of our expectations were destroyed. When we hear the word park, most of us expect a playground, some grass, etc. But this was not the case. I think I actually gasped when we pulled up. It was a fenced off area at the top of a hill. There was a playground that was literally covered with graffiti, and two slabs of concrete under shades, also full of graffiti. And a concrete slab for a basketball court. Otherwise, it was all just dirt and glass. LOTS of glass. Broken bottles, to be precise. And it seems like it is layered there, years and years of broken bottles just settling on top of each other. It was profoundly sad, because here is a place designed to bring joy for children, but instead it is where the teens, for generations, have been literally breaking their hearts and dashing their dreams via bottles.
Rachel sent out a group to wander the neighborhood and pass out fliers for the VBS while the rest of us tried our best to clear the concrete under the shade of all of the glass shards so the kids could sit down. We did not know what to expect, and even Tory mentioned that they had had only a mediocre turn-out the last time they were there. And it was the first day of school to boot.
After about fifteen minutes we saw the group coming around a corner down the hill. They were walking together down the street towards the park. All of a sudden, a huge group of kids lined up in front of them and started walking with them. When they reached the corner diagonal from the park, even more kids seemed to come out of nowhere and ran to join them. This is when the Rocky theme struck up in my head. I think I even let out a tear of happiness at what we were seeing, as the kids scrambled up the hill to the park. And even though Rachel had not been there for a year, one of the little girls ran right up and jumped into her arms. We were giving them something to be happy about, and to hope for.
The rest of the VBS was all about the high schoolers. They gave the lesson, played out the story with the children, and then conducted water games with them. I don't think there was a leader there who was not SUPER-proud of them.
Once playtime came, we all got into the thick of things. The kids are so starving for attention, for hope, for light, that it is infectious. You cannot stand back and stay uninvolved. So we were all playing with them-- basketball, frisbee, jumprope- you name it. The joy on their faces is indescribable, because you get the feeling that they don't get to express that emotion very much.
After VBS we went back to Tory and Kara's for dinner. We had our first big bug sighting there, a large stink bug that had wound its way up around the shoes in the carport. We were trying to decide how to let it live and get rid of it when Rachel came out, saw the bug, grabbed a random flip-flop, and struck down the stink bug with great fervor and enthusiasm. Poor bug...
When we returned to the church that night, we had our first debrief, where it was clear that Rachel wanted us to focus on building relationships with the kids. That was important for me, because here we are touching these kids' lives, and if we just turn around without another thought when we go home, what have we really learned? Then was some relax time. I stayed in the gym for a while, then went outside to watch the stars with some of the kids. It was beautiful once you got out of range of the porch light.
That was my lesson for the day. Just like leaving the porch light, sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone, where you can see what is going on clearly, and step into the darkness, into the unknown, into the uncomfortable. Then you can see a bigger picture, and even though it seems scary, there is a world you never knew that is just waiting for you to shine.