Our last day

It amazes me how many of you are looking in to see what we are doing here in Jonesville. 89 yesterday. 85 the day before. 65 the day before that. Your comments and prayers are a daily encouragement. Every morning now, people here ask how many of their church family looked in yesterday? Who left comments? Who sent e-mails?

Last night we went to the revival in Darbyville. It was very different from how we do church, with a far more Pentecostal feel to it than we are accustomed to. The praying and preaching was more intense, and there are many more people sharing their own personal testimony, sharing their trials and triumphs with each other, publicly. In fact, the service ended with all of us holding hands in a big circle that encompassed the whole sanctuary, while a half dozen or so church members shared something intensely personal. Some of the music was different too, but much of it you would recognize. The hymn we began with would be familiar to all of us at Troutville Baptist, as would the rousing version of “I’ll Fly Away” by a group of very young girls. No, I don’t think they know it is Carol’s favorite hymn, but as soon as they started, nearly all our people began smiling and singing softly along. We also recognized several of the songs that the older youth there sang – music you’ve heard the praise team sing.

The kids here love to sing, and it shows. At all ages, it seems, there is a love for old time gospel hymns, as well as some of the newer praise music. The pastor her not only pastors and preaches – he plays the guitar and has clearly worked with the kids. There is a clear affection of the kids for him.

The kids here seem to be almost starved for affection. Certainly our people feel as loved by the kids here as we do when we do bible school at our own church with our own kids. When we came into the sanctuary, several of the kids went up to their teachers, and hugged them and in a couple of cases, opted to sit with their teacher instead of a parent.

This afternoon (Thursday) the kids left VBS slowly. There was excitement at the new book bags full of school supplies we filled, and the bags of gifts we made up for each of the kids. But there was also a hint of sadness. These children found their way into our hearts all week, and some of them bonded with our teachers. David O’Dell said to me after lunch – “You know, we were probably only here for eight or ten hours total, and in that time those kids get so deep into your heart.” And it was Sarah who watching some of her kids get into the car to leave for the last time, “I think I am the one with separation anxiety today!”

David just left the Powel Valley Center, his truck full of gifts for the kids in the trailer park and one last day of games, bible study and crafts. Carol has left for the nursing home to teach her last lesson of the week. There’s a storm outside, pouring rain while the sun shines, and yes, a rainbow – the perfect metaphor for the day.

Thursday night we will be taking some R&R time. We’ll eat together as we have every night. Then the kids are going bowling, I think. Some of us will just hang around and relax. (I plan a long swim.). Then Friday we pack to leave. I’ll probably post one last entry when I get him Friday, telling about the events of later in the day (I generally write these entries just after lunch, when I have a few minutes, but they do not get posted until late in the evening, when I get back to the hotel and phone (internet) service.

I was talking to Shirley earlier today, and we both noticed that one of the joys of this week has been the new bonds of friendship inside our church family that we have grown. There has been, despite all the hard work of the week, the luxury of time together getting to know each other at a deeper level. We’ve lived and worked in close quarters, and all of us have seen each other in a new light. We’ve seen gifts in each other, and learned things about each other that we never suspected, and may well have never known were it not for an experience like this one. I have to tell you that everyone here has a depth to them, a rich fabric of experiences and thoughts of emotions that is far deeper than most of us realize. And it takes an experience like this week for us to look past the veneer to what lies beneath.

We’re going to miss this place and the spirit of the week. Yes, we will be glad to be going home to family and loved ones. We’ll be glad to sleep in our own beds again. But a special spirit has grown here all week, and we are, to a person I believe, glad we were privileged to be a part.

I’ll post one more post Friday night, after I arrive home. I plan to turn this blog into a small booklet in PDF format for those of us who came, or those of you who would like to have it. When I finish it, it will be available from the church website for download.

More tomorrow,

Tom