Double-Up on Acacia Park Week

Wednesday was the last meeting of our Team Player class at church, and we had an outreach planned. Pizza and water at 6pm...and hope people come. We had about a dozen pizzas, and there were about 5 people at the park.

Plan B: A few guys in our group took a couple pizzas and went walking down the street, hoping to find someone to give the food to. Once they got back, we got directions from a guy named Aaron to a camp with a few people. So, our group caravaned there (after a few u-turns of the blind leading the blind) and indeed we did find a few people...3 to be exact.

Oh well, we left the remaining 6 or 7 pizzas with a guy who called him self "Tools" and his family. Hope they like leftovers.

But it was fine; it was a bit of an adventure, and neat to get out of my Acacia Park "comfort zone" and find others that need food/help too. It was also fun getting to share the whole experience with a larger group of people and talk to them about what it's been like for me.

Then tonight, despite past evidence, I had a silly urge to doubt and think I'm gonna end up wasting time/food. I got a couple dozen 6-inch subs from Subway (November special has them at $2 each) and showed up promptly at 5:30...with not a soul in sight. *sigh*...ok, maybe I drive around to where I know some camps are and try to distribute that way. But wait...what's this? Oh, a group of 20 people walking over from the other side of the park. DUH!

So I got to meet a few new people, and even a couple small children whose mother was happy to have something to feed them. And the married couple Marshall and Kallie making plans on how to get back to their tent. Drea is frustrated from having to find a different place to sleep every night. Will is very quiet and seems sad. Anthony hurt his knee. Aaron looked happy to see me again. Etc...

Always an adventure. Always a blessing. (For them and me) I love Friday nights!

Acacia Park Update

Whoops! No update for over 2 weeks....my bad.

So I'll give the skinny on what's been happening with the homeless ministry, and then maybe do a separate update about other stuff in my life.

So two weeks ago, the most memorable thing I took away from that visit was Dave.

I had gotten some Taco Bell, and brought Famous Dave leftovers from my previous workplace. When most of the food was gone, this guy who had been staying a little ways off moved in as the crowd cleared. Right away I could tell something was "off" with him. He was up on the stage, and just came by the food and sat down. His eyes were red and not pointing in the same direction, he had food (or something else?) on his face and in his beard, he had scabs and scratches all over, and his nails were over an inch long and black with dirt.

I used to have the inclination to avoid this kind of person. But as he sat there and started to look over what food was left, I noticed how even the other homeless folks moved away and gave sideways glances to him. I don't fully understand how or why, but God moved me to compassion, and I suddenly felt very interested and drew close to him. Now I know that I had to take anything he would say with a grain of salt. He might be confused, he might lie....but my approach is always one of understanding and wanting to be an ally and friend.

He told me his name was Dave, and he said he just knew he would hurt somebody tonight. !!! "Why do you say that?" I asked him. He looked around and said "Look at these f***ers...see how they act? They think they're all hard...they don't know hard. They're just acting.....whatever...." That is a distilled version of what he actually said. He was hard to understand sometimes, paused a lot and repeated what he said, and swore a lot. Over the course of the next 20 minutes or so, I learned that he had left Nashville a couple weeks ago where his girl is. I didn't get the full history, but a couple times he said "I love that whore....I don't know why, she's a b***h....I just love her." Ok. He said his parents were killed when he was 16 and he's been on the streets for the last 10 years. At certain points while talking I could tell he was tearing up even though his eyes were already pretty red.

The hardest part was watching him pick through food scraps. I had gotten chicken and a couple different salads, and had a bunch of apples. I tried offering the food to him, even to plate it up for him, and he would just shake his head and mumble, and fish around through the bones and crumbs. As I was getting ready to leave I asked if there was anything I could do for him, and he said not unless I could take him to Dallas, Texas.

So for all of that, I don't know how much, if any, good I did. The only thing I feel might have been of value was sitting next to him for 20 minutes, locking eyes with him, and talking/listening to him. I figured that was more than he got most of the time from most people and might help him feel human again. Even though he said that nobody has loved him since his parents died, I tried to tell him several times that I know God loves him. "I hope so....I doubt it, but I hope so...." he said. I leaned in and said "Trust me, I know for a fact that God DOES love you."

The Word of the Day is: Blessed

Wow. Just...wow.
I'm blessed in a lot of ways. After day one of the new job, I wanted to post this update because I've had such tremendous support and interest on Facebook, so I hope to answer most (if not all) of your questions here.

So here's the facts...
Jaxon Engineering & Maintenance is a small company that started in August by people that have actually been doing this kind of thing for years. "What do they do?" you ask...Understandably, I'm still getting to know the company myself, but here's my basic explanation for now:

Jaxon designs/builds/maintains (but I think mostly maintains) radar installations. The kind that look into space, and monitor national defense. We already have several contracts, with locations across the country, and a couple overseas. (One of the exciting things is that it looks like I will be traveling to some of the locations.)

My title is Human Resources & Security Director. So I handle all the HR stuff, and am starting the learning curve to become the company's FSO (Facility Security Officer) - which has to do with security clearances and things like that for defense contracts.

For the locals: our building is behind the huge USAA building at Research & Voyager...so I'm available for lunch in the North Academy area. ;)

It's also very cool to be working with some really great people. There's definitely a sense of a close community here, and several of the people are actually at Vanguard too.

I definitely have that "looking forward to work in the morning" feeling.
So here's to the exciting new adventure...and I'll try to get some photos tomorrow to post.

Thanks, God, for your awesome, unpredictable timing and predictable faithfulness!

Cold Weekend!

Snow and ice hit CS this week!
(It took me at least a good 15 minutes to de-ice the Sub this morning)





Fortunately, it was relatively warm/dry Friday night when we went to Acacia Park. I was once again joined by my brother, and Tim, Bethanie, and Chad from church. I picked up 10 pizzas, and Tim and I joked about how we once again fell for the silly mind-game of "Uh-oh...we have too much food" to the 30-minutes later thought of "Uh-oh...we don't have enough food!"

Steve put out the word at work, and actually brought quite a few blankets and jackets. I wanted to make sure they could try and stay warm back at their camp, and planned to drive down and drop them off. I wasn't able to find it last night, so I went out this afternoon and found it. They have some tents and tarps set up among the trees right between Fountain Creek and the Greenway trail behind the Wal-mart by Cimarron & 8th St. (info for the locals)

I got their permission to take photos, so here's a photo tour:
From the south-side of Wal-mart there's a path that heads down to a tunnel going under the road:



This is the Greenway trail...


...only about a 5-minute walk till you see their spot through the trees:


Just a few feet away from the creek:


And I helped Matt, Lolo, and Fatboy get a nice fire going!:


After hanging out with them for a while, I mentioned that I was going to be at church tomorrow, and would see if I could get some help getting them some items they need. (tarps, rope, matches/lighters, firewood, hand-crank lamp, gloves, hats, scarves, blankets, jackets) Then came the highlight of my day/weekend: Matt again thanked me, and was really appreciative of my help, and said he'd like to go to church with me next week!

Woo-hoo! I know I need to take everything with a grain of salt, and not give up or be disappointed if he changes his mind by next week, but I see it as a step in the right direction, and I'm really excited.

I'm also excited about the "Idea" I referenced in my last post. After talking with Matt last night, he agreed to let me try to do some kind of informal documentary/interview type thing. I basically just want to have video of him telling his story (and maybe include a couple other people that are willing) to show to folks at Vanguard and hopefully get more help/involvement. I've been feeling a sense of urgency to do this soon, because Matt has stage 4 Hodgkins-Lymphoma, and might not be around much longer.

Ok, that's it for now. I'm going to enjoy some of Wendy's fabulous chicken tortilla soup, and reflect on how thankful & appreciative for hot, yummy soup, a warm home, and a warm, comfortable bed that I'm blessed with.

Unemployment is Fun!!

Wow….since my lay-off last Wednesday, I feel like I’ve been pretty darn busy and active. Guess I don’t fit the welfare stereotype of sitting at home collecting unemployment checks. Seeing the comments on Facebook alone is proof how covered in prayer we’ve been….we are so blessed to have so many friends/family thinking about and praying for us. I can honestly say that I have experienced nothing but peace and joy during this whole process. Thanks to our friends/family, and thanks, praise and worship to our Jehovah Jireh…our Provider.

I even forgot to do an update as to what happened with Acacia Park last week. As I was driving there, I was thinking about how every single visit has been different, so I had every reason to believe that it would again be a unique experience and I would encounter something unexpected.

So here’s what was different:
•Apparently, I arrived a few minutes after most of the “regulars” had cleared out
•I was disappointed at first, fearing the food would be wasted (silly Josh, you
should know better)
•I was pleased to get to spend time in conversation with Matt again (wheelchair)
•We were interrupted when cops started chasing one of Matt’s acquaintances down the
street on foot. (“Africa” apparently had swiped a laptop)

Of course, God still moved. I have faith that although I may not be seeing immediate results of “Kingdom impact” I know that we are ministering to people by providing physical needs with food/coats/scarves…and ministering to their souls by talking to them and (hopefully) making it clear that I’m interested in who they are and listening to them.

It was great to have my brother spend the evening with me side-by-side as well. And in my weekly conversations with Matt, I’m starting to get an Idea…I’ll expand on that as I flesh it out a bit.

As for the job situation…again, nothing but praises as we sit back in awe of God’s hand. I was officially laid off on Wednesday, 9/30. On Thursday, 10/01 I had an interview with Jaxon Engineering. It’s a newer company, owned/operated by the parents of friends from church (and other Vanguard people work there). Then on Monday, they call and ask if I can come in again on Tuesday to talk again for a little bit. Sure! At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, they say they will discuss it over the weekend and get back to me on Monday. Orrr….maybe less than 24 hours later they call and offer me the position!! Whaaa? How’d that happen?

Here are several key factors I see playing into this:
•The owners/CEO (as well as most employees) are believers
•I had a fantastic chat for a good 20 minutes or so with the CEO
•The position is a combination of HR/Security/Purchasing – they need someone who
has at least some experience/exposure with these (which I have), but more
importantly someone who is willing & able to be flexible (which I am)
•Timing: when I suddenly became available “conveniently” coincides with when the
company started feeling a need for someone in this capacity
•They hadn’t advertised the position; no other candidates – they just heard my name
and situation and wanted to “feel it out”
•X factor – the unknown variable that I will just attribute to God knowing & seeing
far more than any of us can.

Almost every day for weeks, I’ve been praying for wisdom and clarity in searching for a job, and especially when faced with a decision like this. I had another job possibility that I was getting ready to dive into if the Jaxon thing didn’t pan out. I was waffling a bit as to which way I should go, but then in my conversation during the 2nd interview, and when they called and made the offer, I felt like I got slammed in the face by a 2x4 made of wisdom & clarity. It was almost – dare I say it? – easy!

There is still plenty of uncharted water out there. On Monday I start my new job doing….umm, not sure exactly what. But I’m confident (and apparently so is Jaxon) that I’ll get it figured out and look forward to looking back at this a year from now and continue the marvel and praise at how God works in our lives.

My heart is so full, and I feel like I could ramble a bit more, but I’ll tie off this bleeder for now and come back. Heading out to Acacia Park again tomorrow night! (With no set expectations, of course)

Wheel...of...Fortune!!!

So, through a Craigslist ad, I was able to pick up 4 hours of work at the Double Eagle casino up in Cripple Creek. (4 hours today, 4 on Sunday - setup/tear-down) I didn't know what the event was until after agreeing to work. It's the Wheel of Fortune's traveling contestant search thing. They do a mini-version of the game show and stuff. I mostly moved boxes, unpacked stuff, help setup the heavy stuff on the stage.

I didn't get many pictures, but I'll try and get some on Sunday before tear-down.
It was beautiful today...here's a view from highway 67 looking down on Cripple Creek. (It was safe for me to take, cuz I was stopped by road construction workers)



Here's me and Cardboard Vanna:



Unpacking the categories for the game board:



And on the way back, I stopped at Jonie's Deli in Woodland Park for lunch, and had a very de-lish turkey melt.

Reap the rewards - I was given some Wheel schwag to keep.

(I had to do those last two photos as links, cuz blogger wouldn't upload anymore)

Today was a good day!

In light of my current circumstances, it may seem counter-intuitive, but I have to say that I had a really good day today. I'm writing this at 11:30pm on Wednesday, Sept. 30 - the day I got laid off from my job. I wanted to post this earlier, but so much is going on. I could probably babble ad nauseum, but will try to do this in list form to keep it succinct.

* It was the end of a hard week of long-hours and lots of stress
* I had a great time this morning with the Lord, reading through Psalms
* Someone bought lunch for me again (two days in a row)
* Several people on-site and off, in person, in email, and on the phone had a lot of nice things to say to me
* I laughed often
* Throughout the day, I had a great amount of peace and calm
* I have (had!) such great bosses, who have pledged references, help, encouragement, etc. whenever I should need it
* I got to leave at 3:30
* Someone bought me dinner
* Set-up to run sound was eerily straight-forward and worked more easily than usual
* I was able to worship
* While taking communion, I was overwhelmed with a sense of God's love for me, and I felt nothing but gratitude, peace and joy
* I got to have a great time of conversation throughout the evening with a friend
* I got to chat with (and pray for) my brother whom I have been continuing to grow closer to
* I got to see my kids run up yelling "Daddy!" with smiles
* I got more ideas and vision for how to build this homeless ministry adventure
* I rec'd an incredibly generous gift from someone at church to help by food for the homeless, and for my family
* I rec'd wedding anniversary card & gift from my parents so Wendy & I can go on an anniversary date! (Bro is watching the kids!)
* A friend offered to take our kids overnight so Wendy and I can have time for just the two of us!
* I have a couple interviews and job leads lined up over the next week or so
* I have 8 hours of work this weekend doing setup/tear-down for a special event that will bring in some cash
* I'm excited about the all-day Prayer workshop on Saturday
* I get to sleep in tomorrow!
* I have so many things to be thankful for, that I'm having a hard time remembering/thinking of them all!!!

Can you see why it's impossible for me to be anxious, depressed, etc.? I've been in such a good mood today.

Thank you Lord for loving and providing for me and my family!!
=)