The famous Catholic Priest, Henri Nowen, once remarked in his book “The Genesee Diary” (as he was quoting a Rabbi) “He who thinks that he has finished is finished.” In other words, if you are a destination-minded person adn you believe that you have “arrived” and “graduated” from simpler things, have a surprise coming. As Nowen so aptly puts it, “those who think they have reached theri goal have missed it all together.”

We are never done with the story because the story iks never done with us. We must keep up our longing, loving, waiting, hoping, praying adn expecting as we persevere in the path of restign in Christ’s peace. It is enough for us. He is enough for us. What are you lellaning into today?

A famous covered bridge, a sleepy town, a hill-top college and a community grappling with strong established pockets of poverty and impoverished living. Welcome to Appalachia. The term is used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. As of 2005, the region was home to approximately 23 million people. For the longest time, it has been held captive to the charactertures and stereotypes of life associated with coal mining, logging, moon shining, clan feuding, Hill-Billy music and poverty. The truth of 2010 is that there has been profound progress in empowerment but still entrenched pockets of poverty. To this land and people, 11 Central Church family members traveled to serve, love, learn and listen for God’s voice in our lives. Come and explore this journey with me!
DAY - 1

Five minutes off the main hiway (a two-lane winding country road), on a narrow road (paved but pock-marked), our vans pull along side of an old black and grey single-wide trailer. It has been amended by several plywood room add-ons and a tin skirt. While the front yard shows signs of unfinished projects, piles and parts, there are also beautiful flowers, bushes, gardens, social gathering places (several picnic tables) completed with meandering geese and ducks. Welcome to the humble home of Buddy and Kathy Trimble. An iron worker/welder with vertigo who is now confined to doing odd jobs and concrete work while he waits for his disability to kick in. Buddy is simple, humble, grateful and respectful. Kathy is calm, very warm, joyful and gracious - not to mention an amazing cook!

Sara and I began our day with Buddy, measuring and digging foundation holes for deck posts in back. As we do our work, we plan, compare notes, talk, laugh and enjoy one another’s company. Our other workers are still in bed after driving all night from Detroit by Rental van after mechanical problems with their plane. Somewhere in the morning, it becomes apparent that we are not there to work FOR Buddy but WITH him. The “OUR PROJECT” that we came to participate in was truly a shared experience. Kathy offered drinks and conversation on the side grass patio complete with two picnic tables and a bench swing under a shade tree. This is where we spent time connecting relationally in conversation on breaks and during lunch. Our other group joined us for the afternoon and completed the perimeter of our new deck before packing up and heading for our college dormitory home at Alderson Broaddus on the

hill overlooking the town of Philippi. Here we shared brief devotion and prayer with all 120 at 7:00 AM in the dorm courtyard (upper right in picture) and individual church team devotionals each night in one of our pod apartments.

We left at the end of the day with the pride that we had already made a difference, that our work was destined to be a blessing and the realization that important work was about to be accomplished this week. Ten miles down the road, our VBS team (anchored in the mornings at Brownton Community Church with other church mission teams) told stories of Joseph, acted out skits, helped with crafts, loved on the children, read and handed out the children’s books we collected at Central and played games in the community center next door. The children were a wonderful mixture of mission project worker’s children and the locals. Together, they explored the importance of life lessons which the adults used in our evening devotionals: Dreaming, Accepting, Serving, Leading and Loving! For now, this week, Philippi is our “home court” to showcase God’s glory and greatness by humbly serving with joy, love and gusto! Help yourself to us, O God, and use us to spread your kingdom love and grace to all we meet.

DAY - 2
“Behold, I make all things new” Revelation 21:5 NKJV

FORECAST…thunderstorm! Lightning and rain! Life here is simple and slow - a patchwork of well-off and poor. Duct tape and tin, sealer and plywood all become metaphors for a life of “GETTING BY” and stretching the life span of old and worn materials. From the one who says, “Behold, I make all things new,” we came to participate in God’s offer and vision for a life that is not merely “HELD TOGETHER” but transformed! At this point, we are all on equal grounds and only recipients of, and witnesses to, our Lord’s grace.

Our van pulls up at our worksite. We unload and gather at the back deck. After prayer and job assignments, we got the joist hung for decking support. Not more than a few top deck boards were put into place and it began to pour rain with lightning. We all ducked for cover. Mike and I sat outside under the umbrella picnic table and chatted for an hour on our lives and our love for the Walk with Christ movement. After the storm, we hopped back up and continued decking until lunch at 12:30 PM. After lunch, we closed off the deck surface and tackled the railing which would be a bit trickier. I became known for saying “Measure twice, cut once!” To which Jon would jokingly reply, “I thought it was measure once, cut twice!”

Tonight, we went to the Barbour county fairgrounds for a country BBQ cook out with all the mission teams and some of the families that we were serving. Hot dogs and hamburgers were consumed, team photos were taken, many children running around playing and having fun. Because I was chatting with many of the other teams, I was last in line and last of our team to sit down. Unbeknownst to me, they had “lovingly” conspired to all get up and act like they were leaving as soon as I had sat down. Nothing says “I love you” like a united “Goodbye! (smile).

When we were back in our dorm pod-apartment doing devotions, I was reminded and aware of how humid and warm it was. Earlier, I had gotten out of the van to pump gas and my glasses immediately and completely fogged up due to the temperature change and moisture. The backs of our necks, our upper lips, and inside elbow joints were always wet and sticky. One of the things that you are constantly aware of in West Virginia in the summer is the HUMIDITY. Day and night, the air is warm, thick and moist. It is (to use the language of glue) “TACKY!” During devotions tonight, I felt hot and sticky again. And then, through the heat-induced fog of my mind–this clarion thought: “I am constantly aware of humidity!” I am never unaware of its presence all around me at every waking moment. With that revelation came this challenging, prophetic question: “What if I was as constantly aware (physically, emotionally, spiritually) of the presence of Jesus Christ as much and as often as I am of the humidity I am currently living in?” How would my days, my perspective, my outlook, desires and actions be different? If HUMID-ITY makes me long for a shower, clean dry clothes and fresh, cool air—maybe JESUS-ITY would make me long for God and His righteousness.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness; they are the ones who will be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6 TNIV).

DAY - 3

Go and play in West Virginia! Enjoy “Wild and Wonderful West Virginia” (as the state motto goes). World Vision always schedules the third day for a play day for mission teams. Our team divided off on two adventurous trips. Five of us went to the Cass Scenic Railroad mountain tour; a four-and-a-half hour adventure up to the second highest spot in West Virginia known as “Bald Nob” (4700 ft.). Our trip took a huge circle south into the heartland of West Virginia. Closter phobic is the word westerners would use to describe driving in the lush, rolling hills with deciduous trees and look-alike terrain everywhere. No sight lines, no long views, no distinct landmarks — everything and everywhere looks the same as we did most of our driving through the Monogahela National Forrest. The coal fired steam engine with open passenger cars were a fun trip up a beautiful mountain. The humid valley gave way to cool breezes on the mountain…but at the expense of black smoke and toxic smelling fumes from the coal furnace.

The hardest part of the day was what felt like an endless sea of two-lane country road hiways and 35 MPH slow-down turns every several hundred feet. A straight stretch for more than six blocks was very unusual. A driver in West Virginia sees the same things turn-after-turn, hour-after-hour! It all looks the same. When that becomes true, then two more things become true: (1) our minds and senses numb to what is already too much of the same thing around us and (2) we long from something new! So what does spending half-a-day on these twisting, turning roads teach us? Perhaps, this notion: “Lord, save me from a vision and experience of life that only imbeds me in the perpetual mind-numbing, joy-robbing, “S-Curves” of life that consume us with Navigation and rob us of Habitation! Teach me to dwell in space and time in a way that honors your creation….of me, of humanity and of this world. Orient me towards your promise of a new day and new world where only righteousness will dwell. Surely, in such a wonderful place, “S-Curves” will be forbidden!

“Look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells”
2 Peter 3:13 b NKJV

DAY - 4

“There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope”
Hosea 2:15 TNIV

Where there once was a wall and window, there now is a door and brand new deck. Today, we tore out an old window held enclosed in a rotten wall with years of decay and disintegration. Before we could replace the wall pieces with brand new, strong lumber, we needed to cut and tear out the old. It was slow, painstaking work–dust and dry-rot debris flying and falling everywhere at the vibration and rattle of the sawzall! It was an inside mess all held back by the veneer or covering that displayed normalcy. Does any of this sound familiar? To be a “healthy house” again and provide a strong wall with access into larger places (via a new doorway), a hole had to be cut, dead debris cleared away and new timbers framed in. This is how transformation and renovation happens in construction.

Our work progress was slowed when from out of nowhere a torrential downpour came. We quickly covered the opening with visqueen and then watched the most amazing thunder and lightning show with buckets of rain drenching everything. We all huddled on the tiny 12 x 8 covered front porch and yammered away as we waited again for a relief spell in the storm. Soon, the door was hung and in place. With this new door came a new opportunity to have a whole new OUTlook on acreage– and on life! The excitement of this new passage way was clearly a gift of hope to the Trimbles. They looked forward to many quiet mornings and evenings enjoying the back acres their property overlooks.

When we returned to campus at the end of the day, it was to the relief of showers, clean clothes, rest and the appreciation of a night of fellowship, worship, Bible study and group devotions. Our “Joseph’s Journey” team devotional helped us to ask questions about life’s detours, inconveniences, unanswered questions and spiritual applications for serving God with our lives. Each evening before bed, as we debriefed our day and probed our hearts and minds for meaningful connections to our work and life that we may not otherwise have seen had we been “home and busy.” These exercises on our trip were every bit as important as being active, task driven servants trying to accomplish much in a little span of time. It is a balance and symphony of all of these dynamics that leads to healthy kingdom living. This is what God wants from each of us:

Under Authority + On Assignment + In Reflection = ON MISSION!
(Life Lordship) (Life Deployment) (Life Learning)

DAY - 5

The Big Picture? Completion! It’s what every mission-trip project team is after. Finishing what we started and leaving with a sense of pride, ownership and service that made heaven smile and rejoice. “Job well done!” Truth is, life is a long-haul journey filled with many “to-be-continued” projects. Today, we “finished” ours—a new deck with a new wall and door and a new roof to keep the water out! And what does it all mean? Well, perhaps a tear flowing down the cheek of Kathy Trimble, as she prayed in our closing circle of prayer on her new deck was reminder enough that hope and gratitude are the more enduring work of God’s Spirit through our lives than any of our skilled work. What some might legitimately call an almost imperceptible drop in the bucket (our tiny project) was joined to a much larger and longer story.

For 18 years, World Vision has been working in the Appalachia region and deeply imbedded as a community partner for transformation of lives. Barbour County was the most impoverished and needy of all the counties in West Virginia (this state of just under 2 million people). Now, after 18 years of hundreds of mission projects and church teams from all over the country, this region has recently been “upgraded” from Poverty to At Risk. While both of these sound bad to us, World Vision says it is a cause for rejoicing and seeing the long term impact of turn-around projects and ministry that is empowering people for life change. Bridgette reminded us at our concluding leaders meeting that for every project completed, there is a tangible connection which occurs in the family’s lives that impacts their perspective, outlook, performance and elevates their vision and hope for their future and better living. The cumulative results are both clear and undeniable. A winning game is usually made up of many, many plays, possessions and plans for progress. Usually no “one” play finishes or seals the game. It is the cumulative affect of hundreds of plays (projects) by hundreds of players (mission teams) who have joined themselves to a larger and longer story–that will lead to an enduring victory!

It was my hope and prayer that our brief time in Philippi would be to participate in giving and receiving life. I reminded our group, with humor and grace (much to the delight and humor of Buddy and Kathy), that when it comes to choices we needed to make on our job site, we should strive to become like Jesus in all of his work. This is what the people thought of him:

“People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said”
Mark 7:37a TNIV

Special thanks to all of those hearty campers who made this week so enjoyable and meaningful! I loved being your next door neighbor for a season. Special thanks to Ben cook for all he did as our Project coordinator and Leader in pulling this whole thing together! Your were AMAZING Ben! We couldn’t have done it without you! And special thanks to the Central church family who has always wanted to be a church that is IN the community, OF the community and FOR the community. You Rock!

Our last night was the coldest of all! We awoke early Sunday morning to ice chips on our tent. Sweet relief was (in part) the early morning realization that I would be soon folding up the sleeping bags, taking down the tent, removing layered clothes and heading to a large home with a soft bed and warm environment! Our symbolic week of homelessness is ending…their ongoing struggle is continuing. It was such a joy to share this week not just with Central Church campers. We also had folks from South Hills Church, Bethel, Cathedral of Joy, The Bridge and Desert Springs Covenant Churches. I pray the body of Christ will expand even more in the years to come. Yes, the team felt a resounding conviction to return for the “second annual!” January 2011 here we come!

Sunday evening means rest, return and relief for tent city campers. Sunday evening for real homeless people means another week of uncertainty. May the Lord our God be a refuge and home to the homeless. “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself…Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah” (Psalm 84:3a, 4).

Life at home is centered around many patterns and rhythms that become deeply engrained in our emotional and mental psychie.  There are many things we have come to take for granted that aren’t a part of the homeless experience; essentially, we call that the life of options.  Sometimes it’s the case that what we DIDN’T DO becomes more descriptive of our lives than what we have done or will do any given day. 

Last night, as I lay in my tent home, I nestled into my reduced reality.  No wandering and walking throughout this “house.”  “Confined to recline” is another way to put it!  How many of us know what it’s like for our heads and our feet to simultaneously push against the walls of our homes as we sleep?   Surrounded by cool, damp air, we “live” in our dark bedroom – somewhat dank (it has been four days now!) and cluttered (turns out the floor is our closet, drawers and counter space all wrapped into one).  For most of us, we see the evenings as a time for RELAXING.  For others (who are surviving), their evenings are for REGROUPING.  What are our options?  what is our strategy tonight?  What a discouraging way to end your day.  What was your “DIDN’T” from last night?

“He didn’t give us any food, and we didn’t take anything for ourselves!” (2 Samuel 19:42b CEV)

What would you pack in your back pack if you only had two cubic feet to stuff and cram full of provisions?  Travel lightly, we are told.  Reuse, reduce, recycle and RE-THINK what really works outside the walls.  What looks good, what’s pleasing or desireable may not fit the bill.  Suddenly, the “warm-ugly” is very appealing over the “trendy-breezy!”  Back packs and shopping carts — the mobile storage bins of homeless people.  Possessions may not a home make, but for survival they are a sacred necessity to our “taking cover.”  small things become huge when these mobile mercies  (like a foldable tarp) keep us dry another night.  This moldable, foldable tarp becomes my sheet rock, siding and shingles to bear yet another cold, damp night.

Many have spoken of the inconvenience of “living out of a suitcase” as we travel abroad for business or pleasure.  This portable “home-away-from-home” most frequently is accompanied by a luggage stand in your hotel room outfitted  with fresh towels, clean restrooms, warm, comfortable beds, phone and TV.  Life in a suitcase may be wearisome at times, but life in a back pack is limiting, lonely, left out and, often times, a lessoning of divine potential. 

“And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. And He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city”  (Luke 9:2-4 NASB)

It’s work to build a house around your body.  Almost makes you not want to go to the bathroom once you’ve gotten all situated.  Even now, I am secure, but only as a guest in another person’s tent.  Even this shell is not my home.  It belongs to another.  “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).  It rained Monday night.  The patter of raindrops on the tent lulled us to sleep.  It is cold and wet….again!  Camp is quiet.  A few coughs “two houses down,” the drone of cars passing by and, of course, more snoring from the neighbors.  The zipping sound of nearby tents means people are on the move…coming and going.  We woke up to ice-drops frozen on the outside tent walls.  We made it through another night - but what will this day bring?

If you haven’t already, swing by and say hello to this new neighborhood.  Come out to one of our nightly meetings at 7:00 PM and learn about homelessness.  Consider even camping out one night to see what life out in the cold is like.  Come join the fun and meaning of learning!

I was struck  by the solemnity and stillness of this new temporary “neighborhood.”  The occasional distant noise of a plane far overhead; the infrequent clap of the plastic sanican door slamming shut (I was one of those late-night visitors); the drone of car tires passing by on occasion with splashing noise from water on the ground; a neighbor “two doors down” is snoring and I can hear it; cool moist air penetrates my skin and settles into my bones — I long for the sun to rise but it’s only 2:30 AM

HOMELESS - away from home; away from convenience; away from comforts (relatively speaking); away from my family.  No late night cuddles next to the one I love.  No pictures on walls and carefully placed heirlooms to remind me who I am.  HOMELESS - away from what grounds me and what defines me; away from belonging, significance and centeredness.  What is it like to live alone in a tent, a car, a stairwell, a box, a storage unit?  What is “HOME” to you?  Jesus said, “Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home” (Luke 16:9 NLT).  May your stay here on earth be punctuated with opportunites to remember your true address and family…169 Luke Street!

Sometime, while handling light strings, I had cut my finger out in the cold but didn’t even notice it. Under normal circumstances, I would have become instantly aware of my problem, but my cold and numbing environment preventing me from becoming aware of, concerned about and taking corrective action on — my injury.

As soon as all of this happened, it dawned on me as I drove away from the store…a culture of sin and compromise can be like that numbing cold! God knows that we need to be awakened to the problems of pain and sin. Paul articulates the awakening in this way: “Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law” (Romans 7:7b NIV). God’s word is a great way to measure our spiritual health and make sure we are aware of any areas of sin, compromise and subtle shifts in alignment with God’s vision and purpose for our lives. Yes, it can “sting” from time to time, but God’s speaks to us through His word for our benefit. The Bible says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you!

May the God of Heaven give us all a divine “Tail Wind” today!