Day 2, whew! What a day! The changes to this formerly empty lot are dramatic in just the past two days. Today the playground equipment was delivered and almost completely installed. The shade arbor got rafters started and should be finished up by tomorrow as well. We were also able to the main posts for a fence along the street up and ready for fence slats tomorrow (maybe). We started off digging the holes with pick axes and post hole diggers until someone had the bright idea to rent an auger attachment for our bobcat. Technology is an AWESOME thing.
The Bible Club went well today also. Yesterday there were a little over 30 kids there. Today there were around 50. There are kids everywhere. Some of the children actually came to Oak Mountain’s VBS last week and were excited when we told them we were coming to their place this week, although they didn’t fully understand why.
When they were leaving the church after VBS one day last week some of the kids asked if they could play on our playground there before returning home. We had promised the parents that we would have the children back by a certain time every day, and there just wasn’t time. They were sad and made the comment that there wasn’t anywhere to play where they lived. Octavio, who works with Oak Mountain’s Hispanic ministry mentioned to them that we were coming to build a playground just for them at their home. They still didn’t understand. They went home telling each other that we might come in for one day with a bunch of inflatables. That would be great for a day, but it’s still not the same thing as a permanent playground. Octovio said they just couldn’t bring their little minds to believe that we would come in and build a permanent structure. Makes since when you think how so little in their lives are permanent.
Parents leave, either to find better employment or to return to their home country, often leaving the children behind with a spouse or another relative. Friends leave, either moving with parents, or to get a job in another city, or sometimes with the older kids, their friends leave permanently because of gang violence, moving to the nearest cemetery. Why would a group of wealthy people (and no matter what we may think about our own economic status, we are WORLDS apart economically from the people we are serving here) leave their manicured lawns and well kept houses (all of which their families do for us by the way) and build anything permanent for them?
The Bible Club went well today also. Yesterday there were a little over 30 kids there. Today there were around 50. There are kids everywhere. Some of the children actually came to Oak Mountain’s VBS last week and were excited when we told them we were coming to their place this week, although they didn’t fully understand why.
When they were leaving the church after VBS one day last week some of the kids asked if they could play on our playground there before returning home. We had promised the parents that we would have the children back by a certain time every day, and there just wasn’t time. They were sad and made the comment that there wasn’t anywhere to play where they lived. Octavio, who works with Oak Mountain’s Hispanic ministry mentioned to them that we were coming to build a playground just for them at their home. They still didn’t understand. They went home telling each other that we might come in for one day with a bunch of inflatables. That would be great for a day, but it’s still not the same thing as a permanent playground. Octovio said they just couldn’t bring their little minds to believe that we would come in and build a permanent structure. Makes since when you think how so little in their lives are permanent.
Parents leave, either to find better employment or to return to their home country, often leaving the children behind with a spouse or another relative. Friends leave, either moving with parents, or to get a job in another city, or sometimes with the older kids, their friends leave permanently because of gang violence, moving to the nearest cemetery. Why would a group of wealthy people (and no matter what we may think about our own economic status, we are WORLDS apart economically from the people we are serving here) leave their manicured lawns and well kept houses (all of which their families do for us by the way) and build anything permanent for them?
It’s actually a good question for them to be asking, as long as we are willing to give them an answer that communicates an ongoing, gospel influenced, relational presence in their lives and their community. If we are simply here for one week to build a shiny tribute to ourselves so that we can pat ourselves on the back for our “good deed”, then we have only reinforced what these residents already fear about themselves. That they are unimportant and that their value to us is only a temporary value based upon our use of them in helping us feel good about ourselves. This would not only be condescending and incredibly self-centered on our part, it would set up a clear contrast to what the Creator of the individuals in this community says about them.
These “poorest among you”, the fatherless, the widow and the alien, are dearly loved by the One who repeatedly calls us to love boldly and to serve humbly. Their value rests in the fact that they are created in the image of the One whom we call LORD. In recognizing His image in them, however dim we might say it is, we bring honor to God and communicate true worth and value to those Jesus himself calls “blessed”.
Beautiful.
ReplyDelete