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!

Week One: Check

                Today marks one week here in Huntsville, or as the locals say, “Hunts-vle”. It has been very busy! We jumped right in by meeting lots of pastors, directors, and people in all types of ministry in the city. There is an extensive network of restorative justice ministries here, designed to meet the needs of prisoners and their families as they face different stages of incarceration and re-entry. Here at the Hospitality House, we rely on donations to stay open, which the community is faithful to respond to. Saturday we will have a garage sale to raise money so we have been accepting anything and everything. Most of the time, we take whatever is given, use what we can, and pass on the rest to these other ministries. Many of the people involved in restorative justice have been in prison themselves, which is an awesome testimony to the change Jesus Christ has made in their lives.

                After a lot of introductions, we had the chance to go to a release. One of the units was scheduled to release 142 people on..was it Tuesday? It doesn’t really matter I guess… We showed up in our red Hospitality House shirts to wait with the families gathered outside the unit. They were waiting to pick up sons, brothers, husbands when they came out. The atmosphere was tense. When we arrived, the groups were spread out and isolated. These families have found that society blames, ostracizes, and looks down on them for the crimes of their loved ones. They have become guarded in order to protect themselves. But then, something started to happen. A pony-tailed guy on a motorcycle showed up. He stood in front of everyone and began to explain how the release process would go. He told the families what to expect, what to do, and what to watch out for. He talked about the ministries available to the men as they faced this new step. He gathered us all in a circle to join hands and pray. After we finished praying, people sort of hung around. Rather than spreading back out, they began to sit closer to one another. Myriam and I were able to have some great conversations and pray with some of the women waiting. The morning was very long. They had been told to arrive at 8:00am, but hours later were still waiting. The longer we waited, the more people began to talk to one another. People shared tables, conversations, and sometimes a lot more.

                Finally, around noon, the parole officer came outside. We all knew he would talk to each family and then go inside. Soon after, the release could move forward. You could feel the anxiety as the moment some had waited so long for came so close. And then it was time. Dressed in ill-fitting ‘street clothes’, men exited the prison in a single file line. How can you describe the beauty of that moment? A little boy jumping into the arms of his father or families touching their loved one as if to make sure they are real. It wasn’t a time to say, “You deserved it”. It was simply a time to congratulate people on a joyful day.

                In the same instant that some experienced such joy, there was also an element of deep sorrow. So many of the men had no one waiting for them. They marched on, eyes straight ahead, to the bus station. My knees shook when I saw, for a split second, one man’s lip quiver before he forced his face back to an unaffected stare forward. I don’t know why no one was there, but I sure wished that things were different.

                I’m worried that this post will become pretty lengthy, so bear with me. I’m hoping that my prayer partners have been looking forward to an update. I’d really love to hear from you, too! In fact, I have struggled a lot this week. I have so many things that my friends on other missions don’t. We live in a comfortable house with plenty to eat and everything we are used to. Still, I miss my home. I love my family so much and I underestimated the difficulty of being away from them. I miss my friends and the way they understand me without words. I have been sleeping whenever I can. I really need your prayers. On the other hand, God has been so faithful to me. I really relate to Peter lately. He so adamantly insists that he will follow Jesus no matter what and turns around and betrays him. He steps out on the water only to look away and sink. I’m so there. I’m standing here on the water, because I know God called me out here. But the waves rise around me and the wind howls in my ears. But my God is so good. He reaches out to catch me. Peter goes on to be a loud voice for the Lord. I know that with the help of my Savior, I can press on. I can walk through this time and come out victorious. He is teaching me to need him, to spend time with him, to be intimate with him. I rejoice in the difficult times and I ask for more because God uses them to make me strong.

                One last, critical thing: We finally had guests! The weekends are busy times. The House was packed Friday and Saturday. There were a couple of families that spoke mainly Spanish. I tried my best, but Myriam really took over in the translation department. We had tons of kids, too. I had a blast with them. Some of them came from loving families, while others were not so lucky. All of them were thrilled to have my attention. We played games and did puzzles and stayed up too late. I tried to emphasize how very smart they were and point out their best moments. I meant it, too. One of our second graders did almost an entire 300 piece puzzle on his own! I was so happy when a regular volunteer showed up to do art with the guests. She teaches art and has done a lot of study in art therapy. The little ones drew funny faces and colored their names. The adults did an altered book project. She showed us some examples of how giving a new life to an old book can be a healing process. One of her own projects was filled with memories and pictures of her sister who she lost to cancer several years ago. Some of the guests really got into it. I started a book and decided to tell the story of this summer. Right up my alley!

                I’ve washed a lot of sheets, made a lot of biscuits, had a couple meltdowns, and met a ton of people. I drink a lot of water and the frozen yogurt place has changed my life. My skin loves it here! I’m baby soft. I may die of a nosebleed when I head back home in August. Thank you for reading and praying. Please pray for me to be emotionally healthy, but also know that I'm moving forward! Hope to hear from lots of you!

Getting Started

I have journaled quite a bit about orientation and the first few days that I intend to post. Right now I'm updating from my phone because my computer is acting up and I am too tired to care too much. So I'll keep it short. Orientation in Dallas went well. We got lots of really valuable information and I was able to see two of my very best friends before taking off. My partner, Myriam, and I are off to a great start. We have different personalities but the same love for sharing Jesus with others.  Here at the House we are working on getting the hang of things. Our room is very nice and I'm glad to be on the kind of mission trip where you get hot water and a comfy bed. There is a lot to do each day and there is not really a "typical" day around here. Everyone at the House has been friendly and happy to see us. We won't have any guests until this weekend, but today we had a work crew of inmates come to the House. We were up early to make a big breakfast, loaded with things the men don't usually get to see. We prayed together and then shared a meal and great conversation. Some of the men had clearly had a life-changing encounter with Christ and are working towards a new life. By the time we cleaned up and tackled a few other tasks it was time to make lunch. Things didn't wind down til around 5:00. Then we went to a Wednesday night service at our director's church. We had the chance to hear a testimony from a man who had formerly been incarcerated. I was so blessed by his story. Not because he was an eloquent speaker or because he had a thrilling story. In fact, you could see he was no professional. The reason his testimony was so fascination was its complete focus on the work of Christ. In essence, it was simple. He used to be broken and the Lord made him whole. He made a commitment to obedience to God and his life was blessed as a result. Not a prosperity gospel, just the evidence of God's love and provision.

Of course I don't want you to think that I came to Huntsville and now I think all prisoners are the bomb. I know the justice system is important and that there are consequences to our choices. What I am seeing here is the redemptive power of God in the lives of believers. There is no one too far away for the Lord to find him. And once he does, the Church has room to receive a new brother or sister. The man who shared tonight is now linked up with other men to stay accountable. Believe it or not, many of these men are law enforcement officers. The very people he used to avoid are now his closest allies. With man, that kind of bridge is unthinkable. But nothing is too hard for God!

 Our job here won't be prison ministry. We probably won't know the details of our guests and the crimes their loved ones are incarcerated for. We are here to serve them in a safe, judgement-free environment. We meet needs because we follow our master's instructions. We love because he loved us. I'm glad we were able to see another facet of God's work here in Huntsville. Maybe the insight we got today will help us to be even better servants when we meet our first guests this weekend.

Prayer Update

     Huntsville is getting very close! I leave on Friday for orientation in Dallas. We will leave from there the following Monday. By we, I mean my partner and I. She is from El Paso.  She and I will be living and working together this summer at the Hospitality House.

                This post is to update my prayer partners. I am so thankful for those of you that will be praying for us and the people we will be serving. Prayer is so vitally important. There is nothing that we can accomplish outside the power of God working in us. Even better, there is nothing we can NOT accomplish when he does! Here are some suggestions for things to pray about:

 

                                Safe travel to Orientation and the field

                                Good relationship with my partner

                                Obedience to God

                                Physical and emotional health

 

I also encourage you to check out the House’s website. http://www.thehospitalityhouse.org/support-us/ways-to-pray Here is a link to their list of prayer requests. You can look around and see what they are all about and even see some pictures of the House. Looking through this makes me want to dance around. I am so excited! There are so many things about this job that make me feel well-suited to serve in this way. Pray that I am able to use the talents and skills God has given me without getting prideful. I want to serve with humility and gentleness. I need to learn to give God credit.

                I’m gonna go out on a creepy limb here and give you my email address. I would really like to hear from my prayer team throughout the summer. katie.bice@wayland.wbu.edu If I didn’t ask you to be on the team, but you’d like to anyway, let me know! If you have any questions I’d love to clear them up. If I did ask you, thank you for following through. I chose people who have been instrumental in my life. If you are excited about me serving as a summer missionary, you are probably part of the reason I am.

                I really have to wrap up. It’s time to peel potatoes. Hooray for one week at home! Two hoorays for no more caf food!!  #dormproblems

No, Mom, of course it wasn't a school night....

     I was already in bed, pajamas on, winding down for the night. My phone told me two things: 1) it was midnight 2) Valerie was calling. Before the word "waffle" was out of her mouth, I was out of bed and putting on shoes. And so begins another late night journey to Amarillo for Waffle House.

     Plainview has an IHOP. It's open all night and is frequented by hungry, nocturnal college students, especially during finals season. But Waffle House is on an entirely different level. The entire experience is much more than nighttime snacking. Five of us pile in a car and take off to satisfy some of human beings' most pressing needs. It is something like escape, freedom, familiarity, independence, hanging your head out the window and turning up the music. And hope. Waffle House nights mean that this isn't all there is. Not Plainview, not college, not this year, not myself. Life isn't about waking up on time and doing what you're supposed to do. There is magic in every moment.

     Chocolate chip waffle with a lot, a lot of chips. The cute old lady taking our orders knows exactly what this means. Holy deliciousness, Batman. You see some strange folk in the night at Waffle House. Next to a truck stop. And the jukebox makes for a sort of musical roulette.

     And then we came home. And how does this even matter? And am I seriously going to relate things to God again? Come on folks, have you been here at all?

     He made us for community. He made us for abundant life. He made us for ADVENTURE! The Christian life was never a safe life. We can be so content going about our business and then going to church and lather, rinse, repeat. We accept IHOP as all there is. Sometimes God does pretty cool things in our lives but that is the exception, not the rule. I don't want that! I don't want a life that tastes like cardboard! I want to follow Christ into the world. I want to jump out of bed when he calls and do whatever it takes to go where he is going. I want to meet the strange folk. That's what he did.

     It's ok to have a home, a routine, a pancake. Put your life in a box if you want, but leave the lid open. Besides, God can't be in a box. Climb out and experience him for real.