The Old Home Is Gone but Not the Memories

Gardenia blossoms: Forever the smell of the old homestead

I looked in the dark as I drove by, but I couldn't tell anything.  My grandparents' old home, long empty, had been torn down.  The darkness allowed a few more hours of memories of the way the old house looked during my childhood.  The next day, however, I saw the reality: only a few remnants of the first house on the left of Ainsworth Road in Star, Mississippi.

A few months ago, I wrote about a black rubber "WELCOME" mat that belonged to my grandparents. It continues to serve as a reminder of my grandparents who lived just two houses away during my childhood.  A childhood flush with good memories.  Daily visits with my grandparents.  The ritual flipping of the welcome mat.  Pop's place on the front porch.  Granny's place.  Dogwood blossoms gathered because they were Granny's favorite.  The smell of gardenia blossoms.  Cokes drunk from our special cups.  (Those cups were still in the cabinets a couple of years ago when I last walked through the old house; they seemed so tiny.  Amazing how far a 32-ounce Coke used to go.)  I could write a whole post on the Cokes alone; perhaps I will one day.

Dad told me this weekend that it had been 25 years ago that my grandfather passed away.  I can still remember Pop's playing catch with me with that old-timey puffy, flat baseball glove.  Oh, do I wish I had that glove.  I remember his driving lessons in his baby blue Mercury Capri.  Actually, I won't forget because I ran over the hedges in front of the volunteer fire department, and my sisters and brother remind me of it every so often.  The old house may be gone, but the memories linger.

The older I get, the more I realize that my treasured childhood memories are far from the norm.  I hear so many stories of childhood abuse and neglect, and it breaks my heart, especially since people tend to repeat as adults whatever their childhood looked like.  As a pastor I get the privilege of watching the Lord bind up the brokenhearted, redeeming scars of childhood wounds and making people new.  Spiritually, I am -- in the words of Psalm 70:5 -- "poor and needy" like everyone else apart from Christ, but I am aware that the baggage I carry from my past is light. For many, perhaps even most, their baggage is not light.  It is certainly not light for the world's 140 million-plus orphans.

I will be in Haiti in a little over a week, serving kids whose childhoods do not mirror mine at all.  A win for our team will be if years from now, those kids look back at the week they spent with us and say, "Remember that time that team from Mississippi came?  Remember how we drew on every square inch of concrete with the chalk they brought us?  Remember how they colored with us and jumped rope with us and played ball with us?  Remember how they taught us to play corn hole and left the game with us?  Remember how they let us see every single photo on their phones even though we had seen them a dozen times already?  Remember how they couldn't say anything in Haitian Creole, but that didn't stop them from trying?  Remember that crazy guy shouting, "Viva, de Crayola!" when we were coloring?  Remember how much they loved Jesus?

Even a year from now, those memories will come from a new house.  They will realize -- as I have -- that memories may be associated with houses, but they don't contain them.

Yeah, I remember...

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

4theVoiceless Photos: Top 12 in 12 (1-4)

4theVoiceless Photos: Top 12 in 12

Today: #1-4

Last week, we began a look back at the ministry of 4theVoiceless in 2012 through a series of my favorite photos of the year.  Today, we look at four of my favorites from 2012.

#9-12

#5-8

Click on the photos to read (or re-read) the stories.

# 4

Kards 4 Kids

Approximately 400 hand-made Christmas cards went out from CHC to kids in orphanages in Columbia, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Jamaica, South Korea through the Kards 4 Kids effort of Orphanos Foundation.  Another 30 or so went to kids in Haiti and Star, Mississippi.

# 3

Flavors of Forever Families: A Collection of Recipes and Redemption Stories

In December of 2012, 4theVoiceless published the Flavors of Forever Families cookbook to help raise money for our adoption fund, a fund that will assist financially as families pursue adoption.  The book contains eight unique stories of adoption (along with close to 200 great recipes!).  Reviews on the book have been great, and we still have plenty; click on the link above or the graphic below to get your own copy!

Adoption Stories:

"Temporarily Todd"
"Growing Paynes"
"It All Happened So Fast"
"Found! God's Perfect Timing"
"Give Me Faith"
"The China Connection"

# 2

Lynleigh

Tony Pillstrom and I had just returned from the Together 4 Adoption conference in Atlanta in time for the CHC Hernando preview service.  We had spent the better part of two days learning to lead an adoption ministry in our church, and I captured this shot of Tony back home living it out.  Though not of the best quality (phone camera), this photo is my favorite of 2012.

# 1

Orphan Sunday 2012 -- Washing the Feet of Orphans in Haiti

My very favorite photo of 2012 is, in fact, one that wasn't taken.  The moment just seemed too holy to snap a photo or take a video.  I assure you that the scene is captured forever in my mind.  Read the story behind the towels and then click the photo to re-live my favorite moment from 2012.

2012 -- what a year.  And to think that it all began with a suggestion, a free book, a "chance" meeting, and a "Taco Bell Moment."  I go back to those moments often to realize just how big a work God has done through this ministry this year.  We have much to be thankful for as we reflect on how God has so richly supplied what He called us to do in the first place.

Thanks to everyone who has made James 1:27 ministry happen at Colonial Hills Church and beyond.  I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!

Thanks for reading, both today and all the other times you have visited the 4theVoiceless blog.  I am honored by your interest in what we have to say.

"Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed." Proverbs 31:8 (HCSB)

4theVoiceless,
Al

4theVoiceless Photos: Top 12 in 12 (#5-8)

4theVoiceless Photos: Top 12 in 12

Today: #5-8

Yesterday, we began a look back at the ministry of 4theVoiceless in 2012 through a series of my favorite photos of the year.  There are many more photos and memories that could have been a part of this series.  2012 was a great year for this, the first year of 4theVoiceless.

#9-12

Click on the photos to read (or re-read) the stories.

# 8

Progress on the House of Abraham

Jacob Walley and I joined with a team mostly from Charleston, Illinois, and a few from Florida in late October, early November, to help with the actual construction of the first House of Abraham building on their permanent site.  Between our crew and the Haitian workers working there that week, we made significant progress.  Work has continued on and off as funding has allowed.  This is the most recent photo I have of the work that has been done to date.  There is much left to do!

Relive our trip:
Days 1 & 2
Day 3
Day 4
Days 5 & 6
Day 7 (Wait until Photo #1 to re-read this one!)
Day 8

# 7

Russia Mission team, May

In May, a group of six young adults from CHC joined others from Texas on a trip to Russia to invest in Russian college students as they minister to orphans there.  In preparation for their trip, the group from CHC led worship and shared about their trip in many of our small groups.  Our small groups also invested prayer and dollars into this group as they prepared for their trip.

# 6

Baby Dedication for Annie Faith Basinger

Joel and Lisa Basinger helped start the ministry of 4theVoiceless, but they moved to Texas this year.  While there, they completed their adoption of Annie Faith.  During a visit to DeSoto County, they dedicated her to the Lord before a gathering of their former small group members and other friends.  Annie's adoption is significant because -- while there have been others before her who were adopted into families in our church and there are other families in the process now -- hers was the first adoption to be finalized after the beginning of 4theVoiceless.

# 5

You Can Go Home Again -- Homecoming at Wesleyanna UMC, Star, MS

I had the opportunity in July to return to Star, Mississippi, to my home church and preach a message at Homecoming Day on God's call to the church to minister to the voiceless (widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor).  They were very encouraging to me personally and to the ministry of 4theVoiceless.  The people at Wesleyanna have bought bracelets, fed us a meal during our trip to the Baptist Children's Village home later this past summer, and provided recipes for our adoption cookbook.  Thanks again to my hometown for your support of 4theVoiceless!

Next Monday: Photos #1-4 from the ministry of 4theVoiceless in 2012.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

4theVoiceless Photos: Top 12 in 12 (#9-12)

For a ministry that didn't even exist prior to this year, 2012 was quite the whirlwind year for the 4theVoiceless ministry.  While we may not have even put a dent in the world's orphan crisis, we certainly did more than nothing.  As ministry opportunities opened up to us throughout the year, God's provision did, as well, through great relationships and training opportunities.

Among the year's highlights:

We had several families enter into the adoption process, including one adoption that was completed in 2012.  At least three families completed PATH training and are now qualified to take in children to their homes through the foster care system.

We were a part of mission trips to the Baptist Children's Village in Mississippi, to a deaf school in Jamaica, to orphanages in Russia, and to the House of Abraham in Jacmel, Haiti.

We made paper bead jewelry and paracord bracelets and produced a cookbook to fund the 4theVoiceless ministry.  We had many opportunities to speak to people and make them aware of the needs of the fatherless both close to home and far away.

For the next few days on the blog as we close out the year, I want to share some of my favorite photos and review the stories behind them.  These photos capture some of the highlights of 2012.

Click on the photos to read (or re-read) the stories.

# 12

August Trip to Baptist Children's Village in Star, MS

A guys-only trip that was as much fun for the ones who went as it was for the kids that we served.  Nothing like a slip-n-slide on a hot summer day!

 

# 11

Bracelet Sales throughout the year to raise funds for 4theVoiceless

Crafts fairs, farmer's markets, Christmas fairs -- we served at them all!  Great conversations about orphan care and funds raised for adoption and orphan care at them all.

# 10

Hope for Haiti

The original "Hope for Haiti" post was by far the most popular blog post of the year.  These bracelets began a movement that so far has raised over $10,000 toward building a new House of Abraham home for children in Jacmel, Haiti.  Though there is still much left to do to make the new home a reality, the Hope for Haiti movement has generated interest and awareness in a great way this year.

# 9

CHC Mission Team to Haiti in March

Kim Bennett felt like she had to lead a team of ladies to care for orphans.  This became a reality when 10 ladies, along with Jim May, our missions pastor, went to Haiti in March.  This trip generated an incredible amount of interest in serving there and assisting Fenel & Mimi Bruna and the staff who serve at the House of Abraham.  This trip took place before we began blogging, but you can read how the trip affected my friend Stephanie by clicking on the photo.  She blogged in detail about their trip on her blog, Welcome to Walley World.

Check back tomorrow for photos #5-8 of the 4theVoiceless year in photos top 12 on '12.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Orphan Care Made Easy: A Pictorial Guide

Now, we all know that the title to this post is misleading at best.  Orphan care can be very demanding.  Caring for foster children pulled from tragic situations can reveal more baggage than we feel we are equipped to handle.  Adopting children from other cultures takes much time, many tears, and exhausting patience.  But getting involved in caring for kids doesn’t have to be so complicated.

This past weekend a small team of men and boys from 4theVoiceless visited the Baptist Children’s Village home in Star, Mississippi.  Our team was comprised of three adults, two teenagers, and four boys ages 10 and under.The following is a pictorial guide to getting involved with connecting with kids in crisis.  (No photos were taken of the children at the home for privacy and legal reasons.  Just imagine other kids, mostly below the age of six, sprinkled throughout these photos.)

How to get involved:

Go to them.

 

Ride bikes with them.

Pull their wagon.

Set up a slip 'n slide.

Slide down said slip 'n slide with them.

Avoid crashes on aforementioned slip 'n slide.

Cook them lunch.

Our team did a great job engaging the kids at the children's home.  One of my two favorite highlights was seeing our teenage young men find the little boy least likely to engage with everyone else and staying with him all day and getting him involved.  My other favorite is seeing the four house parents -- who are constantly cooking, cleaning, parenting, etc. -- sitting on the front porch in their rocking chairs doing absolutely nothing but enjoying watching the kids play.

Five of our team were on their first mission trip of any kind. They did very well, and I would take them back in a heartbeat. For at least a day, our focus was entirely on others.  We should all move toward more of that.

Thanks for reading.  Now you find a way to move in kindness toward children whose homes are not God's original design for the family.  Chances are pretty good that you will be blessed more than they will be.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Friday Little Bits: Turbo Week

I have learned that in the early stages of a ministry like 4theVoiceless, much time is spent dreaming and planning.  Actual movement toward those dreams can be slow.  Not this week.  Someone must have hit the turbo button this week.  Here’s a quick update:

1.  As you have probably seen on our Facebook page, some big contributions gave a jump start to our Hope for Haiti campaign.  Between gifts to 4theVoiceless and IsleGo, over $7,000 was given toward the approximately $35,000 needed for the new House of Abraham.  Bracelet packets were sent out to six different ministry partners across the country.  We don’t know how, but we fully expect God to come through on behalf of these future leaders of Haiti.  It doesn’t stop us from being overwhelmed with joy as He does it, though!

2.  I had a chance to speak to a 6th grade English class this week about Hope for Haiti.  They had read a book about a kid getting a vision to build a deepwater well in Uganda and others coming alongside him to do it.  I had the opportunity to tell them about something like that going on real time, about Fenel Bruna’s vision to build leaders of integrity in Haiti, and about our efforts to help him to do it for the glory of God.  Imagine the teacher’s excitement when I came back for the afternoon class and reported a $7,000 increase in Hope for Haiti over the previous three hours!  The number one question that the students had:  How can I get involved?

3.  Recipes have begun to come in for the 4theVoiceless cookbook.  Sales of that cookbook will go toward our adoption fund, the major financial commitment of an orphan care ministry.  The cookbook will also raise awareness for the need for adoption through moving stories of adoption. We still need many, many more recipes, so click here to give us your best.

4.  A group of nine of us leave this afternoon for a weekend trip to the Baptist Children’s Village home in Star, Mississippi.  It is an all-guys (3 adults, 2 teenagers, 4 little guys) trip that’s sure to be entertaining; we look forward to having a great time serving the kids and those who care for them.  Please take a moment as you are reading this to pray for us.

Progress.  When you can feel God’s kingdom moving forward, it has been a good week. 

Thanks for reading.
Al

Dinner on the Ground

I love being from Star, Mississippi, though I will probably never live there again (not saying never, just probably never).  It's a small, unincorporated dot on the map, right next to Highway 49 less than 20 miles south of Jackson.  I've been asked many times over the years if Star is one of those one-traffic-light towns.  (To which I would replay, "No, but we're hoping..."  And there is now a traffic light!)

Star was a happening little town back in the railroad days, but now it's claim to fame is as the home of country music singer Faith Hill.  ("Well, it's a long way from Star, Mississippi..."  Yeah, that's the place.)  

When my nine-year-old son Drew and I were there a couple of weekends ago, he got to experience small town church:

• members coming out on Saturday for church work day
• a visit to the parsonage (had to explain what a parsonage is)
• the church service itself with its open sharing of announcements & prayer requests (which would be chaos in our church!)
• maybe best of all -- dinner on the ground.  Dinner on the ground was quite the misnomer on this day, since lunch was served and eaten inside in the fellowship hall.  However, with temperatures soaring to 100 degrees that day (with the usual central Mississippi humidity), we weren't going to split hairs.

Star is a place where things don’t change much, the new Dollar General (aka the Star Wal-Mart) and the now-annual Christmas parade in December and the Rabbit Run 5K in April notwithstanding.   I've come to value that in many ways.  Don’t get me wrong – I like change and variety in life.  But it’s nice to have my roots in a slow-to-change place that I can call my hometown.  I’ve come to realize something, though.  I don’t think it’s the town that has served as my foundation as much as my family who lived there.

My parents moved into the house where they now live when they brought me home from the hospital over 46 years ago, a little less than a year into their marriage.  Two sisters, a brother, several additions to the house, quite a few “outbuildings” (none of them outHOUSES for you smart alecks not privileged to be from Mississippi) later, it’s still home.  My family reflects my childhood family in many ways.  Growing up, we always had pets; I’ve always had pets.  My childhood family attended each other’s activities; my family tries to do that, as well.  My mom always read to us when we were little, giving us what has been for all of us a lifelong pursuit of learning; my wife and I read to our children when they were little (and still read to Drew).  We learned Bible stories in our childhood home and have taught our children the Word of God.

But do you know what I remember most and believe was more formative to all of us Ainsworth children than we ever could have imagined at the time?  Every day, my dad’s truck would pull into the driveway, and four kids would meet him when he opened the door asking, “Daddy, will you ___________ with me?”  For my brother and me, we filled in the blank with playing whatever sport was in season.  For my sisters, it was often, “Daddy, will you jump on the trampoline with me?”  (I would be remiss if I didn’t say that that meant equal time with each sister, time that was closely monitored.)  He would typically respond with, “Let me have a cup of coffee with your mama first.”  At the time that meant, “Wait.”  We didn’t realize at the time that it really meant that he was prioritizing his relationship with Mom ahead of his relationship with us, as it should have been.

If you’re waiting for the hook that ties Star, Mississippi, and the family I grew up in to orphan care, here it is: Psalm 68:6a -- “God sets the lonely in families…”  Many of the principles I live by didn’t come from conferences I’ve attended or sermons I’ve listened to or books I’ve read; they came from living in a family.  I appreciate that more than I ever have in my life, but I also have an increased awareness that it’s not enough to simply acknowledge the blessing of my family and not enough to simply perpetuate that investment into my family.  I must do what I can for those who weren’t born into the blessing of a loving family to experience the love and grace of a heavenly Father, who has a special place in His heart for the fatherless.  God's Word commands it.

I long for the fatherless to know what it means to have Bible reading time as a family, to go to church as a family, to do fun activities together as a family, to cheer for one another and console one another.  And every child should – at least once in his or her life – experience dinner on the ground.

What values did you learn from your family that children without families could benefit from?  Those children need those values, too.  How will you get involved?

Thanks for reading.
Al