Thursday, June 26, 2014

Boston- Part 2

Truth be told I didn't want to go to Boston. I was tired, physically feeling weak and honestly didn't know what I could possibly do that would help make an impact. And so, I told Bruce...."don't sign me up". Well either he has selective hearing or needs a hearing aid...because the next thing I know our missions pastor is asking me what my t-shirt size is. I wasn't happy. Bruce and I had a fairly short argument   discussion which ended in him saying I'm sorry  "You're going". ( I remember a similar discussion my parents had when I was a teenager living at home....it ended up with "Get in the car, Nancy" and us owning a cat for the next 10 years or so).

So....I packed and got on the van to ride to the airport....and on the van I read these words....

Here am I Lord, send me. - Isaiah 6:8

Conviction swelled within my heart. I knew I had some confessing to do. My attitude had been poor and my heart had not been committed to this trip. So I prayed...and as quick as the conviction the forgiveness came. 

We arrived in Boston late and it was after 1am before my head hit the pillow. We were up and at 'em early every morning for the next 8 days and worked harder than I've ever worked on a mission trip. It was just the nature of the trip..the purpose. 

In my short 8 days in Boston I learned that

1. Bostonians get a bad wrap...they are nicer than their reputation would have you believe.

2. Driving rivals NYC

3. Under extreme pressure, with no traffic, double parking spaces and a friend to help me, I can  parallel park a 15 passenger van.

4. Baptist means nothing there...even if it's a word on your church sign

5. Homosexuality and transgendered lifestyles are opening celebrated and widely accepted. 

6. The Atlantic Coastal region of Cape Ann might be my 2nd favorite place on the planet. 

7. Boston Baptist College Campus is gorgeous

8. They are training the very people who will reach this city and other NE cities for Christ.

9. These students are learning to defend and understand their faith...believe me...in a way that will be challenged in a way I can't even fathom. New Englanders aren't afraid to eat you alive.

10. God strategically place this institution in the middle of Harvard and MIT and Cambridge...in the middle of humanism and liberalism to make a difference.  I want to support this. 

....I want to support something outside the Bible Belt. I was shocked at how shocked I was at the amount of moral compromise and governmental chaos I learned of ....we are so sheltered here in Texas and sometimes it's so easy to get wrapped up in our own little worlds that we forget how the rest of the world lives. They live different. They believe different. They cope different. There is only one uniting voice...only one united way....Jesus. He's the common factor that we all need. This was made more clear to me even before I left DFW on the way to Boston when I had the opportunity to talk to a Bostonian heading home about her faith. In which she said "I just need some hope". We truly do all need the same thing...hope....hope in Jesus. I got to share with her that hope. Who knows if she's decided to follow Jesus or not....but she knows where to find hope.

Sometimes we can get so focused on ourselves...our lives...our families...our hobbies...our churches ...our work...our desires...our problems,  that we forget how badly the rest of the world needs to hear about our hope...our Jesus. This trip was a great reminder that those things are really ALL a person really needs.  

This trip was also a great reminder that the US is full of places that lack the bright Light of Jesus. Because there are fewer Christians in Boston it's important to support the efforts...just the same way we support efforts to reach the unreached in other countries. So many times we make prideful statements that the US is "Christian" or "Godly" and in a weird way regard reaching our own as a lower priority...I beg...plead and boldly say....we are not a Christian nation..we are not Godly. It was never more obvious than walking the Cape Ann boardwalk and seeing our morals in such a decline.  The harbor in Boston that welcomed so many for Biblical freedoms hundreds of years ago is much different today. Different in a very alarming way. We need to help shine the light brighter to these dark cities and I'm thankful for the short 8 days we had to walk along side, work along side and encourage and be encouraged by the staff and families of Boston Baptist College.

I'm already ready to return. 

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Boston....Part 1

Frequently featured on HGTV's House Hunter's Show is the little town of Hyde Park, situated right outside of downtown Boston. It's also the home of Boston Baptist College. It's pristine streets of century old homes are million dollar delights. It truly encompasses everything New England. 

On our recent trip to Boston, our church invested some time, money and sweat equity into the campus of Boston Bible College. Let me be clear from the get go...I've never worked harder in my life that I did those days. Here's pictures of the work we did...(and there are a lot of them...but I took over 800 so please understand that I can't help myself) and also some pictures of our site seeing. We are a group the can work hard and play hard. 

Our Central Baptist Boston Team


My dorm room for the week...
I needed a chair to climb into the bed!


Our $500 of food for the week.

Our kids after church at West Metro Baptist

Bruce O....chief tiler for the week.

Mulching Mulching and more Mulching ....4 dump trucks full

Bruce S...Mulching

Holocaust Memorial Downtown Boston

Mike and Mitchell....Chowda in a bowl

Sweet Linda...she spent a lot of time on her knees 

Savannah scrubbing walls in the empty dorm rooms

Neverending game of phase 10

Expert Pine Needle Raker

Sweeping Sweeping Sweeping


Our Dorm...we painted all the halls and the foyer

Taking old wood off picnic benches

Fenway Park and a Red Sox Win!

Trouble Makers....LOL

We made 100 Welcome Back Packs for the college students

Savannah helping Mitchell or supervising...I'm not sure!

Linda...scrubbing the floors in the cafe

Tucker...vaccuming or dancing...not sure!

Vice Pres of Student Operations and
Boston Baptist College...Randy Ward...
I know...impressive!

Mike at the Red Sox game....always smiling!

Mitchell's sister in law....supervising!

This is what it's all about....teamwork! Karlette and Tucker

More Teamwork...Sam and Thomas

Lory and Linda...with Randy...They cleaned the tool room!

Carter...mulching

Be afraid



Some of the ladies helped pick out the furnishings for the room
the guys were tiling. 

Mrs. Betty...waiting to unload the loot from shopping

Sanding....sanding... and then they gave me a belt sander and
I ended up in the next county...it had some get up and go.

Have I mentioned they mulched .. A LOT!

Bruce made a quick visit to Don South Sr. while we were in Boston.

Wednesday Night church at Ocean Springs Baptist


We celebrated our 21st anniversary ....
Tucker took our picture on the way to breakfast....wow..I look like I
need a diet coke!

Lory...Scrubbing down chairs in the cafe

Mitchell..Grouting

Heather...wiping down doors

Thomas hauling wood for the picnic tables

Heather's Hauling Too!

Finished floor in the apartment....
David Dodd, Bruce O, Mike McCoy....
Great Job!
At The Old North Church

Inside The Old North Church

Dog Tag Memorial

Paul Revere Statue with the crew

Lime Rickey at Mr Bartley's Gourmet Burger's at Harvard Square

My lunch...Bunker Hill....turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce on a bun

Savannah and I just hanging out at Harvard

Lory, Karlette, Linda, Gina and Betty

Carter, BruceO, Bruce S., Tucker, Thomas, David, Mike and Mitchell

The boys

The girls

Rockport, MA

My family

Rockport



The view leaving Boston


Savannah and me at Plymouth Rock Beach Area

Karlette at Friendly's...gooood ice cream!

Lory likes her ice cream too!

Plimouth Plantation

View from Cape Ann

Mitchell

Lori

Bruce and the Kids

Mrs. Betty

Cape Ann....love this shot

Shopping district at Cape Ann (Rockport) was beautiful

Savannah and Tucker

Bruce O with his boys

Beautiful People