This Church Planting Thing

It never get's easy starting a new church plant.  You would think after 21 years of it --it would be a breeze. Although there are familiar patterns, each plant seems to come with it's own unique challenges.

It is amusing how one can forget all the waiting and hard work that comes in the early years of a plant. I guess it is similar to a mother in childbirth...it is funny how you can forget all the pains of labor, and the sleepless nights when your child is older and you embark on another pregnancy.

I think it is like that with a church plant...once it is up and running and taking off-- you just enjoy being a part of this new Church family and it feels like it was always around. Yes, there are daily maintenance and the ups and downs of church growth but the intense beginning stage is a distant memory ---that is until you start again!

I remember last year when the job that we came back to the U.S. began to fizzle out and Dave was approached by several Church Planting organization and was reading and learning about how unchurched Chicago is......I began to see the writing on the wall...God is going to ask us to church plant again....I was resistant to it at first. We have done this several times..shouldn't we be teaching others how to do it? I remember going to one of the church planting assessments ( This has become a pretty cool gig where couples are tested, analyzed, and picked and prodded on to see if they have what it takes to be church planters) and was in a group with other hopeful church planting wives ---everyone seemed so eager and excited to began this journey. I felt I was like the party pooper...sharing some of the challenges that one can face in the beginning.

Slowly, I began to warm up to this idea. One of your initial stages in church planting is catching a vision. I like this stage...I love seeing all the possibilities and potential that this new church plant can be. This is an exciting stage! Listening to the community and seeing how a church can serve and grow is awesome. Sharing this vision with others and having it refined and confirmed is thrilling!

Then comes the waiting! Waiting is really hard! Waiting for next steps...waiting for others to buy in...waiting for needed funds to proceed...waiting for co-workers to join...waiting for relationships to grow and deepen....waiting...lots of hurry up to wait...

I read a recent quote from Pastor T.D. Jakes "Timing is so important! If you are going to be successful in dance, you must be able to respond to rhythm and timing. It’s the same in the Spirit. People who don’t understand God’s timing can become spiritually spastic, trying to make the right things happen at the wrong time. They don’t get His rhythm – and everyone can tell they are out of step. They birth things prematurely, threatening the very lives of their God-given dreams. " I want to dance with God and in His timing.

There is one thing that I have learned from our church planting past is resisting the pressure of busyness....I love the East African word for white person--Muzungu--which literally means one who runs around in circles ---us westerners can get caught up into being busy...making our to-do list....I am not against productivity but often we are just doing busy work and we do not take the time to be still so we can get in to God's rhythm. We have been in Chicago about 9 months now. I feel that we have got a lot done so far but I also feel that we have been selective in our activities so that we are not just filling our time with busyness. This has allowed us time to listen and trust that God has this! I love this quote from Elisabeth Elliot, "Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.”

My experience has taught me that working with God in his timing things fall into place but when I am impatient and try to do things on my own, I just get frustrated and worn out....and in the end accomplish nothing.

There is an art to waiting. It really goes against our nature and our culture. I find that we are a very instant society. We want immediate results or it is just not worth doing.  Working with people takes patience and you have to  learn to delay gratification . The relationships you are building are not just clogs in a wheel or potential pew sitters in the church that you are planting but they are real friendship. Seekers are the first to since a lack of authenticity. Jesus was friends with his disciples because he is about relationship and not because he needed them to do something for him. Those of us who are involved in church planting must remember this because there can be some pressure to see everyone as contacts....people are wanting authentic relationships and we maybe the first interaction people have with Jesus ....people have been used so much they do not need yet another individual or system to use them again.

There can also be a lot of disappointment during the early years of church planting. Often times it is not the first folks that are drawn in that commit to the new church plant but it can be the 2nd or 3rd or 4th person that buys in. In other words--the friend of the friend of the friend's relative that may join! It can be disappointing as you invest in several relationships that may float away.  The one thing that helps with this is knowing that you never know what seeds take root and when others may come into their lives in the future and draw them deeper in to a relationship with Jesus. Also God is ultimately the one calling them into relationship with Him--you are just his vessel.

Some of the disappointment can come from unrealized dreams of this new church plant. You have to  know your end goal but have a lot of flexibility which can often be several different creative ways to get there. Don't be married to any particular road or you will be not only be disappointed but have a hard time switching gears when God is trying to move you. I can remember when we first went to Rwanda we had thought the education road for our kids was going to an existing private school. After a few days our kids realized it was not a good fit for them...it took us parents a little longer...At this time there were several other missionaries, NGO's, and Diaspora moving to Rwanda who were also struggling with their kids' education. Several of us started meeting at our home and prayed, talked and dreamed of other options. Soon we started KICS ( Kigali International Community School- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdGmtiLgPJc) I am so thankful that we and others were not married to our educational plans for our kids and were flexible to be used by God to start this school that has been a blessing to so many.

Some of the unique challenges that I see here in Chicago is even though we are initially working with the same people group that we have served all these years--they are dynamic--they are changing as they weave this new culture mixed with their childhood culture and we seem to be fighting with more of the secular nature of the U.S. I miss the spiritual heart and hunger that I grew to love so much in East Africa. Where one could feel free to talk openly about spiritual things. The other challenge I see is the polarization of the right and the left and all the labels people are so quick to throw on each other.  Both of these challenges need courage to push through the walls that people have built so that authentic community can be established.

Even though this church planting thing can be hard with all the waiting, disappointments, and unique challenges, it is such a rewarding journey and I am reminded by Paul in Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Re-entry Has Not Been Easy

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” 
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity


It has been almost 2 years since we moved back to the U.S.
    
         Re-entry has not been easy.

There has been a lot about being here that I have enjoyed. Being closer to my college age kids and having a front row seat in their lives. Having special time with my extended family....and enjoying the feeling of accessibility to them....if we have a long weekend we can pick up and drive a while or fly briefly and be with family. It feels less detached as I felt when we lived abroad.

The ease of life here has been nice. Drinking from the tap, plugging things in without a thought to voltage or whether power is on or off, hot running water for bath, a sundry of cleaning supplies, convenient cooking,  and fast internet to name a few.

Being able to find so many gently used things for free or inexpensively easily and in abundance has been awesome!

  TARGET, malls, little specialty shops, and an abundant of thrift shops---I have really enjoyed. Sometimes I like just going to Target just to look without a long list of supplies that I have to get for the next 2+ years...it is nice knowing it will be there tomorrow!

Movies, in theaters and at home, plays, concerts, magazines , T.V and catching up on old T.V. series on Netflix and Hulu on the internet!

I have also enjoyed all the different churches we have visited--old and new, large and small, anglo, ethnic and multi-cultural--my favorite! I felt like I have feasted with all the lectures, seminars, retreats and classes I have attended.

There has also been a special bond that our family has developed as we are experiencing this adjustment together. We understand each other,share common memories, and exposure to new things. Our family has grown even closer through this season. For that I am thankful!

Now for the hard stuff..... I have read a lot on re-entry, and have sat at the feet of others that have gone before me through this... but I guess it is like going to the dentist...no amount of reading and preparing that you do takes away from the pain of going through the procedure. Being prepared did help some in terms of giving myself and  my family the language and postmarks of what we are experiencing.

What makes this hard? I have shared in some earlier posts about the loneliness http://jana-joyinthejourney.blogspot.com/2014/01/loneliness.html
 and making home a choice http://jana-joyinthejourney.blogspot.com/2013/10/home-is-choice.html?

It is hard to fully express what makes this hard...a few things are;

I have changed in the last 20 years as I have lived abroad.

The U.S. has changed in the last 20 years.

Struggling to be understood.

Struggling to understand or process this new place.

Resisting putting all my memories and real experiences in a box or picture album on a shelf.

Looking for where my unique experience and skills can be used.

An overwhelming 'home' sickness that is at times paralyzing.

Loneliness!

Sometimes I feel like I have so much inside of things I have seen
 and experienced of God's handiwork and there seems no outlet to share and I feel like I may erupt..... learning how to ponder these things in my heart.....

Another thing hard about this season is that it is not just me.
It is like adjusting to jet lag.
When you are traveling alone jet lag is hard but you can adjust in a few days but when you are traveling with your family who is adjusting to jet leg in different ways
                   jet lag drags on longer for Mom!

It would be nice if like flying you could adjust your breathing mask before helping others but this is not possible when you are a parent or spouse.
You can not tell your kids "just wait till mom gets all adjusted and then I will be there for you..."

But as I have helped my children thrive it has helped me as well and we have processed many things together...

It has not always been pretty...sometimes it is super hard to see your child you love so much hurting...and everything they are expressing is so similar to how you feel and you so wish they were not having to go through this and you know that is not their choice but a calling you have on your life. It is in times like this that I have to trust that God has this and just as he has walked with us in our past He is walking with us now!

Early on in our return an older missionary shared with us not to lose our missionary calling. We have held on to this encouragement and God has showed us more.....I wrote more on this in an earlier post http://jana-joyinthejourney.blogspot.com/2013/10/i-have-heard-levitical-call.html.
I think one thing that has helped us and hurt us is that we are somewhere new.

Most of things you read about re-entry talk about going back to a familiar place--some where that has been a place of significance either before you went abroad or some where you visited a lot during your time away....a place where you have family and friends . This can be helpful as you have a base of support but this can also be hard as you may feel that you must fit back into a place where both you and those around you have changed....the puzzle has changed and you, one piece of the puzzle has been re-cut. Sometimes I wish that our family had moved to a familiar place but both of our parents have moved during our time away and even our support bases had also gone through some significant shifts.  There are familiar individuals and shadows of old places but no real familiar place for our family.

We  kind of  had a clue that this would be the case for us and since our oldest daughter was going to school in Wheaton, Illinois; and there was a good soft landing for missionaries( Missionary Furlough Homes) we decided that it might be a good start for us.

After spending the majority of our ministry serving the Diaspora of East Africa we feel a lot of affiliation with them and as we transition from Wheaton into Chicago last fall this was one of the draws.  " I am all of the places that I have left my heart" Marina Sofia ---I so relate to this statement and I am determined to be who God has molded me to be and serve others from this place. Cities have been a part of the common denominator for us in all the places we have lived and Chicago has not disappointed. So instead of re-entry being adjusting back into something known we have seen "Re-entry is the opportunity to relaunch yourself into your next great thing"  Cate Brubaker,PhD

Relaunch.....I like the sound of that word better than trying to forget my experiences in order to fit the norm..... Next great thing.....I have joined God in some awesome stuff in Africa and there a temptation to think.....
was that the climax of my live....
No, I am still serving the same God and He is taking us to the next great thing and I can not wait!

Getting a new dog,morning with our Rwanda friends, loving our children well.

Saturday after much research and dreaming and a little begging we decided that we wanted to get a dog for our family. We have always had dogs. In our years in Uganda and Rwanda we had 11 dogs...some were poisoned by thieves, some died of sickness, some we inherited by people moving away. We never had more than 3 dogs at a time and usually had only 2. We also sold german shepherd puppies as the part of the world we lived in did not have an over abundant of good pet dogs. This also helped to supplement our missionary income.

I must confess I am not a dog lover but the rest of my family is and it brings me joy to see how much joy dogs have brought our family. I have such good memories of our dogs with each of our kids at all different ages. When Sophia, our first child, was a baby we had a great big German shepherd, named Shadow and he would let Sophia lay on him as he gently cuddled with her. Caleb and Ethan loved our dog Hannibal, another large long haired german shepherd and would run around outside for hours! ( A mother's dream when having young children...giving me much needed breaks) I have a very clear picture of my daughter Ruth licking her lolly pop and then 'sharing' it with one of our dogs...."no do not put that back in your mouth!" Timothy wanted a small white dog and prayed about it and the very next week we saw one being advertised in the same notice that we had advertised the launching of our new church plant CCR ( Christ Church Rwanda). We got it for him and he named her after his favorite Power Ranger girl --Kira. Such joy!

I think in my mind a part of settling down and not being on a 'furlough' is getting a dog. We have always had outside dogs. Dave would often say to the kids " Outside dogs and inside kids but this can be changed" So now that we are living in an apartment , we knew if we got a dog --it would be an inside dog.( We are keeping the kids inside too!)

Dave and Ruth visited the Chicago shelter for dogs and found a dog that we would like to bring home. Dave filled out the extensive paper work and they asked for the whole family to come and be around the dog as they would approve wether we would be a good family for her. Saturday was the big day. Everyone was excited. The shelter did not open till noon but we decided to go to the pet store to get some supplies and get all ready for our new dog.  It started out as a great family day.....the sun was shining and it was one of our first warmer days here in Chicago after the coldest winter on record.

We got to the shelter and they had lost Dave's paper work. As Dave filled it all out again the rest of us went to meet the dog and spend time bonding with her. We were all so excited. When we came back to Dave ...I started to realize there was a problem......

I have purposely not used the term we were going to 'adopt' a dog. As an adoptive parent I have never really liked this term used for taking care of pets. I might loose a lot of readers here...I love our pets but they are not my children. I know that they are a part of God's creation and I love this verse,"The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel." Proverbs 12:10

There where 3 concerns about us being a good fit for a shelter dog...
        1. We had left our last 2 dogs with friends in Rwanda and did not bring them to the                    U.S.
        2. We have breed dogs in the past.
        3.  One of the 7 reasons that Dave checked for why we were interested in a dog was                for a mouser.

Dave tried to explain context as to why we have breed dogs. In the region we lived there was not very many dogs. In Rwanda during the Genocide where over a million people were brutally killed in 100 short days. That is "On average about six men, women and children were killed every minute of every hour of every day for three months."
http://www.news.com.au/world/africa/the-genocide-in-rwanda-20-years-on/story-fnh81gzi-1226876682010

One of the horrific scenes that occurred was that dogs were eating the flesh of the victims. The U.N soldiers were not able to shoot those that were perpetrating the Genocide but shot all the dogs to prevent them from scavenged the bodies of dead. ( There is a very good film called 'Shooting Dogs' about these events but when this film was released in the U.S it was retitled 'Beyond the Gates') As a result of these events, when we moved to Rwanda there was still a very small dog population. 

As Dave was trying to explain these events, I found my emotions raising...this month of April is such a hard month. I did not loose family in 1994 but have many friends that are in my community that have lost family and I have forever been effected by these tragic events. I was wrestling with the trivia of this experience of wether or not we would be accepted to provide a home for this dog and thinking about all those who lost their love ones in 1994. I was so distracted by my own thoughts that I could hardly follow the conversation. 

The women was saying something about being racist...What? RACIST? That caught my attention. Dave said, " what I am saying is please do not compare my children to dogs!" 

"Well you brought your children back from Africa why not your dogs?" she said as she rolled her eyes at my kids. I looked at my kids and hoped they did not catch fully what was happening. " Where did racism come in? I am just saying I do not want my children being compared to dogs", Dave reiterated.  

" Well your request is denied." She said. Dave and I both said almost in unison" Thats ok, we see we are not a good fit for your shelter, Thanks!"

We ushered the kids out and told them we did not qualify. We were all so disappointed about loosing the dog but we were also upset!

We all got in the car and began to try and help the kids and us process what had just happened. As the story came out more, we realized we did not share the same values as this shelter. Dogs are pets not children. We love them but they are not the same. My 17 year old son Ethan, expressed wisely do they really believe what they are saying? It does not seem they would keep these dogs in these cages and then euthanize them because they can not find 'qualifying ' families if they see them the same as humans.

We were all trying to figure out the racist statement... We asked the children if they heard what she said and they said yes. " What do you think about it?" "She did not seem to make since." one said, my youngest was so upset he did not want to talk about it. 

We affirmed our children and Dave said when we get home we are going to look on Craig's list and see if we can find a dog. I began to pray again, God I know you have this and you are in control...maybe there is another Dog for us.

When we reached home we were all a bit down but hopeful that Dave would find something. One of the first dogs that caught his attention was a dachshund / beagle mix. He sent a message and it was still available. After looking through the rest of the options we all decided this might be the one. After spending most of the day driving around, Dave and Ruth were the only ones that decided to drive the 1 hour plus to go and see this new dog. The owner had just gotten a 2nd job and felt she was not able to give the dog the attention he needed. 

The rest of us that stayed home waited eagerly for any news....the phone finally rang and Ruth was on the other end sharing that we got the dog! " He is so sweet and his name is Loki." Timothy was so excited! It was so fun to see the joy this brought the family. We waited not so patiently as Dave, Ruth and Loki returned. 

Well, it has been a few days only that Loki has been in our home but he has already brought many gifts....Ruth has a new companion and room mate( bed mate actually--Loki sleeps at the end of her bed all curled up --Ruth is all curled up at the top of her bed) added chores--so far the kids are more than willing to do them--Dave enjoys patting and snuggling with the dog in the evening---yesterday he took Imani ( the baby that I babysit) and Loki for a nice long walk.

For me the gift has been the gentle awareness that this is home for now...not a temporary pit stop but God is asking us to put down some roots...getting a dog is a start....

Loki--- Our new dog!

God's Grace Upon Grace

Last Friday as I was holding the sleeping baby boy that I watch, I was looking out our windows and noticed a large moving truck. We must have new neighbors, I thought. I continued to watch as they unpacked and carried their things in. One item in particular caught my attention ---- a beautiful roll top secretarial desk. My thoughts flashed back to our antique roll top desk that we had in Africa that we had sold as we moved to the U.S.

Our old desk we had in Africa

I had loved that desk and was sad that we were not able to bring it with us. It is funny how grief can pop up its ugly head... I use to think the stages of grief was passed through in a linear fashion but I am discovering all too often you can hop around or sometimes take two steps forward then three steps back. I began to talk to God about my grief and bring my heart to Him.....then I heard a noise and saw they had set the desk off to the side as the movers began moving other items. I was able to get a closer look at the beautiful desk. It had been painted a soft mint green color with an antique finish. For a brief moment I thought, 'oh this would look perfect in my living room'...the seed of envy and coveting was beginning to take root. 

A few years ago a friend, author and women speaker Mimi Wilson had shared a story about how she had envied a beautiful scarf a women had on and as she continued to nurture and feed this sin she felt that it had separated her from her normal intimacy with God. This story and lesson that I had pondered in my heart was used by the Spirit to gently and quickly convict me of my coveting. 

I found myself verbally saying that I was sorry for not being thankful for all the pretty things that God had already given me for my living room and I expressed genuine joy that my neighbors had such a beautiful desk. I immediately felt God's forgiveness. I was so thankful for His grace and thought that was that.......

But the next morning to my amazement my husband came in the house and said ,"Looks like one of our neighbors have thrown out an old roll top desk in the trash, Do you want it?'' I knew the answer to my question before I asked it," Is is green?" --- "Yes' he said ..... Yes, it is mine, a gift from God beyond His grace... " For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace" John 1:16

Our new rolled top desk

I am still overwhelmed by His goodness and grace as I look at this desk now sitting in my living room.... thanks also to the hard work of my husband and boys that carried it in. 

This desk will forever be a symbol of God's grace upon grace that He has poured into my life in the past, present and what is to come! May we all rest in His grace and lean into Him as we journey on.  

A Third Culture Kid's Ramblings Pt 1

My earliest childhood memories-- sharing chai with my sister, Keri and Leila Merritt ( my childhood friends) and Mama Joyce ...dipping blueband spread bread sandwiches in the tea! Feeling the warmth not only from the Kenya sun but the warmth from the love and kindness of my Africa home.

My sister and I 

....Yes, Kumba, Cameroon .... yes that is the country Cameroon in West Africa... no Africa is a continent  -- Cameroon is the country of my birth....frustrating conversation with U.S. postal worker when filling out forms....

From the not so nice "n" word that I was called in 3rd grade when ignorant Texas kids found out I was from Kenya....to some of the curious questions ....." Did you have loins as pets?" ....." Did you live in a mud hut?" struggling to find the words to explain my world or worlds that are all mashed up!

Am I African? Cameroonian? Kenyan? American? Some where in between......  

A child's perspective is an interesting thing. Children take things at face value...I knew my simple idyllic life was just how it was. I loved concrete red floors....not so much the mosquito net that to often slummed into my face during the night and made me feel claustrophobic.  I loved passion fruit juice for breakfast, imaginary play with my sister and friends, big sisters verses little sisters, and all the adventure that would always seem to find us...... from the crazy man coming up in our yard to seeing the big girls attack by a wild hawk( Ok that was a bit scary!). Loved going to the pool almost every day after school....oh the cool water felt so good after my feet were so hot from running around with such thin soles of Bata tennis shoes.  Fairy circles, Narnia, survival games....so much fun even if we had to hide all our books so when the Merritt girls came over they would play with us and not read! 

Mom, my sister Debra,my brother Wade and me

I loved Sundays...although sometimes they were long days...the adventure of even the journey of getting to the rural church where my Dad would preach was exciting. We had a baby blue volkswagen  bug. I would often crawl back in to the 'back-back' and enjoy the journey from there. During the raining season we would get stuck in the mud but no problem several village folks would just push us out or sometimes even pick us up! When we arrived people would start to gather....us kids would run around ....beautiful green rolling hills and red dirt...goats, cows, and chickens to chase. Then we would gather for worship. Men would sit on one side and women and kids on the other...all on wooden benches under a tree or thatched roof enclosure with mud walls with splattered holes that the sun would shine through ---I often thought it looked like stars in the sky. A women in back would belt out a phrase of a song and we would all echo her with clapping and on some songs there was trilling! Then my mom would gather us kids up and we would go out side and sit on a

large mat. She would bring out her flannelgraph and tell the stories of the bible. This is my earliest memory of putting God's words in my heart. I loved the Noah story and Queen Easter.....the story of David and how God saw into his heart was my favorite. 

After church service we always went to one of the leader's home for lunch. Yummy chicken stew, greens and ugali ( corn meal mush) ...I can almost smell the charcoal infused food... which was enjoyed more because it was shared.  Then after the last pot of chai was consumed it was back in the blue bug for the long bumpy ride home....this time I would stretch out and sleep after we dropped off the few folks that squeezed in our car.

I have so many memories of my early growing up years in Kenya...but what stays with me the most is a sense of warmth, joy, adventure which all has given me the confidence to face life! And for that I am grateful!

Loneliness

"At the innermost core of all loneliness is a deep and powerful yearning for union with one's lost self."  Brendan Francis

I think this quote has summed up my journey these last year and a half.  Leaving one's community and moving somewhere totally new would of course be a lonely journey. So in some ways I was expecting some loneliness but the depth to which I have descended into loneliness has caught me by surprise.

I remember as a young girl my mother affirming in me that I was very good at making friends. I have always thought that some of the wonderful fruit from the pain of being a third culture kid was being able to build a community fast. I basically lived in two places as a child Kenya and west Texas. As an adult, I have lived in several places. Some places have taken longer to build friendships than others but community has always come. Even as I write this, I know that with time God will bring community because he has built us for that but this desert is hard to walk through. It is not only hard because I am an extrovert and I gain my energy from being with people but because I feel that my sense of self has been lost.

Maybe, I have lived long in the part of the world that one's self is defined by one's place in community. Now that I have no community outside of my family or a very beginning community, it feels as if I am a bit lost.

"Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty." Mother Teresa. Dave and I have always felt that our wealth has been our relationships and this journey has felt like 'terrible poverty'.

 Besides moving somewhere new our family is going through transitions of 2 children going off to college.  Although, I am so proud of my 'adult ' kids this can really change the dynamics of your family and its culture.  Besides missing them terrible , it has taken some adjustment to our now family of 5. I am growing to appreciate and like our new family dynamics but it has been yet another change.

With such a change moving to the U.S after living in Africa for so long and our family changes and transitions, it has been hard to walk through these with out a community close by. The few phone calls and e-mails that we have received have been so appreciated but we have needed people to sit with us that know us and know who we are.

Just before Christmas we had some missionary friends over who were on furlough. After always being the new person and stranger at so many events and functions it was a breath of fresh air to be with people who knew me.  It was so sweet to talk about familiar people,places, and experiences. For them to talk about our future based on our past shared history.  Then on Christmas Eve we had our first visitors from East Africa --dear friends that we have known for many years. It was so nice to be with them and to be known. To laugh together and also share our struggles.

I think it was those experience in someways that helped to define the loneliness that I was feeling. It was not just not being able to hang out with girlfriends for coffee or praying with brothers and sisters....it was not being with people who really knew me and knew all the exciting journey that God had taken me on.

Sometimes because we are so far from our previous life it is easy for it to seem that it did not happen or was just a dream. Yesterday, I connected with a couple of my friends in Rwanda. We chatted over FB and although I would have preferred to have visited face to face...I was very thankful for this technology and connection with friends.

We started our first weekly small group in our home here in Chicago last Sunday night. I could see the beginnings of our new community. I know that my loneliness will not be a forever thing and this is just a season.

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Luke 5:16 .This has been the redeeming fruit of this season---sweet fellowship with my Lord ---going to Him when in the past I may have turn to others. He has and is caring me through this time of loneliness.

Mashup Church Experence

St. Paul's by the Lake Episcopal Church Chicago

Dave, my husband was asked to preach today at a South Sudanese Church. This church was not located in South Sudan or any where near Africa. This church was meeting in Chicago. It was meeting like most immigrant churches at a odd time on Sunday afternoon when the building is not in use. It was not in the basement of the church but meeting in the main sanctuary.  We came early before very many had arrived. The Church building was a beautiful ornate old building built in 1882. Stained glass windows depicting the early apostles framed the sanctuary.  The wood work was exquisite with intricate work every where you looked. It was just breath taking! It was decorated for this Christmas season. The smell of incense was in the air. Then on the front pews there was something unusual that you would not expected to see in an Old Episcopal Church , two African drums.

Soon several South Sudanese began to join. This was primarily a gathering of the Dinka , who are very strikingly tall dark beautiful people. They began to sing in Dinka. I do not know this language but have heard it before through the years of meeting Sudanese refuges in Uganda and Kenya. The singing is very rhythmic and remains with you. 

I began to close my eyes to worship God in my heart and as I did I was transported far away to a small church gathering under a tree in rural Africa. I could see the large tree we were meeting under. Children wandering around playing with simple toys made from wire and other recycled material. I could feel the cool breeze blowing through reminding me of God's spirit. I could see all the colorful material that was worn by the women and the clean pressed suits by many of the men. In the near distant I could see several huts with thatched grass roofs. When I opened my eyes and saw the Old Episcopal Church building  again...somehow these to things were having a hard time coming together for me. It was such an unusual experience.  

It reminded me of a mashup song--where 2 or more songs and blended together to form one song. It was if the old American church with its liturgical service was mashed up with a traditional Dinka worship service. What was made --was something unique and beautiful.  I am so thankful that I experience  a Mashup Church today.