Yesterday morning I was late for a meeting with some people that I would consider important when someone that most people would consider unimportant stopped me with something that he considered very important. I found myself wanting to rush through the conversation with this unimportant person so that I could get to my meeting with the important people on time. As this person continued to talk to me, and as I began to listen (not just stare at him while he was talking and think in the back of my head about the important people who were waiting on me) I realized that this person’s need was infinitely more important than the need that I was going to address with the important people.

Later in the day I had this thought- “On our way to the important we should always be open to the unimportant because in the grand scheme of things the need of the unimportant may be more important than the needs of the important.”

Wow- now I am confused.

I had the opportunity (along with Scott and Laura Hicks) to go meet with the Executive Director at Room in the Inn in Nashville on Friday. We spoke with the Executive Director for a couple of hours and I wanted to do a little de-briefing with some of the things that impressed me.

1. The Executive Director is an amazing lady who has worked there for 20 years. Her view on helping people was so refreshing and encouraging.

2. There is no way to “re-cap” all of the things they are doing.

3. Some of my favorite quotes from the meeting were:

A. “We are called to give hospitably out of our spirituality.” We are not to look only for some pre-established “success” story, but to simply be hospitable because we are spiritual.

B. “You won’t keep lawyers involved by having them serve soup.” They utilize a group of lawyers to come in once a month and give free law advice to the homeless men and women that they work with… amazing.

C. “Our goal is to take people out of their chaos and journey with them toward peace.”

D. “Allow people to create their own radical.” For some people making cookies for homeless people is completely radical. Let them feel radial for doing that instead of wishing they would do more.

E. “Church should be the place of least resistance for the homeless.”

F. “Anytime you break bread with someone your relationship changes.”

G. “The feet of these homeless look like third-world feet.” They do a “foot clinic” which is just a tecnincal way to say that they wash the feet of the homeless. They have 150 signed up for the “foot clinic” in December. A dying homeless man recently requested that hey come wash his feet one more time.

H. “1 in 4 homeless men in Nashville are from the foster system.” Whoa! Unbelievable. Church- this is our responsibility- not the government’s responsibility. Let’s adopt, foster, care, teach, mentor, love, etc…

Let’s do something!

JS

Well, hello friends.

For the millions of you who have been checking this blog consistently every day (smile), sorry for the leave of absence. I had a crazy six month span with church work, PhD stuff, and teaching a NT class at Lee University, so I had to take a blogatical. I am going to try to get back in the groove of posting some stuff on here (mainly for my own benefit, but if anyone else wants to drop in from time-to-time then that’s good too).

JS

Hello Friends,
As most of you know we just completed a project as an adoption
fundraiser. Many of you have already made a donation on our behalf- thank you! We have already raised $4,500 toward our goal of $12,000. We are still accepting donations through December 15 if you would like to participate. You can either send a check by
mail to:
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40/ 202 N. Ford St.
Gridley, IL 61744
and write “Stum Adoption 1020″ on the memo line

Or you can click on the link below and make an online donation. We are
the third family down on the page.
http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bhProj.html

You can also check out our video recap of the day here..
http://vimeo.com/7696840

If you would like a full recap of the day, please see the letter
below….
Both Hands Project – The Stums

The weeks and days leading up to our November 14 Both Hands work day were full of anticipation but in all honesty shaded with uncertainties. We were very honored to help Ms. Nicholson with a new roof and plenty of organization inside her home, but the project was quite intimidating. Would we have the volunteer base we needed to tackle such a huge project? Could the work be done in just one weekend? Would the work overwhelm our new friend, Sue?

Much to our amazement, every last detail came together beautifully, and in just one weekend of unseasonably warm temperatures, every project was completed with joy and excellence.

The Roof: After removing all the old shingles, it was determined that most of the surface would require new decking before felting and new shingles could be applied. A consistent team of 20+ people worked so efficiently to make this happen. Young teens and college students worked along side seasoned home repair veterans. It was truly a sight to see!

The Inside: When you are caring for a terminally ill spouse, nothing else really matters. Tidy bedrooms and an organized pantry don’t even make the list of priorities. Another group of 15-20 people worked for 8 hours straight to clean, organize, and bring new life to each room in Ms. Sue’s home. Each volunteer worked with the same energy and care as he or she would in his or her own home. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, and sunroom received a thorough overhaul from top to bottom.

A few highlights:

The refrigerator – When I met with Sue on Friday prior to the work
day, I noticed that there was a gaping empty space in her kitchen.
There was no refrigerator. She mentioned it briefly but without any real attention. How is it possible to live without one? In just one phone call later that afternoon, a FREE refrigerator was offered. We kept it a surprise until Saturday, and when we suggested we start our cleaning in the kitchen first to make way for the new fridge, we thought Sue might faint! She was thrilled!

The BEST gift – With just one last room to go, a precious volunteered mustered the energy to start sorting and sprucing, and Sue joined her. During their time together, this volunteer shared the simple message of the Gospel with her new friend. Right there in the midst of years and years of clutter, Sue Nicholson accepted Christ. Isn’t this a beautiful picture of redemption?

Every last dollar that this Both Hands project brings in will go
toward our adoption of “V.” We received an update on our little one just this week, and we are so grateful that he is making terrific progress:

Everyone at “A” loves him so much that his antics only bring smiles. Because he had medical concerns that worried everyone initially and because he was initially slower to meet his developmental milestones, everyone was very concerned about his future. As a result, his incredible development at this time has surprised and delighted everyone and he is somewhat of a miracle to them. He is the child they refer to right now when talking about having the opportunity to give children the time, encouragement and stimulation they need to make a difference.

We’re so ready to meet him! We are honored that you are partnering with us to change this child’s life forever. Thank you for your generous support.

Great quote from Calvin Miller’s book The Empowered Leader:

“Leaders survive in spite of our vain attempts to contain them within the overly familiar ways we know them. We see them within the overly familiar ways we know them. We see them too close-up. We cannot give them that separating perspective that they need to allow them a place in the larger world. We perceive them as little because our world is little, our view is little. only as we allow them to outgrow our small perception can we see their leadership as large.”

Good stuff.

It has been forever! The India trip was great, and I have finally recovered from some nasty Indian virus.

Check out this super cool story from my wife’s blog.

Carlos Whitaker sent this link out in a tweet…. It’s awesome. I used to be the best moonwalker ever. Maybe I can break out some new penny loafers, brush up on my moonwalking skills, and submit my own video.

http://www.eternalmoonwalk.com/

I am leading a team of people to India for the next two weeks. I don’t know if I will get to post while we are there, but if I do have Internet access I will keep you updated here. If I don’t have Internet access, I will probably have about 100 new posts when I get back.

Hello friends,
Most of you know that we are in the process of adopting our son, Vismay, from India. We are nearing the end of our home study and will hopefully move to the next step soon. We are still hoping to travel the first part of 2010 to get him.

Many of you have asked how you can help with our adoption process. This is the first chance to help with the financial aspect of the adoption. If you would like to make a contribution to the adoption fund, just click the “donate” button below. It will direct to you a site where you can make a contribution through paypal. If you don’t have a paypal account, it is an easy (and safe) way to make payments/donations online. We obviously appreciate any donations that are made—nothing is insignificant.

We’re also planning some other fun fundraisers in the near future. We will keep you posted. Go ahead and think about any items collecting dust or going unused—yard sale, anyone?

When you choose to support our adoption, you are also helping another couple bring home a child, too. We have decided to give our tithe from all donations to our friends,  Jason and Michelle Steffenhagen. They are just beginning the process to adopt a son from Ethiopia. We are so honored to stretch your dollars to change the life of another child forever.

Thanks for all the support and encouragement. We can’t wait to bring Vismay home to be with his forever family!