A few years ago I spent three life changing months in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It’s safe to say that without that one summer and the thousands of experiences it provided I would not be a missions pastor. One of the memories, which is as fresh in my mind as the coffee I’m brewing right now is fresh in the room, was with a little boy on a street corner. He was one of thousands and why I sat down with him I’ll never know, but I did. My good friend Alex sat down with us and translated a conversation about life, hurt, joy, hopes and dreams. As we sat there talking it felt like the whole world walked by. Men in business suites. Moms carrying kids. Couples in love. They were all going somewhere - I don’t know where - work or home or the market, maybe. They were all busy, just like I am always busy. It occurred to me, there is no not being busy. The question on the street corner was and still is and will forever be, what am I busy with? Of all the places in the world and with all the people, it was there with that little kid that I knew it would be right to busy myself with justice.
When I went home that night I picked up guitar and wrote a song. It’s about a kid on a street corner watching the world pass him by. It’s a song to be sung from a weary, street worn soul. It’s meant to have a hundred voices in the chorus so it shouts loud like a hundred kids all crying at once, “if you’re too busy to help me find my life… I’ll just fade into the night.”
Last Sunday at Antioch my good friend Lauren Edwards did the most incredible job ever singing the song. It was perfect, and I want to share it with you all as way of an invitation. What is your story? Where is your street corner? Have you ever, would you ever, make yourself available to the God things going on all around? It might look nothing like dirty gutters and little kids and that’s okay, that is my story. It will look like your story, brand new and unknown and all your own and it’s a story I’d love to hear!
Last Sunday we hosted the second annual Antioch Local Missions Fair. We invited 19 organizations to come set up and share their work with us and, well, it was awesome!! One thing we were able to do this year was produce a ‘Local Resource Guide’ explaining briefly the work of each organization, their most immediate volunteer opportunities and their contact info. That way, you can (or encourage others) to contact the organizations through out the year! If you didn’t get a book or you missed out last Sunday, no worries, we will have them available the next few sundays!! Thanks to everyone who participated!!
One thing we try to do on Sunday morning is be intentional about blessing Bend. In January we collected over 960 power bars for a homeless outreach sponsored by Neighbor Impact. This month we are filling the gray bin with new socks (note: NEW!). So next time you’re at the store grab an extra pack and drop them off on Sunday morning. The gray bin sits off to the right just inside the doors when you enter the auditorium.
I received a really fun email last week from Katie Merritt. She told me she had a bunch of hand made scarves she wanted to donate to Kenny LaPoint and The Burn Barrell Group (a homeless outreach community group at Antioch).
So, today Katie showed up and - voilå - now 20 scarves are going out to bless people in Bend.
How cool is that?
Here is a pic of Katie sporting some of the scarves she gave away!
Rock stars get credit all the time because they know how to put on a good show. I’ve seen some great concerts in my time, U2 being one of the best, and I’ll admit, a good rock star is fun to watch. BUT, even more fun is when you get to meet rock stars in person, like yesterday at Antioch when I met Bailey and Brayden Meier.
They walked right up to me and put a sealed envelope in my hand. Two words scribed in children’s writing said simply:
Matt | Haiti
Bailey told me in a super soft voice, “We want to help the kids in Haiti.”
I peeked in the envelope as she continued, “so me and my brother sold our hot wheels.”
Inside the envelope?
$70.00
$70.00 was deposited into an account today that will issue a check tomorrow to the World Relief Haiti fund. $70.00 in Haiti right now will feed 70 people lunch and dinner. 140 meals. Did you know the Hot Wheels in your house are worth 140 meals? I didn’t - but Bailey and Brayden did, and now their contribution is blessing nearly a hundred people.
There is nothing more fun than rock stars putting on a good show - it just so happens the best show in town is happening right here around us - with people like Bailey and Brayden and their parents Sam and Darci. Keep up the good work guys, it sure is fun to watch!
