'Ere we goooooo!

Part of my daily tasks include updating our roster of people who are signed up for the Fall AIM weekends. While the lists can be deceiving, I like to keep my eye on the graph:

It is exciting to think what work will take place between now and November. Here are the stats as of today: we have 191 individuals signed up/reserved space from 10 different states that represent 32 churches from 7 different denominations. For 191 people, we will be putting in 3056 volunteer hours, which is a value of $56,902.72.

Right now we have 5 ongoing major home repair projects, and we are working on qualifying 6 new projects. So, as of today, we are going to help 11 families. $34,000 in Housing Preservation Grant money will be spent, along with 2 projects that will be funded by the families.

That's a grand total of $90,902.72 that we will be investing in homes and lives this fall. While that dollar amount might sound impressive, just think of all of the qualitative value that will be added to people's lives: hope, empowerment, a sense of community, renewed strength to persevere, confidence. It's hard to place a dollar amount on the value of all of that.

Where did you get that food?

I live for unexpected calls. You know, the kind that not just break up the monotony of your day*, but also leave you in awe of how God orchestrates the ordinary times.

(*On the contrary, one would not describe summer days around here as monotonous, though the atypical-ness can become "normal" in its own respect.)

So, when Glenn, the director of the Grundy County Food Bank, called this summer to tell me that he wanted to share food from Bonnaroo*, I was immediately curious. "Food, from Bonnaroo?" Festival organizers were looking for a way to reclaim the left over food that was professionally prepared and served backstage for performers. Basically, the good stuff!

(*We actually warn our churches who come around Bonnaroo time about the traffic jams and unavailability of rental vans. Talk about crazy: they're not kidding when reports go out that the city of Manchester quadruples during Bonnaroo.)

Here is a short video that focuses on Bonnaroo's sustainability projects, including the food that they donated to Grundy County Food Bank. WARNING: there is a dirty word at 0:48, but it doesn't detract from the overall effect!

Most of the food donated from Bonnaroo ended up going to the homes of individual families in Grundy County, families that the food bank works with on a regular basis. I know people who appreciate the donated jar of peanut butter and loaf of bread. Just think how extravagant a prepared dinner of food like you'd get at a nice restaurant would be, especially when you aren't expecting it? Over 40% of children in Grundy County are "food insecure", meaning at times they don't have access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle. 6 of the 7 counties in our service area have moderately high food insecurity rates.

For as much as they throw a kink into our summer logistics, I have to applaud Bonnaroo organizers for re-purposing their resources. For some of us, it's a good meal not gone to waste, for others it's something extraordinary.

Another Day in the Life

If there are any former Field Managers reading this blog, the image to the left should look familiar: broken trailer full of wood. Bo and I had one of those "classic" field days yesterday, and I thought I would share just to let you know that we're still doing work up here.

Our day began at Baker. There was still an impressive pile of logs left over from the trees we had removed at camp this summer. I thought there was no reason to let them sit and rot when they could be converted to heat for a family this Winter, so we cut up the immovable pieces and started loading the trailer. There's nothing like wielding a chainsaw to get going in the morning. After breaking a good sweat, it was time to shovel dried, rancid paint out of a truck bed liner up and over into the dumpster (tree huggers, don't fret: that is what the EPA told us to do). After we locked up my trailer and turned off the water, Baker was left to rest for the winter.

Of course, we had to stop and say goodbye to my neighbor Elijah. And of course I had to respectively haggle with him to reduce his offer of a full meal down to a piece of cake. We sat and ate our slab of cake covered in strawberries and visited with Elijah and his momma for a minute before heading out to finish a project. Not having to stop for lunch anymore, we drove straight to Centertown to flash a porch roof. Tar on our clothes, feeling good, and the family happy, we headed back toward camp when we were done.

With the mountain in sight, the trailer tire we had worried about all day finally decided to blow out and shred itself, leaving a rubbery trail of destruction. There was only one option. We had to stop on the side of a two lane highway, take the entire wheel off and hope the one remaining tire could support the two tons of logs sitting on top of it. After stopping to rearrange the load twice, we slowly limped back to camp and unloaded.

It was one of those days that would have been miserable if we didn't have each other to share in the misery. Instead, it became a successful day full of laughter and a story we'll remember. That got me thinking that there should really be a book comprised of epic Field (and Program) stories written by past Summer Staff. I know the stories out there. It would be like a "Behind the Scenes of MTOP: Told by the People that Made it Happen" collection of tales. I sometimes forget how often we cheat insurmountable odds and even death to make ministry happen. And it's all too much of a coincidence not to be touched by the hand of God.

We often speak of the field operations being the "What" of the ministry and the programming the "Why". You can't have one without the other. I've never been a huge fan of that clear distinction, seeing as they should be interchangeable and immersed in each other. Still, trying not to get too philosophical, that is what we have to do to in order to reach a generation (myself included) that has become much more self-centered and accepting of the status-quo. If we ask "What are we doing?" or "Why are we doing that?", the reasoning is most likely to see if that thing, trip, or task is worth our time; not if there is a need to be met or if God is calling us to that task. That is why the Mountain T.O.P. model has endured and continued to change lives for 36 years. We are forced to look beyond ourselves and deep into ourselves to discover the crucial questions that will bring us closer to God. Because of this, as staff, we endure sweat, blood, flaming trucks, flat tires, trailers full of garbage and debris, and any other number of filthy, joyful tasks in order to fulfill the call placed upon us to love our neighbors and bring to light the Kingdom God here on Earth.

My job is a privilege.

During our summer staff closing we did a worship where everyone shared a little story about how God helped fill our cup this summer when we were empty. It was really cool to hear about how God works differently in everyone's lives. I thought it would be nice if I shared how God filled my cup this summer when I was empty.

Working up here full time is very rewarding for sure, but sometimes I get in the mindset of it just being a job. I sometimes forget about why I am here and how this helps expand God's Kingdom. During the last week of the summer we had a retreat group in camp that was working separately from the YSM camp we had going on at the same time. Jay and I were the ones that oversaw the projects and did the running back and forth between projects. About halfway through the week I just finished visiting with a group that was working on a bathroom so I was getting in my truck to go back to camp. I had figured that I could get back and sit and relax for a little bit before I would have to go back out. Well as I was saying bye to the woman we were working with Jay pulled up behind my truck to where I couldn't get out of the driveway. I was stuck. If you know Jay you know it's not going to be a real quick "hey, how's it going, good, see ya later." He stayed for about 15 minutes and talked with the group and then came outside and joined me in talking with the woman we were working with.

It was just the forced stop that I needed to realize why I am here. I get so caught up in the physical need and making sure it is getting met, that I forget to visit with the families and meet the other 3 needs (emotional, social and spiritual). God reminded me that day of why I am here and why I have been called to work on this mountain full time. It is not just so I can help out the groups with meeting the physical needs, it is because He needs me here to talk with the families and get to know them and share His love with them while experiencing His love from them.

O, My Soul, Keep Up ...

About mid-way through this summer,  I went home to Hoover for two nights.  On Saturday of that weekend, I went to workout with my brother at a local church gym.  My brother, Mike, is a big guy.  Big shoulders. Big body. Tall. Ex-football player. (Husky, ain't ya?)  Working out with him is no joke.  He was on the Hoover High School football team (then Westpoint's, then UAB's). We're talking two-a-days.  He was a middle-linebacker and his claim to fame in high school was sacking Tim Tebow (you really shouldn't need a link) when Hoover played Nease on ESPN.  Believe it.

Lately, he's fallen out of working out as much as he used to (lucky me), so he's been trying to get back at it. Our day in the gym fell in the "I've only been doing this for three weeks" category.  I really can't imagine how bad he'd shame me now.

We started by running on the treadmill (this is what I'm used to).  I told him I was going to do two miles and then I'd play around with him on weights.  But as soon as I'd completed 1 mile, he was hovering at the back of my treadmill telling me to come on. (I do not like hover-ers.)  So I said okay and we headed to the free weights.  He took out his phone and started talking about some Nike bootcamp workout videos (bascuse me? what?) and then proceeded to tell me to follow him in lunges around the room.  Before I knew it, we were moving from drill to drill with little resting time in between.  One second we were lifting ... the next we were doing push-ups... the next we were flinging weights above our heads... the next we were jogging around the room ... up, down, sideways ... whoa.

About 40 mins into the whole bit, I started feeling light-headed.  It was right after we switched from a floor drill to a standing one.  (I was not trying to whip my hair back and forth, but it felt about the same.)  I told him I was going to lie down before I passed out (and I've never passed out... once I came close when Julie and I were riding bikes, but that's a different story. Had to lay down in a gutter then.)  So I laid still for a few minutes and then decided I should go get some water.  After several other minutes had passed, I told him I was ready to keep going (not a quitter).

As I got back into it, he noticed that I wasn't really breathing in and out like you're supposed to, so every time he didn't hear any air (insert airhead jokes), he would yell, "Breathe." 

When I was driving back to work the next day (breaks/real resting are short-lived in the summer), I started thinking about my experience with Mike and how it parallels life with God.  When I wasn't breathing, I wasn't sure I could keep going.  I got light-headed and was forced to stop.  I started questioning whether I could really do it .. whether I could really keep up (with such a beast) ... whether I could cut it.  And I think life in ministry (or life with God) is no different.  We want so badly to depend on ourselves .. to keep pushing .. to go until we pass out ... to reach the limit and THEN slow down.  But the truth is, we can't really keep going unless we breathe. I learned awhile back that the Hebrew word Ruach (get ready, there are sound effects) means breath, soul, spirit of God. And to complete this marathon .. to run this race .. to live life with God ... we must keep breathing in the presence of the Holy Spirit, allowing Christ to fill us up.  When I feel overwhelmed, stressed or tired .. unsure if I can really keep doing what I'm doing ... I'm reminded that the Spirit of God is life-giving and to breath it into my day is of utmost importance. I'm not sure there's any other way to survive.

And so, with some breathing and some real rest ... We will make it. You will make it.  The power of the Holy Spirit has yet to fail us...

THANK YOU!

a HUGE thank you to the Summer Staff of 2011We love you Team Touch, Team Winning, Indecisive Sassy Pants, Team Fit & The Sister Wives!
- love your Support Staff

The View From Here

The last campers drove out of camp on Saturday morning. The summer staff have been cleaning up, closing down and putting away. Camp Cumberland Pines is a different place after 8 weeks of camp. There's lots of empty space - the parking lot is almost vacant, the pavilion has no 9-square game, the major group sites sit empty & the staff offices are quiet. And, the tool shed and the paint trailer get organized.

For all of you that came to Mountain T.O.P. this summer (and spring and fall and any other season) we thank you!!! We couldn't do this ministry without you.