~ 55th Day ~ Farmer’s Market…Foreign Exchanges…Rock Wall…Family of Faith. Aunt Suzie let me sleep in, though I had asked her to wake me early. Grateful, for the extra sleep was needed, we were ready to go to the Chico Farmer’s Market after breakfast. Guess what I had a bowl of? I stuffed my backpack and flung it in the back seat next to Shelly, the foreign exchange student from China that was staying the school year with Jeff and Suzie. She is beautiful, incredibly intelligent and funny. She wanted to experience the market place, so the 3 of us drove with excitement to the downtown Chico area. Once there, I walked with Suzie and Shelly for less than 15 minutes and then we parted ways. The market area was full of people and was much larger and well-attended than other markets I’ve been to. While the people inside by the vendors were eclectic and interesting, the ones gathered and scattered on the outskirts were those that peeked my attention all the more. Also, there were too many “excuse me” “aahhh, I’m so sorry” and “are you alright?” comments with my extra large pack accidentally bumping into people in the sardine crowd (one lady who was hit pretty good and said “that’s like another person you’re carrying on your back there.”) It was an adventure just to find a way out… but then the better adventure began. The f.m. was located in a large parking lot and there was a sidewalk around the whole lot. There were people playing instruments, those spare changing and some just sitting to people watch. I must say, the clothes and hair styles were quite interesting. The perimeter was walked around twice, praying for the people inside and outside the market. After the second loop, I kept walking straight and saw a man sitting against a building with all his belonging next to him. “You hungry, bro?” He had a baseball cap upside-down in front of him and a sign that said “Homeless and Hungry… anything helps.” He had some onions, garlic and a ginger root in view, but I wondered how they would taste by themselves, without a kitchen and oven to make a stew or soup. He nodded and 2 granola bars were pulled from my pack. His name was Digger and I asked how long he had lived on the streets. “Most of my life that I can remember.” He had traveled much and been in the Chico area for awhile now. Digger was friendly, yet he didn’t make much eye contact and his voice was soft, lacking confidence. Sitting against the wall myself, on the other side of his bags, I scribed a personal rock that said “Digger… man who adapts to any situation.” When the rock was handed to him, he said “Yep, this is me, though it’s often hard to fit in when you’re an outsider.” I asked him if he stayed in the local shelters, but he said they don’t allow pets (pointing to a pet container that I hadn’t seen amidst all his belongings). “His name is Spot and he is my best friend ‘cause he never lets me down.” Digger was willing to sacrifice sleeping outside so he could keep Spot… maybe his only friend. Encouraging him that God could be his shelter and safety wherever he was, day or night, Digger just kept looking at his cat. My heart remains soft for Digger. As I walked away, I wondered what my response would be if I had to choose between a roof over my head and someone I loved. What would you choose? A pet or a person, would you or I sacrifice comforts over companionship if they were all we had? Crossing the street back towards the market, a man playing a harmonica was seen. He, too, had a hat in front of him and the sound coming from his harp was a sweet melody. I pulled out my own harmonica from my purse, flashed it at him and smiled while walking past. “Hey, you can’t just pull out a Chrometa 12 harp and keep walking! Let me see that bad boy.” I turned around and handed it to him. “Don’t worry, I’m respectful enough to not to put my lips all over your mouthpiece, but dang girl, I sure would like to hear you play something.” Declining to bust out a song, I said his playing was much faster than my musical bend. He persuaded on, and again, I waved him off. His name was Doug and we had a good talk about harmonicas, how our lives are a song and that we are all instruments that play a melody… sometimes sweet and sometimes cringingly off key. I wanted to talk more with Doug, but was feeling the need to pull away. He started jamming again and I listened to him play till my further steps silenced the song. There was a tree with a cement bench circling it and this looked like a cool spot to stop at. Four simple saying and scripture rocks were scribed. The word rocks with the larger font take a good amount of time to make and knowing that there were others whom I would soon meet, the simple rocks were opted for due to time. The “ready” rocks placed back in my pack, I headed down a street that went deeper downtown. After a couple blocks, many people were seen sitting along the sidewalks. Wanting to go straight and talk to them, I received a text from Suzie asking where I was. She and Shelly were with 2 other ladies who wanted to meet me and they were all waiting by one of the entrances. So instead of going straight, I hung a right to go around the block even though turning around would have been the quickest route. At the end of the block where another right was taken, there was a 7-11 store. A man in a wheelchair was parked on the corner of the store and as I approached him, I sensed the need to stop and ask if he was hungry. He was… and his face would have spoken for himself but he said, “Yes, I am ma’am.” A sandwich and pop were bought inside and when the food was handed to him, so was a “Serenity Prayer” rock. Jeff was not holding a sign and he looked so tired… of things spoken and unspoken. He was the reason for the longer route around the block. After another “Where are you now?” text from Suzie, I picked up my pace back to the market of farmers. The group of 4 beautiful women did not see me walk behind them and finally Shelly peeked over Suzie and said, “Here she is right behind you!” I was introduced to Carolyn and Kelli and we all talked for quite awhile. When I heard that Carolyn works with kids who come from difficult homes and families, I pegged her with a plethora of questions. What a ministry she has and what a story Carolyn has herself. Knowing one of the rocks that was scribed by the tree was for my new friend, she was handed the one with “There is purpose for every season of your journey.” Moisture came to her eyes and God knew that she needed this reminder. It’s so cool how God knows the journey of each rock, that they will be picked up and scribed, and who they will go to. He is an all-knowing God… Omniscient. This is why I cannot take credit for the Rock ministry, for God orchestrates everything down to the color of the Sharpie marker on the rocks. A man who is following his passion and has visions for hope had come over to our group and was sharing some of his ideas. I sat down next to the standing circle and prayed for this man while listening to him talk. Shelly was standing and listening, but after a few minutes she walked around the circle and stood next to me. “Can I sit down here with you?” I told her this parking spot was open and free today. She smiled and I again noticed how beautiful Shelly is with her large eyes and porcelain skin. She sat down real close to me and asked, “So tell me more about these rocks you make.” The message of “cling to the Rock” was shared and Shelly kept asking questions about God and how he had changed my life. My answers were kept simple and short, not wanting to dilute the power of the words the Spirit wanted to say to Shelly. This was one of those times where I don’t remember much of what was said, though I do recall telling her about “the fragrance of Jesus” and using the analogy of the “void” with her. She was listening so intently to the ways we try to fill the void we all have when born. When she heard that God was the only One who can truly and completely fill the void, her large eyes grew even larger. “Ahhh, I see! Yes, I understand that you tried to fill that void with many things and I, too, try to fill it with things, just different things than you did. But God now fills your void.” I asked Shelly if she wanted her void filled with God too and she didn’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ so I told her how she could ask Jesus into her heart. I don’t know if Shelly made this decision today, but I do know that this seed planted will get an abundance of water and fertilizer while she stays with Jeff and Suzie. They radiate Jesus and their lives speak louder than words. They are loving, compassionate and bold followers of Jesus. Suzie and I spoke into existence that Shelly would go back to China as a Christian… and tell all her family and friends about this new fragrance and the Void-Filler who now is her Heavenly Father. Ooohhhh, I get so pumped up just thinking about how Jesus will spread through another part of China. There is a tidal wave of evangelism spreading throughout that country right now and Christians over there need our prayers to be bold, withstand the persecution, and continue to proclaim the Good News. I believe so strongly that Shelly will join the spreading of Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer. We said goodbye to Suzie’s friends and headed back to the house. I was tired and wanted to lie down, but spending time with Jeff, Suzie and their kids, Kendra, Alex and Bridgette was a much better option than a nap. This family is so uniquely different, yet they all share the same warm and infectious kindness and easy-going personalities. Kendra, the oldest, is creative and compassionate and just got married to an amazing man of God and she is so in love with him yet loves God even more. Alex is home for the summer from college where he is getting a major in linguistics and he is friendly, very intelligent and loves to travel. Bridgette, the youngest (who I didn’t even recognize ‘cause I remember her when she was thigh high) will be starting college this year and she is pretty, playful and has a love for vintage clothes. After soaking up some time with the family in the kitchen area, I retreated to the back living room area in hopes to write a day post. It wasn’t happening… I just sat on the chair with the laptop on my lap. I checked some FB messages and scrolled through the newsfeed of my friends, then went back to the blank page of Microsoft Word. Nothing happened and though the memories of this day were fresh in my heart, they just weren’t coming out onto words on the screen. I closed the laptop and leaned my head back. This was the beginning of a 4-day struggle with writing that would be revealed as the days passed. At the moment, it was downright frustrating and I gave up the fight to write and went back into the kitchen with my family. There was still coffee in the gigantic coffee French press and a cup was poured as the conversation continued to flow. Plans had been made tonight to have dinner at the Velasquez’s house, who are close friends with my aunt and uncle. I drove with Kendra and the others took a separate car. On the way, Kendra and I caught up on our journeys and I so admire my younger cousin who acts much older than her age. Her spiritual maturity is beautiful to witness and she seeks after God’s will for her and Bryan’s marriage together with a surrendering trust. While driving, I noticed a gnarly rock wall that lined the road and commented how cool it looked. Kendra told me about the Chico Chinese Wall and how hundreds of years ago, the walls had been made by the Chinese slaves. This saddened me, but that the rock walls were still here, told of more than the history of them. Suddenly, Kendra made a right on a road and busted a U-turn, going back to where the walls were. I love her spontaneity and how even though we were running late, time wasn’t dictating her actions. She pulled to the side of the road and we both got out to walk over to the rock walls. The timing with the sun going down made the beauty of these stoic and enduring walls all the more beautiful. I was so glad that my cousin turned around and allowed me to see them up close. They spoke so loudly to me. Back on the road, we made our way up the hills and saw smoke in the mountain horizon from a forest fire. The scenery was grand, but with the sight of the smoke, we prayed for the firefighters and people in potential harm’s way. The driveway to the house was pulled into after Kendra’s car bounced and spun it’s wheels up the gravel road. We laughed at her little car’s determination and resilience. The voices and laughter of people inside the house could be heard while still outside and when I met the Velasquez family, I saw how easy it was to talk to them and laugh. A feast of food (most of which I’ve never eaten before) and fellowship followed the next evening hours. This couple was sold out to Jesus and though we were the guests that night, I felt more than honored as a guest… it was simply an honor and joy to meet this couple and learn about their journey (both overseas and local mission fields) of being humble ambassadors of Christ. A “Faith” rock was made for this family of faith and I left more full of encouragement and love than I did food (and I had seconds on many of the dishes). What a full first day in Chico. God had big plans and purposes for tomorrow as well. The marketplace is full of people. Some are there to sell, some to buy. Some are there for neither of these things. They are simply there because they have nothing. Give at least a smile to those who are on the outskirts. ~Unshakable Peace, Faith and Purpose~ cling to the Rock
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 04:55:45 +0000