A “Lost” Birthday…

to me!

Well, yesterday was my 29th birthday, and let me tell ya’, it was a pretty good one.

The day began with me getting up way to early to drive to Chino so I could take my Commissioned Pastors test for the Reformed Church in America.  Let’s just say starting your birthday off with a three hour oral exam is not my idea of an awesome birthday gift.  Truth be told, I did enjoy the studying and learning…it was like I was in college again.

After completing said test I headed to the Brea Mall to use my William Sonoma gift card.  If you know me, but at all, you know I love to cook..and you also know that I love that store.  With my purchases in hand I made my way back to the car to make the drive home…of course I had to treat myself to a birthday lunch from Chick fil-A.

After arriving at home all I wanted to do was to take a nap, sadly it was too frickin hot I could not sleep,  instead I watch Ghostbusters 2…yup that’s right…don’t mock me, you know you love it.

My wife had told me we had plans with The Garrisons for dinner so at 7 we took Bella to my mom’s where…SURPRISE…a birthday party was at hand…and not just any surprise party but a “Lost” themed Surprise party, complete with tropical decor and plenty of Dharma food to go around.

I was actually very surprised that my wife pulled off a party with out me finding out.   Of course it helps that she actually decided the day before to do it…and thankfully for me most of my friends didn’t have plans…I’m not sure what that says about all of us.

I have to give a big thanks to my wife for throwing me a party, especially themed to something I love…and she hates.  Also, huge thanks go to Travis and Carrie for helping get everything ready all day Saturday, Angelo for being the tech superhero, Tanya for being Lost inspiration, and of course everyone that was able to make it on such short notice.

As with any fun event I have some awards to give out…so without further adieu…

Best Look a Like to a Lost Character – Jon Gaw as John Locke

Most creative Lost costume – Jen Davies as Smokey

Multiple personality – Liana Dickson as Kate, Rousseau, or Alex (She looked liked all of them)

The too much Lost knowledge award – Tanya Jones and Rachel Samarin

Funniest (inappropriate) birthday card – Mike and Beth Hutton

Funniest (non-inappropriate) birthday card – Darren and Jenny Platt

Best song played – Big Poppa

Well, there you have it my 29th birthday in a nutshell.  If you didn’t know it was my birthday or you couldn’t make it to the party I hold no grudges…that being said I like Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, and Ikea

As soon as I get some pictures I will post.

The quote book

When I was in college a good friend of mine kept a quote book. In this book she would write down different quotes that would make her think. It has been 6 years since I have started my own quote book and it’s pages are filled with many ideas and thoughts that have and continue to challenge me. Below you will find just a small smattering of some of my favorites.

“If what has happened in my life can change even one person…let it. If not, send me back to the fire.” – Philippa Robson

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep – to gain what he cannot loose.” – Jim Elliot

“I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make those dreams come true.” – Walt Disney

“He who cannot forgive another breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself.” – George Herbert

“The man who is afraid to suffer cannot belong to the one who suffered.” – Tertullian

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” – Edward Everett Hale

“God does more through the willing then through the able.” -?

“A selfish life breeds nothing more than an isolated soul.” – CSLL

“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” – Amy Carmichael

“Love to be real must cost. It must hurt. It must empty us of self.” – Mother Theresa

“Sometimes all it takes is remembering how to be a child.” – Pam Fisher

‘Imagination is a mere spark that beckons the impossible.” – CSLL

“To clasp hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” – Karl Barth

“To live outside of God’s will is dangerous – to live in His will makes us dangerous.” – Erwin McManus

“To trust God is to rest in divine mystery.” – CSLL

“We must no only give what we have, we must also give what we are.” – Cardinal Mercia

“Is it routine or is it real?” – Daniel Shelton

“When you’re through changing…you’re through.” -Bruce Barton

New Orleans pt. 3 – My breaking point

December 29th

We got to start late this day. Not that we slept in…you see we found out quickly that Cheryl gets up at like 4:28 in the morning. She was our rooster as she made coffee and put out the breakfast goodies.

The plan for this day was simple…go work some more on the offices of BBC, and then around 2 we would head downtown to feed some people who were homeless. We would then clean up, get some dinner, watch a special on Hurricane Katrina and go to sleep.

Like clock work everyone dived in to their respective projects. We had some Popeye’s chicken for lunch (yummo) and then we tried to get as much done as we could before our 2 o clock departure for the downtown area. I found myself agitated that early afternoon and for the life of me I could not figure out why. As we went to McDonald’s to buy 100 double cheeseburgers I found myself becoming increasingly overwhelmed with everything. For 3 days I had been working and leading and I don’t know if I allowed myself a time to feel…anything. Leanne and the baby had arrived late the 28th and when they arrived I think reality finally began to catch up with me.

As a few of us waited in the van for the rest of the group Jessica told me she couldn’t look at the water lines anymore. I couldn’t tell her at the time…but neither could I. I knew I needed to face whatever was going on inside of me, I knew I needed to pray, but at that moment…at that point I just didn’t know how. I decided as the group gave out the cheeseburgers and prayed with people, then I would go and run to the store to get some supplies we needed. I dropped them off and away I went…running away…trying my hardest to not deal with the turmoil that lied just below the surface.

I went to three different stores…and all of them were still closed. As I drove around downtown my mind played images in my head. Images of when we would hold worship services for those without a home. Images of kids playing in the street. Images of life. But the pictures my mind saw were far different then the ones my eyes currently beheld.

I pulled over and parked and as I began to weep for the city, for what it used to be, for what it is now, for what it could be…I saw Charity Hospital. Before the storm it was the premier trauma center in the Gulf South. After Katrina hit they were literally forced to slide people down the stairs because the elevators did not work. The morgue overflowing, the stench of death and decay everywhere, and everyone was trapped…for days. This was a place of healing, of hope and for a few days in August and September it became a prison. Now it stands as an empty sentry overlooking the city.

The picture of that vacant hospital made me nauseous and quickly a flood of emotion hit me. It was as if all the things that I had spent two years pushing down came rushing to the surface with a fury that could not be stopped. Feelings of guilt, anger, pain, jealousy, selfishness, confusion, despair, frustration…so many thoughts rushing through my mind like a torrent. I sat in that van and all I could see was that hospital…that stupid hospital…and I realized that I had reached my breaking point.

The team came back and I sucked it all back in…

and the rain began to fall.

As the team was cleaning up, Leanne and the baby came over, and I had to go outside…I couldn’t let people see me like this. I let the cold rain hit my face wishing that it would numb the pain. Hoping that it could take away all of the anguish and confusion. I wanted to go back to LA and forget this place. I wanted to forget the city, the need, the pain, it was just too much…I thought I could handle it but apparently I was wrong…at least that’s what I told myself.

Then God gave me a word…hope.

I was hope. We were hope. And we needed to be able to offer that hope to the people who needed it the most. That was why we came. I shared with the team the realities of pain in New Orleans. The truth of the struggle that so many were coping with. I shared with them the fact that we were hope and we needed to offer that hope . That we needed to be people of hope…because those around us need it now more than ever. We came to work, we came to help, to make an impact…but above all other things God brought us to give hope to the people of New Orleans.

The 29th was a day of…understanding…it was a day of brokenness and of beauty. By the end of it I was exhausted…but tomorrow was another day, and it would be a day of celebration.

Part IV coming soon.

New Orleans Pt.1 – A reality of hope and need

I’m not sure really where to begin. You see this was more than a mission trip for me…it was…closure. The trip began for me on Christmas night. Cheryl, Tanya, Tim, and I all arrived at LAX for a 12:30am flight. After a short layover in Huston we arrived at Louis Armstrong airport at roughly 7:30am.

December 26th
Our first day was pretty low key, we grabbed some pecan waffles, grits, and an omelet…did some grocery shopping, took a nap, and waited for the rest of the team to arrive. My friends Janet and Casey stopping by, however, interrupted my nap. It was a welcome interruption seeing I had not seen them in over a year.

Finally, the rest of the team arrived and we had a nice little welcome party before we crashed in our respective areas. We needed to get as much sleep as we could before the workday that was awaiting us. Of course when you have a house filled with 14 people –two of which snore, 5 of which (including myself) talk…a lot – you know that sleep is the one thing that does not happen before midnight.

December 27th

We awoke and drove to East New Orleans to assist Building Better Communities in their move to a new facility. We broke off into several smaller groups to tackle the projects before us. Jessica, Jenny, Randy, Esther, and Tanya did a whole bunch of painting, and insulation work. Cheryl, Christina, Marie, and Rachel began to put in a hardwood floor. Doris was a cleaning machine and put together a whole bunch of IKEA furniture. And finally, Tim, Aaron, Aaron, and myself hung some drywall…twice. (We were new to that process)

You should know that East New Orleans was completely devastated. 100% of the structures were destroyed by floodwater…that’s well over 65,000 homes. As we drove on Hwy 10 to the new offices it was a strange site because you had these small pockets of renewal that looked like little islands in a sea of desolateness.

As we worked on our tasks it was easy to forget that everywhere around us was pretty much empty. The structures were there, but the life was hard to find. The only time I think it really set in is when you would take a break, and you would be greeted with a muffled silence…an eerie quietness that spoke a story to large to comprehend.

Building Better Communities however is offering hope. Not only do they help facilitate incoming work groups but also they are actively working at restoring their neighborhood. The facility we were working in will not only serve as there offices but also as a dress for success office that would enable woman to get clothes and job training. It will serve as a day care and day camp center for children who have nowhere to go and nothing to do. They are also opening up a coffee shop that would enable ample space for community to happen as well as a place for neighborhood small groups to meet.

BBC is one of those islands…one of the few places that has been able to jump through the red tape and bureaucracy to begin rebuilding…one of the few places that life is apparent. They exist to rebuild New Orleans one family at a time, and it is rewarding to know that the work we did for BBC will have lasting implications. However, no matter how good it made me feel the reality is, that it has been 2 ½ years. 2 ½ years…and maybe…maybe 20% of the work has been done.

Part II coming tomorrow….