Saturday, October 16, 2010

Artober and Mod

Woke up this morning... needed to disappear.
Nothing personal people.

When I lived in Houston I would, every Saturday, go to a cafe, sit on the patio, drink some coffee or, dare I say, mimosa, and read. I loved my cafes. I loved my patios. I loved that time. I got to be real. I got to be alone (I didn't pay attention to the Westheimer crowd that had the same idea). I felt romantic. I felt inspired. I felt.

So this morning, I wanted to recreate those feelings. Needed some deep inspiration. Needed some regeneration.

So today I thought I would go to Galveston and connect on a deeper level... Let's be real... I needed some much needed Jesus time... some much needed refreshing time... some much needed inspiration time... and some much needed... um... disappearing time.

So here I am... on the corner of 22nd and Post Office... enjoying a freshly brewed iced coffee, on a glorious morning with an occasional breath of fresh wind, on a perfect patio table for 2... me and Jesus, that is.

And you'll NEVER believe what's going on around me...
give up yet?
Artober... Galveston's Fine Arts festival.

WHAT?!!

You see, art and I go way back. Years ago, it wouldn't have been abnormal to find me at the museum or in a gallery somewhere... definitely in my internet browser history you would find MoMA or something like it... ya. If you thought I was cool, you can stop now. I'm cool with it.

This feeds me. It feeds my soul. And this motivates me.
It teaches me how to be creative again... to just even be around creative people brings it out in me.

Thank You Jesus for knowing what I needed today... for always being here... and for continuing to surprise me at every corner.


And here's why I like a cafe like Mod so much. Community. 3 tables behind me to my left... a table of 5 men, probably in their 50s... probably here every Saturday. Talking about everything under the sun... solving the worlds problems. I'm sure of it. Right now they're talking about religion and politics. It's true... I didn't make that one up. I secretly want to go join their table. I'm watching Craig, who works here, water the flowers around me... and knowing every passer-by by name. Ken, the guy behind the counter, was so hopped up on caffeine already (by 8am) and wanted to tell me all about it. I told him to hook me up with the good stuff so I'd shake with him. (I think he did) And the dogs... so many dogs on this patio. Cheeto would love this place.

It feels good here. It feels like 'home' here. It's the Cheers of the morning. Everybody knows your name, and your drink, and your dog's name. And the art. Oh man... the art. I think my heaven will have an art festival in it... and iced coffee definitely.

What's your place? Where's the place that you go to disappear and regenerate?

Jesus, thank You for inspiration. Thank You for the feelings this morning. Thank You that I get to do this. Thank You for reminding me what it felt like... Thank You for the kiss on the the forehead this morning in the form of an art festival. Thank You for Mod and their ridiculously (and amazingly) strong coffee. Thank You for knowing me so perfectly to know that I needed this... and for knowing what it would do to me. Thanks for having coffee with me this morning... wasn't it good? And for everything... thank You for that. Thanks that I got to see the most beautiful mosaic inside this cafe and that I got to feel a deeper connection to my P through being here. You are so good to me and You take such good care of me... in ways that I don't even know I need.... You've got those too. Feeling grateful. Feeling refreshed. Feeling regenerated. Feeling closer to You. Thanks buddy.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Trip To Remember

R.U.4 Children just returned from their FEED 5000 campaign in Guatemala. On this particular feeding trip, we fed and ministered the gospel and distributed 220,000 meals. We were working in the Pacific-coastal region of Esquintla, Guatemala in the city of Puerto San Jose; which was devastated by high rising flash floods.



Our team and partner church, Casa de Dios, went into the flood zone on Wednesday, September 29th to distribute tickets. Tickets were given to local families in need. Each family had to present that ticket on the day of the feeding to receive the 40 lb bag of food. On the day of the ticket distribution the water was standing 3 - 4 ft and we were still able to drive through the flooded area. The flooding was supposed to subside, but instead the water took a turn for the worse.



Wednesday afternoon our team went to our beach-side house, which was on high ground and has never experienced flooding in over 100 years. One hour into our stay at the house, the weather began to worsen. No forecast could have predicted how bad our night would be. By 10:00 pm, just 6 hours after our arrival to our safe-house, the water had risen 8 - 10 feet and and had surrounded the house, trapping us in. The out-lying roads were too bad for us to make it back to town, so we waited. By 1:00 am on Thursday morning the water was beginning to seep into the house. Needless to say the entire team spent the night on the 2nd floor. The next morning the water had risen an additional 3 ft and was on our door step and by 5 am the waters overtook the house. The bottom floor of the home filled up with over 20 inches of water in 45 minutes. At this moment, our team fervently began to pray and intercede that the waters would stop. By the time the water stopped rising, it had risen 17-20 ft from the previous afternoon. Even if we wanted to leave, the standing water in the street directly in front of our house was between 7-10 feet deep. By noon on Thursday the 30th, we were rescued by boat. We traveled down a river channel that was so high, we were traveling above the power lines. Just when we thought we were on a perfect getaway to safety, the current carried our boat into a tree. After the crash, we made our way to high enough ground that we could walk. Our team set out on foot to dry ground. We walked 1.5 miles through chest high water until we were met by rescue trucks. God had his hand on us throughout the entire crisis, proving Himself to our team once again!



Thursday evening we were taken back to safety in Guatemala City. Even though we were now safe, our hearts were broken for the families left in the flood waters. We learned many of the homes in the outlying villages were completely washed away. Some villages were under 17 - 20 feet of water and sadly, there were elderly and small children who were lost in the flash floods during the night. I'll never forget what I heard that night. By Friday morning, the waters had receded enough for us to go back into the flood zone to deliver food. We drove our trucks as far into the flooded waters as we could. The remaining people were so grateful. We had a special bond with the local people, because they knew we had suffered through the night alongside of them.