Hear me...please.

I showed my friend Sarah "Koren's Story" today (which is in the videos space of this blog) because she had a unique moment this morning. She said that she was seeking God's guidance out the night before.She explained to me that the Lord speaks to her through verses so she seeks out the wisdom of the word when in doubt (something we should all probably do more often).

After last night, she woke up the morning with the verse John 2:12  which says "after this he went down to CAPERNAUM with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days." Along with the verse she had the words "ask and seek direction." Once she opened up her bible to "seek direction" she saw the verse and the word Capernaum. She told me about this story and I decided to show her "Koren's Story" just to give her a perspective for what Capernaum is about.

After watching the video with her I immediately thought of a kid who I met two years ago that was a lot like Koren. He was unable to speak but motioned and made moans and grunts. One night at camp after club a few leaders and I went to get him to take him back to the cabin for cabin time (reflection and discussion time). When we tried to pick him up he began to grunt and moan loudly. We had to leave so we did our best to be courteous and polite but he did not seem to be in agreement with something about what we were doing. Tears poured down his face as I sat there patiently trying to understand what he desired and needed from me.

The only thing that kept me from tears was my exhaustion from the activities during the day. Sitting there I felt lost and confused, but I can only imagine how lost and confused he may have felt. Having so much to say but being unable to speak and have his voice heard.

I am so overjoyed to be part of a ministry that seeks to listen to those who are unable to speak and to walk alongside those who can not walk. There is so much suffering in all of our lives. I can't imagine a life in which I was unable to make my frustrations and hurt known to the world. To tell someone that I love them...to say thank you. We live in a world that won't stop and listen...even to the smallest and most mute of cries.

Leviticus 13:45 says "The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!'" Its funny how society changes so much but also stays so similar. Do you listen to the cries of the "diseased"? Do you hear their cries of 'Unclean'? We affirm the feelings of the "unclean" constantly as we ignore them. We tell them with our actions that we believe they have nothing to say. God listens to ALL of us, especially the afflicted (Psalm 72:12). Lets join in and open the ears of our heart.

Dropping everything to pray/Prayer request.

Andrea and I were planning to meet with two people today today to talk about Capernaum for coffee. One person had to cancel and the other lady ended up having to cancel right after we were scheduled to meet. Andrea used my phone to call a woman named Margarita who was supposed to meet us.

Margarita, from what Andrea explained to me, is bound to a wheelchair. She told Angela, and had also e-mailed us, that she had an emergency to attend to. Her friend's (and a woman she ministers to) 16 year old son, Christopher, was stabbed 14 times. She said that she left to pray with her and give her council.

As I may have been frustrated that Margarita didn't show up to our planned meeting, I found that I was not frustrated but amazed in the midst of my sadness. Margarita is not, by our standards, very easily mobile. But, as soon as her friend was in need, she dropped everything (even her meeting with Andrea and I) to go pray with her. Margarita clearly knows how important prayer is and, like most of us, hasn't forgotten.

I wish that when I experienced a traumatic experience or a friend of mine did, that the first thing I think to do is drop everything I am doing and seek the Lord out and my friend in prayer and counsel. Sometimes, especially when we are stressed or worried, we forget to pray. Whether we don't truly believe the power of prayer or simply don't prioritize it enough, I think most of us don't pray when we ought.

Please take a moment now to pray for Christopher and his mother. I hope that even when your life seems too hectic to stop and pray that you realize then it it is most important and beneficial thing for you. That last push where we feel like we need to concentrate and keep a steady path and we will succeed is almost always when we fail. Whether we fail or succeed though, we should invite God into that time.

Psalm 66:19-20
but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me!

What it means to walk alongside.

I was thinking about where I am at and how I got here the other day. In explaining the ministry to as many people as possible I have tried hard not to make my "pitch" too monotone and rehearsed but to really speak from the heart. It gets difficult to be original when you say the same things over and over all the time. I didn't like this routine feeling so I thought about what I would say if someone just said "5 minutes...go."

When I was at camp with capernaum kids this summer, me and my buddy Sean got sick on day 3. We woke up around 3am and began to vomit till about breakfast. We ended up spending most of the day in the infirmary at camp and didn't do much. We napped in the bunks there and I made sure Sean was comfortable, as well as myself, so that we could be healthy to enjoy the rest of camp. The next morning we were both feeling much better but still not up to par. At the pool I asked another kid, John, if he wanted to go on the water slide. He excitedly agreed so I unstrapped him from his wheelchair and proceeded to carry him up the stairs to the slide about 3 times before I had to stop because of my lingering feelings of sickness. As I rested in the spa with him he was leaning against my shoulder. As I pondered about the day I saw two teenagers with autism that were a couple. The girl lovingly rubbed a boys back and he reached out to hold her hand.

After all the doubt that crowded my mind in sickness I realized something I saw to be profound in my life...this is it. This is what it means to walk alongside kids. Everything from sickness, happiness, need, joy and relationships. I was being able to live out what it meant to invest in people. I wasn't just volunteering with a special needs ministry. I was getting sick with Sean and riding slides with John. I wasn't just being present, I was being involved. Everything I did affected them and everything they did affected me.

Disconnect only comes when we deny others...when we deny God. We are created to be connected and our feelings of alienation are lies. We are loved by a God who chooses to walk alongside us in EVERTHING. How much more does he hurt with me in my sickness and share in my joy?