story :: the homecoming of owen kang (an adoption story)

this is a birth story of sorts, but it isn't birth in the way that most of the stories i post here are births. there was no physical labor, no crowning or breaking water, no placentas or cord-cuttings. but this is a birth of another son into a family by adoption. 

owen is 20 months old at the time of this birth. he was born and lived -- until this yesterday -- in china. his mama and daddy had a burning fire in their heart for the orphan, and that led them to seek to bring one into family. they chose owen, they fought for him, they labored for him, they endured a long and indefinite paper pregnancy, and then they went to get him and brought him home.

though it would have been AMAZING to be in China with them, for that first moment they laid eyes on their boy in real life, that wasn't practical. so the next best thing was to meet them at the airport. this isn't something they were expecting. in fact, they expected to arrive quietly under the midnight skies and slip home without much fanfare. but some of their people thought they deserved a welcoming committee, and so there we were. 

after being greeted and prayed over by friends and family, they returned home where their two other sons -- Jude and Isaac -- were going to be woken from their sleep to meet their new brother. i followed them there, too. 

pray for this family as they transition, and especially for owen as his heart grieves what he's left behind. pray his heart will be open to receiving his new family.

personal :: a church story

if you've read the "about" section of my website you know that i'm married to a pastor, who is the overseer of a small prayer community in a neglected neighborhood in our city. together we've lived here 4 years (though i lived here before marrying him, too). it's home. our work here looks many days like simply living here and showing up and trying to show our neighbors -- whose families are mostly all so broken and painful -- what the Family of God is like, and to be sure they know that they're invited into it. no matter how they look or what they've done or who they are, the Father calls them Home to himself. that's the good news of the gospel of Jesus. 

and in the last few years we started to see that some of the neighbors we've been walking with so long at our weekly community meals (and in other interactions throughout the week) are calling their gatherings with us "church," and are hungry to know more about who Jesus is and what it means to follow him. so we started something a little more like a church meeting, which means it includes some pre-planned worship, a time to hear a teaching or participate in a round-table discussion of a part of the Bible, and some time to pray for one another. we'd been doing it in our three-stall garage, which we converted into a permanent prayer room and meeting place several years ago. but this year, we felt nudged to move it to the same polish hall we rent for our weekly community meals (called Love Feasts), and to a Wednesday night (instead of Sunday), so that more folks might find it accessible and welcoming. 

this past week we held our first church gathering in the hall,  on a wednesday night, immediately before Love Feast. i was happy to see that several friends who haven't joined in the church gathering in the prayer garage chose to take a seat in the circle up in the hall before love feast, where they worshipped, and listened, and even wept. 

i invite you to come along with me to the first gathering of the stockbridge boiler room church family... on a wednesday night.. in a polish hall... followed by a shared meal around the table. 

note: because we meet in a polish hall and this gathering happened on the eve of Pulaski Days, there were many beer banners being hung on the walls as we met. :)

gather :: stephanie and dustin's rehearsal dinner

i'm not a wedding photographer any longer, but i do enjoy photographing the gathering of people around a table, where shared meals, heartfelt words, and laughter are trademark features. :)

stephanie -- a friend from when i was 15 years old -- asked me if i'd be interested in photographing her rehearsal dinner, i knew it was a good match. stephanie and dustin are the kindest of souls, and they've gathered such love around themselves because they dish it out with reckless abandon. also, they love and protect animals, which tells you something about them, i think. their wedding weekend was characterized by handmade everything, organic simplicity, and a little nod to quaker traditions. 

so, here's the story of the night before stephanie and dustin's wedding... 

personal :: first haircut

she'll be 3 years old in less than a month. she has never had a haircut. i was afraid that if i cut it, the curl would be lost, because i've heard horror stories. but the hair was... um, BIG. 

after beginning to imagine what a slightly shorter cut might look like, we decided to go for it. our neighbor-friend Chelsea came over from across the street, scissors in hand, and set up shop on the front porch. she's a pro, and a darned good one (you can find her here, if you're interested). 

hazel was looking very sleepy and i wondered if she might even doze off during the haircut. but drowsiness coupled with a large orange balloon aided in holding her still. also, the chocolate chips that were promised as a reward at the end. :)

so, here's the story of my daughter's first haircut, on the front porch of our house, by a good friend, at the age of 35 months...

personal :: the community pool

we don't have a community pool in our  neighborhood. in fact, we don't really even have a park. the only one we DO have just lost all its playground equipment and now consists of just lots of woodchips and approximately 4 trees. 

but we DO have this large sunken area in the parking lot of the hispanic church. it fills with water after rainy days, and becomes a popular place for some neighborhood children to play. 

it also just so happens that this "pool" is adjacent to the driveway where the neighborhood taco cart is positioned. 

this is a story in which my daughter hazel and her grown-up friend michelle join the big kids at the community pool (aka giant parking lot puddle), where they "swim" and play games...

have a little story you'd like me to tell for you? get in touch!

personal :: the neighborhood taco cart

through this blog entry, you get to see some of my personal life. not the home/family life part (though that's also intertwined), but the part that is an urban missionary and pastor's wife. it is, therefore, more explicitly Christian than most of what i share in this space, but the photos tell a lovely story, whether you want to read the bits about the Kingdom of God or not. :)

i once heard it said that though your choice of a zip code does not have moral consequences, it does have consequences. and this i firmly believe: that in seeking first the Kingdom of God, where we choose to live matters, and that there is a mighty difference between living amongst the ones you are called to love versus dropping in to serve them for a few hours a week. which is why we own property here, and why we don't have a 5 year plan to move out. 

it is a slow, steady work. and much of it doesn't feel like work, it's just life. it's raising kids and taking walks and tending to the lawn and greeting neighbors and sitting on the front porch at dusk. there aren't magnificently transformative encounters on a daily basis, but you don't expect a miracle every day. instead, you trust that the cumulative effect of your presence will be life. you keep yourself attached to the one true vine, you hunker down amongst a people and a place that the Father shows you, and -- without looking back -- you just let your life unfold there, openly. 

it's the ministry of presence. 

and slowly, over years, this place becomes no longer "other," it becomes yours. 

in the place where we've hunkered down, there is this taco cart, run by the exclusively spanish-speaking and remarkably talented cocinera (cook) Maria, and her son Oscar. and this taco cart is now our taco cart. it's a mere block and a half from our house, in the driveway of Maria. it's open only on weekend nights, and only during the warm weather season. tacos are $1.75 each, and they are to die for. it's a weekend tradition from may through september. i am weirdly proud of this place, and a little protective.

but i want to show you this favorite spot of mine, nestled in the middle of our run-down neighborhood. and if you want to know how to find it, send me a private message. :)

here is the story in which my family -- along with our foster kids and a couple friends -- make a saturday evening visit to Maria's taco cart...