Ministry of Presence

We just sent Andrew (my brother) back to the States. We had a great time with him and were encouraged by the presence of a friend/family member who was willing to involve himself in our lives here.

I´ve been reflecting a bit more today about my continuing desire to be involved in the lives of those around me. Sometimes, when there is a language barrier, you feel like you´re just watching people through a window, not really involved in their world or their conversations. But here people don´t watch anything from behind windows. They are in their doorway or on the porch, ready to scoot a chair over to the neighbor´s to hold the baby or jump out into the street to join the conversation, soccer game, or airplane contest (though I haven´t seen too many of the over-20 crowd doing this). When cars pass, people reluctantly move to the side for the brief intrusion, then return to the business of community.

Even though I like my MCC work of connections and education for more adult-ish people, I am loving my afternoon/evening/weekend work of being an involved adult in the lives of the kids in our neighborhood. I think it´s important for people of all ages to have several people around them who are willing to listen to their thoughts, hear them tell/read stories they like, and play games with them.
-Elizabet