The daughter of a church member texted, late one Friday night, to say that her dad’s physical health was fading fast. He had been placed on hospice, and she was concerned about how much more time he had. She told me that she had become his round-the-clock nurse/caregiver, and she was grateful to be able to do that. Earlier in the week I had offered to drive to her house (about 60 miles) to visit them. She indicated that she now wanted to take me up on my offer.
In the middle of the chaotic summer of 2020, I find myself one early Saturday morning at the recently opened pool that we use in the summer. Perhaps due to my vocation (youth ministry), I really enjoy and learn from observing and listening to young people.
Opportunities abound for interfaith engagement, a pastor with the Des Moines Area Religious Council recently told a virtual classroom full of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies’ Synod School students. All one must do is “step outside of what is normal for you and move into someone else’s reality.”
Mid-curve of the COVID-19 crisis, I received a call from a man who, in a distinctive and educated voice, asked about our dinner program. “Is it a hot meal?” Yes. “Can I take it out?” He hurried on, “I would feel very uncomfortable sitting down to eat next to people I don’t know.” He was almost rambling now. “I’ve never had to go to a soup kitchen before. I lost my job at the beginning of the coronavirus and I’ve run out…”
It’s almost time to go back to school, to campus, to a new normal. What can leaders of youth and collegiate ministries do to prepare for success in the midst of COVID-19?
Last summer, the Rev. Dr. José Irizarry took a mission trip to Puerto Rico with 10 teenagers from his church. They knew he’d been a university professor and administrator, and on a break from repairing houses, they circled him, wanting how-tos on college life. Irizarry describes the trip as “part work, part worship and part listening.”
Listen. That was the first and best advice I received about being with the people of Haiti.
Now, as a mission co-worker hosting groups visiting Haiti, some for the first time, I try to explain the importance of listening. And when I do, I often remember the lessons I learned when I listened on my very first trip.
Listen. That was the first and best advice I received about being with the people of Haiti. Now, as a mission co-worker hosting groups visiting Haiti, some for the first time, I try to explain the importance of listening. And when I do, I often remember the lessons I learned when I listened on my very first trip.
