7 miles

The week here in Denver has been beautiful. We’ve soaked in some sweet T-shirt weather while refinishing the deck, washing windows and preparing the garden for planting. 

Kevin and Toby worked hard this week at washing all the outside windows

But, not too long ago a very wet, sticky, deep spring snow blanketed the metro area.

Sometime last week, around the corner, the boys built a giant wall. But, to me, in these present COVID-19 times? It looks like a giant toilet paper wall. 

And another giant toilet paper wall was built later in the afternoon back at the house. Notice my African kids have flip flops on as they work with the snow! 

 On one of those snow-laden days Geoff and I headed out to pick up some things for a little home improvement task.  Not too far from Lowe’s we saw a man walking in the wet, slushy street due to impassable sidewalks layered high with snow thrown by the plows. As cars approached he knew he was going to get mucky wetness sloshed onto him, so he jumped into deep snow to try the sidewalk. We couldn’t watch that and not do something. We both said at about the same time, “We need to give that guy a ride.” So, we slowed, lowered the window and hollered out, “Can we give you a ride?” Big smile, “YES! Thanks!” And over the piles he bounded into the back seat. 

We asked where he was going and though we didn’t recognize the cross street, he said it connected to the nearest main street. Off we went and along the way we found out he’d only been in Denver for 3 days. “Why?” We queried. “I needed a new start and I figured this was the place to try. I have a friend here and she said there were jobs, so I thought, ‘why not?’ So here I am.” Silently we entertained the reasons behind why he would need a new start. Are we harboring a criminal? A struggling drug addict? A delinquent father? A runaway husband? We decided to ask a few more questions.

“So, where did you come from 3 days ago?” 

“Mobile, Alabama. I’m 22 and have been in customer service and a few other jobs, so I thought I’d get out and try something new. Matter of fact, I was just coming from a job interview. I’m hoping to get something soon.” He began listing the types of jobs he’s done and highlighting what he’d like to do—I think he was hoping we’d have an opportunity for him. Ha! Ha! Of all the people to get into a car with, we are NOT the ones with abounding job opportunities at the moment!

We didn’t get very far into the conversation before I wanted to ask if he’d found a church yet, but before I could, he asked if we went to church around there anywhere. This was an encouraging development. We told him about where we’ve been going and shared why we have enjoyed it, but then lamented that because of the new injunctions in place regarding limited meeting sizes (this was a couple weeks ago) the church wasn’t currently meeting. I worried about him not getting plugged into a good group of people right away due to the coronavirus situation, so I handed him Geoff’s NHUM business card and told him he could call us anytime.

He got all excited about Uganda and asked us a few questions. We loved being able to talk about, "home" with someone eager to listen.

A few miles more and we were still driving. It was a bit farther than we originally guessed. Whatever cross street he’d thought he lived on didn’t seem to exist. 

He didn’t lack for conversation, including how great the bus route is along Smoky Hill, the street we were on. Contrasting Aurora’s public transport system against Mobile’s he has found Aurora’s to be excellent. Something those of us with cars know nothing of. I mentally counted my blessings.

Quite a few more miles down the road we turned left and into his apartment complex. His polite, friendly demeanor lasted throughout the entire ride. “Yes, ma’am. Yes, sir” was the norm, after all he’s from Mobile, Alabama, where people still speak with respect to their elders.

I noted the crowded parking lot and the numerous apartments built close together. I mentally counted more blessings. 

Just before we dropped him off he mentioned that he’d walked to his interview that morning. We were shocked! We had no idea how far down Smoky Hill we’d gone, but we knew it wasn’t just two or even three miles. 

It was such a pleasant encounter we hated for it to end. As we drove away Geoff reset the trip counter. 

Heading back east on Smoky Hill, we passed two miles, four miles, six miles . . . The end of our journey was the Lowe’s parking lot, near where we'd started. The trip counter registered almost 7 miles. SEVEN MILES.

Our new friend had walked SEVEN MILES in the slushy snow and ice to get to a job interview. He was not delinquent. He was truly hungry for a new start and whatever it took was his M.O. If he was addicted to anything it was his passion to make a new way in a new place.

It is a severe understatement to say we were stunned. Humbled. In awe.

My one regret? We didn’t ask for his contact information. Although we know which apartment complex he lives in, we don’t remember the exact apartment. 

I pray that he contacts us and we can get another installment in the quest for a new friendship.

FEELS LIKE A DREAM

The other night I woke up feeling like I was in a dream. I tried to discern what was real; were the things I dreamt reality or surreal? Honestly, the past few weeks have felt like a dream… 

As a culture our reaction to the current happenings seem dream-like, or more appropriately, nightmarish. Today I spent time talking to a woman managing a local store about hours being cut and potential job loss. How would people, and not just a few, but masses, cope with sudden loss of income?  Here in Denver, and I am sure as well where you live, stores are closed, services are cut, restaurants are only take out or delivery and the local police said they would not be booking people for “minor non-violent crimes". Wow! That's the perfect storm--people who don’t want to cook, who have lost their jobs, with no opportunity to go out to eat and have the promise of no jail for theft. I guess we better lock things up. It just feels like a dream…  

Then, for the Brittons, a year ago we were living happily in rural Uganda where life is so different. (You can read more from Mary’s latest blog post to get the big picture  http://brittonsinuganda.blogspot.com/2020/03/britton-current-events-or-case-of-bored.html ) As recent as three weeks ago here in Denver, we attended basketball games, Acacia ran the concession stand at school, our Uganda practicum plans were in full swing, kids attended classes, church was “normal” in the usual location and the news actually talked about a variety of things. Then suddenly, there was a tragic suicide at our kids' school, statewide schools, churches and businesses closed, people made panic runs on groceries and rampant fear consumed. It just feels like a dream… 

Today as the kids, Mary, my parents and I have all just been around the house, it has given me much time to think and meditate on how we really don’t have any clue as to where this is all going. Normally some direction is discernible, a feel of how things are going to turn out, but now I feel completely at the mercy of happenings around me--out of control. It just feels like a dream…

Now, jump to the book of Revelation. Imagine John’s situation described in chapter 1, verse 10. “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet…” He goes on to write some wild stuff about lamp stands, bowls of incense, plagues, and descriptions of Jesus that sound more like science fiction. Sounds like a bizarre dream doesn’t it? But let’s be honest, in the midst of this dream-like narrative there is a powerful message of a King who is coming. A King who holds all the world and it’s kingdoms in his hand. A King who promises to judge, reward and reign over His creation. 

John's dream in Revelation has deeper meaning…and that’s the same feeling I have right now; trying to discern between dream and reality means thinking deeper. Exploring what God wants us to capture from the current state of things. It may be as simple as reminding us that no matter how skilled or proficient we may be as a culture, no matter how well we design and program our comings and goings, we still aren’t truly in control. 

Proverbs 19:21 reveals, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails”.

Can we willingly grasp that truth in the midst of all this uncertainty? Should we begin to humble our hearts to the reality that we don’t know what tomorrow may bring? James 4:14 tells us as much and adds on that our lives are as fleeting as a vapor. Our lives are at the mercy of the creator of the universe, the King of the dreams and the Lord over this world where we live. 

As God gives you more time at home as we socially distance, more time to think as we aren’t running around town, let’s not fail to spend time meditating on this dream-like state we are all in. Let’s all consider this King, the King of the dreams and what he is speaking to each one of us.  

-Geoff

“Britton Current Events” or “The Case of the Bored American Salesman”

***Heads Up! This blog is a tad raw!***

“Britton Current Events” has been the name of the game in this blog space for the past 13 years.  But, these days? I often wonder whether ANY of our “events” are notable? 

Currently, Friday night, the two youngest were dropped off at friends’ to enjoy a movie night and the youthful shenanigans that go on when 6-8 teenagers are together. Geoff and Toby carried on to some yums yums at Chipotle and then to REI to peruse outdoor equipment as a part of preparing Toby for activities by identifying needed items for his pursuit of an outdoor leadership degree over the course of the next four years at JBU. I’m home with the grandparents, having cooked a stellar (ha! Ha!) dinner of spaghetti and homemade bread. Why write about that?

How exciting is that compared to the stories of Uganda and her people which we’ve so often shared with you in this blog?  

What have our days become? How is our transition going and for crying out loud, WHAT are we transitioning to???? I can’t quantify or qualify an answer to that question most days, and the least I can say most of the time is, “I don’t know”. 

Hanging in limbo is what I feel quite often. And yet, from the core of who I am, I fight that. This is just “a season,” as so many have said to me. Heck, I’ve said it to myself. But, I don’t want it to be a season of nothing, NO-Thing, void, a holding pattern until “real life” shows up. This is life and I want to LIVE it!!!! But, honestly, Denver, for all its convenience and ease is B-O-R-I-N-G compared to the life we’ve lived the past 13 years. Yet, before I can fully engage here in Colorado, I must attend to the very real need for us, for me, to adequately process the loss we have incurred by leaving Uganda. And the depletion and loss I feel has so far hindered me from fully engaging the transition process in a healthy manner.

I recently rewatched, “Cast Away”. I cried. What a picture of intense transition, loss, and shattered hope, yet the final scene hints at new adventures and new love. In watching it I found myself shedding tears for the first time in months over the loss I’ve experienced through leaving all that had become a norm for me. Regardless of how challenging or stressful some cross-cultural situations had become, New Hope Uganda was still a place of thriving on so many levels. Here in Aurora, CO? What is my purpose? Big question, not even a little answer is formed in my mind. “Cast Away” seemed to open an emotional door that was jammed shut. When the tears came so did a bit of understanding of what I’ve experienced in leaving a place I’ve loved for so long.

Sure, the “excitement” of Uganda also presents its own challenges and stressors, but that seems so far away at this moment and looks so inviting. I wrote in my journal today, “I WANT TO GO BACK TO UGANDA!” 

But, do I? No. I am convinced that here is where we need to be at this time. Yet, being convinced doesn’t equate to contentment.

I’ve presented here a snapshot of how I’m processing our transition out of full-time work with New Hope Uganda and into American life. Prayers are VERY WELCOME as I desire to gain some healing and understanding of where I’ve been and where I’m going.

And, what about the second half of the title I’ve utilized at the top of this blog? The best way to describe most of Geoff’s days, unless he’s on the road traveling and speaking about New Hope Uganda, is, “the case of the BORED American salesman”!!!

For those of you who know Geoff, I ask you to picture him at a small desk in a cold, dark room without windows to the sunshine, alone and working solely on a computer—no face-to-face personal interaction, no mentoring, no teaching, no young person in front of him asking life’s difficult questions. Such sums up his days. Unless he is traveling and speaking to others (which he LOVES) about New Hope Uganda and how they can become a part of such a great work, he is in that small, lonely room. And that, my friends, is the picture of a bored American salesman. Salesman? Well, technically, that is what he’s doing...selling others on the ministry of New Hope Uganda. Of course, he LOVES New Hope Uganda, so it’s an enjoyable process, but what is stifling him is the required preparation time for a speaking event or meeting in which he gets to engage others in the beauty of New Hope Uganda’s ministry.

If all of the above makes us sound a bit down, then I’ve accurately communicated. The somber mood doesn’t hover all day, every day, but it certainly is something we have to fight much more than we’ve been used to in the past many years. 

I’m just being real, folks. And so, we ask for your prayers. Sure, contentment and doing all things without grumbling or complaining go hand in hand. We have a huge part to play in this; an increase in our thanksgiving level is on us. Yet, we’d love your prayers for us to experience God’s encouragement; we’d love to increase on the contentment meter. 

On the positive side of Britton news, today the five of us went hiking in Castlewood Canyon just south of where we live. The temps were in the 70s, the sun kissed us warmly all afternoon and we scaled heights affording us spectacular views. Days like today remind us of the beauty of God’s creation around us and we’re grateful not only to live near numerous hiking and climbing areas, but to have the gorgeous Colorado weather that beckons us outdoors! Looking up and out certainly emotionally boosted us all today!!! So, yeah, today was NOT boring!