State of Emergency pt 2

Well the mayor and city council has voted to extend the state of emergency for 30 days. After finding out from the city that we as citizens are still allowed to do normal activity like driving to the grocery store, coming home from work, and anything else legal after 9pm and finding out that if you plan to gather more than two or three people together in a public place you need a permit, we found that the 9pm curfew does not negatively affect us. The city is definitely more quiet at night. I think that most residents are in favor of the curfew. However after 8 days of silence of gun fire, we have had 3 shootings since Sunday. The first left one person injured, the second was a man shot to death Sunday night, and just a few hours an officer was shot in the arm and one suspect is dead and two others are injured. Today I drove by the place where the man was found shot to death. As I got close I saw one of the ladies who I regularly meet with carrying a teddy bear to add to the make shift memorial. When I pulled up beside her she told me that the man who was shot was a good friend of hers. She was having a hard time dealing with this loss. It seemed like this was the first time that someone that close to her had been killed. I was at a loss for words to comfort her. Ultimately it is changed hearts that will change this community, God is working! He is here in this community. He loves the people of Chester. Pray for my dear friend and others who are grieving the loss of this friend. May God receive the glory from the changed lives that can be born out of tragedy.

A State of Emergency

Tom and I were getting ready to play Apples to Apples with friends on Saturday night when we got some unexpected news. At 8:53 pm one of our church members called and informed us that there was a city-wide curfew going into effect at 9pm. It was a bit of a shock to us, but we packed up our stuff and headed home. We got home about nine and called some friends who went online and told us that what we had heard was true, the Mayor of Chester had declared a State of Emergency earlier in the day in response to a rise in the number of murders over the last few weeks. That night our area felt a lot like a ghost town, much quieter than usual.

We waited around for the 10:00 news to hear the info for ourselves and sure enough we heard that the Mayor had declared a state of emergency until Thursday. He also plans to meet with city council on Wednesday and urge them to extend the state of emergency for 30 days. To enforce the curfew the Mayor has requested assistance from the state police and county sheriff's departments. He has also cancelled vacation days and personal time for all city police officers and placed them on 12 hour shifts. We are concerned about the Mayor's desire to push this an extra 30 days. Keeping people off the streets will not change their hearts. The added restrictions for an extended amount of time will most likely increase tensions between residents and police. Our prayer is that God's will would be done in our city.

As I read people's comments about Chester in the online newspaper my heart is saddened. There are many negative comments, even so far as wanting the people of Chester locked in their city with their guns so that they can shoot themselves and have the problem done with. How Our Father looks on this city is very different, He sees the brokenness and desires to heal each heart and restore them. He has placed His children here to share that good news. His children are young/old, black/white and they are on their knees lifting this city before Him. Tomorrow (Tues June 22) and 9 am we will be gathering at the Frederick Douglass Christian School/World Impact building to lift up our city to Him and to lift up the Mayor's meeting on Wednesday with city council. Please join us from wherever you are.

People, People, People

Planting a church is hard work, full of successes and failures. Tom and I both have jumped into this process without much experience. Over the last year we have learned much from our own experiences and from the experiences of others who are part of World Impact and other groups. I have been doing much soul-searching lately as I consider what God is doing in our Highland House church plant. I looked back to an entry I wrote in my journal on June 28, 2009. I wrote about feeling God's call to strengthen relationships with people within our church. Glancing over other entries I have seen an increase in the number of people that Tom and I have gotten to know and build relationships with. Khadijah's mom is an example. The more I have gotten to know her the more she has opened up and shared her life with me. I continue to see her wanting a peace that can only come from God. Tom and I are praying about beginning a Bible Study in her house with her and her family. Our friend Es just had a baby and we have been watching her kids on and off. Four year-old Zech loves playing with Tom and looks up to him. Whenever we stop by he wants to come over to our house. We continue to have contact with Danita and Doc. Danita and I meet to study the Bible and Tom is seeking an opportunity to take Doc out to lunch. Yesterday I spent two hours talking with Kim whose life has been turned around by her family's involvement with World Impact. The stories could go on, but as a couple Tom and I desire to build relationships that will give honor to God and lead people to His kingdom.

Milestone

Today marks a pivotal day in my journey as worship team coordinator with Highland House. My team is being run by one of it's own members. My only roles are to work with vocal warm-ups and meet with the team leader. When I started working with the team almost two years ago this was my vision, to pass the team and its leadership to Highland House. I have enjoyed watching the team grow in their relationships with God and also in their musical ability. I am in awe of God and all that He has taught me and shown me through this process. He has taught me to let go of my ideas of how things should be done and let our team member's express and use the ideas God has given them. I have learned that the outcome of this team is not based on me or my musical ability, but on God. I have learned also what it means to truly worship and I have seen my team members learn that as well. I have seen them seek God as they choose the songs that will be sung each Friday night. I am blessed that God has allowed me to walk with this team during this part of their journey with Him.

God's Amazing Provision

Today we are praising God for His great provision! About a month ago on a Sunday our house was broken into while we were at church. We walked in our back door and saw things amiss in the living room and then noticed that the front door had been kicked in. Thankfully not many things were taken, my camera, an ipod that was in the camera bag, and Tom's coin collection. We were grateful that we weren't home, but we had to deal with the feelings of having our privacy violated. God has been healing our hearts and allowing us to forgive. Since then I have prayed that in His time, God would replace my camera. It was a tool that I used to capture snapshots of what God is doing here so that I can share God's work with others. It had been stolen once before, but this time I felt a great peace waiting on God's timing. Today I went to our mailbox at FDCS and found an envelope with our names on it. Inside was a gift card, given anonymously, to be used to replace my camera. Through God's provision I was able to order a camera today that is better than the one that I had before. I am still amazed and do not consider myself worthy of this gift that He has given. We are both thankful to God and the people who gave us this wonderful gift!

Gold, Silver, and precious stones

Today I was reading in I Corinthians 3. I came across verses 12 to 15. "Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire...(ESV)" What remains is what is worth much in God's kingdom. One of the faithful who have gone on before us, Amy Carmichael, used these verses to measure what she was doing to God's standard. If I used these verses as a measuring stick in my life, would I find that I am building with "gold, silver, and precious stones" or am I building in "wood, hay, and straw?" Part of me is afraid to look too deep being afraid of what I might find, but how can I grow if I am not allowing God to change me. As I was pondering these verses I was also reminded that one way that I can build in "gold, silver, and precious stones" is to focus on the relationships with people whom God has placed in my life.

People

A few weeks ago I was feeling discouraged about the state of our Highland House church plant. We had asked people to step up and take responsibility. They had for a while, but then it seemed that some of them were falling back on their commitments. We had also recently seen a drop off in attendance. It was then that God reminded me to remember those whose lives He had changed through Highland House. As I thought about a teen who life was completely turned around, about a mom who five years ago was addicted to drugs who now owns a house and makes sure that her kids are busy in sports and other extra curricular activities, about another mom who is seeking God's direction in every step she takes, and about a woman who truly understands the meaning of God's grace and mercy in her life, I remembered that Highland House is God's church and that he is responsible for changing lives.

At that time God also reminded me that he cares about people, and that is where my focus should be. As I have asked Him to help me to see the people of Chester with His eyes, he has brought many people across my path and has given me a new heart and passion to build relationships with them.