What Full Time Really Means

Today the seminar seemed to move much more slowly, and my impending sickness snapped at my heels the whole time. Aziz and I sat through six sessions on writing, one of which was an open mic, which was led by yours truly.

I actually did the writing exercises along with the kids, and was quite proud of some of the results. I wrote one short story without using the letter "e," which I might post here on a slow day.

After the seminar, I walked Aziz home to his apartment complex, where I got to spend time with some of my favorite Nigerian missionaries, Bayo Otiti and Bennet Eckandem. We had some trouble getting Bennett to look at the camera:

After leaving Clarkston, I went straight to Communicycle, where Eric had brough David and Miguel to wrap up their bike projects. Miguel finished rebuilding his bike, and David completed a small bike he was building for his younger brother.

My friend Stephen was at Communicycle, and I invited him over to our place to talk about some major decisions he's making. He feels like he's being led to move into the Chamblee-Doraville area to get involved in helping the community.

We talked over dinner, and then we prayed together, at which time yours truly started crying at the thought of all the good things that have happened here.

Tomorrow, I'll get to sleep in, so hopefully my body won't crash too hard from this recent sprint. It's back to work in the afternoon. Anyway, I'll close this post with a picture of Stephen, Eric, and me smiling before the conversation got so serious:

Conference, Schmonference

Oh boy. I'm looking at that last post and I'm so tempted to delete it. I sound like such a baby.

Anyway, the writing seminar was amazing (amazing? what a bland word. As I writer, I should be ashamed). As I hoped, it was a chance to meet and talk with other writers who volunteered, and several people were interested in helping the kids we work with in different ways.

I'm bringing Aziz back tomorrow. I think he'd get a huge boost from the whole thing.

By the way, I met someone running a big conference on medical volunteerism. Any of our readers do medical-oriented work? Water cleanliness? Health programs? Would you like to attend? Let me know. I'd love to get you connected.

Going, going, gone

I'm trying to recoup from the week as well as possible.

This Monday and Tuesday, I'll be volunteering with the Atlanta Writer's Club. They're running a young writer's seminar. It should be fun, but it won't be restful.

I've been battling fatigue on every front lately, and losing. Now Ruthie is sick, and I feel like I'm coming down with something too. Working three different jobs (although all of them are pretty enjoyable) is taking its toll.

Today was my only day off, but I don't feel rested. It's now 10:30 at night, and I'm wondering how I'm gonna deal with the coming week. We'll see what happens.

A Party for Jennifer

Jennifer has not had a birthday party since she turned four. When we found out that she was about to turn thirteen, we knew something needed to be done.

Ruthie spent whatever free time she had on Wednesday and Thursday preparing for the party, and we welcomed Jennifer into her teens in a grand fashion.

Here are Jennifer and Vanessa waiting for the festivities to begin:

Ruthie's dad showed up, and manned the grill, which was a huge help.

Everyone had a grand old time.

And here's one of Melvin doing the classic bunny ears gag. Kids still think it's hilarious after all these years.

After it was over, Jennifer thanked Ruthie repeatedly.

Jennifer's mom, a single mother of three, was also very grateful. We've become great friends with her as well through helping her kids.

A Mask for Melvin

My brother Eric, who lives on our couch until he starts college, generously went out and bought Melvin a luchador mask.

Melvin's first question was, "why?"

Eric, Ruthie and I have been asked this question countless times since moving into the International village. Even our presence here is pretty wierd. Then when we take opportunities to help with our time and resources, no one really knows what to make of it.

After a recent act of kindness, Eric explained to the recipient, "God has blessed me."

That's the truth of it.

Workful Wednesday

I spent the day painting in Lawrenceville today. While we were working, my father-in-law and I had some great time to talk about influence.

We both remembered certain adults who stepped across the age gap to engage us, and how powerful that was in our formation. In a way, I'm trying to imitate the impact that they had.

The negative forces in these young lives are tremendous. Our hope is to introduce them to a love that overwhelms all of the destructive voices that they face by reflecting that love in any way we can.

Safety Concerns

One of the kids we work with gave me a piece of bad news.

While I always take what the kids say skeptically, this was pretty believable, considering our neighborhood.

He told me that some gangsters were on our porch a few days ago in the middle of the night. According to him, they were trying to look inside. Also according to him, there are a few different gangs, and these guys belonged to one that does robberies.

In my head, I ran through a few scenarios and thought about possibilities. I feel as if we've taken all the precautions we can take to protect ourselves, but there is still risk due to the fact that we live here and that our being white makes us targets.

Many missionaries have a mindset that says, "Well, if God wants me here, then he'll protect me." I've known missionaries for whom that philosophy didn't work out. We really can't predict or understand what God will or won't allow.

To me, it's a matter of weighing the risks and measuring them against the importance of the work. Right now, Ruthie and I understand that there is a possibility of our possessions being stolen. We live pretty simply, and most of our things can be easily replaced.

We also understand that there is a slim possibility that we will be victims of violence, although violent crime in this neighborhood is domestic 99% of the time.

Part of working in needy communities is accepting that risk. We've decided that living here, being part of this neighborhood, is vital to our ministry. If that means there's a chance of being robbed, well, I guess that's what it means.