Reap What You Sow

Rappahannock Baptist Association Hispanic Ministry Report

Fall 2011 Meeting

“When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don’t take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am GOD, your God.”  Leviticus 19:33

“GOD, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.”    Deuteronomy 10:18

“’Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling you the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me – you did it to me.’”

                                                                        Matthew 25:38-40

“Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible.”                        3 John 1:5

ËËËËËËËË

Our work continues. Because of your involvement and your generosity, God’s love is shared with the stranger among us each and every day. We have been with you in your churches. We have had conversations in Food Lion and in Wal-Mart. We know that support for The Rappahannock Baptist Association’s Hispanic Ministry is waning. We did not receive as many school supplies this year and so we had to tell some families that there was not enough. Our food pantry has been low for a while. We only have a few Welcome Bags for workers who will be arriving in the next few weeks for the winter season. We know that the economy is bad and the money doesn’t go as far as we need it to. We know the doubts that are raised by how other states have chosen to address the problems of immigration. We know first hand of the misconceptions that people have about anyone that looks and speaks differently than they do.

BUT, God’s word is crystal clear about the treatment of foreigners. God’s mandate for the church is very specific about ministering to the stranger among us. The only question we have left is, “How is God calling our churches to minister to the Hispanic community in His name?” The hard part is discerning what God is calling you to do to welcome the stranger in our midst. How does God want you to love the immigrants that live next door to you?

This morning I was sitting in the first of a series of training classes that I’m taking to hone my skills as an interpreter.  We were going through one of those ‘getting to know you’ exercises.  I knew everyone in the class already, so my question became ‘how much MORE do I want them to know about me?’ 

I finally settled on this:  I struggle with despair as I watch what is happening – or not happening – in immigration in our country.

I would remind us all that we – the Rappahannock Baptist Association – are not an extension of any government – local, state, or federal.  We are an extension of the Kingdom, and THAT is what we are to be about.

In Christ’s love,

Kenny, Leslie, Hannah, Caleb and Judson Park

RBA Hispanic Ministry Report

Hispanic Ministry of the Rappahannock Baptist Association

Spring 2011

Welcome Grove church, Warsaw

About a month ago I was taking a family to an appointment in Richmond.  They were a younger couple, and had recently arrived in the area.  They had gotten my name from one of their friends who has lived in the area for several years, and knew me, and until we met in the Food Lion parking lot in Warsaw, I had not met them face-to-face. 

I tend to be an introvert, and it can sometimes be a challenge for me to open up and begin a conversation, especially with folks I don’t know.  The trip out was mostly quiet.  It was early morning, so we were pretty much all waking up.  By the time the appointment was done, we were awake, and stopped through a drive through to get some food, and began the trip home. 

As we got down the road, the husband spoke up and began to ask questions about what I was – as a Pastor – compared to a priest.  It is always easier for an introvert to be drawn into a conversation than it is for us to initiate one, and as we both warmed to the topic, our interaction became more animated and free ranging.  We got into the topics of the weight and place of tradition and church dogma over and against scripture, about what becomes unspoken church dogma outside the Catholic tradition, and other similar things. 

But then the conversation turned to a deeper theme.  He began to ask about what it means to me to believe, how I see my work as a minister.  What I believed about religion and faith.

It was an interesting moment, because as I began to explain what I believed, and expound on it, I found myself becoming more animated, I even felt as though my vocabulary broadened, that there was less hesitation in my expression, that I didn’t have to search for a word, or translate a phrase in my head from English in order to express an idea, there seemed to be a fluidity in speech that has on occasion not been there. 

What was so energizing about that conversation for me was that I was working on expressing my core beliefs in a way that stripped away the Christian jargon that we tend to load those kinds of conversations with – yes, it also happens in other languages, not just English – and it was coming out, as near as I could tell, in intelligible sentences and fairly clear ideas.

Necessarily, our conversation included shared biographies, telling each other about our families, and a few of our experiences.  As the ride drew to a close, I explained about our Gatherings, and where they were held, and what the upcoming schedule was.  Their response was positive both in their expression and enthusiasm. 

I haven’t seen or heard from them since. 

In ministry, that happens.  Sometimes more often than you would like.  You meet someone, you get involved in a conversation, it seems to go well, you feel like you connect with someone, the topic turns to spiritual matters, and it feels like things are going great, you get ‘good vibes’ from the folks you’re talking to, and you come away jazzed, you come away excited at the prospect of seeing them again and getting to know them even better.  It is not limited to any particular group or demographic.  It is no different with the Latino community here on the Neck.  There are folks that I’ve known since the first time I drove up here from Virginia Beach eight years ago to begin visiting workplaces and hold the gatherings who remain connected, but who don’t, for whatever reason, choose to involve themselves in our worship services and our Bible studies.  But they know what I do, and aside from not coming to our services, they still, when we see each other or meet at the store, like to bring up spiritual issues and matters of faith.

As I was thinking about that experience, the Parable of The Sower came mind.  We don’t always know how what we do and say will touch someone or not.  Wouldn’t it be nice if there WERE a simple, quantifiable way to be able to say ‘There.  Done.’  But I’ve found that’s its not that clear cut a thing.  Especially when you are dealing with cross-cultural issues, not to mention cross-denominational and superficial understandings of terminology and concepts.

I would love to be able to stand here and tell you we had X number of professions of faith, and so many baptisms in the last year.  But we are talking about people who in many instances are coming to us from a lifetime of BEING involved the practice of professing their faith already.  Claiming that they were not that before and now are strikes me as being less than respectful of their commitment and their belief.  The fact that we gather and share in worship, or that we connect in a passing conversation or during a car ride is enough for me to be able to share with you that, through your support of this ministry, YOUR ministry, lives truly are being touched and changed and hearts are coming under conviction and spirits are being moved.  And Christ is being proclaimed and salvation is being experienced. 

So it will ALWAYS be with the deepest gratitude that I will share with you the stories of the people that you’ve called us to minister to.

In Christ’s love,

Kenny 

Anniversary

So tomorrow is Leslie's and my 17th anniversary.  Hard to imagine that we've been married that long because ... well ... what do they say?  Time flies when you're having fun?

And it HAS been.

Not always, of course... we've been through sad times, and hard times, financially ... but it's almost scary how ... how ... united we have always been.  


Strains?  Honestly, not that many.  Little things, one not so much that we are working through ... but not something that we are going to let undo our marriage.  


I wish I could describe to you what it is like to know that she's there.  She's guarding my heart when I forget to.  She sees me for who I can become as well as for who I am, and doesn't blink.  I forget sometimes that I can tell her anything, but she knows that SHE can tell ME anything.  


It's hard to put into words the gratitude I feel towards God for allowing us to find each other.  


Happy Anniversary, beloved. 


As You Wish.

El 4 de Julio

So I'm still, after ... uh ... wow ... 30 years (more or less) of living here, working out how I feel about how Independence Day is celebrated in the USA.

I DO love this country ... but I have to say, it's more a love of the people, and the principles, and the ... potential ... I don't "love it or leave it", I'm not a "my country right or wrong" type of person, because my ultimate allegiance is not to the USA, nor is it to Chile, or any given earthly nation.

We have NOT ALWAYS BEEN that "shining beacon of light and hope" that we'd like to think we are.

We have not always stood for the right, the just, the fair, and if we think that we have an unblemished record of doing that, then we are in a heap of trouble.  

I don't see us (and I do, have to, on some level, consider myself a part of the greater whole) as having always done the right thing, or the best thing, or the most noble thing.  I think in our best moments we've faced up to those horrible mistakes we've made.  I believe it is a measure of the strength of character of a nation to be able to acknowledge and admit it's mistakes AS A NATION.  It is more difficult to do that in the present than in the past - I mean, it's easier - though no less important - for the Southern Baptist Convention, to give an example, to apologize for supporting slavery ... how many, 150 or more years after the fact, than it is for it to recognize that in allowing itself to be co-opted by the political power structures of our country we have lost sight of what it means to be a prophetic voice of truth TO power, calling this nation to behave as a member of the world of nations, and not as one that does not depend on MOST of the OTHER nations of the world to sustain ... an unsustainable society...  we have lost our sense of humility in the quest to reassert some lost sense of righteousness that I believe was misapplied to begin with.

There's been very little standing up and saying "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore."

I haven't seen a lot of that over the last 30 years, either from the SBC or the USA.

I hope to see more of it before I "slip the surly bonds".

Just sayin'.  

Mary, By The Chin

It's been an odd day. Feels like we got an extra Saturday.  The somewhat surprise snow fall cancelled classes, so the kids were out of school today.  Not much else was happening, so we stayed in, slept late, snuggled, and had a late breakfast.  

The morning appointment I had scheduled to translate for a man in Tappahannock got cancelled, and other than that the only thing on the schedule was to help Abraham fill out an application for work at the employment commission office up in town.  I got done with that about 2:30, and came back home.  

Pulling into the driveway I decided to go ahead and start the breakdown of the nativity scene that we've had in front of the church since the end of November.  I was pretty well bundled up, which was good, since it was still cold enough for the snow to be pure powder even that late in the day.  Someone, most likely Soozin, had moved all the figures into the stable itself, probably in an effort to keep them from being blown down or across the yard, so they were all together, in a semi-circle around the manger with the baby Jesus figure in it. 

The figures are nearly life-size ... think preteens and youth in hollow plastic with rocks or bricks in them for ballast ... not heavy, but bulky.  Gloves kept my hands mostly warm, but some of the snow that was blowing earlier in the morning had stuck to the faces or backs or arms of the figures.  The first ... one of the shepherds.  He had a staff, as I recall.  Then came a couple of animals - a donkey and a calf, I think... then came... Joseph?  He had been face down between Mary and the manger, so he had a good bit of snow on him, but he was okay.  As I walked down the hill towards the storage shed where we keep them, I heard the window open either in the kitchen or the dining room, and Leslie called out "That's the father of God you're carrying!  Be careful with him!" ... I grinned at her as best I could, while holding a bulky plastic figure... it was a good five minutes later when I thought of the perfect response: "I promise he won't feel a thing!" ... 

Most of the human figures had beards, but Mary was the only one without one, besides Jesus.  For that reason, she was the only one who had a chin.  One of the wise men had a hole in his back where the lightbulb is inserted, but the housing for the lightbulb had come out somehow over the years... it made for an easy handhold.  Otherwise, I found myself manhandling them down the hill.  The cold had it's predictable effect on my ears (fortunately I had a hat on to keep my balding pate relatively warm), as well as my nose ... 

When I did finally get around to picking Mary up, I simply reached down and grabbed her by the chin, and it was a perfect grip, a perfect fit.  The weight of the bricks and rocks in her base kept her upright, and with just the pressure of my fingers I was able to carry her down the hill and set her down in front of the shed.  

When I had finally gotten all the figures down the hill I opened the doors to the shed and stepped in to survey the area where I was going to store them.  spacious shelves, about 8 feet long by 2 or 3 feet deep on one side, and 10 feet long on the adjoining side, forming a corner, two levels... plenty of room.  

When I finally finished stacking them in place, they seemed a little forlorn, a little ... shabby.  The church has had them since a few years before we came, so that means at least 7 years.  Time and the sun and weather have taken their toll on the plastic.  Faded colors in places, brittle in others.  We began talking about replacing them this fall, but weren't able to before the season came upon us, so we will be looking for something new this spring or over the summer.  

I stepped back up to the frame of the stable to see how it has been put together.  It is a spare frame, with one by two's simply giving the suggestion of the outline of the building.  Still, they are all labeled, top right front, top left front, bottom left back, etc.  It's good to know we've got people who are organized enough that way to be able to prepare for the next year by looking ahead to what will need to be done.  

This year, I believe, will prove to be an interesting one.  It seems something is in the air ... change, perhaps.  (I hope for the better!)

  

First of 2010

Not saying anything about anything ... just going to give this a try in the hopes that a recorded life will lead to a better reconciled life ... and a higher awareness ...

This morning we drove to Seashore State Park, to the place where Donald's ashes were scattered, and prayed, sang, and scattered rose petals on the water. The song: The Power of Your Love. The pray-er: Leslie. the scatterers: all of us.

As we walked along the edge of the water, above the rip rap (it was high tide), there were a couple of seagulls who were chasing each other, pecking away, trying to get at what the other one had ... they were kind of funny, in a way.

Just as we got ready to begin, a Pelican flew straight at us from across the inlet, and landed just a few feet offshore and literally, it seemed, stared at us, with the tip of it's beak stuck down in the water ... while I don't necessarily believe in 'visitations' from beyond, this was just eerie enough to make me think that there might have been more going on than just a bird looking for food from humans ... I'm sure we tend to anthropomorphize events like that, but it almost seemed like Donald was there with us...

It was COLD ... but good. we stopped at the Starbuck's next to the Loessner Bridge and spent about an hour ... if not longer, just sitting together and sipping our drinks and talking ...

All in all, a nice way to start the year. Acknowledging the hardships of the last year, and their accompanying sorrows, but looking forward to the coming year with hope and prayers for healing.