Sunday, November 18, 2012
One-Generation Removed
Today my children and I along with many others served at Mary’s Center in downtown Washington, DC. We were helping stuff bags with food for distribution to needy families this Thanksgiving. The founder, Maria Gomez, was there and she addressed us before we started the actual stuffing of bags. During her remarks, she asked that as we filled each bag we think of each family that would be reached this holiday as a result of generous individuals that donated both food and money and also as a result of those of us there giving of our time. She shared the demographics of our local community and informed us of how many families are hungry on a daily basis. Living in the DC Metro area we are witness to much poverty and homelessness as well as much affluence and wastefulness.
Ms. Gomez also reminded us that several of us in the room were actually just one generation removed from the stark reality of hunger and poverty. Those words struck me because they are most certainly true of my situation. As my son and his friend set up their station to start filling bags, my daughter and I grabbed our first bag to start filling. I felt a strange wave of emotion come over me because the last time I had done that I was a teenager standing in line with my mother filling a bag to take home for our own family. I remembered the sense of shame that I felt then because I needed to ask for food, but I also felt a sense of gratitude to the strangers that had donated willingly so that we might eat. I remember being thankful for each of the volunteers for being so kind and making us feel welcome. Even more keenly, I recalled how I vowed to one day do the same for someone else if I possibly could.
As I watched my children interacting with others today, I could only feel gratitude. Gratitude to my Lord and Savior for the blessing of such amazing children that have a heart for others, gratitude for the gift of health and well-being to be in a position to be able to help, and gratitude for the gift of the humility I felt as I filled each bag remembering how mighty and able Our Lord is that He can use each one of us for His purpose if we are willing to submit to His will.
I am humbled by the fact that I am just one generation removed from living in poverty but I am also keenly aware that through active compassion we can choose to serve others and be part of the solution as others work toward their one-generation removed.
Have a wonderful, bountiful Thanksgiving! God’s blessings to you always!
(PS: Thank you Kaitlyn and Toby for your giving heart and love for others—remember to always Pay it Forward and know that He is Lord. I love you!)
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Shout Out to my Texas Friends
Friends, I will be in Lubbock, Texas on October 12-13,2012.
Friday night's event is open to the public and I would really love your support:)
Featuring: Guest speaker and book discussion leader Dr. Lisa Ramirez, National Director of the Office of Migrant Education in Washington, D.C. and author of Dulcified: Sweetened by the Education of Life.
****First 20 participants to register will receive a free copy of the book Dulcified: Sweetened by the Education of Life so register today!****
When: Friday, October 12, 2012. 6:00 p.m. dinner - LCU Education alumni only, and 7:30 Plenary Session with Dr. Lisa Ramirez, open to the public.
Monday, May 7, 2012
He Sets the Captives FREE!
written by: Jacqui Pate
Jesus says in Luke 4:18
"He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of site for the blind, to release the oppressed.”
Disclaimer…this is lengthy but well worth the read!!
What an incredible weekend! We saw God move in a powerful way in the lives of 16 juvenile offenders and the hearts of the detention center workers and Epiphany team members. I really do not have the words to adequately describe what happened this weekend, but I’m giving it a try…just know…captives were set FREE! The theme of day 1: You are loved!! On Day one the boys came in and really didn’t know what to think about us or the program. Our team made a lined walkway and cheered as each boy’s name was called. They walked through the line with hard faces and lifeless eyes. I thought to myself…”this could be a long few days…” little did I know, the days would go by all too quickly… Our whole job was to love, love, love and listen, listen to these boys. Through activities and talks they were told about how much Jesus loved them and that we loved them as well. By the end of Friday they seemed a little more comfortable and were enjoying at least being able to eat some good food and have a change of routine. We were starting to learn a little more about each of the boys. I smiled as I watched the boys interact with Wade at one table and my mom at the other. Mom’s so great with kids and these boys just ate up all the attention she gave them. The boys’ respect for Wade was evident and they were very impacted as he told them what he saw in them and how he knew they could make a change. We discovered that they are an extremely talented and creative bunch – artists, writers, leaders, helpers… The theme of day 2: Forgiveness As the boys came in the second morning, there was way more enthusiasm…high fives, smiles, a few shy, side hugs… We continued loving but also began talking about forgiveness—forgiveness available for them and people they needed to forgive. Early that day they were given a small square piece of paper to write names of people they needed to forgive as the Holy Spirit prompted them throughout the day. Different members of the team had different “talks" and skits they had prepared in advance. As each person shared about their topic, they also incorporated their life stories…I was totally amazed at how God used their vulnerability to open the hearts of the boys and to show them that other people have been through extremely difficult times as well, but God was with them through it all. We had some amazing team members to work with and many of them had been involved with Epiphany for many years…working diligently. One of the major parts of day two is a birthday party celebration. Each boy is given a small birthday cake with their name on it and bag of gifts. When the boys walked into the party they could not believe their eyes. They were totally overwhelmed by the moment. Many of them started crying their eyes out. Several of them had NEVER had a birthday cake or celebration EVER! And the rest hadn’t had a birthday party since they were very little. My heart broke to see these boys who really did think that nobody cared about them and it didn’t even matter that they were alive. They just couldn’t believe these total strangers would care enough to do this…maybe they were valuable after all? After the birthday party, the boys were even more alive and really starting to believe that they could be loved and I would watch them writing names on their little squares throughout the day… We gave each boy a Bible and then had times to show them how to find scriptures and talked about the different parts of the Bible. My Star, Esgar, asked me questions like: --Why is there an Old Testament and New Testament? --What is a prophet? --How could God become a man? --How is Jesus also God? --Is John 3:16 a page number? It was such a blessing to be able to share with this young man how to use his Bible, to tell him more of how perfectly the Bible fits together and its purpose. Saturday ended with a SHABANG!
Jesus says in Luke 4:18
"He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of site for the blind, to release the oppressed.”
Disclaimer…this is lengthy but well worth the read!!
What an incredible weekend! We saw God move in a powerful way in the lives of 16 juvenile offenders and the hearts of the detention center workers and Epiphany team members. I really do not have the words to adequately describe what happened this weekend, but I’m giving it a try…just know…captives were set FREE! The theme of day 1: You are loved!! On Day one the boys came in and really didn’t know what to think about us or the program. Our team made a lined walkway and cheered as each boy’s name was called. They walked through the line with hard faces and lifeless eyes. I thought to myself…”this could be a long few days…” little did I know, the days would go by all too quickly… Our whole job was to love, love, love and listen, listen to these boys. Through activities and talks they were told about how much Jesus loved them and that we loved them as well. By the end of Friday they seemed a little more comfortable and were enjoying at least being able to eat some good food and have a change of routine. We were starting to learn a little more about each of the boys. I smiled as I watched the boys interact with Wade at one table and my mom at the other. Mom’s so great with kids and these boys just ate up all the attention she gave them. The boys’ respect for Wade was evident and they were very impacted as he told them what he saw in them and how he knew they could make a change. We discovered that they are an extremely talented and creative bunch – artists, writers, leaders, helpers… The theme of day 2: Forgiveness As the boys came in the second morning, there was way more enthusiasm…high fives, smiles, a few shy, side hugs… We continued loving but also began talking about forgiveness—forgiveness available for them and people they needed to forgive. Early that day they were given a small square piece of paper to write names of people they needed to forgive as the Holy Spirit prompted them throughout the day. Different members of the team had different “talks" and skits they had prepared in advance. As each person shared about their topic, they also incorporated their life stories…I was totally amazed at how God used their vulnerability to open the hearts of the boys and to show them that other people have been through extremely difficult times as well, but God was with them through it all. We had some amazing team members to work with and many of them had been involved with Epiphany for many years…working diligently. One of the major parts of day two is a birthday party celebration. Each boy is given a small birthday cake with their name on it and bag of gifts. When the boys walked into the party they could not believe their eyes. They were totally overwhelmed by the moment. Many of them started crying their eyes out. Several of them had NEVER had a birthday cake or celebration EVER! And the rest hadn’t had a birthday party since they were very little. My heart broke to see these boys who really did think that nobody cared about them and it didn’t even matter that they were alive. They just couldn’t believe these total strangers would care enough to do this…maybe they were valuable after all? After the birthday party, the boys were even more alive and really starting to believe that they could be loved and I would watch them writing names on their little squares throughout the day… We gave each boy a Bible and then had times to show them how to find scriptures and talked about the different parts of the Bible. My Star, Esgar, asked me questions like: --Why is there an Old Testament and New Testament? --What is a prophet? --How could God become a man? --How is Jesus also God? --Is John 3:16 a page number? It was such a blessing to be able to share with this young man how to use his Bible, to tell him more of how perfectly the Bible fits together and its purpose. Saturday ended with a SHABANG!
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