From my multiple posts regarding day 2, I think that I need to cut things down to what strikes me as interesting or important to what we are doing down her (which is experiencing life and faith in another culture). I just don't have the time to tell the long, rambling minute-by-minute that comes naturally to my detail-oriented mind.
On day 3 we drove to the area around Gulfport, MS. We spent the day in the Pass Christian and Delisle areas. We worked on the house of a Shrimper named Billy. It is an awesome log cabin that is being built from wood salvaged from Katrina. Building the house has been a long process (it was started the day after Christmas 2009) since it is all done by volunteers, but, man, what a nice place. We worked with a youth group from Canton, OH. They worked hard in the heat and humidity. So impressive to see kids working like that.
While talking with Billy and his friend Rich (who was helping with the building) we touched on Katrina and the Oil Spill. Billy told us how his shrimp boat was carried on shore in Katrina. He still owns his boat, but doesn't have the money to fix it so he has been running another guy's boat, at least until the spill. He had received money from Katrina, which he bought a double-wide trailer with, but that burnt down in the middle of the night. (He's living in a beat down trailer now, which is why they are building the log cabin.) Jeff Hegstrom (the coordinator from Relevant Ministry and our contact person in Pass) told Evan and I that Billy escaped the fire in his underwear his trailer went up that fast. Also, he said that prior to Relevant meeting Billy and starting work on his cabin, Billy walked hunched over and suffered from depression and anxiety. Now, he is showing signs of hope and optimism.
I told Billy that people up north seem to have strong opinions about the BP oil spill, sometimes with no knowledge other than what they hear in the news, and I'd like to hear what his take on the situation was. His general sentiment was that this was a tragedy that possibly could've been averted, but who would've ever predicted it happening since drilling in the Gulf has been going on for so long. He seemed unsure of how to gauge BP's responsibility and response to the spill. He is glad that they are not denying that they have a responsibility, but he feels that the money that is being given to fishermen and seafood workers (like Kim) is basically just good-PR and a type of hush-money. He wonders how much this can or will even change things in the Gulf, but, "Sure enough," he said, "fishing ain't ever gonna be the same."
Rich represented a demographic that is more comfortable to the northerner: blue-collar factory worker. He recently retired from DuPont where he spent the last 27.5 years of his career (his wife works there still). Unlike the trend in the north though, Rich says that people down here, if they get a job at DuPont or Chevron or one of the other big industrial companies, don't leave those jobs. I asked him is it was because there was either a sense of family/loyalty or perhaps union jobs, but Rich said it had more to do with the fact that there is little to no other consistent work that pays a sufficient wage. He also said that few of the large companies are union shops, and seemed to be against worker unionization for this area. His opinion was that unions would lower the southern sense of responsibility for one's own actions, leading to self-centered people who were only out for their own dollars and were looking for a company that would work for them and not vice versa.
After lunch with the work crew from OH, we went over to the Marsha Barbour Community Center in Delisle. We met Miss Jackie, who heads up the center. She told us a little bit about the center and the work that the kids from Bethany Mennonite Church had been doing with their basketball and volleyball camps. She is a wonderful, joyful and compassionate young Christian lady who spends her time being Christ in a non-Christian atmosphere. I like to think of her as God's spy, which just made her call me silly.
Across from MBCC is Delisle Mt Zion United Methodist Church, where the youth group was putting on a VBS after the morning sports camps and cabin work. Evan and I (and Jeff, too) were not there to help with VBS, but instead we met with the pastor of the church, Rev. Rose Mary Williams. Wow. What a time we had with her. She is an older, shorter, African American woman who exudes confidence and compassion (a very unusual mix). To sum up our conversation with her, she is a woman pastor who has had great success in ecumenical ministry to benefit the communities around her because of two things: 1.) She has not shirked the calling of God and the vision that the Holy Spirit has placed on her heart despite her age, her race or her gender and 2.) she is so compassionate about the community that she considers everyone in the community "her child" even if they are a part of another church or don't attend any church at all. Before her call into ministry, she was a teacher in the Pass Christian schools for many years. She strongly believes that God used that time and the relationships that she built then to give her the "power" she has now. (She has been highly instrumental in the building of the MBCC and is a highly sought out individual in the community for prayer and counseling.) To hear her speak of the power of the Holy Spirit and his desire for all of us was amazing. It gives me such hope for the communities around her to know that they have someone like her praying for them and advocating for them.
After meeting with Rev. Rose Mary, Jeff took Evan and I on a tour of the shoreline. There were work crews cleaning up tar balls, which Jeff said could be anywhere from specks to grapefruit sized. We saw many empty lots, broken pylons and concrete slabs with no buildings. Jeff said no one is building there and that he doubts people will build on the shore front for many years. He took us to the Bay St. Louis bridge, which was developed as it was built. Apparently, with the bridge out, people (including relief workers) had to make a huge detour to get from one side of the bay to the other. Since the need for the bridge to be built was so big, the builders decided to start building and develop the bridge as they went along. At each side of the bridge are decorated concrete slabs that stretch up to the height of the water at Katrina's peak (27 ft.!). Standing next to them was awe inspiring.
We also visited the Friendship Tree, which has come to be a symbol of the community and its resilience. This tree is 500 years old. It branches are so long that in places they sink into the ground. It was pretty amazing to see a tree like that. ("Avatar" anyone?)
The rest of the evening was spent with the group from Bethany and with Jeff's family. Jeff is such a dynamic guy and the ministry that they are looking to carry out in that area is really compelling. The building and VBS aspects of ministry are not primary goals of Relevant, but they are key to their long-term vision as it helps them get their foot in the doors. Relevant's to big desires are to 1.) develop relational ministries for disciplemaking and 2.) come alongside and support local pastors and churches to encourage them for the harvest that God is preparing. Jeff told us stories of pastor's who aren't burnt out from ministry, or perhaps better stated from trying to do all the aspects of ministry. They are overworked and are frequently suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from Katrina, but are unable to deal with their own issues b/c of the issues in their congregations. They are trying to keep their churches going, but people have left and never came back or their people are discouraged and unable to fulfill the Great Commandment and Great Commission. Relevant is trying to get interns (preferably long-term) into the area to support these pastors, to help them do ministry and relieve some of the burden so that the pastors themselves can again achieve some health and renew their passion.
Day 4 coming up later...
Speaking with Jeff was (I think) amazing for both Evan and I since he has been both a Youth Pastor and a church planter like Evan. He and his wife were a great fit for us and we truly enjoyed their hospitality, kindness and friendship. I'd like to try to find ways of supporting Relevant's vision by getting people down to the Gulf.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Third time is the charm...
As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by life and the expectations that it has on my life, Evan asked the Buddhist monk about the statues that he had made and about how proselytizing is done in Buddhism. The monk told us that the different statues were representations of the Buddha in different life/worship postures: teaching, meditating, resting, collecting alms, etc., but he did not know what all of the statues represented, which Evan and I found odd. When the monk was addressing the issue of proselytizing and conversion, he said that people do not go out to try to convince people to follow Buddhism, that one becomes a Buddhist because one feels called to or wants to. There is a great sense of live-and-let-live-with-as-little-conflict-and-disagreement as possible.
We left the temple, quickly visited another Asian store (this one owned by Vietnamese) and then went to Kim's house. Kim is an older woman who is/was an oyster shucker, and Pheng had a fairly close relationship with her, so he wanted to say visit her before he left for Laos. She lives with her son and dog in a trailer. Kim's son speaks virtually no English and Kim speaks very little. Given that Evan, Pheng and I speak no Vietnamese, our conversation was very challenging (but so worth it). Kim told us stories of how she married a GI in Vietnam and had a daughter. She actually saw her husband and his squad killed by an NVC bomb. Since her daughter was born of a GI, Kim was allowed to come to the US. It was very sad to hear about her daughter. Kim's daughter married a Vietnamese man, who Kim does not like and he does not like Kim. This has estranged Kim from her daughter and her three grandkids even though they live just down the road. Kim told us about her work, how even as an old lady she shucks oysters faster than younger men, and how she has been out of work b/c of the oil spill, but BP has paid her $1000 for the month. It is less than she can make oyster shucking, but she is thankful to have the money.
Kim told us about Thi, and how he has ministered in her life. Apparently, before Thi came, she was having serious health issues that caused her to walk with a stooped back and with shuffled steps. Thi came in with (I think) J.D. and they prayed for her and she was healed! (I didn't get if it was a instantaneous healing or over a little bit of time.) At that point, Kim accepted Jesus and what he had done for her. In her words, "He number 1. Number 1!"
After Kim's house, Pheng took us to Dauphin Island to see the Gulf. It was interesting in that I have never seen oil/gas/whatever rigs out in the ocean. We got our feet wet and Evan found a wild hermit crab walking along and we picked it up and checked it out. Evan then decided that he was going to go in the water. We had no swim suits, but he had a change of clothes in the car. So, Evan went in. Pheng decided to join him (even though he had no spare clothes), and, being thoroughly human, I eventually caved to the peer pressure. Let's just say that Pheng and I had a not-so-comfortable ride home, but the water was amazing. So much warmer than Jersey! And the sand was white and fine, not like the yellow chunks up north!
That was day 2. And it was good (but very long)
We left the temple, quickly visited another Asian store (this one owned by Vietnamese) and then went to Kim's house. Kim is an older woman who is/was an oyster shucker, and Pheng had a fairly close relationship with her, so he wanted to say visit her before he left for Laos. She lives with her son and dog in a trailer. Kim's son speaks virtually no English and Kim speaks very little. Given that Evan, Pheng and I speak no Vietnamese, our conversation was very challenging (but so worth it). Kim told us stories of how she married a GI in Vietnam and had a daughter. She actually saw her husband and his squad killed by an NVC bomb. Since her daughter was born of a GI, Kim was allowed to come to the US. It was very sad to hear about her daughter. Kim's daughter married a Vietnamese man, who Kim does not like and he does not like Kim. This has estranged Kim from her daughter and her three grandkids even though they live just down the road. Kim told us about her work, how even as an old lady she shucks oysters faster than younger men, and how she has been out of work b/c of the oil spill, but BP has paid her $1000 for the month. It is less than she can make oyster shucking, but she is thankful to have the money.
Kim told us about Thi, and how he has ministered in her life. Apparently, before Thi came, she was having serious health issues that caused her to walk with a stooped back and with shuffled steps. Thi came in with (I think) J.D. and they prayed for her and she was healed! (I didn't get if it was a instantaneous healing or over a little bit of time.) At that point, Kim accepted Jesus and what he had done for her. In her words, "He number 1. Number 1!"
After Kim's house, Pheng took us to Dauphin Island to see the Gulf. It was interesting in that I have never seen oil/gas/whatever rigs out in the ocean. We got our feet wet and Evan found a wild hermit crab walking along and we picked it up and checked it out. Evan then decided that he was going to go in the water. We had no swim suits, but he had a change of clothes in the car. So, Evan went in. Pheng decided to join him (even though he had no spare clothes), and, being thoroughly human, I eventually caved to the peer pressure. Let's just say that Pheng and I had a not-so-comfortable ride home, but the water was amazing. So much warmer than Jersey! And the sand was white and fine, not like the yellow chunks up north!
That was day 2. And it was good (but very long)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Mobile, Day 2 cont.
I've got a few minutes before Evan and I will leave for Gulfport, so I figure I'll try to finish what I started. (By the way, if you would, pray that I have energy for today and the rest of the trip. I'm feeling really run down right now and would L-O-V-E to go back to bed.)
Anyway, after lunch we went and visited a Laotian Buddhist temple. This was very interesting. It was setup around a trailer where the monks lived. There was a little pavilion where there were 8 statues of the Buddha in different postures with varying offerings in front of different ones. A monk came out and spoke with us (well, with Pheng, who then tied to tell us what he had said). Apparently this monk had made all of the statues that we were seeing as well as various other statues and artworks around the grounds. The 8 statues of the Buddha took him 2 months to make, and these things were around 5-6 feet tall. He also made them with only tools that he had made himself! I asked him a few questions about what he was doing there and how long he had been here. He has been here in the US for about a year and came wanting to teach people about Laos and Buddhism, but has been saddened that he has not had much opportunity to do that. He said that he would like to go home but those around him are begging or telling him to stay. Evan asked two great questions of him: 1.) what would you say to 'convince' someone to be a Buddhist and 2.) what did the 8 different Buddhas represent?
I'll come back and edit this one later. We need to leave now...
Anyway, after lunch we went and visited a Laotian Buddhist temple. This was very interesting. It was setup around a trailer where the monks lived. There was a little pavilion where there were 8 statues of the Buddha in different postures with varying offerings in front of different ones. A monk came out and spoke with us (well, with Pheng, who then tied to tell us what he had said). Apparently this monk had made all of the statues that we were seeing as well as various other statues and artworks around the grounds. The 8 statues of the Buddha took him 2 months to make, and these things were around 5-6 feet tall. He also made them with only tools that he had made himself! I asked him a few questions about what he was doing there and how long he had been here. He has been here in the US for about a year and came wanting to teach people about Laos and Buddhism, but has been saddened that he has not had much opportunity to do that. He said that he would like to go home but those around him are begging or telling him to stay. Evan asked two great questions of him: 1.) what would you say to 'convince' someone to be a Buddhist and 2.) what did the 8 different Buddhas represent?
I'll come back and edit this one later. We need to leave now...
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Mobile, Day 2
Today was an interesting day. It started off very positively in that I got more than 6 hours of sleep for the first time in over a week. Add to that a breakfast of cereal (which I don't eat often, but absolutely love), coffee and a fresh peach and things were looking bright indeed!
Evan and I shot over to Way of Life church. There we met Steve and J.D. (who is the bishop of the Good News Fellowship of Churches). J.D. introduced us to Thi, who was supposed to be our guide into the Vietnamese community for the week. But circumstances have prevented that from occurring. Instead, to day we we engaged some senior citizens from the Mobile area who meet daily at the church. It was very interesting to speak to them and hear their stories. Some have been in the area their whole lives, but most that I spoke with were transplants. Oddly enough, the conversation turned towards accents, and the folk there said that Evan and I had little to no accents! This either means that the Mobile accent is much less southern than, say, South Carolina or Evan and I have developed accents already. It is most likely the first as I have not noticed much of an accent here, except on certain words (like Mobile or Louisiana).
Interestingly, the perspective of these individuals that I spoke with (who, by their own admission, have little interaction with fisherman or those who make their living in oil) think that the majority of the issues regarding the Gulf oil spill stem from those who aren't actually involved (i.e. Washington). They relate some of this to Washington's perceived under-action during Katrina.
After the Senior center, Pheng took us to see a Laotian grocery store. Pheng spoke with the owners trying to find a good place to eat, while Evan and I sat in the background. We then to a Thai Restaurant, which was amazing food. Evan and I got to spend a lot of time talking with Pheng. we learned about some similarities between his culture in Laos and Thai culture. We also learned about his family and his fiancee, who he has not seen in many months! (An interesting side note, the teen children of both the shop and restaurant owners dressed and spoke like "normal" Americans. How different even one generation can make!!)
OK, I'll need to post more later, as I am nodding off and we have to get up early to be in Gulfport, MS by 7:30am.
Evan and I shot over to Way of Life church. There we met Steve and J.D. (who is the bishop of the Good News Fellowship of Churches). J.D. introduced us to Thi, who was supposed to be our guide into the Vietnamese community for the week. But circumstances have prevented that from occurring. Instead, to day we we engaged some senior citizens from the Mobile area who meet daily at the church. It was very interesting to speak to them and hear their stories. Some have been in the area their whole lives, but most that I spoke with were transplants. Oddly enough, the conversation turned towards accents, and the folk there said that Evan and I had little to no accents! This either means that the Mobile accent is much less southern than, say, South Carolina or Evan and I have developed accents already. It is most likely the first as I have not noticed much of an accent here, except on certain words (like Mobile or Louisiana).
Interestingly, the perspective of these individuals that I spoke with (who, by their own admission, have little interaction with fisherman or those who make their living in oil) think that the majority of the issues regarding the Gulf oil spill stem from those who aren't actually involved (i.e. Washington). They relate some of this to Washington's perceived under-action during Katrina.
After the Senior center, Pheng took us to see a Laotian grocery store. Pheng spoke with the owners trying to find a good place to eat, while Evan and I sat in the background. We then to a Thai Restaurant, which was amazing food. Evan and I got to spend a lot of time talking with Pheng. we learned about some similarities between his culture in Laos and Thai culture. We also learned about his family and his fiancee, who he has not seen in many months! (An interesting side note, the teen children of both the shop and restaurant owners dressed and spoke like "normal" Americans. How different even one generation can make!!)
OK, I'll need to post more later, as I am nodding off and we have to get up early to be in Gulfport, MS by 7:30am.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Again, this time with more sleep!
I'm going to try to get some stuff down this AM before breakfast and before we run off to Bayou Le Batre.
Evan and I got into Mobile at about 11:30. We had some issue with Enterprise (which doesn't surprise, but certainly disappoints) in getting a car, but apparently all the rental companies were having the same issue. Regardless, after waiting about 1.5 hours we finally got a car (just like P. Fred's actually) and got on our way.
We met Steve Kriss (our professor from Biblical), J.D. Landis, who is the regional overseer for An-organization-whose-name-I-cannot-recall-at-this-moment and Ping who is a Laotian intern. We jumped in a van, toured Mobile (which is a very interesting city, with only 2-3 tall buildings, but the rest being smaller homes) and Bayou Le Batre. Driving around the bayou and Mobile bay, we say booms strung out along the shore, just in case the oil ever makes it this far.
J.D. was telling us about the makeup and racial history of Mobile (about 50/50 black/white). He and his wife came down here just after getting married (at 19!) from Lancaster-area during the civil rights era and had no clue what they were getting into. Since then, he has done a lot of work in the communities planting churches, helping with disaster relief and other things.
Last night we stayed in the very beautiful home owned by equally beautiful people. Arlin and Velma Schrock are putting us up in their homes this week. I finally got to sleep for longer than 6 hours, and boy was it needed! I'll put up more tonight, but right now I need to go get some food in my belly.
Evan and I got into Mobile at about 11:30. We had some issue with Enterprise (which doesn't surprise, but certainly disappoints) in getting a car, but apparently all the rental companies were having the same issue. Regardless, after waiting about 1.5 hours we finally got a car (just like P. Fred's actually) and got on our way.
We met Steve Kriss (our professor from Biblical), J.D. Landis, who is the regional overseer for An-organization-whose-name-I-cannot-recall-at-this-moment and Ping who is a Laotian intern. We jumped in a van, toured Mobile (which is a very interesting city, with only 2-3 tall buildings, but the rest being smaller homes) and Bayou Le Batre. Driving around the bayou and Mobile bay, we say booms strung out along the shore, just in case the oil ever makes it this far.
J.D. was telling us about the makeup and racial history of Mobile (about 50/50 black/white). He and his wife came down here just after getting married (at 19!) from Lancaster-area during the civil rights era and had no clue what they were getting into. Since then, he has done a lot of work in the communities planting churches, helping with disaster relief and other things.
Last night we stayed in the very beautiful home owned by equally beautiful people. Arlin and Velma Schrock are putting us up in their homes this week. I finally got to sleep for longer than 6 hours, and boy was it needed! I'll put up more tonight, but right now I need to go get some food in my belly.
A Quick Note
Today post on my first day in Alabama is going to be extremely short. I am so tired that I am mistyping practically everything and I'm strugling to keep keep my eyes open. (I just typed a line of commas b/c I fell asleep.)
We are staying in the gracious home of Arlin and Velma Schrock. Nicer than a hotel room, that's for sure.
We are staying in the gracious home of Arlin and Velma Schrock. Nicer than a hotel room, that's for sure.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Final day and then... the drive
I'm going to try to make this succinct as I'd like to (need to) get some sleep before driving tomorrow.
The last day was an admirable struggle. We visited "Project Experience" which painted some more of the Alliance Youth missions vision. Project Experience walks you through the truth of life in some other countries. Things like sleeping six people in 8ft. x 8ft. dirt-floored buildings with concrete-block walls, carrying a 5 gallon jug of water for 100ft. versus the 3-5 miles many carry their water, being lucky to eat one meal a day and realizing how predators capitalize on these weakness to enslave young girls in the sex trade. This was both chilling and steeling. Chilling in that our kids heard and saw some (only some) of the reality that many others face. Steeling in that it has prompted some of them to take missions and social justice seriously.
The session tonight was led by Jason Ostrander again. He provided a bracing challenge to students to not put the things of this world ahead of the things of God. Afterwards, we gathered as a youth group and talked about a few things from this week. God was more at work than I could see, but I feel as if some work was left undone. I'm not sure what will come of this, but it is his work and only he can carry it through. My prayer is that I am able to be a part in some way...
Pray for us as we drive tomorrow, and pray for our leaders as many of us are moving back into work or some other activity on Monday.
The last day was an admirable struggle. We visited "Project Experience" which painted some more of the Alliance Youth missions vision. Project Experience walks you through the truth of life in some other countries. Things like sleeping six people in 8ft. x 8ft. dirt-floored buildings with concrete-block walls, carrying a 5 gallon jug of water for 100ft. versus the 3-5 miles many carry their water, being lucky to eat one meal a day and realizing how predators capitalize on these weakness to enslave young girls in the sex trade. This was both chilling and steeling. Chilling in that our kids heard and saw some (only some) of the reality that many others face. Steeling in that it has prompted some of them to take missions and social justice seriously.
The session tonight was led by Jason Ostrander again. He provided a bracing challenge to students to not put the things of this world ahead of the things of God. Afterwards, we gathered as a youth group and talked about a few things from this week. God was more at work than I could see, but I feel as if some work was left undone. I'm not sure what will come of this, but it is his work and only he can carry it through. My prayer is that I am able to be a part in some way...
Pray for us as we drive tomorrow, and pray for our leaders as many of us are moving back into work or some other activity on Monday.
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