Chisholm Project

You know, I promised some volumes of stories last month. Raw stories. Untold, exciting, ghetto-riffic stories. I don't think I am going to tell them. They really aren't important in the greater scheme of the Chisholm experience. If you are really aching to hear the stories, call me up, or ask me about them in person. I think I enjoy talking more than typing.

This is the last Chisholm Project blog. I am going to continue to blog elsewhere, at least once a month, at my new blog. Tara and I are not getting the internet in our home, which should be good for lots of reasons. But I will still blog a bit. Please keep up with me. www.mortifyme.blogspot.com

The last 3 or 4 months have been wedding-centric, and so Chisholm has not been priority. That was no mistake, and I don't regret focusing my energies elsewhere. But I am sure you are wondering "what ever happened to...?" and so I will take the time to tell you.

The kids. The 7 kids who are cousins/brothers/sisters who identify themselves as my children are still very much a part of our life. They (and some more of their family) came to the wedding. Shay, Stevie, Loka, Fernando, James, Tiana, and Shakira have all been over to the new house more than once or twice. We will keep feeding and teaching them there in Capitol Heights most Saturdays and maybe one week night weekly. Four of them are also coming to Morningview on Sunday nights for Bible drills and such. We are hoping that Fernando will get to go to middle school next year at Capitol Heights, and that way he can walk over after school as much as he likes.

Bradley. Bradley went to court-ordered boot camp this fall. He also hit puberty. Puberty and boot camp don't go well together. We have seen Bradley twice in the last 3-4 months. He still needs a new heart. Pray that he would call us.

Jimmy. Jimmy and his family decided that we weren't cut out for each other. I think I agree. It was nice serving them. Peace!

Herman. Herman is a legacy. Everyone who has never been to Chisholm but only read this blog asks about Herman. We don't really know what happened to Herman. Jonny made him a birthday cake in July (so sweet) and then Herman never called us ever again. We would play with the kids right next to his yard and he never came out. We would look for him to be outside feeding his dogs or talking to a neighbor. Nothing. A lot of his furniture got tossed on the curb by his daughter a while back, but the house has not been rented out again. I think he might have been put in a home? Or maybe something worse happened and his daughter is just collecting his check? I have no explanation, but I haven't seen him in 6 months for sure.

Mexicans. There are about 12 Mexicans living next door in the house, the plywood addition to the house, and the storage building behind the house. No lie. There are extension cords running power from the main house to the storage shed. When they found out that we were moving, they wanted to get 9 Rotary so they could have some more space. I hope it works out for them... and Ben the rat. But yeh... don't send your church to Guatemala to build a cinderblock home. Send them to Chisholm, because the next tornado could take some lives at 7 Rotary St.

Cameron, the whistle-blower. This is the neighbor who saw Lucius steal Jonny's truck. He didn't want to talk about Jesus, but he was good to have around. He would spot me with cash at the Dollar General when their bo-bo credit card swiper wouldn't work adn I needed to pay for my groceries. And he would knock on the door when the dog got out so that we would catch him. Good neighbor. Thoroughly ghetto. But good neighbor. He moved out in October without goodbyes or explanations. That happens alot in Chisholm. I hope to run into him around town.

Mean old white man. He didn't get any nicer or any less critical of everyone else, and we didn't ever break our backs to love him. We just let him sit on his porch and sulk. I'll be judged for that one day.

Other kids. I am sure the other kids miss the free hot dogs and pizza and popsicles, but other than that, they are making it without us. No goodbyes or anything.

So what was the point of it all, anyway? Why did we subject ourselves to crappy living conditions and theft and rat and ungrateful neighbors? Well, you'll have to either go back and read the archives of the blog, or you'll have to buy my book. If the Lord permits, I will finish writing it. It is going to be a personal theology of missions that ought to be applicable and pertinent in any neighborhood in any country, but especially to places like Chisholm.

May God continue to make your hearts tender for people who aren't like you. May He use someone more dedicated and foolish than me or Henson to do more work in Chisholm. May the church learn to treasure the chance to live like we lived. And may God redeem Chisholm for his name's sake!

Thanks for everything. I love you.