Learning

“You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.” 
― Dr. Seuss

We are one month into the great adventure of teaching 18 third AND fourth graders at Eglin Elementary School located on the base. It has been intense. I have put a lot into getting a handle on all the myriad of little things I need to know and DO in order to not just teach but motivate my kids to learn. There are days - like today - where I get up early and work late in order to make darn sure that I am as prepared as anyone teaching tomorrow. There are some things that would make my work easier - a projector, document camera, and a Mimio would change my instruction and make it far more engaging. But here I am.

On days like today I leave school and go directly to church to help with the supper. We are now sending out 70+ meals every Wednesday evening all over Valparaiso. When Pam Roberts came to me with the idea I was concerned that we wouldn't be able to do 30. And yet here we are. Not only that, but we are feeding five families for Thanksgiving and helping with their Christmas. Once supper is loaded and gone, then I go help with music. That used to mean playing guitar but now it's serving as another pair of ears to get the sound right and occasionally filling in for the media guru, Michael Weech. Once that is over I head over to lead prayer meeting and teach.

So yeah, Wednesday is a long day - and it gets extended now so I can get ready for school tomorrow.

It's a balancing act and once I get established in the teaching side of things, I hope to be able to spend more time on the pastoral side again. I've rediscovered the tricks I used to use when I was just starting out as a pastor to get the preparation done when time is available, whether it's planned or not.And I'm praying. praying for me to learn and grow deeper as a Christian and more able as a teacher. I'm praying - for every child every day and for their families, just as I pray for the members of the congregation.

Hardest thing I have ever done. I remember times when I was growing up that my Mother would have me doing something I felt was too much work. She'd tell me that she knew it was a lot of work, but it would make me a better person and she was doing it because she loved me.

God must love me a whole lot. :)

His name was Robin

From It's Like Herding Cats - A pastor's life

And there's not a whole lot else that I know about him. Thing is, I won't have another opportunity - Robin died last week.

One of our New Hope hearts, Pam Roberts in this case, came to us with an idea a couple months back. There was a program called "Supper on Saturdays" that the local UMC hosted and that several local churches participated in. A thousand meals every Saturday were being delivered by ordinary people following an extraordinary God. She checked it out and then asked for the opportunity to tell New Hope about it. And so it began.

During the last few weeks we've had people step up to help us participate as well as help us resource our Wednesday night ministry which delivers meals to some of the same people plus a few more. We've seen some of the people we reached out to come to our movie night, and had an opportunity to help one couple. When their bike tires were slashed, Joe Stoy went and fixed them so they would continue to have a means of transportation. So some are going, some are helping, and many are praying for this ministry.

Robin stepped out on the stoop on one of our Saturday deliveries. He was at a house that we had delivered to before and we thought was the home of a family with kids. So just seeing him there was strange, but his appearance was a shock. Tall and gaunt, his skin was the color of dried mustard - and it shocked us all. Pam is an RN and she immediately started asking him about getting looked at by a doctor, and specifically at the free clinic just a few blocks away. He looked awful and wasn't very clear in his responses about where the family was. We gathered and asked if we could pray for him. We finished our prayer, left a meal with him, but went down the road concerned about this man we just met.

On the Wednesday following, Pam again urged him to get medical help and provided the days and hours that the clinic was open.

The next Saturday, he died.

We don't know anything about him really. His relationship with God, now forever fixed, we will have to learn later.

We don't even know whether we were the last people to reach out to him with the love of Jesus or whether if we had known him longer we might have been able to persuade him to get help.

But we do know this - on a Saturday afternoon, we prayed for God to touch a dying man with His love and mercy.

And had we not been there that day, we'd missed another reminder of how much every single human being needs to know that there is a God Who cares for them. Before it's too late.

A Thrill and An Honor

Had a great time Saturday afternoon welcoming J.C. Roberts home from Iraq. We had several New Hope folks who went out with us to provide a welcome home backdrop behind Pam's exited rush to welcome her loving husband home. It took a minute but he actually did notice us. :)

After over ten years it never gets old to Bunny and me. The opportunity God gave us to work with and serve such special people like JC and Pam is the gift that keeps on giving. Having a small part in supporting our nation's military and their families is an incredible blessing. I still look up when the planes go over and run outside to look if there's one that sounds different - hoping that it will be one of the new F-35s or even one from another nation. It happens - we had Toronado's here once, an Israeli Kafir, even a Mig 29. From my office I can here as the base plays the Star Spangled Banner at the end of the day over the loudspeakers. When you go out to eat, you are frequently surrounded by people in uniform. Just a great place.

While J.C. was gone, all of us at New Hope tried to constantly hold him close to the Lord in prayer, and also tried to be available for whatever Pam and Jamie might need. When someone is putting his life on the line for you everyday, it's the least you can do to pray for him. Every time we met as a group, we prayed. I even put wallpaper on my laptop of a Combat Talon C130 (as well as an MC-22 Osprey for Scott Marston,who's in Afghanistan) as a reminder to pray. His handshake on his arrival was all the reward I needed. He was home!

Today he came in and presented me with this case containing a flag and a certificate attesting to the fact that the flag had been carried aloft on a Combat Talon 1 mission over Iraq and was presented to "Pastor David Wilson." Tears welled up. For him to think of me as deserving of something like that was an unbelievable honor. It is the coolest gift I have ever received and one that I will treasure forever. If the house catches on fire, it and the Bible my Mother carried in WW2 are leaving with me.

If you have never lived in a military community, you have really missed out. It's filled with people as brave and as generous as JC and Pam. Bunny and I are so blessed. Thank you J.C. and Pam.