What Keeps Me Going (Part 2)

For awhile I've been having some struggles with my call to be here. Those close to me have heard most about it and are probably sick of it by now. For reasons I don't totally understand, I've been taken over by poverty-- a poverty of faith and hope in what ASP is really capable of. Because of this I've spent a lot of time thinking not about why I was called here to begin with, but why I, amidst all the negativity, feel called to stay.

Here are a few reasons:

Though we can't do much about the 27% of adults in the county who can't read ...

... or the county's ranking for most meth-related deaths of any county in the nation (2 per month) ... 

... or that the couple pictured above have been denied custody of their grandchildren and have to drive 2 hours away once a week to play with them at a park for 1 hour ...

... or that 13.8% of adults in the county haven't finished high school and only 4.8% have obtained a college degree ...

... we can make warmer, safer and drier places for families to have a place to prioritize education, health, jobs, etc.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Need, something I was taught by my high school english teacher, has become an integral part of my understanding of society. The pyramid-shaped figure explains that some needs are required by all humans to be met, in an exact order, before the final option of transcendence and enlightenment. The first are basic needs, such as food, water, sleep, etc. The second thing is safety, which is where ASP comes in--we can create environments that make people feel safe and warm and secure. Some people say that poverty is a symptom of laziness, that people don't fix their homes because they don't want to do the work. This is entirely untrue and Maslow tells us why: people don't think to fix their homes because they're still stuck on level one, just trying to meet basic needs. They aren't lazy, they just have other priorities. So ASP does not enable people to be lazy, we enable people to move up through the hierarchy and free up some of their time and resources to be spent making their lives better. I think most volunteers understand this idea about ASP, but there's another part that most people forget which is that we provide the third level to people as well-- acceptance. The unconditional and radical love we provide to people who perhaps haven't had the chance to seek that out for themselves is an incredible gift. I feel blessed to work for an organization that allows me to be a part of so many amazing life changes and I hope that I never forget that again.

Of course, hanging out with a pile of puppies is a pretty great part of my job, too.

"Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you." Psalms 63:3

An ASP Christmas Story

This past weekend a youth group came to Guyan Valley with decorations and food for a huge Christmas party and presents for almost 50 kids and grandkids of the families we have served this fall. It was an amazing party and I felt rejuvenated getting to work with youth again--their joy and full hearts for service (for the RIGHT reasons) is refreshing and gives me hope that some things can really be changed through this organization. From previous volunteer group donations we were able to line our whole hallway with tables of clothes, shoes, toys and games for all ages so that families could go "shopping." One parent was asked to go to a secret room where all the presents were wrapped, at least 5 boxes per child and then an extra gift for the household, and some of the youth carried the gifts out to the car while the kids did crafts. There was a wonderful lunch for everyone and afterwards Christmas carols, a nativity pageant (done by the children of our families) and a visit from Santa! The whole weekend was incredible and definitely what I needed to re-center on why I feel called to be here.

On Monday night we had an office Christmas party in Johnson City, TN that was pretty fun as well. It started with a great meal, some Christmas trivia and an encouraging speech from our CEO, Walter Crouch. The folks in headquarters are very interesting outside of the office and it was great getting to know them better. We also got to spend some time with the other Lilly Fellows and we always enjoy having some time to relax together outside of work.

We're back to work in the morning, but only for a few days until I get to go home on Monday!

Merry Christmas from the Guyan Valley Staff!

Emotions and Some Good Music

"Rivers and Roads" -- by The Head and The Heart

One Sunday, Three Churches

This morning I went to church with Mary to the Presbyterian church she loves and has been begging me to try. Since there are at least 2 churches in every holler, you're hard pressed to find any congregation larger than about 12, and that's exactly the attendance of Pineville Pres on a given Sunday. I was at my home church last weekend and I have to say I'm feeling blessed to have grown up in such a large community of Christians. Mary loves the small feel and how everyone knows each other, but I had to laugh when the offering plates had made their way around the entire chapel within 45 seconds. They alternate between two lay pastors since there is not currently an ordained minister employed there but it was an endearing service and everyone seemed genuinely thrilled to have me there.

Pineville Presbyterian Church

After the church service we went down to the state park for lunch, picked up some Christmas presents at the lodge and then went hiking on a new trail. We didn't get to see the waterfalls but it was a breathtaking hike--in the literal and poetic sense since it was basically straight uphill for the first 1/2 mile. Once we were at the top, we found an incredible spot overlooking the trees. Oh, by the way, it was 70 degrees today, did I mention that? We sat in silence and enjoyed our second church of the day, made especially for us by God. After awhile we had a really great conversation about how we know God exists because trees exist...sounds crazy, I know, but what have we really done to deserve this kind of beauty in our lives? Here was our chapel:

On our way back from the park we stopped at the Rite-Aid to get some things for our Advent Calendar and ran into a woman from church this morning. She was headed to the church next door for their "Streets of Bethlehem" event. We had no idea what it was, but we followed her anxiously. We signed in and received an advent devotional, a Christmas ornament and a fake coin that we were told we would give to the tax collectors inside. Once inside the church, we realized the incredible thing we had stumbled upon--they had changed their whole church to look just like the ancient street would have looked when Mary and Joseph were arriving. There were carpenters, bakers (we got gingerbread!) rug and tent makers, spice and herb sellers, even beggars asking for our coins. All the vendors signs were written in Hebrew and the people wore the simple robes of the time. There was also a little boy running around asking if anyone had seen his lamb. It was so magical. We then got ushered into a room where a Rabbi was talking about God and expressing his confusion about the Messiah he had heard of, then he read Psalm 121 all in Hebrew. Next we were asked to go downstairs where a real live sheep, goat, and donkey were waiting next to an empty stable. The play began and we watched a beautifully performed Nativity scene. At one point the sheep and goat actually curled up next to each other and just stared at Mary and baby Jesus. Then the narrator explained that the most joyful part about the beginning of this story is actually the ending when Jesus saves humanity. All in all, it was a really inspiring event that must have taken so much work and dedication. I just love how open people are about their faith around here and how in one day we had found three radically different ways to worship.

Part of the nativity play

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..." James 4:8