Soaring Highs and Crushing Lows

June was a haze, filled with soaring highs and crushing
lows. I’m glad its a new month, a new
start.  I leave for Swaziland in 26 short
days! Woah! Woohoo! 

 

Loosing Rusty has been a devastating blow.  Molly articulated it beautifully through
tears one night, “when our guys are alive you have hope that their life can
change, hope that they will get off the streets, hope that they can live a
fulfilled life here and now on this earth. 
I know Rusty is with Jesus and he is truly home now, but I also wanted
him to have that here, in this life, and he wont ever get that.”

 

When I said yes to homeless ministry I had no idea it would
mean enduring so many deaths.  I’m glad I
didn’t know what I was getting into, I wouldn’t trade these last five years
with Fill-A-Belly for anything, but if I was given the ability to fast forward and see the
trails we would face, I don’t know if I would have had the strength to choose
this. 

 

Im thankful for the rich intensity of this month and simultaneously overwhelmed.  Supplies
from last weeks Mexico trip litters the front room, my car is in desperate
need of a bath and shopping has to get done for our Swaziland fundraisers on
July 4^th and 13^th. 

 

 

The absolute highlight of June was going to Mexico with 22 remarkable
people!  I’ve been dreaming about leading trips like this for the last year and
seeing those hopes become reality was wonderful. 
I loved it all: the projects, partnering with Jose Luis and Cindy, attempting
to converse in Spanish, and watching our team members come alive.  From beginning to end the trip was a
gift. 

 

On Saturday night I asked the team what was one moment
during the day where they saw God working. 
After listening to everyone share his or her experiences I thought about
mine

 

It was the hot time in the afternoon, and we were all tired
from a morning in the sun doing sports outreach.  Our team had just finished handing out
hundreds of hot dogs and afternoon ministry was in full swing.  I was walking around, checking to see how
everything was going. 

 

As I stepped into the bright blue Sunday school room it was
filled with kids.  Anne and Brandon were
passing out Journals, to everyone.  The 4^th
6^th graders at North Coast Calvary had made the journals.  The were filled with coloring pages and
Spanish prompts like, What’s one question you want to ask God?  What are some things you would like to thank
God for?  Each kid was quiet as they bent over their journals, printing words and
expressing a little bit of their hearts on the paper. 

 

After seeing that everything was running well, I moved on to
the kitchen area.  Dishes from the hot
dog lunch for the community were all cleared away and team members were working
on filling water balloons for our upcoming water wars.  Just outside some of the kids from our team
were preparing for the water fight with the children from Vista Del Valle
helping them. 

 

Then I made my way to the sanctuary where Ryann and Candice
were doing a beautiful craft with the women. 
The ladies were quietly bent over the table making lovely, intricate
welcome signs for their homes.  Poverty is the great robber of creativity.  Allowing the women to pour their effort into designing something beautiful was wonderfully dignifying. 

 

As I walked through the room, a few of our guys were
building a wall in the church.  They
quickly and skillfully erected a perfect partition.    

 

At the end of my tour I stopped for a moment.  Every person was using his or her gifts.  The whole equaled so much more than the
parts.  Getting to see one of my dreams come
together, after a year of preparing, was an incredible gift.  Everyone is excited about heading back to
Mexico from September 20 – 22! 

 

I wouldn’t trade this
life for anything.  The soaring highs
and crushing lows.  The piles of supplies in
the living room and the dirty car.  The
tears over Rustys death and the beautiful moments we had together during his
time on the earth.