correspondence

a mom sent me these photos- her daughter has saved every postcard that I have ever sent her and taped them to her wall:

God is love.
-rev-rob

hume lake 2014

Last week was year number 14 at hume lake! To be honest, I couldn’t have scripted it any better. There were no major discipline issues, no major injuries (no trips to the hospital!), no major vehicle problems- but instead, there was a crowd of students with great attitudes. We had a team of great counselors- and hume always has a great team of workers. The theme was delightful and silly, and still made its point. We had many students make significant decisions for Christ. It seems that all of them had a great experience. Every leader has their own stories from camp, and so this list certainly isn’t an exhaustive list of all of the wonderful things that happened, but this is my personal list of fun memories:

// on the first day, the cabins all got together and had some “get to know you time.” This one counselor asked her group, “what is the thing you love to do?” one girl answered, “I really love singing. Actually, would you mind if I sang you a number?” the counselor said, “sure!” so the girl started to sing, “let it go” from frozen. Except, this wasn’t just a few bars, she sang the entire song- she PERFORMED the entire song, right there on the grass to her cabin. She gave it everything she had. The counselor was surprised by this and wondered if the girls would tease her. To her surprise, the girls were all enjoying the song, and then ALL joined in at the chorus. And they weren’t “singing” or being wacky, they ALL PERFORMED that song with all they had. The counselor thought it was ridiculous; but when she told me the story, I thought it was adorable.

// during the singing time, I looked around, and saw all of the students- even the boys- just going for it. They were really into it- eyes closed, hands raised- part of me was a little jealous, because they don’t do that at my meetings! But mostly I was encouraged.

// I was sitting on the shore of the pond one day with some leaders, when some students started freaking out. A girl had a really bad bloody nose. I went up to her and asked if she was all right. She said, “yeah- it happens all the time. My nose just bleeds. Its like a period.”

I stopped.
“what?!”
She answered- “you know- like a period.”
I looked over at the other leaders and they all darted away so as not to embarrass her with their giggling.
I said, “oh- like a period. Ok.”

// we had this new counselor, ilse. She wanted to be baptized. We don’t usually di baptisms at hume, because we want grandma and grandpa to be able to watch it too. But she insisted and said that if she were baptized at hume, there might be some negative response. So we spent our church time talking about baptism and listening to her testimony. And then I said, “well everyone, LET’S GO OUT TO THE POOL!” and they all let out a cheer and we baptized ilse at the pool at hume lake. All 100 students gave her a hug and cheered for her. So cool!

// I was also reminded that it was at this spot, 13 years ago, that God broke my heart for middle schoolers and called me to serve them:

// I didn’t have a cabin of my own, so I didn’t really have a place to sit at meals. But 2 boys let me sit with them. Every meal this one would tell me the most epic stories. The only problem was that the cafeteria was so loud, and he spoke so quietly that I couldn’t hear a word he said. All I could see was his epic facial expressions.

This boy discovered that I love star wars and the clone wars. We discussed many, many episodes at length over many meals.

 

// on the last night, we were at victory circle, and a boy got a really big splinter on the back of his thigh. I thought about removing it, but this was out of my league. So we went to the infirmary. He laid on his stomach with his pant leg rolled up while a nurse poked and pulled at his skin with needles and tweezers. Each time he would wince and twitch. I kept saying, “hold still! Its just a splinter! Man up!”

He kept saying, “I’m trying rob! Is she using a giant knife on me?!”
After the splinter was out we walked back to his cabin, late at night, and he says to me, “Rob- can you introduce me to Jesus?”
I said, “are you sure? Its pretty late.”
He said, “I’m sure.”
So I had a tract and we read through it. I invited him to pray the prayer at the end- or something like it. He closed the tract and folded his hands and squinted his eyes shut and said, “jesus: I’m so sorry I sinned…” we talked a bit more and then went back to his cabin. All of the boys were still up. I said, “everyone! I have an announcement! We have a new member of God’s family!” and they all cheered and encouraged him.

What a great way to end the week!

 

 

God is love.

-rev-rob

Snow dream

This morning I had a dream that we were having this big work day at church with all if these volunteers and church leaders, when a bunch of big rigs and tractors rolled into the parking lot. Then I remembered "oh yeah! i ordered a snow ball fight and tubing day!" The tractors came all the way from the mountains, so I couldn't send them home. The main guy said "sorry we're late! We should have this set up in time!" They started putting plywood over the lawn and spraying snow on it. Judie the youth secretary came up to me and said, "what is this? Is this a good day to be doing this?" I started to wonder if this was a bad day to do this and if it would distract from the big work day. I wondered if I was going to get in trouble. All of the kids from the work day left their jobs and came over to see what was going on. The main snow guy said, we have ice cream and snow cones for everyone!" "This is going to be awesome!" I thought. The students that were volunteering were thrilled. I started posting pictures on Instagram saying "snowball fight and tubing tonight at 678!" Then I thought, "wow- I really need to get ready for tonight!" Then I woke up and thought, "how am I going to pay for this?! This is going to cost a fortune!" After 13 years of middle school ministry, these are the things that I dream about at night!

holly polly

I got a phone call today that had me really worried. it was from my daughter, jane.
I picked up the phone and said, "hello?"
"dad? sniff, sniff..." (she was crying)
I panicked. was something wrong with my wife? what was wrong?!
"yes! jane! are you ok?! what's wrong?!"
"dad, sniff... you know holly right?"
"holly?! who's holly?!"
"holly...my doll..."

backstory: jane has a ton of polly pocket figures.they all basically look the same, but they all have different hairstyles.



so in jane's world of imagination, they are all sisters, and their names all rhyme: polly, dolly, molly, and her favorite, holly.
back to the story:

"yes- holly- did you lose her? is she lost in your room?!"
"no dad...sniff, sniff...its her...its her paint...sniff...its wearing off! we tried to draw her face back on with marker, but it doesn't look right...do you know where we can get a new one?"

holly's eye-brows and lip-paint had worn off from so much playing. normally I might think,  "who cares?! you have a dozen of those dolls- and their heads are interchangeable, just name a different one holly." but when I heard that broken-hearted voice over the phone, my heart melted. I haven't heard that voice in a long time. my dad-instincts kicked in and I had to do something to help my girl. and I immediately recognized that this was an opportunity for me to step into one of my favorite roles: super-dad. and its been too long since I've saved the day.

I left the office and  met up with deanna and jane. we went to a few stores. the polly we were looking for has blonde pony tails on the sides of her head- and after some detective work, we discovered that this particular polly only came with a specific yellow car:

 

this was not going to be easy to find on this afternoon. probably impossible.

we decided that the only way to restore holly's face-paint and keep her unique hairstyle was to pry the blonde pony tails off of the head that had worn out paint, and glue them onto one of the many polly-heads that we had that had good face-paint. their faces are all the same.

 

so when I got home from work, I boiled the heads to losen the glue. that stuff was stuck on there really good. it took a while, but I pried the plastic hair from the heads.

 

 

then I gorilla-glued the blonde pony tails onto a head that had good face-paint, clamped the hair to the head, and let the whole thing dry for an hour.

when I pulled the clamp off, holly was back, and good as new. my daughter was delighted, her tears were dried, her smile was restored, and I got to be super-dad.

 

I have a feeling that my appearances as super-dad are going to be less frequent in the future, so I've got to take advantage of the opportunites when I find them.

 

being a dad is fun.

-rev-rob

 

 



the imagination train

 

the other day, I was having a drawing date with jane. that's where we go to a coffee shop, and I have a book, and she has drawing supplies and paper; and I read, and she creates art. she said,
"what should I draw?" I didn't have a good answer. so she closed her eyes and started thinking intently.
"what are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm getting on the imagination train."
"what's that?!"
"well, you don't have a ticket, you just get on the train, and it takes you to your next inspiration."

sounds like a fun ride! I could use a ride on the imagination train the next time I'm creating something new!
being a dad is fun.
-rev-rob

bus stories part 2

I spoke too soon about being done with the bus. I drove it today to shuttle people around for our church's beautiful day project. driving it reminded me of another story:

once I was shuttling some kids from one parking lot to another- it was a crisp fall evening. there was a pretty hyper young man on the bus who used to hang from the ceiling while I was driving the bus. that, and scream, and throw things, and other means of distraction.

 

on this particular night I was getting ready to drive, he was sitting behind me, and he crumpled up an autumn leaf on the top of my hair. I didn't know what he was doing, I just felt him messing with my hair while I was driving.

so there I was, driving on the freeway, with dried up autumn leaf on my head. then he began to pull on my seatbelt. (to preserve his identity, I'll call him David.) I said, "David! what the heck?! what are you doing?!" and he pulled and pulled that seatbelt across my neck- while I was driving on the freeway with a bus full of kids.

then the perfect storm happened.

a piece of leaf fell off my head and onto the seatbelt. at that same instant, I turn around to scold this young man. at the same time, he let go of the seatbelt. at that moment, the seatbelt turned into a slingshot, and shot that piece of dried leaf into my eye-ball and under my eye-lid- while I was driving down the freeway with a bus full of kids.
I was blinded.
with every movement of my eye, I could feel the leaf scratching my eyelid and eye ball. I panicked. I scread, "David! what did you do?!" "nothing." he said and immediately sat down in silence.

I slowed down, i blinked, I rubbed my eyes- all I could see was blur and all I could feel was pain. I finally got the leaf out and pieced together what had happened. I was so mad.  I called his mother. I clearly expressed my frustration and the dangerous situation that David had caused. I could tell that she had heard worse.

anyhow- the moral of the story is, sometimes driving a church bus is a hazardous situation, and could require safety goggles.

God is love.
-rev-rob

me and johnny appleseed-

if you follow me on instagram, you may have noticed that I've been a little obsessed with johnny appleseed lately. I guess its more than just lately- this guy has been somewhat of a hero of mine for awhile now. I first discovered this guy reading leonard sweet books- he mentions him from time to time. then I read a few biographies. I recently created a series of talks based on johnny's life for my students, centering on the topic of evangelism, and planting seeds of the gospel wherever we go.

most people think that johnny appleseed is a legend or a myth, but he was an actual, historical figure. he lived on the east coast, not long after the revolutionary war. walt disney made a cartoon about his life and its fairly accurate. in walt disney's cartoon, johnny is a farmer. he loves God, the bible, and apple trees. he sings as he works:



all of the people in johnny's world want to go west and settle the new nation of america; johnny would go too, but he's not big and strong like the other men. his only talent seems to be planting apple trees. in the cartoon, johnny is visited by angel that tells him to go west. johnny argues that he doesn't have the skills or the strength, but the angel tells him to go with what he has; to plant orchards that people can use for food and wood. and he sends johnny off with a bible, a bag of seeds and a cooking pot for a hat. the historical johnny appleseed was famous for his cooking pot hat.



as johnny travels, everyone can see that johnny is different. he doesn't carry a knife or a gun. he lives a simple life. he is single-minded, he is generous, friendly and grateful. everywhere he goes he plants seeds- not just apple seeds, but seeds of peace and kindness. everywhere he goes he makes a friend and leaves a tree. the historical johnny appleseed was well known for promoting peace between settlers and native americans. he was also known for his gentleness toward animals and his fondness of nature. 

the narrator of the cartoon says, "Yep, Johnny sure did bring folks a heap a’ happiness. Shucks, he weren’t lookin’ for thanks. He didn’t have time for it. He knowed a man can’t take no rest if he aims ta plant the whole darn wilderness in apple trees. And so it was for more than 40 years. John walked and planted that old frontier. Yes, sir! Forty years of walkin’ and plantin’. In the space of two score years this little man throwed his shadow clear across the land 100,000 miles square. And in that shadow you will find, he left his blessings three: Love and Faith and the Apple Tree.”

 
at the end of the cartoon, johnny is old and has a long white beard. there are orchards all over the land, thanks to johnny's work. we find him resting against one of his trees when the angel returns. johnny starts to walk with him when he notices that his body is still leaning against the tree. the angel explains that johnny's work on earth was done. johnny protests saying, "I can’t go. Got crops to harvest; seeds to sow!” and the angel says, "Now, now; Hold on boy. Down here on earth, your work is through. And yonder, well, we need ya, Johnny. Yep! We surely do. You’d think up there we’d have most all we please; but we ain’t. We’re kinda short on apple trees." that's all johnny needed to hear- and he marched into eternity, ready to continue his mission.

if I believed in patron saints, I'd want johnny to be mine.
I want to be that kind of guy: simple, gentle, focused, content. I don't want to live the same life that everyone else is living. I want to leave a trail of seeds everywhere I go: seeds of compassion, friendship, encouragement, truth and blessing. I want to spend my life cultivating a garden of faith, hope and love. and when its time to go, I hope that I leave behind an orchard of spiritual fruit that will last for a long, long time.
don't you?

we need to be thinking about these things- what kind of legacy am I leaving? what do I want to be known for? what do I want to live for? what do I want to be remembered for? because each of us are writing our eulogies in the way we live on this day. someday, someone will get up in a funeral home and share the way you were. you are writing the content of those statements with the way you treat others today.

we can all be a johnny appleseed. we can take the gifts and skills that we have and use them to bless someone else. and as we travel, we can leave seeds of encouragement, kindness, friendliness, insight, wisdom and practical help wherever we go. it could become a habit, as natural as exhaling. and just like johnny's seeds, our seeds can grow into something special.; "fruit that will last." and those seeds will eventually bear seeds of their own.

and just like johnny, we might seem a little odd, but then again, we might inspire someone else to do the same.

"John walked and planted that old frontier. Yes, sir! Forty years of walkin’ and plantin’. In the space of two score years this little man throwed his shadow clear across the land 100,000 miles square. And in that shadow you will find, he left his blessings three: Love and Faith and the Apple Tree.”

you've only got one Today, so make it awesome.
be awesome today.

God is love.
-rev-rob

bus stories part 1

well, I couldn't write that last blog without thinking of some stories! I've got a lot of them! here is one of my favorites:

one time, I was taking a group of kids home from santa cruz and the bus broke down. I called for some other vehicles to take them home, and I waited just off of highway 17 for a tow truck. I called the company and told them that I was from venture church and I needed a tow for my bus. he took a LONG, LONG time to come and get me! when the driver finally got to me he was very excited to meet me. he introduced himself and asked what my name was. when I said Rob his face sank. "what's wrong?" I asked. He said, "I was really hoping that you would be Chip Ingram."

then my face sank.

I've got a lot of bark stories too. so many. I could make my own blog of vomit stores after 20 years in youth ministry. one time we were in the bus and we looked back and it looked like a boy was coughing up blood. we pulled over and he had it everywhere. all over his face, hands, shirt, everywhere. when he got out of the bus we discovered that it wasn't blood, he had eaten a giant bag of fire-hot cheetos and all of that heat and swaying made him car sick. unfortunately he barfed into his hands and touched every seat on his way out of the bus. we had the floors switched from carpet to vinyl soon after.

when I was an intern I was in a bus on the way home from LA. a student said that he had to go potty. I thought he was messing with me because we had just stopped a few minutes earlier. I told him to go in a soda cup. well, he did! I didn't want that thing spilling so we pulled over, and he threw it out. the next week his dad asked me why I didn't let him go potty. I told the dad that I thuoght he was messing with me. the dad said, "rob. when a kid has diarrhea you don't tell him to go in a soda cup!"
wait. WHAT?!
lesson learned.

one time I opened the bus driver-side door with my friend Ed, and we saw in the door hinge that some wasps built a nest. apparently wasps freaked Ed out, because he became a mixture of paranoid and violent. he got a beach towel and waved it at that wasp nest trying to knock it loose. he just ended up making them mad and they chased him all over the parking lot. he ran around the parking lot waving that beach towel and screaming bloody murder. I'm tearing up with happy tears just remembering that moment now. we ended up going to home depot and getting some wasp spray to get rid of them.

one time in mexico we were driving to some remote spot that had no roads. there was this big lump in the road that I had to drive over. I knew that if I drove it in the wrong way, I could literally tip the bus on its side. how do you take a road lump like that? slow? fast? I chose slow. I pulled up slowly and that bus stood there leaning at and angle nearly tipping over. now what? keep driving slowly? gas it? how would I get it tipped back if it fell? would I smash the windows? how would we get home? that moment seemed to last forever. I got the thing over the hump, but that moment haunted me for years.

I used to drive the busses in the morning to shuttle the church workers around the corner so that we could make parking spots for all of the guests at church. we parked right next to a fence that housed a couple of horses. I was sitting in the bus with the door closed, waiting for my friend to step inside. she stopped, picked some flowers, and held them out for the horse. the horse came over to her, and started nibbling the flowers. I opened the bus door, and it made that electronic opening sound, and that horse lost its mind. it freaked out. it stood on its hind legs, and started jumping and bucking. I thought it was going to hop the fence and go wild. I called my friend into the bus, we shut the door and did a duck and cover until he calmed down. super-scary.

one time I drove to the snow in a blizzard. in the bus. not fun.

so many fun and crazy memories! I'll post more as I remember them!
God is love.
-rev-rob

my busses-

yesterday was the end of an era.
after 12+ years, I closed out all of our accounts with all of our vendors for the church busses, and I gave away the keys. I'm not in charge of them anymore! no more safety checks, no more drug tests, no more repairs, no more fueling, no more tow trucks!

the vehicles almost never get used anymore- maybe once a year to haul stuff across town. they are unreliable and deteriorating fast. we decided to donate them to some ministries that will use them on a regular basis to drive people to church- that's what they're for!

its a little sentimental for me- i've had some adventures in those vehicles for sure. lots of laughs- and lots of sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck! I've driven them to mexico, hume lake, and all over the bay area.

here are some fun memories in the bus:
some photos of broken busses!

mexico:

running around with the unis:

that time I took the bus through mcdonald's drive through to get 22 ice creams for 22 middle schoolers:

and my favorite: a rolling party!

 

 

well old friends, #15 and #16, thanks for the memories! thanks for getting us all from point A to point B safely. may your seats be filled with many happy faces for years to come.

 

God is love.

-rev-rob

south bay A to Z:

did you ever play the alphabet game while you were driving? I was doing that recently, and I adapted the game to an alphabet list of all of my favorite things in the south bay area from A to Z. I was thinking of doing a blog for each of them, but I was too impatient:

A: almaden lake park. right across the street from my house. great for walking, running, and watching sunsets.

B: the boardwalk- over in santa cruz. I have so many happy memories of taking the family and the students there. it can be either sketchy or magical, or both.

C: children’s discovery museum- we had passes to this place for years. I loved to see my daughter light up with wonder and imagination. I was so sad to see her grow out of this special place!

D: diddams- jane and I used to go to diddams at 9am and roll a ball back up and down the aisles. the workers were so cool about it. I know all of them by name now. we have loved all of their toy displays and visit often.

E: erik’s deli- the food is good- and the atmosphere is even better. they were doing mason jar cups way before it was trendy. I’ve been to almost all of them across the bay area.

F: the flea market-this place makes me feel like I’m in another country. no one speaks English, and there is so much multisensory stimulation from all around: live mariachi music, fresh fruit and vegetables as far as the eye can see, vendors yelling out prices and unbeatable deals on everything.

G: G is for great: the great mall, great America, and the Great Bear in los gatos. the coolest coffee shop ever- and the CCC’s are heaven in a glass.

H: H-parks: history park, hakone gardens, and happy hollow. all 3 of these spots are beautiful fun, and full of history.

I: IMAX- especially the one at the tech museum- we love going to see those movies about nature and space. the entire tech museum itself is pretty awesome.

J: the jungle- my kid has been enjoying this place since before she could speak. she learned how to jump, slide, play videogames, and ride rides at this fun little spot for kids. it’s a great place to go when its raining outside.

K: Kelley park- this spot has 3 parks in it: the history park, happy hollow and the Japanese friendship garden- all are special places for us. jane rode her first roller coaster at happy hollow. we love their café and the climbing area. we love to feed the fish at the Japanese friendship garden.

L: los gatos- especially the downtown area- great shops, great restaurants, and always a great view of the mountains. this spot is rich in local history.

M: Malibu grill! my favorite restaurant. hands down. my second office. remember that show cheers? this is my cheers.

N: novitiate- this is a big white building that overlooks highway 17. it’s a retirement home for priests, and is full of old trails statues and breathtaking views. this is a good spot to go and think about things-

O: oak meadow park- possibly my favorite spot in the south bay. I have spent countless hours on these trails by myself, and on the playground, train and carousel with jane. so many happy memories here.

P: the pruneyard- I liked it more when barnes and noble was there, but this is a great spot to get some food or to go shopping.

Q: quicksilver park- this is another area rich in local history and natural beauty. I’ve hiked every step of every trail at quicksilver. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

R: railroads- san jose has the lightrail, the caltrain and the billy jones wildcat railroad- I love riding all of them!

S: sports- the south bay is close to san Francisco and Oakland, and now you can see the 49ers in santa clara! and I love to watch the sharks at the shark tank downtown. and don’t forget municipal park where the san jose giants play. this is such a fun activity for the family. inexpensive local baseball- great food, safe environment. I like it best at night- there is zero shade in the day!
it’s a great place to be a fan!

T: theme parks! we have great America, happy hollow, the boardwalk, and we’re not far from discovery kingdom. this is a great place to be a ride warrior!

U: mt. umunhum- I always know where I’m at if I can see that building on top of that hill- I heard that they will open it to the public soon-

V: venture church! my church and my work. great teaching and so many wonderful friends and memories there.

W: the weather. seriously. it’s the best anywhere.

XYZ: zoos! again, happy hollow has a fun zoo, so does Oakland and san Francisco.

there were so any of these spots where I wanted to say, “I have spent countless hours here.” where did I get so many hours? anyway, whether you’re new to the area or a local, go out and enjoy the most beautiful area in the world: the valley of heart’s delight, the garden city, san jose california!

God is love.

-rev-rob