Furlough II: Date, Length, Location

This is part of a series on FURLOUGH. To unpack the details of Furlough, for us specifically, this will be a series of 3 posts (though not immediately within the 30 day challenge). We plan to address the following:

Length of Time
Projected Date
Furlough vs. Vacation
Funding Furlough
Purpose of Furlough
Location of Furlough

In our last post on furlough, we talked about the PURPOSE, and there are many. In today's post I'll cover Length of Time, Projected Dates and Location.

Planning and executing a successful furlough currently occupies a large chunk of mental space. And we expect it to get worse before it gets better! In order to maximize our time on the mainland, we are becoming scheduling maniacs. It may seem like we're getting ahead of ourselves, but we're not. We are learning the importance of planning and early communication.

PROJECTED DATE: July, 2015
We do not have plane tickets, so the exact dates are flexible. But we're working with a team of missionaries here on the Big Island who are also planning similar trips, so our dates are semi-firm. We plan to be on the mainland ALL of July, 2015.

LENGTH OF TIME: Uhh... 1 month
This is a little redundant, I get it. Let me answer a few questions I know are out there.

What? You get a month off? No, friends. This is not a month off.  Furlough is a very necessary and literally life giving part of our ministry. Our day-to-day activities depend on the prayer, generosity and sacrificial giving of others. It is necessary for us to connect with, report to, and be held accountable by our supporters. We look forward to connecting in person with hundreds of people we haven't seen in 2 years, we anticipate challenging conversations, and we pray for renewal.

What happens to your ministry in Hawaii while you're gone for a month? Good question, thank you for asking. First, we're on a team. We are part of a local church (Kona Coast Naz) and have fellow missionaries and staff here with us. Second, thanks to the internet, a decent amount of communication can be done from the mainland. It's certainly not the same as being here in person and working with local leaders, but it can suffice for a short time.

LOCATION: Everywhere, USA
As we said, we're planning these things right now. If your church wants to host us (or small group, or Sunday school class, or YOU want to host us in your home), let us know! We know our schedule will be packed and it's likely we won't get to everyone on our list. Right now, we know we'll visit Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia and California.

Coming up next... Funding Furlough.

Building a Lanai: or The Practical Imports of Being Mentored

(Pictures below)

I (Eric) did not grow up building things.  Somehow, playing with lincoln logs in my bedroom didn't translate to being a handy-man around the house.  It takes quite a bit of effort for me to think through leaky faucets, rotten molding, broken gutters, basic car mechanics, or easy carpentry.  I played in the woods, rode my bike, went hiking/camping, and played sports as a child.  But the practical elements of being able to see a physical problem and fixing it has eluded me.  Manual labor was reduced to mulching the yard and mowing the grass rather than growing my own food or building an addition to our ohana.  But the older I get, the more I feel like those latter things are important to life.  I have this Wendell Berry essay ringing in my head:

In a healthy community, people will be richer in their neighbors, in neighborhood, in the health and pleasure of neighborhood, than in their bank accounts...Do not buy anything you don't need. Do as much as you can yourself. If you cannot do something for yourself, see if you have a neighbor who can do it for you. (from: "Conservation is Good Work").

Well, Joy and I felt as if a second kid might require a little more space.  So we thought up a creative idea: Let's enclose our lanai!  Only, I had no idea how to do it.  And instead of having someone just do it for me, I decided it was time to learn.  So, I asked an older retired man in our church with some building and carpentry experience if he could help teach me.  Ron came over, surveyed the area with me, gave me some tips on how to frame it, drove me to Lowe's to help pick out the proper supplies, and let me borrow his tools.  Now that's a mentor!  He came over the next week and we worked together to begin setting the frame.  Ron showed me what was needed, helped me along the way, watched me as I worked, and critiqued what I did.  His knowledge and guidance paved the way for new learning.  Not only that, Joy and I gained some new friends, enjoying good conversation over dinner with Ron and his wife, Marilyn.

As I think about my desire to learn new skills, it's humbling that I have to rely on others to teach me.  I'm almost 30 years old, but I also know that this is the stuff of life.  Can you imagine what healthy fruitful relationships could look like if we allowed others into our lives and teach us the skills they have mastered?  What if a teenager learned about plumbing, or farming, or roasting coffee, or mechanics, or spearfishing from someone who has mastered that skill?  What if that person was intricately involved in the church and while mentoring that person in legitimate job readiness skills also formed a deep spiritual relationship with that person?  Can you imagine the kind of discipleship that could form?  I think this is a beautiful picture of working toward a healthy community where we are rich in our neighborly love.

Joy was the master painter.

Pastor Ryan even got in on the action, taking two days to help complete the project.  He even took the time to teach his two boys much of the work we were doing.

We've made this space into a sitting/play room.  Joy and I will drink tea together, and Joy's been sewing a little more with the extra room, and we've moved Justice's keiki table outside to make room for Micah's bed inside.  

To Come Alongside

I've just begun running again since having my second child. Needless to say, I'm out of shape. I have zero endurance and my muscles... well, what muscles? So I was at the park recently attempting to run and trying to force myself to go the extra 10 steps before walking (I have no picture of this. You can thank me later.) There was a woman walking in front of me and out of courtesy I thought, I shouldn't start walking RIGHT behind her with my heavy breathing and dramatic "I'm Dying!" look, so I'll run 10 steps past her and THEN I'll walk. Clever, I know.

As I ran toward her, she looked at me and said, "Good Job." I audibly laughed with breath I didn't even know I had. And then she continued, "You're doing great. Keep it up." My mind shifted and I thought, Oh no! I can't die here. This perfect stranger just said good job, I HAVE to continue! 

So I did. I didn't just run a few more steps to make it out of the talking zone, I ran 400 yards further. I made it further than I had planned to run, and I made it without falling on my face.

This morning, as I reflect on the motivation I received from a perfect stranger, I wonder if I am encouraging anyone in this journey of life. Who needs a pat on the shoulder and motivation to make it a few more steps? Who do I know (or maybe don't know) that feels they just need a break and want to sit down and rest for a minute? Are my eyes open to those around me?

If I really let myself think about it, there's another step. When I heard, "You're doing great! Keep it up." I did, indeed, run further than I had planned. But what would have allowed me to go even further- to push through the pain and exhaustion and find satisfaction on the other side?

What if the woman would have said, "Good job, you're doing great, and I'm gonna run this part with you?" Surely, I would have kept running. Because along the way I'm certain there would have been 100 more encouraging words, and she would have been huffing and puffing right next to me, and somewhere down the road we would have stopped together and said WOW! WE did it!

If I'm honest with myself, I'm okay at thinking about people, sending an encouraging note, and even following up. But I'm not so good at saying, "Come on. I'm doing this WITH you." Because it's inconvenient. And it interrupts my schedule. And it's messy. And almost always hard.

But I'm pretty sure that's exactly what Jesus wants me to do. When we talk about incarnational ministry, that's what we mean. Who are we doing life WITH? Jesus came to earth fully human and lived with the people, as one of us. God, open my heart and my home as I learn how to love my neighbors.

Growing

What are you feeding that boy?

Marshmallows, clearly. 

The Discipleship Clutch

I can't believe it's already May.  Micah is almost 4 months old; Justice is dancing and singing all over the house and yard.  We've completed the screened in lanai (pictures coming!) to help expand our space for our family of four, bought a ticket for my sisters wedding in Oct. (Richmond and Nashville here I come), and we've been busy focusing our ministry here in Kona.  About a month ago, I noted three ministry spheres that have emerged while getting to know the community: Discipleship, Leadership Training, and Community Development.

I want to focus on Discipleship briefly in what follows.  Frankly, discipleship is the backbone of the church.  The call of the Christian is one of faithful obedience to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  When we intentionally make disciples, the church will thrive and the Kingdom of God will break-in.  We believe that discipleship paves the road of revival.  Jesus spent 3 years heavily investing his life in 12 people.  For KCN, this gives us an indication of both the importance of and commitment to a small group of people over a longer duration of time.  But we also note that discipleship is circular.  We are not only disciples of Jesus, but, like Paul the Apostle, are called to have others follow us in the way of discipleship.  Kona Coast Nazarene has created a unique curriculum, mindful of this context, for calling and making disciples.  It's called a Discipleship Clutch.  Joy and I are currently participants and intend to lead our first Clutch in the middle of the summer.  In fact, every participant of a Clutch is encouraged/trained to lead one of their own.  We do this because discipleship must be duplicated.

A Discipleship Clutch is different than most discipleship material.  It isn't a book study, prayer meeting, or support group; though there is a printed guide, plenty of prayerful discernment, and certainly a group that supports one another.  A Discipleship Clutch, over a 52 week span, teaches the basics of discernment: learning to hear and obey the voice of God in community.  Joy and I are currently going through a Clutch together, and can attest to the value of submitting to the process of intentionally hearing and obeying.  And, we're really excited about who God has planned for the Discipleship Clutch we intend to lead.

Joy and I have been praying through and over the relationships we're building in both our church community and outside her walls.  Would you please pray with us for our potential disciples, that God would make them known to us, begin preparing their hearts even now, and that they would be receptive to our presence in their life?  If you're willing to do this, please let us know.  It will encourage us deeply to know this kind of support exists.  Thank you.