A Christmas present from Mrs. Yarina

I was sent the following email about a couple of our students, and it reminded me just how much I love working with young people. This email was an early present, and Mrs. Yarina was fine with me sharing this.

Hi Brent & Ty,

Tuesday afternoon, I got to observe 2 of our students from the Stand in an amazing, unexpected way.

Tuesday was John's Christmas program at Jardon Vocational School. Jardon is a school for special ed students ages 18 -26. Students range from mildly impaired like John to wheelchair users who use grunts and groans or assistive technology to speak as well as cognitively impaired (mentally retarded). John was in the choir. The program was something our Kids Kingdom would have performed easily. The focus was on the various December holidays: Christmas, Kwanza, a Muslim holiday that celebrates Abraham's attempted sacrifice of Isaac and Hanukah. John had a small speaking part about what Christmas means to Christians.

We've known about this program for 2 months as we've helped John practice his lines. Unknown to us, John invited Brad McCarthy and Michael Solt from HPBC and the Stand. I didn't know they were there until after the program when John walked them over to me. These guys are probably in the middle of their final exams this week or could have spent their time doing much more entertaining things. Yet, they took time out to support John and other students that John has brought to the Crash or Stand. Society has put those young disabled adults on the edge to borrow a term from last Sunday's message.

As we were walking out, Brad and Michael ran into Hannah, Gail, and Tony, all young adults that John has brought to either the Stand or Crash. Brad and Michael stopped and talked with each one of them encouraging them to come to the Stand this coming Sunday. Brad and Michael could have just brushed them off in a hurry to leave a place where they were clearly out of their element, BUT they didn't.

It turned out that I had parked next to Brad and Michael so we walked to our cars together. I shared with the guys that Jardon always reminds me that John could be a lot worse off physically and cognitively and that as his muscle disease progresses, we will be dealing with issues like they saw with the more severely impaired students. I told both the boys how much I appreciated their ministry to John by coming to the program as well as their continued watchful care for him at church and on outings. Brad said: Mrs. Yarina, "we've got John covered. We all watch out for him". I know they do.

In case you never noticed, John usually sits between the 2 guys during worship. As the service progresses, John leans to the left as his muscles are weaker on that side. Usually he ends up touching or leaning against the person on his left. I have never noticed either young man to scoot away when John is touching them.

Those two guys gave me a wonderful Christmas gift: watching them minister to young adults with disabilites who live on the edge.

Barb Yarina

Matt Chandler

Matt Chandler's pathology report is not good, and my heart is torn for his family. The surgery only mostly removed the tumor, and what was removed was found to be malignant.

I encourage you to pray for him, his family and the Village church as they go through this trial. I loved his tweet from yesterday prior to his getting the pathology report.

Path report is 2ndary at best...good report doesn't mean much, bad report doesn't mean anything...my days r numbered and nt by ths report.

Santa

I dislike Santa for many reasons. The following are just a few issues I have.

#1. He consistently gives the rich kids more than the poor.

#2. His love/gift giving is so conditional.

#3. He shows no care for Rudolph until he realizes he can use him.

#4. Forced elf labor anyone?

I am sure Mrs. Claus is lovely; she will certainly have her crown in heaven for dealing with that heel.

Elizabeth Elliot strikes again

The following legend (not a Biblical story) is from Elizabeth Elliot's gatewaytojoy.org website in a section of "missionary musings".

Jesus was walking one day with His disciples and asked each one to pick up a stone to carry for Him. They all picked up a stone. Peter, rather a small one; John, a bigger one. Jesus led them to the top of a mountain and then He commanded the stones to be made bread. The disciples were by this time hungry, and so they were given permission to eat the bread in their hands. Of course, Peter didn’t have very much. John shared with him some of the bread that had been made from the stone he had carried.

On another occasion, the same Jesus took the same disciples for a walk and again asked them to pick up a stone to carry for Him. This time you can imagine that Peter picked up a bigger stone. But Jesus did not take them this time to the top of the mountain. He took them to the river. As they stood on the bank looking with questions in their minds to Him, He said, "Throw the stones into the river," which they did at once in obedience to His command. Then they looked at Him, expectantly waiting for the miracle that would happen this time.

Nothing happened. They waited. They watched. Nothing happened. Jesus, with great compassion, looked on these disciples whom He loved and He said, "For whom did you carry the stone?"

For whom do you carry the stone today? For yourself? For success? For notoriety? For the accomplishment of some great dream that you have held always in your heart? Or is it for Jesus?