not your usual CMA church!

Yesterday we went to speak at a church. We were told the service started at 10:45. When we asked what time we should finish, the pastor said "whenever". I was happy to see right away that this was a multi-racial congregation. I soon learned that there were 28 homeless/ex-convicts living in the church building! We sat in the pastor's office waiting to pray before the service; the pastor was busy working out a problem with the audio-visual equipment so Jesse, a homeless drug addict prayed for us before we went out. It was a beautiful prayer from his heart. The 10:45 starting time turned into 11:15. They went through the entire worship set, testimonies, extended time of prayer, expressive dancing during the offertory by one of the homeless women and then Darrell got up to preach after 12:00. After his sermon came communion. The service ended at 1:00 which we were told was earlier than usual! The man who prayed for us before service told us of his conversion and how the pastor had taken him for lunch and never said a word about Jesus. Jesse looked into his eyes and said "what are you doing to me? I've never seen that look of love before in my life, not even from my own mother." The pastor said the love in his eyes was Jesus. Jesse was smitten by that love. He told us that he's had a deep admiration for people that work in "closed" countries because they don't have the ability to freely proclaim the name of Jesus but not to worry because it's the love in our eyes that would draw the people of Long Beach to Jesus; just like the love in the pastor's eyes drew him to Jesus. Powerful words coming from this man who has never known love and has been abandoned to the streets and to prison cells most of his life. It was a refreshing day, worshiping with these brothers and sisters whose only comfort in life is an air mattress on a church floor but who are deeply in love with Jesus and sing and testify to that love. The day left me with lots to think about in my own life! All the comforts I enjoy in life and yet I often forget the One who is the source of everything and to whom my debt of gratitude is enormous. May his love pour out of my eyes and woo people to Jesus, even when I don't say a word!

dreaming of home...if only I knew where that was!

In 3 days we'll be boarding a plane and heading back to the US after being away for 4 1/2 years. As I pack up my earthly belongings, my emotions are all over the place. Mostly I'm really excited to see my kids and grand kids, whose lives I've missed so much of. I have done this enough times that I can predict the scenario...after a few months, I will begin longing for my other home, wherever that may be. This is the curse of being a TCK:) This morning as our tiny team met for worship in one of our homes, I thought about next Sunday and the fact that I will be experiencing wonderful worship and preaching with a large congregation. It is always overwhelming and emotional the first time I experience that upon my return home. But I know that as I experience that next week, my mind will go back to today where we were 6 adults and 4 children. Two of the children were dancing around with their princess dresses while we sang, one boy banging on his tiny drum along with his dad who was playing the guitar. I was swaying back and forth with a small baby, trying to keep her quiet for the online sermon we were listening to. I'll think of today and my dear friends and I know I'll shed a few tears. For the last 35 years, I have rarely lived anywhere for more than 2 years and that would be considered a good long time. I personally feel like I'm ready to settle down, whatever that means but I have this feeling...I'm so glad God has a plan for me and I'm excited to walk with him and discover what that is! 

Braggin' on Katie

As most of you know, we live in a fairly remote place which we often refer to as "the end of the earth". 9 months ago when we moved here, our teammates found out they were pregnant. Everyone assumed that once the time came, they would travel 8 hours north to the capital to have their baby. But almost immediately, they made the decision to have the baby here. Katie asked her local friends for a doctor's recommendation and she began going to Dr. J who has to be at least 65 years old. I accompanied her on her visits and we usually waited for 3-4 hours, sitting in the "women's room" where 20 miserable, covered women sat waiting with us. To say this was a "no-frills" deal would be the understatement of the century! Some of the situations she found herself in would have sent anyone running elsewhere. Like the time she laid down on the bed to have an ultrasound and found it difficult to relax because she was laying on a wet sheet! When Dan went with us, he had to sit in the "men's room" and they would communicate by texting one another. The only reason Katie continued was because we really liked the doctor and he seemed to like us. The twinkle in his eye endeared him to us every time:) As the due date drew near, we asked if we could "tour" the labor & delivery room. They had never had such a request but obliged us. It was a very basic room, sheets from the last patient still on the delivery bed, no bathroom, but we were assured that everything was there that would be needed in any situation. Sweet Katie just smiled and rolled her eyes and kept on going with the plan. Well, the long-awaited day finally came yesterday! There was a host of people all over the world praying for this delivery. The doctor had given us his personal cell phone number and told us not to go to the hospital until we called him. What doctor gives you his personal number? I called him early in the morning and he said to go on in. An hour later, he called me back and said "where are you? the whole hospital is waiting for you". When we arrived 5 minutes later, there was a line-up of nurses waiting for us in the lobby. There was a flurry of activity as they ushered us down the hallway to the delivery room. We were treated like royalty! The doctor arrived very quickly and within one hour, Moriah was born! It was such a beautiful delivery. The pediatrician came right on time and was awesome. Dan was able to sneak into the room just as Moriah was born (the doc said no man had EVER come in there), there were cameras flashing and videos and great excitement. The staff couldn't have been more accommodating to these crazy Americans. They told us we were the first to ever be in that hospital. The midwife was so kind and refrained from doing things we didn't like. (they love to climb up and push on the woman's stomach to help the baby out faster! we said NO) (they like to give the woman a shot to knock her out after the head is delivered. we said NO) They complied with everything and were amused and impressed with the way Katie breathed and stayed in control through the whole thing. Total strangers were stopping by the room to see this wonder child with blue eyes and light hair. 9 hours after Moriah was born, we were all home! There was no doubt that God intervened and had mercy on Katie. I couldn't have been more proud of her if she was my own daughter! She took a huge risk in my eyes by deciding to have her baby here but God rewarded her. Last night their phone rang non-stop and most of the conversations were in Arabic. They bonded with the culture and with the people by staying here and having their baby among the people God has called them to. I am so very proud of Katie!

The Seasons of Life

Every day I check to see if any of my friends have posted a blog. I'm often disappointed that there's nothing to read. My friends are probably also checking to see if I've posted anything and alas, they go for weeks without finding anything. It's not for lack of things to write about; I have composed hundreds of blogs in my head over the past months but somehow, they don't get from my head onto the paper. So here we are in Jordan, spending 3 weeks of vacation with our daughter and family. This place holds lots of really good memories; many close friendships were formed during our years of living here. I haven't seen some of these friends in more than 10 years but we took up right where we left off and seemingly lost out on very little, although we now find ourselves Grandmas instead of young moms chasing our little ones around. The seasons of life are something to think about...every one is very unique and requires from me a different kind of "ministry" if you will. My ministry to my young children was in one season of life, ministry to my adult children is on-going and becoming a Grandma, I'm finding, is a whole other season that is full of joy & anticipation. There is also a season we're entering where we're thinking about retirement and how our life will look, just the two of us. Where will we live, what will we do, how can our lives continue to impact people for eternity? I am a person who likes to know what the plan is. I live by my calendar and I like to see lots of activity on that calendar! It is strange to be in a place where the plan is very unclear, in fact non-existent. Right now I know that we will be taking a one-year Home Assignment in May and after that, only God knows and I'm actually OK with that! It's kind of exciting to see where he will take us next.  

Detour through the olive trees

This morning I decided to change my normal walking route and take a detour through the olive grove that's near our house. You'd be hard-pressed to go 2 minutes in any direction for an hour without walking through an olive grove! There are thousands of them everywhere. It was fascinating to walk by groups of people under the trees, sorting through the olives that they had beaten down off the trees. I was particularly struck by this one little old woman, dressed in layers of clothes and veiled. She had a single little stick in her hand and just kept beating and beating at the tree. Olives were falling down along with lots of leaves and small branches. She then plopped herself down on the ground and began sorting through the olives, separating out all the dirt, leaves, etc. When she's finished doing that, she will have a small sack full of olives which are inedible and must be taken to the olive press where they will be ground and made into oil. Next time you open a bottle of EVOO, remember the little old woman! No wonder that stuff costs so much! I believe there's a good sermon illustration in here somewhere:)

Amazing partners

We have been privileged to have 4 short-term teams come and help us here in the south of Long Beach this fall. Three of them were work teams and one was strictly a Vision team who came to see how they could join in what God is doing here. They have all been a huge encouragement. They gave up vacation time to come and help here. They worked tirelessly in brutal temperatures, never complaining, always full of laughter and joy. We feel honored to call these people friends and will never forget how they came to help at a time of great need. Without them, we would simply have an empty building sitting here but because of their sacrifice, the Lotus House has turned into a true Oasis in the desert! Here are some pictures of the transformation thus far. There will be many more to come as we continue to furnish and decorate in the future. The murals for the Kid's Play Area were painted by a guy from Philly who is a professional artist. The coffee bar is one of a kind with old boards from a shipwreck used for the drawers.

Morning walks

I have recently switched to walking in the early morning instead of the evenings and it's interesting to see the difference in the sights I see along the way. It's fun to watch the city waking up and it somehow puts a spring in my step as I also feel my body waking up and energy pouring into my veins. I love to see the school children in their uniforms, walking down the road toward their school. The merchants are putting out their wares for the tourists to purchase, the horse & buggies go clopping by, a forlorn-looking woman dressed from head to foot in a long veil carrying long loaves of bread home for her family, men already gathering at their favorite cafe to hear the latest news and drink their coffee. My usual walk takes me down to the beach where I stand and ponder the greatness of the God I serve and wonder how he chose me to be here in this place at this time. There is nothing more energizing for me than hearing the waves roll in and watching the seagulls and fishermen and everything else that goes with sea life. I start back up the hill toward home and I feel full of joy and excitement as I look forward to what God has in store for the day. Morning walks are definitely better than evening walks for me!