New Church and the Hitchhiker

Do you see 5 wild boys in this picture?

Those munchkins of mine.

I love this picture!

Scott with Little Man and Oliver.

Elizabeth Hart Rowe

Today is Sunday, May 22, 2011, our anniversary.

When Jeff is working with a team who has flown into town, they usually work for 9 days straight. It doesn't make much sense financially or otherwise to fly everyone in on Monday, work 3 days, and fly everyone home on Fri. and start over. This time the team flew in last Monday and flies home this coming Friday. This being the case, he worked today, albeit a shorter day than usual. He didn't leave until later this am, around 9 and we first discussed church. I had earlier looked for churches before leaving our SC home and was amazed at what I discovered. First I looked at Presbyterian ones. There was one in this general area whose slogan was "Open Doors, Open Hearts, Open Minds". That sounded a little different to me but I didn't think too much about it until I started browsing their website. On it I read about the a gay men's choir (their words exactly) from San Francisco coming to sing at their church, hence the "open minds" part. Okay, try again. Last night we looked and found a non-denominational church called Clayton Valley Church just around the corner from us. It seemed fine so I branched completely out of my comfort zone and dressed, fed, and drove myself and 7 of those forementioned munchkins to church this morning. For those of you who know us well, you know that Jeff feeds, clothes, ties, laces, irons, etc... on Sunday morning any munchkin who's needy in those areas. So, this job in itself was slightly daunting for me. Then we get there and Drew says, "I wish Daddy was here with us." So do I, so do I. I don't relish taking everyone to church and sitting alone with my children either, however, they did a wonderful job and were later complimented by several on their behavior. Jackson sat by me in the middle and Sarah Kelly and Scott each took up the ends. I held baby Ellis who slept through the entire service. What a doll! I just decided that I don't know anybody here and if they want to think I'm a single mother, so be it. Well that wasn't the case. This friendly church deservedly wins the award for being the most gregarious. We met so many people and all were thrilled we had visited and hoped we'd return, offered to contact us about things to do, and more, even though we will be their temporary family. Not only that, but the Spirit of God was in that building; I felt His presence when I walked in and throughout the service. The pastor had a burning heart for the Lord and the Word, and the Word was preached. He spoke with such fervor and was one of the best preachers I have ever heard. I have found our church.

Now to the hitchhiker part. On the way there as we were leaving the house, first we forgot to close the gate. We were too far away, 50 feet or so, for the opener to work, so I had to back up (fun in a bus). The children kept saying, we saw Christian walk out the gate, he's somewhere out here. Sure enough, down the road, there was Christian walking on the sidewalk. Now, I know I have not posted about Tio and Christian yet and I will do so. Suffice it to say for now that Tio a.k.a. Jacob is the caretaker for this property. Christian, his son from Guatemala just showed up, literally, about a year ago. Tio speaks very good English and Christian speaks none.

Back to the sidewalk. Here Christian was walking and I stopped the car and asked him in bad Spanish if he needed a ride. His answer? He hopped in the car. He stood up until I told him it was okay if he sat down. Jackson gave him a high five, which happens in the yard a lot; that is Jackson's way of communicating with the language barrier, so Christian sat next to him. Speaking a blend of 2 languages, we call it "Spanglish", I discovered he was walking to a certain grocery store, over a 2 miles away, to catch the bus to the city (San Francisco) to see his brother and he does this every Sunday. He was grateful for the ride. Before I knew this though, I told him we were going to church and invited him to come along. At first he seemed he might, then he politely declined. Later, after dropping him off, I thought, now wouldn't that have been a sight. "Single" mother with 7 children visits a church where we know no one, no one knows us, and brings a 20-something year old Hispanic man along? When I relayed all this to Jeff, he said, that sounds exactly like something you would do. Yes, he's right, if Christian had said yes, I wouldn't have hesitated for a second. Maybe next week we can invite Tio and Christian.

I'll post more about Tio and Christian's story in another post this week. It will give you an interesting glimpse into this country's immigration issue.