The blooms on the dogwood trees outside our apt this morning looked like snow.

Convoy of Hope/Roaming Cattle

April has been encouraging me, since she's eagerly taken the helm of Pip's journal, to write out my own version of how our lives have played themselves out lately. We've been quite busy which sometimes causes events to jumble together, making it difficult to recall those sort of details that are actually interesting. And then there are those sorts of details that tend to bore; bog things down: we got up at 6am, got ready, drove there, filled bags with food, passed them out, etc. etc.. Okay, but what happened?

Just now I went to Malcolm Muggeridge for some story-telling inspiration, picking up his Chronicles of Wasted Time. It's quite good. I can tell from reading the first three pages, and that's saying something. He has always loved words. I have not. For many years growing up I had no special taste for them that I knew of (if anything they bugged me because I struggled making the best use of them) so trying to grind them out now makes for some poor writing. I love words now of course; now to make them love me.

But that's by the bye. (My wife just informs me, by the way again, that Cleveland is royally clobbering the New York Ys; the birds are singing) The journal! Capturing the day ... here's a go:

Today we found ourselves signed up to volunteer for "Convoy of Hope" in Roswell. The event is one of those ministries that travels around to different parts of the country (and the world, as it turns out) and spreads "hope" in the form of fulfilling basic needs and passing out various delights from cotton candy, free hair cuts, food, and providing eager numbers of individuals ready and willing to pray with anyone who wants them to or is willing to be convinced of their need.Have you ever heard of too many volunteers? It's like too many cooks in the kitchen, but in our case a very good thing since there is always someone else to take your place should you need it. But we did have gobs of volunteers all over and under foot; had to scrape my shoes off a couple times.

The Convoy organizers gave us these brilliant t-shirts displaying the event organizers' wisdom in finally getting beyond the thinking that neon t-shirts are the absolute best things for volunteers to be wearing. They were all grey with tasteful white lettering and some black in the bg for accent. This is a shirt I'd be much more likely to wear just anytime. Give it to Goodwill? Nope! (Then again, there's that paraphrase of John 10.10 on the back: "I have come so that people may live, and that they may enjoy life to the full." Not quite what that verse was saying. Kinda Jesus meets Nike.)

But "Convoy of Hope" gets props for not ripping off anyone else's design/logo and putting some solid thought and creativity into those t-shirts. In fact, the entire event tended to reflect that mentality and approach. Instead of just having an event where struggling families can come and get a hot meal and a few bags of groceries, they essentially provided an entire carnival for free. Tight-rope walkers, music, games for kids, clowns (!); they even had stuff that carnivals don't have, like people dressed up as cattle. One waved at me. Thank God I was eating chicken.

<-- I think it's plotting something with that bald guy. Notice how everyone else pretends it's not there.

They also provided free hair cuts, family portraits (over 400 total), a health clinic and there was even a small job fair (here I go with the lists). Supposedly Jeff Foxworthy was scheduled to show up but I didn't see or hear him. Maybe he was in the cow suit.

We’re all people. We need our basic furnishings to survive, but we need interaction with each other, we need our sense of wonder cultivated. We need our imaginations stimulated by true interaction with others, stories told, not force-fed to us through slick vids. Kids need basic food, but I also want them to taste cotton-candy and jump on a trampoline every so often by way of their neighbors sharing what they’ve got. Hair cuts and family photographs help people remember and reclaim basic human dignities. I think Convoy of Hope was really aiming at meeting some of those needs.

All told more than 2500 people attended the event. Tack on another 1500 odd volunteers and things did get a little crowded at times but it was good. We even got a chance to see some of the kids we helped to babysit on Thursday nights while their parents attended free ESL classes. Great kids.

The wife and I have a few sunburns to show for our efforts. Mine are generally on my arms since I had a hat on while hers are all over her face, shoulders and neck. Before you think I’m a bad husb. for not giving up my hat, neither of us were quite aware of the sun/burns until it was too late. We’re learning the rule though: fair skin + sun - sunscreen = big ouch. No matter how often we try to defy this one we always end up demonstrating it.

Anyway, April’s always finding ways to interact with and help out in the community, something that is not quite so natural for me; so good for me though and we generally have a blast doing it. Funny how that works. Thank God for women, eh? Community and conservatism are a part of their metaphysics.

More pics:

Our team's grocery bag's.

The other team filled fewer bags than we did and took longer to do it.

... which pretty much makes us awesome.