TATTOO on the HEART

Up close and {hope}fully personal…

// March 26th, 2009 // OUT LOUD THOUGHTS

I got a call a few weeks back from a youth pastor in Sacramento who booked me for their Mexico missions trip some months ago.   Only if you weren’t prepared for the switch to digital on your TV could you possibly not hear about what’s going on down there and the incredible danger that has become part of everyday life.  I was prepared to make the trip down there, but when Brandon called me I knew things had apparently crossed the line and it was causing them to make adjustments. 

The host people in Mexico said that it had become too dangerous down there and that even locals weren’t getting out unless they absolutely had to.

So Brandon called me with the change of plans – major cuts on the trip and an entire change of plans including relocation.  And relocating to Fresno for a completly different kind of ministry in an urban area.

I could tell he was disappointed and with this being his first missions trip since becoming the new youth pastor, you just want everything to go smoothly.  Sometimes when you’re a youth guy, even the drug cartel in Mexico causing a murderous uprising and forcing you to change all your plans can still look like your fault (I wish I could say that was a joke).

We talked for a while on the phone and at the end of the conversation I just prayed for him.  And I sensed the assurance from God that this change of plans – as incovenient and expensive as it was – was exactly what God was doing and we had to be okay with that.

So…Fresno…

I’ve never been there and it’s quite a challenge to get there.   I could drive for 5+ hours or I could fly for 5+ hours because there’s nothing direct out of San Diego.  I opted for flying which puts me on a really small prop plane called a Brasilia – Have a look >>  Unfortunately, it didn’t make my airfare any cheaper

So…Fresno…

And I’ve prayed a very simple prayer over the past few weeks: “God, show me what You’re doing.  How are you wanting these kids to encounter You?  What plans do You have that required Fresno?  What are you saying?”

It’s a growing trend in cities in the United States – tent cities.  It’s the face of this country that’s suffering from the results of its own brokenness. 

We had some tent cities in New Orleans right after Katrina.  I remember delivering red beans and rice and jambalaya to them on several locations.   But that was because of a natural disaster, and it’d only be temporary.

One person referred to them as “triage.”  How scary, disgusting, but appropriate. 

I’ve definitely made my fair share of remarks about the response – or lack of response – from the Church during this time.  I’m thrilled to go to the forefront of where this is happening to real people – maybe not the forefront of media coverage – but the forefront of where people find the reality of our own brokenness painted on plastic and nylon canvases.

So here we come, Fresno.  Jesus show us what You’d be doing, who You’d be healing, where You’d be going.

Check these out:

A tremendous blog by Chuck Warnock about this story >> New York Times Article on Fresno “Shantys” >>