It was an eventful Sunday. Mondays are becoming more and more 'recovery days'. Depending on how they go, I'm wiped out (in the BEST sense of the word) come Monday morning.
Actually finished the message at 1 AM, so I got more sleep than I have usually been getting before getting up to unlock the lock on the front door of the sanctuary (the building was broken into Friday night after Isabel paid us a visit last September, some cash was taken, and the front and office doors were both busted in at the locks, and we've just now gotten the office door replaced. We're going with metal replacement doors on the front of the building, but with the sunburst windows in the tops ... they should be arriving within the next 3 weeks or so ... HOPEFULLY).
After church we ran over to Totuskey church for a farewell luncheon for Jane and Jimmy Dunn, who've been there a little less than 13 years, then ran back here to get ready for and go to the Encuentro at Menokin church.
Had a wonderful time, played longer than we usually do, but needed it, since we usually don't get to play as long as we'd LIKE. They put on a fish fry for us, and that was great. Devotional/worship time went well also. Menokin is one of the older buildings in the association (1837) so it is on a very small scale ... sanctuary is maybe 25 feet from side to side, and maybe 40 feet front to back, with a balcony ... very close quarters, made for a real sense of intimacy and closeness ... read from 1 cor 12:12 & ff, about diversity in the body of Christ, and how it is a direct reflection of GOD's creativity to be able to look at each other and SEE the differences - the skin, the hair, the language, and still know that we love and serve the same God, and hold the same Lord.
Made Leslie cry. Always a significant determinant factor. ;-)
Monday, March 29, 2004
Thursday, March 25, 2004
After a Year
It's hard to believe ... and at the same time it VERY believable, that we've been involved in this Hispanic work for a year now. It really does seem like just a few weeks ago that we were pulling up to the parking lot at Coan Church and there was already a small crowd gathered, some hitting a volleyball around, others kicking a soccer ball, with more inside, just visiting. Back then there was a sense of excitement and anticipation that is somehow still present at every Encuentro.
One experience in particular seems to exemplify how our ministry has taken shape in the last year. One evening, at Wal-Mart, we ran into Armando, one of the area nursery workers. It had been a couple of weeks since I had seen him and he asked me, "When are you going to bring Church back to us?" Leslie and I have worked intentionally at relating as pastors to our friends at every event, expressing a genuine love and care for our Hispanic brothers and sisters on the Northern Neck. We probably don't look or act like the pastoral presence that they've been traditionally accustomed to, but we can tell by the way they act around us and how they refer to us and our children that we are making a difference one life at a time.
But then, it's not about us, it's about them and YOU as an Association. As the year has gone by, the people have gone from being names and faces to being friends and family. We've gotten to know and love many of them, found out about their families back home, or their families here, and have been able to form bonds of love in the name of Christ that transcend the distances that result when they are gone. We find ourselves dreading their return to Mexico, and anticipating their return to the States. There have been moments of tragedy, and moments of joy. Having the opportunity to show them the face of Christ, to be his hands and feet, to lend an ear, provide comfort and counsel, to cry with, laugh with, and live with his children has been an awesome and wonderful thing.
Through the meetings that Leslie and I have attended and at which we’ve shared, we hope we’ve been able to convey to you that YOU are as much a part of this ministry as we are – we’re not doing this on our own, we do it as an extension and an expression of YOUR love, YOUR concern, YOUR desire to reach out and minister to the Hispanic Community around you.
Thank You, RBA, for this last year for the blessing you've allowed my family to partake of, and for the vision that you have for what God’s kingdom should be.
Grace and Peace,
Kenny, Leslie, Hannah, Caleb and Judson Park
One experience in particular seems to exemplify how our ministry has taken shape in the last year. One evening, at Wal-Mart, we ran into Armando, one of the area nursery workers. It had been a couple of weeks since I had seen him and he asked me, "When are you going to bring Church back to us?" Leslie and I have worked intentionally at relating as pastors to our friends at every event, expressing a genuine love and care for our Hispanic brothers and sisters on the Northern Neck. We probably don't look or act like the pastoral presence that they've been traditionally accustomed to, but we can tell by the way they act around us and how they refer to us and our children that we are making a difference one life at a time.
But then, it's not about us, it's about them and YOU as an Association. As the year has gone by, the people have gone from being names and faces to being friends and family. We've gotten to know and love many of them, found out about their families back home, or their families here, and have been able to form bonds of love in the name of Christ that transcend the distances that result when they are gone. We find ourselves dreading their return to Mexico, and anticipating their return to the States. There have been moments of tragedy, and moments of joy. Having the opportunity to show them the face of Christ, to be his hands and feet, to lend an ear, provide comfort and counsel, to cry with, laugh with, and live with his children has been an awesome and wonderful thing.
Through the meetings that Leslie and I have attended and at which we’ve shared, we hope we’ve been able to convey to you that YOU are as much a part of this ministry as we are – we’re not doing this on our own, we do it as an extension and an expression of YOUR love, YOUR concern, YOUR desire to reach out and minister to the Hispanic Community around you.
Thank You, RBA, for this last year for the blessing you've allowed my family to partake of, and for the vision that you have for what God’s kingdom should be.
Grace and Peace,
Kenny, Leslie, Hannah, Caleb and Judson Park
Sunday, March 21, 2004
There’s a nighttime routine we go through with the kids at bedtime. Leslie or I will go into their bedrooms and help them into bed, or tuck them in. The routine is this: sometimes earlier in the process, sometimes later, when we first broach the subject of going to sleep, Judson will usually be the first to ask “can you sleep with me?” it used to stop at that, but lately it has become “can you sleep with me and can you sleep with me first?” “Sleep with me” in this context means you turn on the lullaby CD, and lay down on top of the covers for one, two or more songs, depending on what negotiation has taken place or what time it is or if you fall asleep within the first few measures of the song. On Hannah’s bed it’s easier, because there’s no bunk bed to crouch under. With Judson sleeping on the bottom bed of a bunk bed, it’s a little harder. There’s a crouching and turning and bending that has to happen in kind of a horizontal windmill move, where you lean forward, then bring your legs up onto the bed, then swing the upper part of the body back over to the left before settling onto the edge of the mattress.
This past Monday or Tuesday night, Judson had asked me to sleep with him. I don’t always. If I say ‘not tonight’ both Hannah and Judson just say ‘OK’ and go on, only rarely reiterating the request. This time I agreed. It had been, for some reason, a hard day between me and Judson. One of those days when I felt like I’d been anything BUT a good daddy. I agreed partly because of that and because it is SLOWLY starting to sink into my thick skull that in those situations, bedtime snuggles and quiet conversations can be a source of reconciliation and grace. That night, Judson was quiet for a little while (Hannah is usually the one to ask questions or talk about her day), and then he took my hand and held it up and looked at it. I remember doing the same thing with my father’s hands as a boy. At first I thought he was just going to look at it up close for a minute or two and then put it down. He didn’t. He took his right hand and closed it in a loose fist and turned it to where my hand was cupping his, and then he lowered both to his chest. After a pause, he brought up his left hand and moved it in next to his right hand, so that both his hands were nested in mine. He turned his face to me, gave me a quick smile, and then settled in and closed his eyes to go to sleep. A few minutes later, the song ended. I stayed a little longer, then he turned and I said “Goodnight, I love you”, gave him a kiss, got up and walked out of the room. Getting up is always a lot easier for me than getting down, I just drop off the side of the bed, into a crouch and stand up. That night, I wouldn’t have minded being the one to fall asleep first.
This past Monday or Tuesday night, Judson had asked me to sleep with him. I don’t always. If I say ‘not tonight’ both Hannah and Judson just say ‘OK’ and go on, only rarely reiterating the request. This time I agreed. It had been, for some reason, a hard day between me and Judson. One of those days when I felt like I’d been anything BUT a good daddy. I agreed partly because of that and because it is SLOWLY starting to sink into my thick skull that in those situations, bedtime snuggles and quiet conversations can be a source of reconciliation and grace. That night, Judson was quiet for a little while (Hannah is usually the one to ask questions or talk about her day), and then he took my hand and held it up and looked at it. I remember doing the same thing with my father’s hands as a boy. At first I thought he was just going to look at it up close for a minute or two and then put it down. He didn’t. He took his right hand and closed it in a loose fist and turned it to where my hand was cupping his, and then he lowered both to his chest. After a pause, he brought up his left hand and moved it in next to his right hand, so that both his hands were nested in mine. He turned his face to me, gave me a quick smile, and then settled in and closed his eyes to go to sleep. A few minutes later, the song ended. I stayed a little longer, then he turned and I said “Goodnight, I love you”, gave him a kiss, got up and walked out of the room. Getting up is always a lot easier for me than getting down, I just drop off the side of the bed, into a crouch and stand up. That night, I wouldn’t have minded being the one to fall asleep first.
Sunday, March 07, 2004
We were surprised by God.
It's been a full day. finished the message at 3:35 this morning, then to bed. woke up and went to church this morning. Leslie stayed home with Hannah, who is running a fever of 102.5 and surprised us last night after supper by getting sick all over the carpet at El Charrito. She hadn't eaten anything there, but it was still not good. Immediately after worship, we (the youth, a few of the adults, and I) ran downstairs and grabbed a bite of lunch before heading over to Tappahannock for the 1:15 showing of "The Passion of The Christ". Seriously gory movie. Seriously gory event. The identification of Mary watching it all happen as a mother watching her son suffering and not being able to do something about it seems to be what got to me the quickest. Afterwards, we went to the McDonald's across the parking lot and sat around and talked out the movie to some degree, though not to any serious depth. It was a good time to just sit and talk to each other, even so.
On our way back here my phone rang and it was Cecilia, letting me know she was on her way. I understood her to mean she was on her way here to the house to let me fax the form I gave her on Friday, so I said "no problem, we're almost home as well -- I'll see you there." We got back to the Church, and Keith asked me to take him to Brandon's house, in Rainswood, which is over near Callao. I did, and while I was on my way my phone rang again, it was Cecilia, telling me she'd just seen me driving down 360, and I explained to her that one of the youth had asked me to take him to his friends house, and that as soon as I dropped him off I'd head back and would see her there.
I pulled into the driveway about 15 or 20 minutes later got out, walked into the house, and a couple of minutes after that the home phone rang, and it was Cecilia calling on her cellphone, from the parking lot of Totuskey church, where we are scheduled to have an 'Encuentro' next Sunday. She had spent the morning traveling around to different apartments and places, inviting the people she knows to come to what she thought was the gathering we would be having this evening! We immediately told her to come here to the house and we'd have an impromptu gathering HERE. Leslie and I looked at each other and realized it might be more than just Cecilia, Felix, Emilio, Manuel, Grisel, Brenda and Berenice. Turned out to be two full minivans' worth of people. We had 16 people altogether, not counting us (5). Leslie and Cecilia made mexican rice when she came in, and we had chicken enchiladas from Friday's dinner, and I ran into town and bought 20 pieces of fried chicken from Hardee's, and we had an absolutely marvelous time! We sat and laughed and joked and just relaxed and had a good time together. Leslie asked me if I was planning on doing a devotional. Though I hadn't, it made perfect sense to DO one, so after we'd eaten, I came into the study and picked up a spanish Bible and took it into the living room and sat down. As the conversation progressed, we started talking about spiritual things, and it came around to me mentioning that Janet and Sydney and Summer (sister in law and her two daughters) were going on a mission trip to Acuna, Mexico next week. In that, I mentioned that both of the girls had made professions of faith in the last year, something Janet had mentioned in her email, and something Leslie was unaware of. THAT then led to the conversation turning to what it means to accept Christ, and we ended up with the Gospel being shared in a very natural and ... non-confrontational way.
Leslie made the point (which we have kept in front of us all along) that having a relationship with Christ isn't a question of what denomination you are, it is a question of the heart. We didn't have an alter call, but I sense that that turning point may not be far off for some.
The conversation turned to preparations for Easter, and we've made tentative plans for Maundy Thursday, as well as for Easter Sunday. I let them know that there is a gathering scheduled for that day here at Jerusalem church, and we've decided we'll have a spanish worship service at 1:00 that afternoon, followed by a gathering celebration that afternoon.
They shared a little about what is involved in a traditional Mexican Easter celebration, and we may incorporate some of those elements in our celebration.
We were surprised by God this evening.
It was great.
It's been a full day. finished the message at 3:35 this morning, then to bed. woke up and went to church this morning. Leslie stayed home with Hannah, who is running a fever of 102.5 and surprised us last night after supper by getting sick all over the carpet at El Charrito. She hadn't eaten anything there, but it was still not good. Immediately after worship, we (the youth, a few of the adults, and I) ran downstairs and grabbed a bite of lunch before heading over to Tappahannock for the 1:15 showing of "The Passion of The Christ". Seriously gory movie. Seriously gory event. The identification of Mary watching it all happen as a mother watching her son suffering and not being able to do something about it seems to be what got to me the quickest. Afterwards, we went to the McDonald's across the parking lot and sat around and talked out the movie to some degree, though not to any serious depth. It was a good time to just sit and talk to each other, even so.
On our way back here my phone rang and it was Cecilia, letting me know she was on her way. I understood her to mean she was on her way here to the house to let me fax the form I gave her on Friday, so I said "no problem, we're almost home as well -- I'll see you there." We got back to the Church, and Keith asked me to take him to Brandon's house, in Rainswood, which is over near Callao. I did, and while I was on my way my phone rang again, it was Cecilia, telling me she'd just seen me driving down 360, and I explained to her that one of the youth had asked me to take him to his friends house, and that as soon as I dropped him off I'd head back and would see her there.
I pulled into the driveway about 15 or 20 minutes later got out, walked into the house, and a couple of minutes after that the home phone rang, and it was Cecilia calling on her cellphone, from the parking lot of Totuskey church, where we are scheduled to have an 'Encuentro' next Sunday. She had spent the morning traveling around to different apartments and places, inviting the people she knows to come to what she thought was the gathering we would be having this evening! We immediately told her to come here to the house and we'd have an impromptu gathering HERE. Leslie and I looked at each other and realized it might be more than just Cecilia, Felix, Emilio, Manuel, Grisel, Brenda and Berenice. Turned out to be two full minivans' worth of people. We had 16 people altogether, not counting us (5). Leslie and Cecilia made mexican rice when she came in, and we had chicken enchiladas from Friday's dinner, and I ran into town and bought 20 pieces of fried chicken from Hardee's, and we had an absolutely marvelous time! We sat and laughed and joked and just relaxed and had a good time together. Leslie asked me if I was planning on doing a devotional. Though I hadn't, it made perfect sense to DO one, so after we'd eaten, I came into the study and picked up a spanish Bible and took it into the living room and sat down. As the conversation progressed, we started talking about spiritual things, and it came around to me mentioning that Janet and Sydney and Summer (sister in law and her two daughters) were going on a mission trip to Acuna, Mexico next week. In that, I mentioned that both of the girls had made professions of faith in the last year, something Janet had mentioned in her email, and something Leslie was unaware of. THAT then led to the conversation turning to what it means to accept Christ, and we ended up with the Gospel being shared in a very natural and ... non-confrontational way.
Leslie made the point (which we have kept in front of us all along) that having a relationship with Christ isn't a question of what denomination you are, it is a question of the heart. We didn't have an alter call, but I sense that that turning point may not be far off for some.
The conversation turned to preparations for Easter, and we've made tentative plans for Maundy Thursday, as well as for Easter Sunday. I let them know that there is a gathering scheduled for that day here at Jerusalem church, and we've decided we'll have a spanish worship service at 1:00 that afternoon, followed by a gathering celebration that afternoon.
They shared a little about what is involved in a traditional Mexican Easter celebration, and we may incorporate some of those elements in our celebration.
We were surprised by God this evening.
It was great.
Saturday, March 06, 2004
I feel like I can barely keep up, and yet, I find myself with time on my hands ... a sure sign that I'm not managing my time well ... I'm not a good steward of either my time or my energy.
OK. That's the tearing-down part of me speaking.
I'm overextended. I'm doing too much. I'm stretched taught, and don't have much more "give".
Last Friday, Leslie and the kids and I were at Wal-Mart (please, I know I'd rather be somewhere else, but it's the only show in town -- literally for 45 miles -- before there is a viable alternative!) and Armando, one of the workers at one of the local plant nurseries, recognized Leslie and struck up a conversation with her. I came into it after they'd already begun talking. It was good to see him. I'd not been by that worksite for a couple of weeks, and one of his first questions to me was "when are you going to bring church back to us"?
Bring church back to us???
Theological implications and the understanding of what Church IS aside, his phraseology struck me something terrible. I'd love to be able to sit down with a bunch of these guys and hash out what it means to be church to each other. That it doesn't reside in the presence or absence of a single person (other than the Holy Spirit, of course), that ... where two or more are gathered ... you know the drill.
I have to find a way to meet with them, to get to know them outside of the work environment. The owners graciously allow me to take whatever time I need to have a devotional time with them after their lunch time is done (usually no more than 15 minutes), effectively eating into the workday, and for that I am grateful. The problem with setting something up outside of the workday is that they are scattered all over, none living in close proximity to each other, so transportation immediately becomes an issue. I will try to get there at the end of a workday and perhaps ask to follow a group home, just to see where they are, and maybe find a place to start.
The friday night mini-gatherings here at the parsonage have gone well. the group that i go and pick up and bring from White Stone have developed into a relaxed, easy-going group of guys. We have a lot of fun on the drive back and forth (about 45 minutes either way), as well as while we are here.
It should be interesting to see how the choir does on the 19th in Richmond.
OK. That's the tearing-down part of me speaking.
I'm overextended. I'm doing too much. I'm stretched taught, and don't have much more "give".
Last Friday, Leslie and the kids and I were at Wal-Mart (please, I know I'd rather be somewhere else, but it's the only show in town -- literally for 45 miles -- before there is a viable alternative!) and Armando, one of the workers at one of the local plant nurseries, recognized Leslie and struck up a conversation with her. I came into it after they'd already begun talking. It was good to see him. I'd not been by that worksite for a couple of weeks, and one of his first questions to me was "when are you going to bring church back to us"?
Bring church back to us???
Theological implications and the understanding of what Church IS aside, his phraseology struck me something terrible. I'd love to be able to sit down with a bunch of these guys and hash out what it means to be church to each other. That it doesn't reside in the presence or absence of a single person (other than the Holy Spirit, of course), that ... where two or more are gathered ... you know the drill.
I have to find a way to meet with them, to get to know them outside of the work environment. The owners graciously allow me to take whatever time I need to have a devotional time with them after their lunch time is done (usually no more than 15 minutes), effectively eating into the workday, and for that I am grateful. The problem with setting something up outside of the workday is that they are scattered all over, none living in close proximity to each other, so transportation immediately becomes an issue. I will try to get there at the end of a workday and perhaps ask to follow a group home, just to see where they are, and maybe find a place to start.
The friday night mini-gatherings here at the parsonage have gone well. the group that i go and pick up and bring from White Stone have developed into a relaxed, easy-going group of guys. We have a lot of fun on the drive back and forth (about 45 minutes either way), as well as while we are here.
It should be interesting to see how the choir does on the 19th in Richmond.
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