Archive for the ‘Story’ category
August 22, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. August 22, 2013
“Taking Lunch To The Teachers”
For the past five years our congregation has taken lunch to the staff of Audubon School, the elementary school a half mile down the street from us, on the staff work day right before students return from summer vacation. We take lunch to them and we eat lunch with them.
We used to take lunch to a couple of other grade schools close by…but they closed. We trust it wasn’t because we brought them lunch! Actually, it was a sign of the changing population base in our community..more seniors, less kids.
The reasons we take lunch to the staff are multiple. We want them to know that they are appreciated. We’re entrusting our children to them. If there was a scale that measured parental gripes versus “thank you’s” it would probably be tilted. You can make the determination which way you think it would lean. Providing lunch is an easy way…so easy…to just say thank you.
We take lunch to them because we want them to know that we’re in a partnership with them…that it takes a community to raise a child. Churches are a part of that, and schools are a part of that. In fact, although there are other participants in the raising of a child- namely parents- the two major players outside the family are the church and the school. Our church has worked hard at being a support for the school. It has now come to the point where the school has asked how they can help us. Last December the school choir came one morning and sang for our seniors’ group, and then we all had a pizza and salad lunch together. (Not much salad was eaten!)
We also want them to know that we are praying for them. I tell the staff that each year at the luncheon. I told them that I am fully aware of the separation of church and state. If they want to share a prayer concern with us, no student names, we will pray for them. At the luncheon one of the staff people told me of a student with a serious health issue. We prayed for the student…once again, no names were shared…but there’s a good chance that God is familiar with the child!
We take lunch to them because we want to reinforce the commitment to be there for them. “The Lunchroom Ladies” are usually the first ones to notice a student in need. They know that they can have the school secretary call us and request a winter coat for a first grader, or a pair of jeans for a young girl, or a pair of shoes. When the school social worker has a family in need of food we stock them up.
It has taken a few years, but the school staff sees us as their allies, not a threat. The result is a better community, a community that knows that we will help.
Categories: children, Community, Faith, Freedom, Jesus, love, Parenting, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: appreciation, lunch, lunch room ladies, luncheon, Partnership, praying, school staff, schools, staff appreciation, students, teachers
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August 21, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. August 21, 2013
I find it interesting that the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is preceded by the acts of the sinful nature. It’s not until Paul deals out words like jealousy, hatred, selfish ambition, and envy that he finally gets around to talking about the spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, …patience! I realize that the Word of God is inspired, and so there must be a reason why God had him write it in that order.
Perhaps it’s to help us identify difficult people…and then tell us to lighten up. Put a smile on!
Last week I had a couple of items I needed to get at a local Christian bookstore.
Translation! “God had a couple of ways he wanted me to grow in the spiritual fruit of patience…so he made it imperative that I go to the Christian bookstore.”
As I avoided being trampled by a herd of smart-shopping women (Actually, just three!) because I mistakenly had entered into the aisle that was featuring half-price “get well soon” cards…that, unfortunately, were on the other side of me and the women were heading in that direction, I prayed for the protection of the Lord. His protection came in the form of a rack of Jesus t-shirts that I squeezed under until the feminine trio passed me by.
After the rumble had subsided I made my escape to go look for one of items that necessitated my journey to the store in the first place- communion cups! It was then that I realized how behind the times I am. At first glance I thought I was standing in front of a Christian coffee displays on K-cups for my Keurig. Then I realized it was the new “C-cups!” A taste of grape juice in the little plastic cup with a chewy tasteless wafer on top. It was the Christian fellowship version to popping the top on a can of Pepsi! Convenient, quick…probably cuts out a needless five minutes of wasted worship service time waiting for the bread and the cup to be passed out. Think of how much shorter Jesus’ last supper could have taken. In the midst of all the C-cup boxes…crammed into the back of the rack like an uninvited guest, I found a box of communion cups…the old kind, no bread attached.
I grabbed the box and started heading towards the front. I had forgotten what the other item I was suppose to get even was. On my way to the front a mom and her daughter were arguing about which cross necklace to purchase.
As often happens in stores, there was only one cashier at the check-out registers. Another employee was putting a name in gold letters on the front of a new Bible. Being fifth in line was my plight. I stood there trying to think of the Biblical significance of the number five…came up with nothing! By that time I was fourth.
Five minutes later I had moved up to second in the rankings with five trailing me. it was at that point that it occurred to the young guy with five facial hairs (There was the number five!) to call for another check-out person. It seemed as if a woman ascended from the ceiling to the next register over. The last two women in line sprinted to the front as if they were running the race to win the prize.
Patience, my son! Patience! Smile!
The woman in front of me had about fifty trinkets that had to be scanned individually. Numbers three through five gradually disappeared from my line like the morning mist. If the rapture is determined by whose last in line I’m toast!
The young cashier had no clue of my exercise in patience. He asked me the question, “How are you today?”
Smile!!!! “Fine!”
“Did you find everything you needed?”
“And some things I didn’t need!”
He looked at me confused…but he got over it!
“Do you still carry the Left Behind series?”
“Yes, we do! Would you like to look for them?”
“No…no…no, I wouldn’t want to lose my place in line.”
Further confusion in my wake as I exited the store with a smile on my face.
Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Holy Spirit, Humor, Jesus, Pastor, Prayer, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: Christian bookstore, communion, disposable cups, Left Behind, patience, smile
Comments: 2 Comments
August 19, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. August 19, 2013
My son! I hope you don’t mind that I call you that, even though we aren’t blood relatives. But I feel, in many ways, you are my son. Lord knows I’m old enough to be your dad!
I thank God for your obedience to the call. It hasn’t been smooth sailing for you. I can remember there were a number of times in the past three years where you were discouraged, tired, ready to lay things aside for a while. Going to seminary full-time, being a father and a husband, being involved in various ministry initiatives at church…your plate runneth over!
And now your name is preceded with the title “Reverend.”
I know it doesn’t change who you are. Humbleness is a part of your DNA. If someone refers to you as “Reverend” you will probably look behind you to see who they are talking to. The titled doesn’t change you. You are who God has transformed you into. That happened a long time before you got an official title.
See the title as simply a confirmation of those who have journeyed alongside you these past years that you are called…you have a special calling that has been placed upon your life.
Sometimes the calling will weigh heavily upon you. As you stand at a pulpit you will see the faces of people who need a word of hope for their lives, a word of encouragement. And yet, there will be other times when you stand at a pulpit there needs to be a “hard word” said. You must always seek to led by the Spirit of God. the temptation to throttle a congregation will be strong some weeks, as well as the tempting to be soft. Seek to lead the people of God closer to a holy fellowship with God. Don’t get carried away by personal agenda and political referendums. Stay Word-focused!
My son, as you enter a hospital room, or meet with someone who is about to enter into surgery, or gather with a family of a deceased loved one, understand that you are a representative of Christ. In fact, you are more than that. To those who are grieving you are the presence of Jesus. Without making you think that you are a Savior, you are in those moments Jesus to them. They are looking to you for a “word from the Lord”, a prayer for healing, comfort in the most trying times.
I know in your eyes you are “small” (Your word!), but to the family of a person who is about to have open-heart surgery you are a rock. Rocks are seen as being planted, strong…something that can have tough things, like the hard questions of life, brought to and there on’t be a shying away.
Be steady! People are sometimes fickle. They get attracted to the latest and greatest, but when the road gets rough, when the weariness of life leaves them gasping, they look for that pastor who is steady and a servant. Seek to move the people of God ahead. The faster you expect them to move the gentler you must be.
People will follow the leader, even with some grumbling, if they are sure that the leader loves them and desires the best for them.
My son, always be teachable, no matter your age! Seek wise mentors who are not only close at hand, but also far away. And, hear this…seek mentors who are teachable. If you accept the guidance from someone who no longer seeks the wisdom of others, two people are about to take a plunge.
Finally, your family comes before the people of God. There have been many great pastors who have lost their families. That, my friend, is not God’s design for this whole calling of being a pastor. You must be wise in your spirit. Sometimes the people of God can overwhelm you with demands and responsibilities at the expense of your role as a father and spouse. Keep a balance. Discern what is really crucial and what can wait. Your daughter’s school production is more important than a meeting of the Finance Committee. Protect your family time while letting the people of God know you care.
There are so many other things I could write to you, but some of them are best learned on your own. Always know that I’m praying for you, and will be there for you no matter if you’re on a peak or trudging through a valley.
You are called! Fight the good fight!
Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, marriage, Parenting, Pastor, Prayer, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: calling, Christ-like, church, congregation, Jesus, ministry, Ordained, ordination, pastor, reflection, Rev, Reverend, Savior, shepherd, title
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August 13, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. August 13, 2013
Today is the 65th wedding anniversary of my mom and dad. Not many people can say they’ve been married to the same person for 65 years. It’s one of those things that people respond to with wide-open eyes of unbelief and ask “How long did you say???”
My mom and dad “lasted” this long because…because…here it comes…they loved each other and love each other deeply.
The problem is that few people today know what ingredients go into a recipe for love. It’s not always the warm fuzzies that people think it tastes like.
Let me tell you what I believe has gone into my parents’ marriage.
The Salt of Shared Pain- I remember hearing conversations of loss. When words left their sting on my mom, my dad would be the listening ear, the agent of comfort. As they went through the difficulties of losing parents and siblings to death they cried on one another’s shoulders. Pain can often be lonely business. It can cause us to retreat into a place of isolation, but Mom and Dad walked through it together.
The Cinnamon of Intimacy- My parents did not shy away from embracing or kissing one another in front of their three kids. One of the things I remember my mom saying to my dad quite often was “Kiss me, Slobber Lips! I can swim!” I crack up when I think about that still. They conveyed through their hugs and words that they loved pne another. It seems that this usually happened right after dinner, which takes in the next ingredient.
The Sauce of Servanthood- I don’t remember that dinner was the responsibility of just one of them. Although my mom did most of the cooking, Dad would be involved in setting the table, or washing the dishes (unless it fell to one of the kids). When we had mashed potatoes he always got the assignment. Whenever we had liver and onions, not one of our favorites, he was tasked with the cooking. If it was fried chicken or cooking a pot of garden fresh green beans, it was Mom’s turn to shine. The smooch after dinner was almost like a kiss of appreciation and partnership. They had finished the day of work and home duties together.
The Cream of Commitment- Like cream in a soup that filters through the whole batch, my parents committed to one another…for better or for worse…for richer, or, for most of the time…poorer…in sickness and in health (That is the everyday journey right now!). I had never heard of the word divorce until my Uncle George got married. And then when he got remarried to someone else I didn’t understand it, because Mom and Dad were always together. It didn’t matter when the income was barely able, if possible, to meet the bills. It just meant a couple of more meals of beans. I can’t even picture one of my parents not being there, because they have been…for sixty-five years!
The Vanilla of Spirituality- Some people see the word vanilla and they think it indicates blandness, dullness, but the ingredient of vanilla is precious. In lay terms it’s expensive! My parents marriage has been a dance with God. I’ve never known a time in my life when I didn’t go to church…except for about a year in college when Bedside Baptist gained a new member, and I was enjoying the Sunday morning messages delivered by Reverend Sheets. I was raised in church, but my parents modeled Christ-like behavior and lives. My dad’s meal-time grace was heart-felt. Mom’s involvement in choir and a women’s missionary circle were exercised expressions of her Christian walk. They sat in worship together Sunday morning and Sunday evening. I wanted to be a Methodist growing up because I knew their children were home watching Walt Disney while I was sitting in a church pew. Mom and Dad always sat together in church, side-by-side, unless they had a kid between them that needed to be “secured!”
The Sugar of Simplicity- Mom and Dad were not defined by their possessions, their home, the cars they drove. They seemed to like American-built cars back in the day, but that didn’t matter that much. Whatever they had they took extremely good care of it. Vacations were spent back on my grandparents’ farm in Oil Springs, Kentucky, and that usually meant helping Mamaw and Papaw Helton with some of the farm chores. Relaxing was sitting in one of the front porch swings watching the occasional cars drive past. That simplicity, however, was special. Watching The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday night after getting home from church (still a little disgruntled about the Disney thing!), while eating popcorn…that was a picture of our family. That was special and meaningful.
The recipe has several other ingredients that have been put into he soup, but, I guess what I’m saying is that my parents’ 65 year marriage shouldn’t be the oddity. Is it wrong to think that it should be the norm?
Would the world be a little less chaotic and topsy-turvy if my mom and dad weren’t see as being unusual?
Categories: children, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Jesus, love, marriage, Story, Uncategorized
Tags: anniversary, commitment, divorce, family, husband, marriage, sixty-five years, wife
Comments: 2 Comments
August 4, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. August 4, 2013
What does a pastor do on a Sunday morning when he isn’t speaking? That’s my morning today! I’m like one of those wind-up toys that you set down on the floor and it goes every which way, because it doesn’t know what else to do.
This morning I’ve walked around the building several times for no apparent reason, made coffee, straightened pews that were already straightened, wrote some birthday card greetings, looked at the bulletin, checked the lights, swept the sidewalk, pulled ten weeds, and stood looking at my bookcase.
Not speaking on a Sunday morning when I’m at the church I pastor is a strange feeling. Pastors have certain routines. Each week has a rhythm that develops in the midst of it. No two weeks are the same, and yet there are a number of likenesses, a number of things that you can count on.
And so I’ve been alternating between spasmossity (A word I made up!) and thumb twiddling. As I type this out I’m looking at things on my desk such as a bell from the Dominican Republic that I’m giving to Kim, a form for the state that needs to be filled out in regards to our tax exempt status, and a tube of Chapstick reminding me that my lips hurt really bad! (Movie line! Napoleon Dynamite!)
It isn’t that I think I’m the only one who can deliver the Word. Rich Blanchette, who is speaking this morning, will do a great job. It’s just who I am, and what I’ve been about for a few decades now.
Today, however, I sit, ponder, get hyper, and then repeat the process. Lord, help me to be a listener today!
Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Humor, Pastor, Prayer, Story, Teamwork, The Church
Tags: Chapstick, church, pastor, sermon, Sunday, Sunday worship, Word
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July 31, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. July 31, 2013
Carol and I don’t often get away…at least far enough away. Not that I don’t enjoy being a pastor, or enjoy the people of my congregation. It’s really not their problem.
It’s me!
I am not good at unplugging. I find it very difficult to turn off the knob (old technology term) that is labeled “Thinking About What Needs To Be Done.”
It’s like the word association game. Hear a word and say the first word that comes to your mind. For me, however, it’s seeing an object and thinking about a meeting coming up, or a message to be preached. I smell popcorn and think about movies, which makes me think about the video series our small group will be using in the next month, which makes me think about the study guide questions I still need to repair.
Fruit reminds me of communion. Dinner rolls at a restaurant remind me of…communion. I drive along a river and it reminds me of the water restrictions we’re under back home, and whether the sprinklers are properly turned off. I pass a school and I think of the staff appreciation luncheon we do each year at Audubon School down the street from us on the teacher work day they have before the students come back.
See! I’m plugged! It is one thing that Carol is concerned about whenever I retire. Can I really unplug?
In our culture where we are almost always connected by technology (Except on Union Boulevard around Lexington about two miles from our house. Why is it I can get phone reception in Antarctica, but not right here in the midst of civilized technology?), everything seems either urgent or known. If it is known that means it is expected to be put on the fast track to solved. If it is urgent it needs to be accomplished…now!
I get into that mindset of accomplishing tasks, doing the weekly jobs again, and then when a day off comes I’m still checking emails and thinking about the week ahead.
Why is it that we find it hard to vacate? Okay, I’ll use that other word…”rest!” It may say something about our reluctance to slow down and listen. We’re not a very good listening culture. We listen to music…as we’re working. We listen to the radio…as we’re driving. We listen to our kids…as we’re working on our laptop. We listen to the problems of others…as we’re texting someone else about our own problems.
Listening is an undervalued asset. Slowing down is seen as not getting us anyplace.
Perhaps I will try to “vacate” each day this coming month…not for the day, but for a few moments, an evening walk, or just in a quiet place by myself.
It won’t be early in the morning. With a day of tasks ahead it would be a recipe for defeat. Early evening works best for who I am.
I’ll let you know how it goes. For today Carol and I are going to vacate to about five different places that we need to get to.
Uh-oh, that didn’t sound restful, did it?
Categories: Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, marriage, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: plugged, rest, Sabbath rest, slowing down, technology, unplugged, vacating, vacation, Work
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July 5, 2013
I broke down and bought a new MacBook this week. “Broke” describes the before and after- “broke” as in my old computer was “over the hill”; and “broke” as in describing my bank account a month from now when my credit card bill has to be paid with attached “new laptop” as one of the itemized expenses.
I knew it was getting to be that “time”, as a result of the computer tech’s bemused facial expression the last time I took my old Dell in for service.
“Don’t see too many of these any more!” was his quote. Laptops are like cats, they don’t have nine lives. My old Dell was the ripe old age of seven.
So I went for the Apple! More expensive, but my shoulder problems will soon be disappearing. I didn’t realize how heavy my Dell was until I picked up the MacBook. Good Lord! I should have taken my Dell to Weight Watchers!
Yesterday I went to my first one-to-one training session at the Apple store. For thirty minutes I kept saying one word: “Wow!”
I didn’t realize all the things this little machine can do. If it had an app for a “burner” it could cook dinner. I got home and Carol asked me what I had learned.
“I don’t remember! All I know is that I kept saying “Wow!”
It’s like learning a new language. “Thingamajig” and “Do-diddy” have been said quite often the last two days. If there’s a need for a verb that is “appleistic” in usage I just pause and look dumbfounded.
Pausing…I’m good at!
Why did I buy a MacBook? Actually Carol and I went to Best Buy, but after standing around for fifteen minutes and no one taking a hint that there were two clueless consumers in their midst, we left! Upon entering the Apple store we were immediately welcomed by “Jordan” who guided us to the laptop that fit my needs, and then handed us over to Sammie to talk about data transfer and training. It was seamless!
It has made me ponder how we welcome people at church who are guests for the first time. A few Sundays ago a visiting young woman had to use the restroom in the middle of the service and didn’t know where the ladies’ room was. She went out an exit door to the outside and after ten minutes navigated herself back into the sanctuary.
She and her husband filled out a visitor form with all the information. I wrote them a nice note, but they never came back for a second visit. I’m assuming here, but I think the hunt for a restroom did her in.
Apple stores are marvels to visit. They take much of the apprehension about technology out of the equation and entice you to come deeper. Pretty soon you’re hooked…and they know it! They expect it. They plan on you entering their world and being so infatuated that the old Dell look’s like your Dad’s old Chevy!
I didn’t do very well in Hebrew class back n my seminary days, but this week I’m taking a stab at another new language.
Categories: Christianity, Community, Freedom, Story
Tags: Apple, church, computer, Dell, guests, laptop, MacBook, visitors, welcome
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June 30, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. June 30, 2013
“The Last Sprint”
Back in high school and college I was a distance runner…one mile, two mile, and the hardest race of all the half-mile. As a miler I had a very good kick at the end of the face. If I could be close to the other runner, or even ahead, with 300 yards to go I knew I had a good chance to win. The last sprint had the finish line in sight and I was usually able to put it in a different gear.
This last month I’ve written a “Words From W.W.” each day. June 1 started with the challenge, filled with anticipation, but also a little anxiety…kind of like the beginning of the mile run. It proceeded through the first week. I established a kind of “expected pace.” If I needed to write a post in the evening the TV was off and the headphones on. There were a few days where the energy level was low…and as a result, probably the quality of the writing.
But I stayed with it. Some of you gave me ideas for blog postings. Some had questions that they wanted some words of wisdom about, or at least, words from WW.
The last week of the month was spent in the Dominican Republic as part of a mission team. Usually the biggest hurdle in terms of that was to try to take one happening from the day and write about it. I could write a book about the experience…literally!
And now today is Day 30 of 30, the final sprint.
Some people ask me why I do it, why I write? After all, people are more visual now. Newsweek bit the dust in terms of hard copy. The Gazette newspaper is almost small enough to be a newsletter now. So, why write?
It’s a hard question for me to answer. I think I write because it makes me think and ponder. In terms of my spiritual journey, without sounding arrogant, I grow the most as I write. My blog might be my version of journaling, although I never really liked doing that in the usual way people think of. As I write I slow down to meet God. I hope…I pray…that his hand is guiding my fingers over the keys of my laptop, that when I’m struggling for a word he draws it out of me. That when something doesn’t feel right he takes me to the delete key and begins me again.
So now I come to the end of a month. Perhaps someone has heard some words in a way that has made them think, or laugh, or even cry. I think of the Apostle Paul as he was closing his second letter to his young charge Timothy. He wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
The last sprint.
I’m not seeing this as a final post, but it is the final stretching for the finish of this race. As July enters I’ll look to write more, perhaps more than one day in a row, but I’ll also give the reading eyes of those who have taken the time to ponder brief breaks from the “Words.”
Thanks to all who have encouraged and told me to keep pressing on. Time to cross the line and take a warm-down lap.
Categories: Christianity, Faith, Jesus, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: blog, blog post, Challenge, discipline, journaling, long distance, mile run, sprint, thirty days, writing
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June 29, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W June 28, 2013
In Santo Domingo today we visited the oldest church in the Americas, the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor. It was built between 1512 and 1540 under the leadership of Bishop Fray Padilla. Being in a five hundred year old church is quite an experience, especially considering the age of church in our own country.
But Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor is now more like a museum than a church. Tour groups come in, pay their admission fee, and then receive headphones and a transistor player that guides each of the group members through the church. There are a number of small side chapels, most of which are closed off to keep the tourists at a distance. The church is ornate and massive. Groups are told to be quiet because there may be people there who are trying to pray.
Bottom line, however, the church is now a tourist destination because it’s old!
It hit me that centuries ago people wouldn’t have thought about taking a tour of it. They would have gone there to worship, to pray, to be a part of a spiritual community, to receive words of hope and instruction, and partake of the Eucharist.
My fear is that the church today will be a museum years from now. That we will slowly be transformed into a destination for people who are looking for a aide trip instead of people looking to be close to God.
It is a turning point time for the church. And what has hit me this week is that people are looking at a church to see which it is and will be. In working with children here in Santo Domingo we know that they are looking to the people of God for a hand up; that is, to help them reach up to a life that doesn’t just talk about hope, but becomes “realized hope.” They are looking to the people of God not just to say the words, but to live the words.
When words are lived churches continue to be beacons of light and people of mission. Tour groups don’t visit to take pictures of dead saints; people visit to see the living saints.
This week a few of our mission team became first-time sponsors of some of the children of Herrera. The children will see in the coming year that the church is active and loving. Why else would someone from Colorado want to see a little boy from Santo Domingo live a full, healthy, and purpose-filled life?
Museums don’t care about the visitors; they just take care of the exhibits.
The people of God care for the visitors and those who even live far-away, as they exhibit the grace of God, and the hope of life lived for the Lord.
Categories: children, Christianity, Community, Faith, Grace, Jesus, love, Pastor, Prayer, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor, Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
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June 28, 2013
WORDS FROM W.W. June 28, 2013
On our first day of basketball camp at Grace School in Herrera (an area in the inner city of Santo Domingo…kind of like saying “The Bronx” as a part of New York City), I made a promise to the kids. At our first session that first day we only had eight children. We had planned on a hundred for each session (although, in hindsight, we are somewhat thankful that didn’t happen).
A couple of our VisionTrust bags on our trip down were filled with deflated basketballs that had been donated. We brought seventy-five balls with us and spent a good deal of time putting air in them after we arrived. So on Monday I opened my mouth and inserted tennis shoe, and said that we would give a basketball to each child on Thursday, our last day of camp.
Many basketball camps in Colorado Springs do that. I had just helped at a camp at the Classical Academy a couple of weeks ago and each of the fifty campers got their own basketball.
So…no big deal, right?
Yesterday…Thursday, after our first session…the one that had eight children the first day…thirty-seven basketballs were handed to kids as they left the 8:30-10:00 session. By the end of the day we had given out all of our basketballs…plus the fifteen that the school had…plus we have the names of the eleven boys who did not receive one yet.
I need to buy the eleven plus replace the fifteen! It is an expensive lesson on making promises to kids…who have cousins…who have cousins!
In essence, about a hundred basketballs, or the promise of a basketball, exited the building yesterday. And I was the one who did the training session for our team about the American tendency to treat the problem of poverty with the solution of “giving people things.” Poverty is really brokenness…brokenness in terms of a person’s relationship with one or more of the four foundational relationships: with God, with myself, with the rest of creation, or with others.
We often treat the symptoms of poverty without acknowledging the core problems.
So today there are many children in Herrera who have a new basketball, but they still returned to the same situations of brokenness in their homes and communities.
I guess my hope is that as they hold their basketballs they will think about the week they had at camp, the hope of Christ that we shared with them. That as they think about some of our daily lessons of jumping, shooting, and shooting an impossible shot, they will think about the lessons we taught concerning grace, forgiveness, and the love of Christ.
Last night we met two exceptional young people who are graduating from high school- Pamela and Delton- who come from very difficult situations. Pamela taught herself English. She spoke to us last night more clearly than many of us talk. She volunteers with VisionTrust two to three days a week, and wants to major in tourism. Delton, who looks like a six-foot Kobe Bryant, and plays like Kobe, grew up in an orphanage, Remar. He is heading to the University next year, but wants to help the children who are still living at Remar. He wants to major in computer engineering.
Both Pamela and Delton were redirected in the course of their lives because, first of all, God loves them, and secondly, because God grabbed hold of the heart of some people and made them realize that he had a purpose for the lives of a little girl and a little boy, but that purpose could not be realized without someone being obedient to God’s beckoning.
It makes me wonder how many children are lost because someone didn’t heed the calling of God to come alongside.
A new basketball will not change any of the lives of those hundred children, but perhaps it will help them to know that there is a way of hope, a place of grace, and a plan for their lives that will lead them to make a difference.
I still have to get twenty-six more basketballs! I’m okay with that!
Categories: children, Christianity, Community, Faith, Grace, Humor, Jesus, love, Pastor, Prayer, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: Basketball, basketball camps, Dominican Republic, Herrera, orphange, promises, Santo Domingo, VisionTrust
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Words from WW Blog 