of mice and punkins

Some of you will remember that in one of our first posts, I speculated on how long it would take before it happened. Well, folks, the day has come, and our mouse is here. He scampered across the kitchen floor as I was heating up my breakfast burrito (compliments of the neighbors, of course). I got down on the floor and just looked him in the eye as he cowered under our oven. He's kind of cute, in a disease infested rodent sort of way. I'm sort of sad that we have to trap him. The other recent trailer adventure involved losing water for a night, on perhaps the only night when none of us really had water in our water bottles. It was an interesting evening, for sure.

But let's talk about the really good stuff! Our last TGI Thursday was the long-awaited pumpkin carving party at our house! It was awesome. We got to try out the massive grill someone graciously bought for us (God is so good to provide), and Sean made it work wonders on some amazing chicken ka-bobs. The place was hopping with neighbors and kids and good friends. After dinner, we cleared out the living room furniture and covered the whole floor with our massive blue tarp so we could make a respectable mess. What a beautiful sight! There were like 10 pumpkins being carved all at once, with pictures being taken and conversations had and kids being wired and...well, it was the usual chaos that is our trailer on Thursday nights. The night included a chance to have some beautiful, deep conversations with one neighbor in particular--chatting about GED's and dreams of college--and an opportunity to meet one of our favorite kiddo's dad. Looking around the room, seeing people from all walks of life enjoying one another's company, was just such a blessing.

The last week or so has been tougher. We have all hit an insanely busy time, and have to struggle to be home when the kids are there. Pray for us, that we can be present and full of love in the coming crazy weeks!

big smiles and new eyes

I can think of few times in my life when I have felt more joy than when we took the kids up to my church's movie night last week. As I have lived in the trailer park, I have realized that one of the things middle class people take for granted is the ability to go on outings and participate in extracurricular activities. Most of the kids in our neighborhood have very few such opportunities, so they were beyond excited to pack into a car, drive to a different town with a great lake, and have pizza and a movie in our big, old church building. Watching them take off running around the lake as we waited for the pizza to finish cooking, I felt my whole heart smile. It does that often now, as it did last night when I came home to find them all baking banana bread and then plopping down in a home-made fort to watch a movie. I love it.

There are a lot of things that begin to look different when one lives in a trailer park, the kids' lack of outings being only one of them. I am learning the value of keeping clothes clean as I enter a world where going to the laundromat is both costly and inconvenient. For those without cars, it feels nearly impossible. I am learning that some kids are labeled as lazy or stupid, when in reality they come home to situations where no one helps with homework, or where all of their emotional energy has to be devoted to navigating the challenges they face minute by minute. I am learning where to find the cheapest food, how to ward off the winter cold when the walls are thin, and how to help a kid get the things they need while still helping them learn about the importance of earning things. I am learning how important it is to try and show up at the band concert, the birthday party, the school carnival. The lessons are neverending, it seems. It is amazing and challenging.

And of course, life is just plain funny. We discovered a skunk under the trailer, and hoped that the hole was patched during a time when the poor thing wasn't actually in there. Frank (the furnace) is loud enough to wake me up at times. Meals continue to show up from across the street, and afternoons at home are often accompanied by the smell of stinky kid feet. The kids rarely wear shoes.

I hope to be better about updates, since there are great stories every day. Cooking banana bread, trips to the grocery store, homework help. For those who are reading this, I offer thanks. Thanks for reading our trailer tales. And thanks for praying over all the beautiful things God is doing in the trailers and on the dusty streets of our little neighborhood.

TGI thursday

We're a busy lot, us roommates. When we moved in, we knew we'd need to be intentional about making sure we were consistently around to build relationships and just be present. In particular, we chose one night a week--Thursdays--to set aside as totally committed to trailer time.

God is pretty amazing. One little guy's birthday fell on a Friday, which made Thursday night perfect for making cupcakes for him to take to school the next day. Our neighbors' anniversary was on a Thursday, which meant we were around to babysit so they could go on a date. The girl down the street just turned 5...on a Thursday, so got to have a big ol' party for her at our trailer. These nights have become precious and life-giving. Last night we cooked out and had a trailer full of laughter and playing, food and conversation. Next week, we'll take kids to a movie at church (which they happen to be showing on a Thursday). In a couple more weeks, we'll carve some pumpkins with our neighbors.

There is something to this kind of ministry, where your home base is...your home, and where sharing the gospel takes the form of sharing day to day life. I just wrote to a friend today, saying that I often feel like the luckiest girl alive to be living where I do. With my camera full of pictures of birthday cake and dodge ball and sword fights, it just makes my heart happy.

Yep, it's good to be living in the loony bin.