Fast Forward to "Mission: Allendale"

Since I started this blog last October, a lot of changes have been made. For example,

• My post frequency went from 2 times per week, to 3, to 4 or 5, to 6, and now to at least once per day.
• I learned a lot about what tools and features make it easier for readers (like full posts in the automatic feeds)
• I started writing exponentially more about our adventure in Allendale. I explained how this fits into the theme of "A Different Way" in Where Am I?

Over the past few months, I've been considering how this blog has gained a following of a variety of different perspectives. Some have looked for parenting insight (Lord knows why they are looking to me), others wanted to stay in touch with our mission in Allendale, and others wanted both.

Additionally, a friend suggested I would have more flexibility if I switched to Wordpress, instead of Blogger. I hate change, but I think he's right.

So over the next few months, I hope to transition over to a new blog platform. The first step involves moving all my writings about Allendale to my new site, Mission: Allendale. It's a work in progress, and I'm trying to add the features I want, like an easy way to subscribe and such.

If you want to follow this journey of ours,

1. Go over to Mission: Allendale and bookmark it. 
2. Even better, sign up for the Email Subscription (look to the right column)
3. If you prefer the RSS feeds (like me), sign up for that. I'm going to get a better way to subscribe, but haven't had time yet. Or try this link: http://missionallendale.wordpress.com/feed/
4. Give me feedback! Tell me what you like or don't like about this design, or if there are broken links. Leave a comment or email me. Don't hold back.
5. Help me spread the word by sharing posts by email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. You'll see those options at the bottom of each post.

You can start by checking out today's post, I Wish I Could Fast Forward and Look Back. This is a recap of our journey over the past year.

Here's an excerpt:

"A lot happened between November and January, but there was a bigger story going on. Some of you know that the entire year of 2010 was a transition for us. . . . We had been asking God to grow us, and increase our faith, and use us to have an impact. We just couldn't figure out what He was doing. Being in that season like that flat out sucks."

**Note: For now, parenting (and other) posts will stay on this blog.

Hope you enjoy today's post and the new blog!

Scout, Settler, Explorer: The Risk and Reward of Being Out Front

Image courtesy of State Records NSW via flickr

Do you think you would want to be a scout in the military? Going close to or behind enemy lines to gather information, so that you can send back crucial information to your fellow soldiers.

Or would you want to be an early American settler? Going to an uncharted land to clear a space for your family to live in, and to pave the way for others to follow.

What about an explorer like Meriwether Lewis or William Clark? Traveling across land and water, meeting new people, to give others a picture of what could be.

Being a scout, settler, or explorer means that you are out in front others. It means risk. It means being a part of something bigger than yourself.

This is similar to how we view our mission in Allendale. Ultimately, we are here because we feel God has called us to be here. But it only came about because of how Grace Church has been involved in Allendale for the past few years. Grace Church has laid a well-tread path before us. (So, in truth, we are the second wave of scouts -- but the first wave of settlers -- from Grace in Allendale.)

I have now been living in Allendale for just over 7 months, and my family has been here for 4 months. This adventure has been fulfilling, and challenging. We are here to be "feet on the ground" for Grace Church.

Even though we've seen the rewards for our family and for the church, living here has also been lonely. For all that enjoy about living here, we miss the loss of community the most -- community that I've had at Grace Church for over 15 years, and that Joanna has had for 13. We are trusting that God will help us maintain those relationships, while also giving us the opportunity to build more here.

We miss the conveniences and comforts of Greenville. But we are reminded that this is small compared to what Jesus gave up in the Incarnation (Philippians 2:6-8).

We know that God has us here for a season. And we are thankful for Grace Church, who is partnering with us in this adventure. Yes, we are out front, but we are not the first or only ones to be here. And even though we have been "stationed" out front now, we are continually receiving support -- physically (financially and volunteers), spiritually (prayers), and socially (friends coming down to visit and serve).

Oswald Chambers wrote (My Utmost for His Highest): "A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone."

So what are the rewards for being out front here?

• Growing intimacy and dependence on the Lord
• Making new friends
• Being a part of the beginning of a ministry opportunity
• Being a part of something bigger than ourselves
• Helping others (from Grace and from this community) be able to connect and serve
• Our kids having the opportunity to see what it looks like to give your lives away for the gospel. That is, it's a way for us as parents to pass on our faith.

As we all go forward on our adventures -- as part of God's bigger adventure -- we need God to strengthen us. We must look straight to God, and after that we could seek counsel and comfort from others.


Related Links:

• A Mission for Our Family
• Will You Be Here in the Fall?
• Two Ordinary Joes at Lunch
• Spring Break in Allendale     

They're Baaack!

The first day of school for Allendale County is on Tuesday, August 16. We took this week off from our after school programming, but will start up on the first day of school. We're expecting that not only will we get back many of the members that we had last spring, but that we'll keep most of the new kids that we picked up this summer. This ministry is growing!

On the last day of the school year program, a child asked me, "Will you be here in the fall?" I said that I sure was planning to. Now, I'm glad that my promise to that boy will hold true. We are so excited to be a part of these kids' lives. Even more, we are looking forward to being with these children for an entire school year, instead of coming in half-way through. We get to walk through their school year with them.

Many of these kids are used to people coming in and out of their lives, whether parents, parents' significant others, and teachers. Allendale County has the highest teacher turnover rate in SC (data from 2009-10). At 28.8%, it was only one of two districts over 20%; for comparison, Greenville County was at 6.5%.

Joanna and I have already talked about what the fall looks like for our family. Our family won't stay until closing time every day, but Joanna really wants to be there for homework time. She will schedule our own kids' schoolwork to leave some of their independent assignments to be done at the Club.

Here are some other things that we're excited about in the after school program:

1. Joanna being there a lot, just like she was for the last month of the school year. The kids see us talk and work together. Early on, one of the best things Joanna thought to do was walk across the room to intentionally sit next to me during a talent show. You could tell that other kids noticed what she did; many of them don't have any kind of model of what a healthy marriage looks like.
2. Our kids being there a lot. They have made friends and enjoyed the activities. But even more, other kids get to see Joanna and I talk to and interact with our own kids -- from correction, to encouragement, to direction, to joking. The kids in the program will be treated with the same care and leadership as our own kids get.
3. Conversations. As you can read from the first two points, talking is so important. Conversation, especially for young children, significantly helps develop vocabularies and gives them a sense of connection. Good deeds lead to chances to communicate the Good News (see the first bullet point in this post).

Outside or my work, we're also looking forward to getting more connected here, with friends, with church, with the community.

Related Link:

• Why Christians Should Serve Outside of the Church  
• A Whirlwind of a Week  

What Surprised Me About Summer Camp

Owling has only, thus far, been done at home

Today is the last day of our summer programming. We'll have a week off, where we'll go to Greenville for a few days, see my brother's new baby in Columbia, and then come back to Allendale to finish up our break.

Then, we'll begin with our after school program on the first day of school (August 16). I think we'll have 70-80 sign up within the first month. My friend and co-worker Marvin Love believes we will average 75 kids per day. I sorta' hope he's right, and I sorta' hope he's wrong.

In a recap of the summer, here are something unexpected great things that have happened:

• The Awesomely-Long Days. In May, we couldn't imagine how we would make it with a 8AM to 5PM schedule. But now, we wouldn't want it any other way. It was a need for parents, it gave us more time to develop relationships, and we know that the kids really wanted to be there (most arrived by 8:15, and didn't leave until after 4:30).
• Relationships with Kids. We are amazed just how close as we grew to the kids, especially the ones who came almost every day. It almost makes us wish to not get any more kids in the fall, so we can focus on these. We have an extra bond with our summer kids.
• New Faces. Of the 50 kids that came at least one week, about one-third were brand new. We expect most of them to return in the fall (besides getting back many of kids we had in the spring). Parents have told us, "We've heard such good things about what you guys are doing," and "All my boys talk about is what's going on here."
• Great Competitions. The best week was Olympic week, where we had great competitions and lots of opportunities to talk about leadership and character.
• Developing Leaders. A few of the older boys, in particular, really developed as leaders. They encouraged younger kids, showed enthusiasm, and came up with great ideas for our programming.
• House Guests. Having at least a dozen guests stay at least one night with us, at different points over the summer. We're going to miss them all the activity.
• Our Favorite House Guest. The new close friendship we have with Hannah Swoap. She's the kind of girl I want my own Hannah to be like, and whom I want my sons to marry (except for her being a picky eater).
• Dozens of Volunteers. How much of an impact the volunteers had, not just what they did, but with the relationships that were formed -- including all the Grace students, the 4 moms and 11 kids, and the three students who came back.
• Increased Community Involvement. I thought that people would have laid low in the summer. But we got a new volunteer that will continue in the fall. Plus we had three groups prepare lunches for the kids on different occasions -- Fairfax Baptist Church (twice), Allendale Baptist Church, and Fairfax Police Department. Two teenage girls from Fairfax Baptist even stayed up to 3AM to make delicious cupcakes for the kids!
• Our Own Kids Having Meaningful Relationships. That our own kids would not just refer to the boys and girls here by name, but would refer to them as "my friends" over and over.

Related Link:

• The End of the School Year

"Bad Things Are All Around Me"

Some people say that there is nothing to do in Allendale. Manuel would disagree.

I met Manuel (not his real name) in the middle of June. Earlier that day, he decided to go to his grandmother's house. He was in for an unexpected treat.

Soon after he got to grandma's, she told him that he was going to join her at a party, which she had been invited to go to. Having no other plans, he went along. That's where I and other folks from Grace Church met him, and he got to have a great catered dinner.

What would make a teenage boy decide to visit grandma on a Saturday? Nothing else to do. What would make a teenage boy accept grandma's invitation to party? Nothing else to do. What would make him allow a 35-year old man ask him a bunch of questions? Nothing else to do.

Keep reading on Mission: Allendale . . .

Poverty: Allendale, Bahamas, and the Gospel

Stocking the Allendale food bank

What would make a young lady earn money (by babysitting and selling jewelry) for the purpose of leaving one impoverished area and "vacationing" in another? That is exactly what Lydia Fastzkie did, coming to Allendale last month (this article was written by her mom, Shannan).


Poverty Is the Same, and Different
The culture of poverty in Eleuthera (Bahamas) is very similar to Allendale.


Read the rest of the post on the Mission: Allendale blog . . . 

What Is the Church?

Members from two churches together for worship in Allendale

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a breakfast I had -- which brought together a black guy, a white guy, and a Hispanic Jew. I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with two local pastors.

One the the things that we discussed is the church, that is, what does "church" mean in Allendale, and what should it look like. It was a great discussion, but before I summarize that, here's a little theology and context.


Basic Theology of "Church"
I've consistently heard that the New Testament has two concepts for the local church -- the universal church and the local church. But Charles Ryrie, in Basic Theology, is more accurate as he breaks the concept down into three categories:

1. Universal: The whole body of Christ, in the entire world.
2. Regional: Group of Christians in a specific area, comprised of multiple local churches. (Ryrie uses the term "visible" church, but I think "regional" is more descriptive.)
3. Local: A group of believers that gather together regularly.

A Christ-follower is a part of all three of these categories of churches, but it's the "local" category that many neglect to be a part of (more on this below).

I think that the idea of a "regional church" is important for God's Kingdom-work to be accomplished. The church is God's primary agent of redemption to the world, and churches need to work together. For example, in the "church of Allendale," there are lots of local churches that God has a purpose for, so that His message of the Gospel can be made known.


Being a Part of "Church"
There is debate among Christians in the post-modern culture about whether church membership is important. The purpose of this blog is NOT to give a defense of church membership (I do think it's important and biblical). But here are some good articles that explain why you should be a part of a local church:

• Is Church Membership Biblical? The topics of authority, submission, and discipline in the New Testament only make sense if there is some sort of real membership.
• Why Join a Church? Here's 4 reasons: Biblical obedience, covenant commitment, dependent accountability, and protective blessing.
• The Dearest Place on Earth.  Quote from Charles Spurgeon, "The Church is faulty, but that is no excuse for your not joining it, if you are the Lord’s." And from the same website, you can read How to Go to Church: The Basics.
• Taking Church Off in the Summer.  OK, this is just for fun. You need it after racking your brain on the previous theological articles.

What This All Means for Us
As followers of Jesus, we are all a part of His universal body (or, church), and we have a mandate to be a part of the local church. But let us not forget to think about multiple churches in an area working together as the regional church. It is easy for members of local churches to think about their own building, people, plans, and needs. But doing so leads us to being church-centered instead of Christ-centered.

Image courtesy of DartVader via sxc.hu

Here's an example from the world of chemistry. You know what happens when you add sugar or salt to water? It dissolves, right? But remember that the sugar (or salt) molecules don't go away. The molecules are still there in the water. If you remove the water, the sugar (salt) molecules are left.

What has the sugar or salt done? Well, especially in the case of sugar, it made the water better!

It's the same with different levels of the "church." The smaller (local) church adds flavor to the bigger level. Local churches must work together to improve the regional church. And the local and regional churches are what makes the universal church effective.

I heard a local pastor say it best, as he told his congregation, "I am a Kingdom-person first, before I'm a Baptist." If you don't see how what he said is a big deal, then you didn't grow up in a small town, denominational church.


"Become Less"
We, the individuals and the local churches, must dissolve in order to become part of God's bigger plan. When Jesus began His ministry, others thought John the Baptist might feel threatened. But he rightly replied (as recorded in John 3:30),

"He must become greater; I must become less."

We must be willing to put our plans and desires aside, to make room for the work of the Holy Spirit. The local church is MORE important then some want to believe, and LESS important than others want to admit.

When it comes to the tension between local and regional churches, there are two extremes:

1. We should remain completely separate, and each local church do their own good things.
2. We must become one body and do all things together the same way.

Both are equally wrong. We need to come together for purposes and seasons, and not just to get things done, but to build relationships. After all, it's by how we love each other that the world will know that we are Jesus's disciples (13:35).

We need to be individuals together. We need to work together as local churches in a region.
Sugar on toast is good, and cinnamon on toast is good. But best is sugar and cinnamon on toast.


Pray for Our Family
We know that being a part of the local church is crucial for our own health, and to be a part of God's redemption plan. The local church is God's primary agent to reach a lost world, and it's His primary means for us to be cared for and nurtured.

We are still in the midst of figuring out what it looks like to be involved in the local (and regional) church in Allendale. Please pray for us, that we will know where and how to plug in. We want to continue to be used by God, and to get connected in community.


Related Links:

• How Churches Can Fall Short  
• What Is the Church About? 
• Two Ordinary Joes at Lunch
• Why Christians Should Serve Outside of the Church
• What If My Child Doesn't Want to Go to Church?  

4 Shocking Facts About Allendale Demographics

Here are some quick data about Allendale County, from the 2010 Census.

1. The county has a population of 10,400 -- a decrease of 800 people from 2000.
2. 40% of the people live below the poverty line -- more than twice the state average.
3. In the 10 mile radius around Fairfax (the 2nd largest town in the county), only 44% of the population is employed. The other 56% are unemployed, imprisoned, children, retirees, etc.
4. In the same 10 mile radius, only 65% of those age 25+ have a high school education (versus the national average of 85%). 

Related Links:

• Pouring in Good, Clear Water
• Mission: Allendale 

Insight About Students and What They Need

One of the benefits of me being here, and working with kids and leaders in the after school program, is getting to meet so many people in the school system. They are able to share so much insight with me, that would take a long time for me to observe on my own. For example, Marvin Love (a teacher, playwright, councilman, and fellow staff person) has been a huge asset and a great friend. Here is a summary of what I learned from another guy who works for the school system.

The rest of this post has been moved to the Mission: Allendale blog.

Fairfax Friday: How Does One Lose Hope?

image courtesy of siewlian via sxc.hu

I've always wondered how the how my people the Israelites let the Egyptians enslave them and keep them enslaved (Exodus 1). And I wonder how people today can lose hope.

Do you wonder about the same?

Read How Does One Lose Hope? on the Mission: Allendale blog.

A Black Guy, a White Guy, and a Hispanic Jew Walk Into a Restaurant . . .

[Note: You can read this article on the new blog -- Mission: Allendale.]

No, it's not the start of an offensive joke. This was a breakfast that happened a couple of weeks ago, in a restaurant called Flavor.


The Players
The black guy is Joe Mole, whom I've written about several times (including being in community with him and what I'm learning from him). He works for the county, and is the pastor at Vision Ministries.

The white guy is Larry Sizemore, pastor of Fairfax First Baptist Church. He and his family moved here less than a year ago from a much larger church in South Carolina. From our several conversations and meals, it is obvious that he wants to engage the community. His church (who hired him with the task of helping the church grow) is in the midst of a process of evaluating their background, their strengths and gifts, and the area's demographics. In a week or so, they will have a six-hour workshop to iron out the results from a survey and to brainstorm ideas. Me being a data-nerd, I begged Pastor Sizemore to let me sit in. He agreed.

For those who don't know, I'm the Hispanic Jew.

The three of us have completely different backgrounds (from seminary to chemistry), but a similar story of winding up in Allendale County -- we all say, "How in the world did God lead us HERE?!" And we all know that God is up to something, and that we are privileged to be a part of it.


The Church Culture
Here's the truth: churches are dying in Allendale County. At the least, there are none (ok, maybe 1 or 2) that are growing. And this growth is on the order of a few percentage points each year, as opposed to the 15% per year growth for Grace Church and many other churches in Greenville. But what else would you expect in a county that shrunk between the 2000 and 2010 censuses?

The church culture of the Low Country of South Carolina (which Allendale is a part of) includes a history of "separate but equal," if not outright racism. Of course, this is not true for every church, but a dominating theme. Even good folks who have been a part of churches for decades have explained to me, "Churches say that they want to reach out to the community and include people of the opposite race. But once you have some of those people (including kids) show up, the church members can't wait to get them out."


The Conversation
Of course, with these two great guys, I was not concerned at all with any hints of racism or division. I knew from private conversations that these men have hearts that want to honor God and love others. But I still had concerns about whether the breakfast would be comfortable, or completely awkward. And then, as it took forever for me to pay for my meal, these two guys were already sitting down. I worried how they were doing.

Turns out, they were having great time connecting. (Imagine that -- the world doesn't need my awesome talents to make things right.) By the time I got to the table they had figured out that God had spoken to each of them at almost the same time the previous Sunday morning, about the same topic regarding shepherding and praying for people in their church. Although these two guys had already known each other (after all, it IS a small town), a deeper connection was being formed.

We talked about church life, about our families, about about what God might be doing. We ate. We talked about what church is about in this culture. We ate some more. We shared our hearts. And we finished eating. But can you imagine what the other customers thought when they saw the three of us (black, white, Hispanic Jew) holding hands and praying before we left?


Conclusion
As I said, we believe that God is at work in Allendale. For example, here are three guys who are different but united, who do ministry within a couple of hundred yards from each other on the same road.

God is powerful, and His desire is to redeem the people in this area. We, like many others, have been assigned and deployed by God. It's not about any one church; it's about God's kingdom.

Two Hannah's in the House

There are thousands of girls named "Hannah" in Greenville County. But so far, I only know of two in Allendale -- our daughter and Hannah Swoap. (Most kids' names here have either a z, q, or an apostrophe.)

To lessen the confusion, I just call the older one "Swoap" or (more recently) "Swoapie." Sender is more formal, calling her "Hannah Swoap."

Hannah (Swoap) was one of the college students that spent her last spring break in Allendale. Though we've known her family for about 10 years, we barely knew her before a few months ago. Nevertheless, she had already been planning to spend the summer in Allendale, and we made plans for her to live with us.

She's been a great blessing to our own family. Her first full day in Allendale she babysat for 12 hours, as Joanna and I went to a wedding in Charleston. She played "animals" with Sender, paper dolls with Hannah, and Wii with Elijah. That afternoon, she tie-dyed shirts for all the kids, took them to Subway for dinner, found a park for the kids to play in, and more. We figured we needed to break her in quickly.

And she hit the ground running in Allendale, too. She's made connections with people and organizations, as part of her role of being an intern for Grace Church this summer. And she has spent significant portions of each day at the after school program, loving on kids and helping us figure out a plan for the full-day summer programming.

She wrote a post for the Grace Student Ministry blog, called Engaging Allendale. You can read her thoughts about:

1. Living with us. She's very complimentary, so pay attention.
2. The depth of the problems in Allendale. (I already wrote about three basic problems.)
3. Loving kids in the after school program.
4. Building partnerships in Allendale.

We're so thankful to have Swoapie living with us, and Allendale is, too!

PS -- We are also looking forward to two weeks of Student Ministry mission trips, starting tomorrow! There will be a lot of energy around here.


Related Link:

• Engaging Allendale
• What Surprised Me About Summer Camp
• Mission: Allendale 

The End of the School Year

He's soooo done.

Yesterday was our last day of the after school program. We now have about a week off, before starting our full-day summer day camp on June 13. We have been together as a family since mid-April, and we have settled in some more in our Allendale home. We will be in Greenville for a few days. Besides appointments, meetings, and being with friends and family, we will need to clear out our house so renters (so excited for the old friends who will be caring for our place!) can move in.

Joanna finished up school with the kids the Friday before Memorial Day. She worked hard for the past few months, even doing school on regular holidays, knowing that we would need some flexibility with the move. She has been awesome, of course, at the after school program -- doing everything from helping with homework, leading games, loving on kids, and doing major reorganization and inventory. I have a great Ezer in Joanna!

Hannah is enjoying the time here, at home and at the after school program. But she's also looking forward to seeing friends in Greenville next week, and for Grace Church's Elementary Camp in the end of June. And it looks like a girl from Allendale will be going to camp, too!

Elijah has become friends with a couple of boys in the program, and has done things like make them paper airplanes, do a good magic trick with cards, and do weird things with his double-jointed-self. All of these are great ways for boys to connect with each other. At one point, he mentioned that he wanted to get a tan so he wouldn't be the lightest kid there. But then I explained that it was good that he was the lightest; after all, if he wasn't then another kid would have to be! Understanding that he was providing "protection" for another child helped him be OK with it.

Sender is pretty much our "mascot." All the kids love him, and even the middle schoolers go along with whatever he tells them. We might be giving him a little too much freedom, but also we understand that with late nights and little to no afternoon nap, he's got a long, long day.

Looking forward to being together in the Upstate!


Related Link:

• What Surprised Me About Summer Camp 

More of What I'm Learning from Joe Mole

I benefit immensely from getting together with Pastor Joe Mole. Our fellowship has been an important source of community for me. We started getting together by eating lunch at Clara's. And he once cooked me breakfast at his home (it was amazing for me to watch him cook 5 things at once, while also preaching to and teaching me for 40 minutes). But mostly, we've gone to Hardee's for breakfast.

One thing we realized is the importance of us to be out in public eating together. Last month, as we ate our bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits, we became acutely aware that we were being watched. Halfway into our meal, it became obvious that others (men and women, black and white) were observing us like we were in a fish tank. We both knew what it was -- people could not figure out what this young white guy and older black guy were doing and talking about. (Though I haven't seen much overt racism here, interracial friendships are mostly superficial.) And how much more confused they must have been when we HUGGED as we said good-bye! We agree that it is good that people see us in fellowship.

I learn a lot from him, about this area and about what it looks like to follow Christ and lead my family. He gave me the analogy of Pouring in Good, Clear Water, that helped me focus on the positive things that are happening. And during one of our meals, we discussed ideas that led me to write about Why Christians Should Serve Outside of the Church.

And we have been attending his church, Vision Ministries, for most of this past month. Though the service is quite a bit longer than we're used to, we've always felt loved and welcomed there. Here are some notes that I have written from his sermons:

• Genesis 32:22-32. The perfect place, even in a struggle, is wherever God is. God's purpose isn't to change the place, but to change the person.
• Philippians 3:13-14. I need to take myself out of the picture; only by the cross do I get the crown.
• Genesis 1:26-27. God has a purpose for each of us, and it is best accomplished in the family, with a man and woman unified. This was great for us, as our family has been On a Mission.
• Deuteronomy 8:10. If I stop blessing God, He might take away the food (blessing me), to get my attention back to Him.

Looking forward to learning much more from him!


Related Link:

• A Black Guy, a White Guy, and a Hispanic Jew Walk Into a Restaurant . . . 

What Does It Look Like to Serve in Allendale?

Emily (of Emily Clarke Studio) led a paint day

We are so thankful for how Grace Church has made a path before us for ministry in Allendale. And we are so thankful that we can be a part of this. But maybe you want to serve here, too? If you do (whether it's for a few hours or a few days, or more), we'd love to help.

Our primary focus is the after school program that we lead in. But if you want to serve in another area of ministry for the sake of Allendale, check out the Culturally Engaged website, and contact Jeff Randolph (or send me an email, and I'll pass it on to him).



Read the rest of the post on the Mission: Allendale blog.

Fairfax Friday: You Are Not Alone

It's not a reference to the Michael Jackson song.

It could be worse, I could have made a reference to Tiffany's I Think We're Alone Now.

This post is about isolation that I experienced as my family transitioned to Allendale.

Read more on Mission: Allendale . . . .

3 Basic Problems in Allendale: Poor Education, Teenage Pregnancy, and Disconnected Dads

No, these are NOT the problems

Let me start by clarifying what I mean by "3 Basic Problems in Allendale."

• 3: There are not just three things that are problems, but these are common here.
• Basic: These are not core issues. I'm still processing through what the deeper issues are. These basic ones are a good place to start for you to understand this culture.
• Problems: I don't want to give the impression that everything is bad in Allendale, since I've already said that we shouldn't only focus on the negative statistics.
• Allendale: Not everyone has these problems, and these are not unique to this area. But there is a pronounced prevalence and depth of these issues here.

That being said, in my time here I've seen that there are three areas that need to be addressed in order to have a long-term hope for change in this community: Education, Teenage Pregnancy, and Disconnected Dads.

Read the full article on Mission: Allendale.

More About Hospitality

In yesterday’s post, I described my first two homes away from home, here in Allendale County. Those folks who have taken me in have been God-sends, but we knew that our family would need a place of our own.

Not Your Typical Southern Grandma

The first time I met Camille Nairn, we were at someone’s house, and both of us wanted coffee. When I asked for cream in mine, she looked at me and said, “You are weak.” I knew right then that I would like her.

Keep reading on the Mission: Allendale blog.

Homes Away From Home

"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. . . . Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" (Matthew 25:34-36, 40)

As most of you know, I have been working in Allendale County since the middle of January. In my interview (on a Wednesday), I was told that they would make a decision by Friday, and the job would start that Monday. I knew it would be quick start date, but I was caught completely off-guard by how fast this was moving. “I need . . . some . . . time,” I stammered. “Like, to find a place to live.”

We knew that it would take some time to get our family moved down, so I needed a temporary place to stay on Monday through Thursday nights. I was commuting almost every weekend (besides a short but much-needed mini-vacation and when a college mission trip was going on).

God has provided some awesome places and people to meet our need.

Keep reading on the Mission: Allendale blog.

When the Grinch Grows a Heart

“I will have mercy on who I want to have mercy, 

and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”  

Exodus 33:19

Most of these kids at the after school program where I work deserve to be punished, written up, and suspended. Their behavior is often distracting (at the least) and destructive (to their peers and the facilities). And if I am good at anything, it is cracking down and enforcing rules.

But when I take time to listen to the stories of the kids, it breaks my heart.

Read more on Mission: Allendale.