The Power of Puzzles

                I write to you tonight with tears streaming down my face.  Our Heavenly Father has been so good to us! There is so much joy in serving him!

Today we had the opportunity to speak to kids at VBS about missions. We talked about God’s call on our lives and theirs. We thought together about the dirty jobs God asks us to do for others. I heard God’s voice so clearly when I was a child myself.  I am so passionate about missions and I believe that it is never too early to teach our kids about sharing Jesus. Towards the end, their teacher prayed for us and the Hospitality House. I guess God wanted to remind me that prayer is powerful, because their prayers for us were answered even before the day was over.

Fridays are busy nights. A little while ago, I stepped out of the main rooms to video chat with one of my best friends, Krista. She is also on a summer mission trip. It was such a blessing for me to talk to her! I was so happy to see her face and hear her stories about what God is doing through her.  Just as I finished talking to her, my partner Myriam charged into our room. “I love puzzles!” she exclaimed. She began to tell me about the conversation she had just shared with a young boy staying at the House tonight.

Months before this trip, I found bible story puzzles at the dollar store and picked them up to bring to Huntsville. Tonight, Myriam and four or five boys stretched out on the floor to work on the puzzles. As they worked, she asked one of them what he knew about the story. Myriam explained how Jonah had disobeyed God and ended up in a big fish. She talked about Ninevah and their sin and helped the boy to understand what sin looks like in our lives. They looked at another puzzle showing Moses parting the Red Sea.  Myriam asked her new friend what he knew about Jesus. He told her that he knew that Jesus is God and that he is in heaven. Myriam told him he was only partly right. Jesus is God and he did return to heaven, but that’s not the whole story. Jesus is actually everywhere. He was there with Jonah in the fish. He was there with Moses at the Red Sea. Now, he lives in Myriam’s heart and is with her wherever she goes, all the time. The boy thought about this.

 

 

“I wish my dad was with me all the time,” he quietly reflected.

What pain these children suffer. I ache for them. As a child of terrific parents, I am always devastated to see the brokenness in the lives of the Hospitality House kids. I can’t even express how incredibly important it is for children to have fathers. I wish we could give them what I have. But then again, perhaps we can.

Myriam told this boy that she too goes long periods without seeing her dad. But she is comforted knowing that God is her Heavenly Father. He is always with her. She can spend time with him by reading more of the stories in the Bible. The boy was really interested. Unlike a lot of our House kids, he is a reader. He was excited to hear that there was more to the stories and all he had to do was read the Bible to find out. Myriam went back to the storage room to find one just for him. We had some beautiful, leather-bound bibles donated recently. She presented him with the brand-new bible and challenged him to take good care of it. It was a very nice bible and he must be careful, but most of all he must read it. The boy beamed. 

Don’t forget the other boys gathered around. Each of them overheard the conversation as Myriam guided a searching child toward the light. Praise God for opening up these doors! Please pray that this young man dives deep into God’s word.  Pray that God would guide him to things he will understand. Pray that the transformative power of the gospel will change his life and the lives of his family. Praise God that one who was lost now has a lamp to guide his feet.

Flashbacks

Good evening, folks! Things are quiet in the House tonight, but don’t let that fool you. My brain is scurrying through a host of things to be done in the coming hours, days, and weeks. The most exciting current project is a new frontier for me.

The House was recently able to hire Jamie, the spring intern, as the full time Development Coordinator. One of her new jobs will be exploring the world of grant writing. As Hospitality House looks to expand to serve more families, we will begin looking at possible funding from foundation grants.  Jamie has been sent to a few grant writing classes to help her get started. This week, I had the privilege of being her copilot! We road-tripped to Ft. Worth to attend a course on case statements, an integral part of the process.  As it turns out, grant writing is completely relevant to me! Basically, it boils down to persuasion. Foundations receive hundreds of grant applications every day and there is a lot of competition. Our job is to communicate the impact of our organization and its importance in the community. I am thrilled to start, because I truly believe in the ministry here at Hospitality House. What we do here is unique and necessary. It will be my pleasure to document what this ministry is all about and why it deserves support.  I’m also excited to build a great skill to add to my resume. I can only hope that the rest of my career leads me to other organizations that I am passionate about. Maybe I have found myself a future job!

Tonight, I sit here collecting facts, figures, quotes, and notes to use in our case statement. There is a photo album with newspaper clippings from the House’s early years. Lots of repeats about the 24 –hour build done by the Texas Baptist Men. Lots of stories on the first director and his wife. Lots of reports about how the House has changed the lives of families across the state. As I read through these, I am so very inspired by the service and commitment of those who have come before me. So many of the people in these articles faithfully support the House to this day. Recorded here are the lives of committed followers of Christ, serving others with everything they have. What a legacy!

Youth. Beautiful, reckless, stupid youth. The passion inside the hearts of young people is easily ignited by the power of the gospel. Young people are often involved in grandiose movements and experiences. And so often, in our zest for life we forget the legacies that paved the way. We treat Christianity as if it’s new. We seem to think that we are the first ones who ever really understood the Bible and followed God’s will. What a shame! For generations, people have followed God with a perseverance that we can’t even conceive of. This is my own personal shout-out. Wisdom and faithfulness long before me puts me in the position to serve today.

In other news, I made some yummy truffles today. We are trying to decide what to feed the trustees tomorrow for lunch since we are on our own like big kids. Debra and Joe are taking a well-deserved break visiting their daughters. My esteemed colleagues and I are having a good time holding down the fort J

 

Things to pray for:

 

Execution next week- pray for the family as they travel and grieve. Pray for us to be sensitive

to their needs. Pray that God uses this difficult time to open people up to the gospel.

 

Good memories- Pray that Myriam and I remember all the tasks that need to be done in

Debra and Joe's absence. There is to be no falling down on the job!

 

My best bud Krista- She is also serving with GoNow in the Pacific Rim. Her emails tell me that

God is opening many doors for her to minister to the women in her area. But as the only girl

on her team, she faces tough circumstances. Pray that she is healthy inside and out and

everything in between!

What's New

     You'll have to forgive my HUGE delay on posting! It has been business as usual (and sometimes unusual) non-stop! When I do get a few hours to take a break, I almost always need a nap. But as it turns out, if I'm not working or sleeping then my greatest desire is to spend time with God. I want so badly to spend time in his word and in prayer. I am so in need of him, so desperate for intimacy with him. You haven't heard from me because I'd rather talk to God!
     That is absolutely not to say that I am super-spiritual and that since I'm a "missionary" I'm perfect now. In fact, I am pretty much a disaster waiting to happen. I have learned that I am selfish and lazy and arrogant. My desperation for God these days comes from a recognition of how very inadequate I am for this job. I need the Lord to change my heart. I need to be transformed into a person who serves with humility and love. There are tasks 24/7 that I need Christ's character to do. I think that God brought me to Huntsville to get over myself. It's not about me. It's not about me. It's not about me.
     We have been doing all kinds of things since my last post. Typical house business consists of checking in guests, housekeeping duties, cooking meals, and office tasks. These take up a majority of our time. Breakfast is served bright and early and guests check out by 8am so our mornings start at hours that I didn't know existed. Of course, all our hard work pays off on the weekends when we spend time with the families. I love making and eating dinner with the big crowds on the weekends. We share stories and find out about each other. The kids are a blast and when you love on them, it blesses their parents too. We also get a lot of older people, which is right up my alley. Many of our volunteers are older, as well. So many of them have been serving the House year in and year out and it would be impossible to do this ministry without them. I love that I can be a part of showing how much we appreciate and honor their work.
     We have had a garage sale fundraiser, painted a wall, washed cars, and eaten a lot of frozen yogurt. Never a dull day. This week's big project: VBS. One of our staff members is teaching 3rd grade bible story for vacation bible school at her church. At the last minute, she ended up losing all her helpers and she was in a PANIC. Summer missionaries to the rescue! With Debra's help, the four of us brainstormed how to make this work. Today we spent several hours decorating the classroom to fit the outer space theme. I gotta say, we are a dream team. Our space ship room looks fantastic! Myriam and I will be teaching a few of the lessons and I am way excited. We are even dressing up in our homemade space suits! Third grade is my favorite!
     I hope these posts are making it to all my prayer partners. Each of you is so special to me and have been instrumental in bringing me to this place in my life. Thank you for your prayers and your love. Continue to pray for our guests and the conversations that we have when they are here. ---One night I asked my facebook friends to pray about it and the whole house exploded in spiritual conversations! Thank you, God!--- Pray for us as we teach bible stories this week, that we would be faithful and accurate teachers and that the Holy Spirit would open the hearts of the kids to understand. Pray for Myriam and me as we learn to work together as a team. God is already breaking down walls and obstacles. And finally, the whopper, the House has been interested for a long time in purchasing the property behind us so that we can serve more families. Interest in the idea and donations to the House have been pouring in lately. Still, that is a huge project to take on and we have a  long way to go. My time here has taught me a great deal about the needs of prisoners and their families and the way that God can move in their situations. I hope my updates cause you to think about these things as well.
     This is as much time as I can stand to spend on this. 8952035 other things to think about and never enough sleep. Of course, I have a hundred stories of individuals and moments that I have encountered that I could write pages and pages about. Ask me in August.Thank you for sticking with me when I was struggling. It doesn't matter because it's not about me, but I am getting more and more happy to be here. The only thing I can say is Praise God!