It's the weekend between our 2 weeks of CIY Engage the City here in Joplin. I cannot begin to tell you all the amazing things I heard, all the powerful ways God moved and all the unexpected moments that have happened and continue to unfold each day. At some point I hope to share a few of these stories as I know these 2 weeks here this summer are something that will shape who I am for the rest of my life.
My time here has certainly shaped more of my feelings and understandings about service and about the trips we take in youth ministry. There is one glimpse I'd like to share here that might help shed some light for all of us as we think about the trips we take our students on.
I had the opportunity to meet a group here in Joplin last week that was from out of state. I don't know all the details of how they ended up in Joplin but they came with a van load, a desire to serve but little preparation. They happened to be serving at one of the locations where part of our Engage teams were serving as well. As I talked with them I learned that they had found housing at the last minute and had found this one option for serving while here in Joplin. Other than that, there was nothing "built" around their service to help the trip equip them for ways to continue to engage their own community when they got home.
I compare their experience with what we saw last week. I do not say this to toot the CIY horn by any means but hopefully to help us see that we have to be intentional with our trips. Our groups were able to engage God's word in the morning, to serve in a variety of ways during the day but most importantly to hear from the churches here in Joplin each night. Whether it was a person impacted by the tornado, a survivor, a first responder, a variety of kingdom workers or a pastor sharing how their church was helping we learned a ton about what God is doing and what he has taught each of them.
Our groups were also able to take part in a prayer journey through the city, spent a great deal of time journaling and reflecting and even a beautiful prayer wall experience. At the end of the week our groups and theirs both did work. But it was all the other details that made the trip truly memorable and equipped them with Biblical truth and principles that equip them to do kingdom work when they get home. Not only did we engage our hands but also our heads and hearts.
At the end of the day, we take our students on service and mission trips in the hopes that it teaches them things that make a difference every day of their lives. These things do not happen by accident and students (and adults for that matter) need tools to think, to listen and to process. Debrief isn't just everybody telling a funny story at the end of the night. It's the hardest and i think most vital part of the experience as we together sharpen one another and develop tangible steps on how the things we do during the day make an impact on what we will do tomorrow.
So do me a favor, think back on your latest mission trip. Can you clearly articulate things that changed for the better in the lives of your students because of their trip. This isn't just the fun things they saw and ate. This is the people they learned from, the things God showed them and the changes that happened internally and externally because they gave their time and their full energy to become stronger disciples of Jesus.
Anybody can take a trip but not every trip is really worth the investment of dollars and peoples lives. It's why I love our teams at CIY. Trust me, we have plenty of things to learn but I'm grateful for the men and women who are dedicating their lives to worrying about the details and being intentional about all the things that create environments for God's call on a students life can be clearly heard. There are things youth pastors can do that we at CIY cannot. But the reverse is also true and I hope that you will consider serving with us in the future so that together we can continue to train kingdom workers who are going to do things for God that will truly change our world.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Friday, July 01, 2011
Joplin
It's been over a month since the tornado.
By now you've seen the pictures and you've heard the stats. And if you have been here you have said the same thing as everyone else, "Pictures don't tell the whole story." Each time I hear that I realize that's the same feeling those of us who live here have.
Instead of being on the road with Know Sweat this summer, I've had the chance to prepare a couple of weeks that CIY will host here called Engage the City:JLN I don't know if I can adequately explain my feelings and emotions throughout this process. Remember, this is coming from a person who's home was not damaged, who had no family harmed and didn't have their place of employment impacted either.
But as we sit just a few days from welcoming groups from as far away as Washington and New York, here are a few things I've heard or noticed.
1. Most people I interact with don't have 417 area codes on their phones.
As we put together a plan of where groups will serve, where they will eat, who they will learn from while they are here and who the go to people are, many of them have phone numbers that aren't local. It is incredible the people who have come or in some cases come back to serve. Whether its a church loaning key staff people to come and share expertise or retired teachers returning to the town they love, there are dozens of people in key roles who are real kingdom workers. They have spent days and weeks away from "life as normal" to offer vital support and infrastructure to a rebuilding effort that is going to take years.
2. Everybody wants to work, many don't want to serve
I spoke with a church yesterday so has a unique set of needs. In their words, everybody wants to do debris and construction work inside the footprint of the tornado and when they are asked to do other things they at best complain and at worst say no. Now, this isn't true for everyone but follow me for a second. For most of us we think of disaster relief as something that applies to all work done following a natural disaster. However relief last days not weeks and month. Rebuilding has more sides to it that I've yet to wrap my head around.
This church yesterday said what they need is people to serve in less glorious and behind the scenes ways. Maybe it is sorting clothes in a warehouse, maybe it is keeping that warehouse clean. Maybe it is cleaning porta potties. As they said, "For someone who is living in a tent, trying to rebuild their lives and sometimes have to go pee in the woods, a clean porta potty is a luxury. That was a perspective I hadn't thought of.
3. Multi-purpose buildings really do have multi purposes
There are countless churches in our area who are functioning as distribution centers and volunteer coordination hubs while continuing to be church buildings. This goes way beyond the tents of bottled water and clothes they are still sorting and distributing. Whether it is meeting places, shower houses, temporary lodging or sites where the temporary AT&T office can be located, they are community centers in ways never before imagined.
4. There are 2 ways to tell every story
It is true, in a fair estimate, 25% of our city was destroyed in less than an hour. It's hard to fathom just what that means. But it is also true that 75% of our town was not physically damaged by the tornado. There is untold strength and resources available and those continue to rise to the forefront as more organizations and groups pack their bags and head home or to the next site. Joplin has enormous needs but also incredible assets.
5. Our prayers have changed
Everybody tells me this. People are learning to ask for help. People are learning what's really irreplaceable. Even my kids. Brynn, our 4 year old discipleship pastor who always prays for our family at dinner has even changed her prayers. The usual things are still there, "Thanks for the food, thanks for family" etc have been joined with another prayer that comes out of her mouth differently every time but always has a common denominator "Help Joplin". What she thinks and prays about at 4 years old has changed for a long, long time. Both our kids are aware of a reality in life that smacks against the latest development on Yo Gabba Gabba or who Dora will use her map to get through the forest.
So please, don't forget Joplin. Find ways to serve it. Find ways to encourage the incredible pastors in our town. Find ways to encourage those doing kingdom work. And listen, listen for truth and understanding that you can take from those here that can impact who you are and how you engage the community you live in.
By now you've seen the pictures and you've heard the stats. And if you have been here you have said the same thing as everyone else, "Pictures don't tell the whole story." Each time I hear that I realize that's the same feeling those of us who live here have.
Instead of being on the road with Know Sweat this summer, I've had the chance to prepare a couple of weeks that CIY will host here called Engage the City:JLN I don't know if I can adequately explain my feelings and emotions throughout this process. Remember, this is coming from a person who's home was not damaged, who had no family harmed and didn't have their place of employment impacted either.
But as we sit just a few days from welcoming groups from as far away as Washington and New York, here are a few things I've heard or noticed.
1. Most people I interact with don't have 417 area codes on their phones.
As we put together a plan of where groups will serve, where they will eat, who they will learn from while they are here and who the go to people are, many of them have phone numbers that aren't local. It is incredible the people who have come or in some cases come back to serve. Whether its a church loaning key staff people to come and share expertise or retired teachers returning to the town they love, there are dozens of people in key roles who are real kingdom workers. They have spent days and weeks away from "life as normal" to offer vital support and infrastructure to a rebuilding effort that is going to take years.
2. Everybody wants to work, many don't want to serve
I spoke with a church yesterday so has a unique set of needs. In their words, everybody wants to do debris and construction work inside the footprint of the tornado and when they are asked to do other things they at best complain and at worst say no. Now, this isn't true for everyone but follow me for a second. For most of us we think of disaster relief as something that applies to all work done following a natural disaster. However relief last days not weeks and month. Rebuilding has more sides to it that I've yet to wrap my head around.
This church yesterday said what they need is people to serve in less glorious and behind the scenes ways. Maybe it is sorting clothes in a warehouse, maybe it is keeping that warehouse clean. Maybe it is cleaning porta potties. As they said, "For someone who is living in a tent, trying to rebuild their lives and sometimes have to go pee in the woods, a clean porta potty is a luxury. That was a perspective I hadn't thought of.
3. Multi-purpose buildings really do have multi purposes
There are countless churches in our area who are functioning as distribution centers and volunteer coordination hubs while continuing to be church buildings. This goes way beyond the tents of bottled water and clothes they are still sorting and distributing. Whether it is meeting places, shower houses, temporary lodging or sites where the temporary AT&T office can be located, they are community centers in ways never before imagined.
4. There are 2 ways to tell every story
It is true, in a fair estimate, 25% of our city was destroyed in less than an hour. It's hard to fathom just what that means. But it is also true that 75% of our town was not physically damaged by the tornado. There is untold strength and resources available and those continue to rise to the forefront as more organizations and groups pack their bags and head home or to the next site. Joplin has enormous needs but also incredible assets.
5. Our prayers have changed
Everybody tells me this. People are learning to ask for help. People are learning what's really irreplaceable. Even my kids. Brynn, our 4 year old discipleship pastor who always prays for our family at dinner has even changed her prayers. The usual things are still there, "Thanks for the food, thanks for family" etc have been joined with another prayer that comes out of her mouth differently every time but always has a common denominator "Help Joplin". What she thinks and prays about at 4 years old has changed for a long, long time. Both our kids are aware of a reality in life that smacks against the latest development on Yo Gabba Gabba or who Dora will use her map to get through the forest.
So please, don't forget Joplin. Find ways to serve it. Find ways to encourage the incredible pastors in our town. Find ways to encourage those doing kingdom work. And listen, listen for truth and understanding that you can take from those here that can impact who you are and how you engage the community you live in.
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