The Q Chronicles Online

Overheard in the Lee Household, Pt. 2

2009-09-26T22:29:00.006-05:00

*Part 1 with background and pseudo-literary blathering on micro-blogging, etc., is found here.*

Look at me, daddy, I'm kicking the soccer ball. ... Was that amazing? (9/24)

daddy, you have to look mad. you're playing swordfight! (9/4)

mommy, let me get on facebook. what's your status? (9/3)

mommy! mommy! what's this on my finger?? maybe my finger is broken!! / oh, it's just the cut healing. / oh my goodness! my finger is broken! maybe i need to go to the finger place. and he's going to ask me, is it this finger? this finger? or this finger? (8/30)

no, i pee in there first! no, i pee in there first! / is that what the cats in the backyard are fighting about? / yeah. i should bring them inside. / to use the potty? / yeah. (7/5)

hey, don't call me amoz! / what shall we call you then? / squeaky. / ??? (6/30)

hey amoz, you just got a very nice gift! what do you say? / happy birthday! / uh, no, it's not your birthday. what do you say? / thank you, mommy! thank you, daddy! thank you, theo! and thank you, amoz! (6/8)

what would you like for breakfast, amoz? / i want ice cream. (5/23)

are we human/ or are we dancers/ my sign is vital/ my hands are cold... hey, hey, mommy, just amoz sing that song! (5/21)

Aarrrr, I'm a big monster with big teeth, who eats up little boys! / (pointing at Theo, his little brother) Eat him! (5/5)

This is my promise: I will be a good boy and I will get ice cream. OK? (5/3)

I'm sorry, daddy, for saying Go away; I love you. / It's OK Amoz, I love you too. / Mommy, I want some candy. / No candy, Amoz. / But I listened to you. (5/1)

I'm going to make the bagel sad; I'm going to eat him all. (4/19)

mommy, don't go to youth gloop. (but i want to go.) no, you don't want to go to youth gloop! (4/8)

what kind ice cream you want daddy? gorilla or chocolate? (4/6)

(after committing a particularly heinous offense and being sent to his room, when Christe went to get him): I'm sorry, mango chips. (3/30)

My foot hurts. I have a stomach ache in my foot. (3/29)

Amoz and Josiah sitting side by side pooping on their potties: So, how was your day? (3/20)

I'm doing my hot sauce (hop scotch) (3/17)

I don't have any money. Look, I just have dirt. (3/9)

I'm hungry. I need ice cream. I need chocolate. I want popsicle. Popsicles are good for me. (3/7)

Christe: Why is this tennis ball wet? Amoz: It went in the toilet by itself! (3/6)

N. Ireland Update #3: Aug. 16th - 19th

2009-08-19T11:03:00.002-05:00

Email to Friends of G.Hope:

Sun. 16th

I preached at both morning and evening services at First Pres Portadown. I was very encouraged to see a great response from the people to the challenge of urban mission. Just like so many other places around the world, Portadown, even though a small town, is becoming ever more ethnically diverse, thanks to globalization. Many of the folks here have a great heart to reach their changing town for the sake of the kingdom--many are already actively doing that--and it is a privilege to dream together about the changes the Lord might be leading them into. Dr. Manny Ortiz will be here in October for an urban mission conference for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; I pray that it will be a fruitful time for the church.

Mon. 17th - Wed. 19th

Xpression week got underway. Teams have come in from all over UK to do community service works around Portadown. Here is Kurt's take on Xpression:

"The days have been quite full as as our group has joined Expressions. The day begins at 10am when we gather with about 400 teens from 40 churches for a time of worship and receiving our work assignments for the day. The teams then go out into the streets and parks of Portadown, focused on 5 neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods are identitified as catholic others as protestant, and those of Irish descent are now joined by new Portuguese and African immigrant communites. Our group from Philadelphia is working in the Garvaghy area this week. We are divided among the 6 teams (of about 10 - 15 teens) working together in this neighborhood. Our team's tasks range from pulling weeds, and picking up litter to painting murals, or organizing events for neighbors young and old alike. The week's events in Garvaghy include a ladies salon night where women will come to get their nails done, ballroom dancing where older residents can teach the younger, football matches (soccer for all you Americans). At the end of the week all of the areas will gather in the town center for a big celebration."

I've uploaded some photos of the trip so far for you to enjoy. They are found here.

Please continue to pray for us. It is wonderful to see our team participate in energetic and passionate worship, and in works of service with their peers from very different backgrounds. Continue to pray for a deepening discipleship for our team, and that team members would see God in a new way.

Shalom,

--
Kyuboem Lee

N. Ireland Update #2: Aug. 11th - 15th

2009-08-15T13:29:00.005-05:00

Email to Friends of G.Hope:

Tue. 11th

Correction from the last update: The morning session this week is called Kids' Holiday Bible Club, and the afternoon session with the teenagers is called MIMO. I should have known; silly me.
After the morning session with the kids, the team packed onto the church bus and drove out about an hour to the eastern coast, to a town called Castlewellan. There, we got off at Mt. Pleasant Riding Club, and got on horses for a trail ride up the mountain in Castlewellan National Forest. All of us made it through the entire hour ride, despite some initial fears (and in a few cases, panic attacks). What a beautiful ride through the Irish forest and mountainside!
Then, off to Newcastle (a beautiful seaside town at the foot of the Mourne mountain range, the highest mountains in Ireland) for a dinner (tea) of fish and chips.

Wed. 12th

Amoz's birthday! He got a birthday cake at lunchtime as well as gifts from Danny's nephew and nieces--Isaac, Lydia and Sofia. Coincidentally, there was another birthday party scheduled at church, which included a bouncy castle and face painting, so he got treated to those too.
In the afternoon, Amoz went to Peter Pan's Playground (a large indoor playground full of very excited kids) with Isaac, Lydia and Sofia and their mum, while Christe went tubing with the rest of the team and MIMO .
You might be wondering how we are managing with the two little ones. With a lot of help! Sharon and her daughter Carrie, along with many others including kids, have been generously lending their hand at taking care of them. At times, it has been a struggle trying to care for both our boys and the team. So I have been looking after the boys at times when Christe needed to be with the team to process and debrief together.
Tea with our respective host families. We had ours with Alastair Dunlop (assistant pastor at First Portadown who is filling in for Stafford Carson) and his family.

Thu. 13th

Lyriq's birthday! She also got a birthday cake and gifts at lunchtime.
In the afternoon, we went caving at Belfast Activity Centre--not in a real cave, but in man-made tunnels made to simulate the real thing. We had to work as a team and crawl on our bellies through some tight openings--even through waterfalls rushing down on us. Some of us even went completely underwater to get out of the "caves."
Back at the church for a BBQ that some of the church members grilled up for us.

Fri. 14th

Our family visited 174 Trust in Belfast while the rest of the team did the last day of Bible Club. 174 Trust is a community development ministry operating out of an old Presbyterian church building that is in the heart of a Catholic community, promoting gospel reconciliation among Protestants and Catholics through some wonderful ministries of deeds. We were very happy to spend some time with Bill Shaw, the director of the Trust.
The plan was for us to join MIMO in Belfast as they viewed the Tall Ships, but it was raining cats and dogs so the Lee family headed back to Portadown instead. Everyone else had a great time at the Tall Ships.
In the evening, the Bible Club had its closing ceremony at First Portadown. It was good to see some of the results of our team's work, and how they'd bonded not only with each other but with the other leaders from Portadown.

Sat. 15th

Theo and I hung back so Theo could get some rest (he was getting tired out by all the back-and-forths) and I could prepare for the two sermons at First Portadown on Sunday. The others headed out to Giant's Causeway--beautiful craggy cliffs on the coastline.

Prayer requests: That our team would have energy to continue on into the second half of the trip, and that there would be some significant spiritual growth in our kids. That there would be good opportunities of worship and service. That they would truly meet the Lord, hear him, and respond to him.

Thank you for your continued partnership with us in prayer!

Shalom from N. Ireland,
Kyuboem Lee

N. Ireland Trip Update #1: Aug. 8-10

2009-08-10T13:33:00.001-05:00

Email I sent to Friends of G.Hope:

Hi friends,

We have arrived safe and sound in Portadown, N. Ireland! Here are a few highlights from our trip thus far:

Sat. 8th

* The team set off from G.Hope around noon JFK airport in New York. Danny Kwon (my friend from seminary days and youth pastor at Yuong Sang Korean Presbyterian Church in Horsham, PA) drove his minivan and dropped off a portion of the team; I drove our family minivan and handed it into the care of a friend who lives in NYC, Steph Shieh.
* We went through the JFK airport security minus a few liquid gel items; Mikey (the skater of the team) got to keep his skateboard as a carry-on to our pleasant surprise.
* 7:30PM: departure from JFK on Delta Airlines. It was a 5 1/2 hour flight--a long flight for Theo who didn't sleep much, and not much sleep for the rest of the team either. It was a bit surreal seeing the sun rise after only a couple hours after dinner and being served breakfast.

Sun. 9th

* 7AM (Philly time: 2AM) Arrival in Dublin. We were picked up by Danny and his father Garfield, who drove the church bus.
* After an hour and half drive and crossing the North-South border, we arrived in the First Presbyterian Church of Portadown where we were treated to breakfast and then a big Sunday afternoon lunch, with a walk on the banks of the Bann River in between. Danny's mother, Sharon, is in charge of cooking for us--Danny got his whole family roped into this operation!
* We attended the second service at 7pm when we were formally welcomed by the congregation and when the Assistant Pastor Alastair Dunlop preached on the topic of Sabbath (the senior pastor, Stafford Carson, whom I know from his Dean of Academic Affairs days at Westminster, was away performing his Moderator responsibilities for the General Assembly of The Irish Presbyterian Church). Having got almost no sleep, most of the team couldn't help but catch some Z's during the service... everyone was very good-natured about it though! (Everyone at church has been super-friendly and welcoming to us... we are so appreciative of them.) Then we went to our respective host families for the night.

Mon. 10th

* In the morning and afternoon, the team helped lead MIMO (Miss It, Miss Out) kids' Holiday Bible Club (they call vacation holidays here--being from America, the first thing we were thinking was Christmas.) In the morning, the Club is for kids aged 4-11; in the afternoon, the activities are for teenagers.
* The team is having a great time with everything so far, especially learning about the different nuances in culture and language.

Thanks for praying for us and supporting us! I will keep the updates coming from Portadown every few days.

Shalom,

Kyuboem Lee
Germantown Hope Community Church

G.Hope Street Camp 09, Pt. 2

2009-08-05T15:00:00.008-05:00

On Friday, July 31, Germantown Hope Street Camp held its Closing Ceremony at G.Hope church building. After four weeks, camp was over. Here's the slide-show of pics from camp that I showed at the Ceremony:

G.Hope Street Camp 09 slideshow from Germantown Hope on Vimeo.

And here are pics from week 3 and pics from week 4. (See previous post for links to weeks 1 and 2.)

I hope you can see from the pics that it was a lot of fun and full of life. I said previously that it was probably the best camp that we'd had so far; and it was.

Gateway 09 team with friends

We had a wonderful team of enthusiastic leaders who bonded well and made it a great pleasure to work with. (Shout-out: Gateway, you were fabulous!)

We added some new fun activities that worked really well (like afternoon dance parties, "Ride the Ducks" field trip, photo scavenger hunts, and find-the-counselor in the park) to the old favorites (watermelon fest, water days, atooteetah--sorry, can't explain via blog post, you'll just have to experience it for it yourself--and, of course, the Closing Ceremony when we show the slide-show).
A seminary intern from Calvin Theological Seminary, Andy Hanson, was with us for a whole month away from his family, and served ably as assistant camp director--he allowed me to function without burning out.

Andy with Man Man

Plus, we got an overnight training for all the different volunteer teams (Gateway team of college student interns who are mainly responsible for the main camp activities; a short-term team from Main Line Chinese Christian Church in Maryland; another team from Ashland Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Voorhees, NJ; and Jr. Counselors from the neighborhood, some of whom were campers just last year) at Ashland EPC that helped to prepare and bond everyone before the camp got started.

Ken gets cooled down

Ashland's youth group, pastored by a former student and now partner in ministry, Ken Buck, came up big as a suburban church partner with us in the ministry. Not only did they come over as a team of energetic and enthusiastic (if somewhat zany--ahem, Ken) leaders, they supplied the counselors' t-shirts, donated various supplies, and even held a pancake breakfast to raise money for the camp, most of which helped to lower the costs for campers going on the Ride the Ducks field trip.
Witnessing the Jr. Counselors mature was a joy for me personally. They were asked to take part in every daily pre-camp meetings and daily debriefing meetings--this meant they had to be at church by 8:30 in the morning, and didn't get to go home until 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon--a long day for young people. A few of them missed the pre-camp training and had to earn their Jr. Counselor status by working as "Leaders-in-training" for a full work week. Then, we presented them with their "red shirts" together with affirmations and encouragement from the whole leadership team. They responded to this really positively. My dream is that these young people would become, in a few years, "resident camp experts" who could lead and teach newcomers about how things are supposed to go at G.Hope St. Camp... part of our overall vision for indigenous leadership development.

Camp wasn't all fun and games, though. There were also some very hard things.

When you do ministry, you get to know people, and we got to know some pretty hard things about the campers' family lives. Our hearts broke over their hurts and hardships, and we pray that the Father will look after them and rescue them from all their troubles.
Andy, our intern, had to rush home back to Michigan a week earlier than planned because his father was in a biking accident and suffered a head trauma. (Thankfully, he wasn't as badly hurt as initially feared; he was discharged from the hospital in a couple of days.)
The free lunches that we receive from the City of Philadelphia's Recreation Dept. didn't end up coming three days--they couldn't adjust to some changes we requested, messed up the paperwork and then made us feel like we were the ones who did wrong. So we had to rush over to shop groceries and make sandwiches for fifty or so hungry kids three days--these didn't result in the most stress-free camp days.

By the time we wrapped up camp and concluded the Closing Ceremony, we could only marvel at the experience that we'd shared for four weeks--counselors, jr. counselors, campers--and praise God for a wonderful time. Gateway team members headed home the next day, the short-termers were back to "normal" life already, and so were our neighborhood jr. counselors and campers. Bittersweet. I saw a few Facebook statuses of the camp leaders that basically said, "Don't know what to do with myself away from Germantown."

Week 1 Group

Week 4 Group

But ministry goes on. N. Ireland trip starts this Saturday.

G.Hope Street Camp 09, Pt. 1

2009-07-23T15:28:00.003-05:00

I don't have much time to write about this year's Street Camp just yet, but I thought I'd share some of the photos from weeks 1 and 2--Week 1 collection is here; and Week 2 collection is here. So far, it is probably our best street camp yet. It has also been tough and tiring. Tomorrow, we go on a field trip--Ride the Ducks in Philly. I'll share more when I get a moment to breathe.

Happy Birthday, Christe!

2009-07-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

"Proverbs" Illustrations

2009-06-21T22:36:00.004-05:00

The blog has been getting some serious neglect and boom suddenly we are throwing two posts at you in one evening... Well, this is one of the projects that's been keeping me busy and away from the blog: illustrations for our camp curriculum--this year, based on the book of Proverbs. My friend Taehoo and I started this run last year, after deciding that there was a great dearth of Bible study curricula geared towards the urban youth and that we should write our own. You can find a bit of the background and illustrations for our first year's curriculum based on the book of Genesis, "In the Beginning", here.

Proverbs is a book that keeps things surprisingly and refreshingly real, and so is easily translatable into the urban culture. Its original intended audience was young men, so its language and in-your-face-but-in-a-loving-way tone makes the work of coming up with lessons and illustrations that much easier. There are wonderful word pictures that almost illustrate themselves. Like this one: "As a door turns on its hinges so a sluggard turns on his bed." (26:14) Or: "Like a gold ring in an pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion." (11:22) And the content of the message, wisdom for young people who need guidance in life, is one that's sorely needed in our communities. Modern culture has a tendency to scoff at wisdom, especially religious wisdom. The biggest victims tend to be urban youth in poverty. So we are hopeful that this curriculum will be used well in our neighborhoods this summer and beyond for the sake of mentoring young folks in living life God's way.

Here is a sampling of the illustrations (you can see the whole set here):

"Fear God" or "Fools Trash Wisdom" © Kyuboem Lee, 2009.

"The Simple" © Kyuboem Lee, 2009.

"The Stubborn Fool" © Kyuboem Lee, 2009.

"Evil Friends" © Kyuboem Lee, 2009.
I had to throw this one in, because it's Amoz's favorite. Amoz these days has a strange fascination with "bad guys"... one of his favorite movie characters to quote is Syndrome, from The Incredibles. We ask for your prayers...!

"Words II" © Kyuboem Lee, 2009.

"Life & Death" © Kyuboem Lee, 2009.

Northern Ireland Update: June 09

2009-06-21T13:35:00.005-05:00

We have been simply overwhelmed by the outpouring of support we have received for the Youth Service Trip to Northern Ireland! Many, many people have contributed prayer and financial support to make the trip, once a dream, a reality now only 7 weeks away. Most thrilling has been how enthusiastically people have given. So many who gave expressed in cards, notes, emails, Facebook messages and in person how excited they were to give and make an international trip possible for 6 young people from Germantown. One generous donor expressed that she only wished she could see the look on their faces as they experience it! Well, we hope to make that possible as we prepare to video document as much as we can and send it out to all our donors when we return, so be on the lookout for that.

Now that school is over, we are beginning the "domestic internship" with the Northern Ireland team. This includes weekly meetings for Bible Study, discipleship, a few cultural lessons on N. Ireland and some drama practice for presentations we will be giving while we are there. The team will also be serving as junior counselors in our church's own summer day camp in July, so they are serving in their own neighborhood too.

We will be having one final fund-raising event on Saturday, July 11. At a location to be announced, the team will be having a car wash with the help of Ashland Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Voorhees, NJ. If you are able, please come on out and get your car washed, and meet the team! They would be greatly encouraged to know you are thinking about them as they continue to prepare.

One interesting hurdle we've been experiencing has been the passport application process. A minor applying for a passport is required to have both parents accompany them in person at the time of application. For four out of the six team members, this is not a possibility since their fathers are not in the picture. At first, it seemed easy enough... write a letter explaining why dad cannot be there, get it notarized, send it with the application. But 2 team members have already had it sent back to them several times for reprocessing, saying more detail is required, or more documentation is necessary. One mother went to family court to get some things straightened out for the application. We are confident that the passports will be here on time, but it has not been as straightforward as we thought.

We are firming up the transportation plans for our departure on August 8. We are flying out of JFK since the flights were a lot cheaper than flying out of Philly. But that means we are in need of transportation to and from Queens. If there is anyone with a 15 passenger van who might give us a lift, let us know!

We will keep you updated; thanks for your prayers.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

A Festschrift for Manny

2009-03-26T10:05:00.001-05:00

I mentioned a while back that I had “completed a painting assignment... whose details I’m not at liberty to share with the world just yet.”

Well, the time to unveil the work came yesterday, when my dear friend and mentor Manny Ortiz was presented with a Festschrift (we all need some help with knowing what in the world this exactly is, so here’s the Wikipedia definition) in his honor at Westminster Theological Seminary: “Globalization and Its Effects on Urban Ministry in the 21st Century.” Our good friend and Manny’s longtime colleague Sue Baker (the Ortiz and Baker families have ministered together for thirty years in Chicago and in Philadelphia) put the whole thing together—a true labor of love.

I contributed a chapter named “Repentance and Bonding Dynamics Within Cross-Cultural Church Planting Teams” (edited from a couple of chapters in my Doctor of Ministry dissertation) and the painting used for the cover: “Global Urban Cross.” Many of the contributors and the Westminster community got together for a chapel service when Manny was presented with the work; I also had the privilege of presenting him with the painting.

(The work was inspired by aerial photos of various cities around the world. Clockwise from top left: downtown Tokyo; favelas in Rio; rowhouses in Philadelphia; and Marrakesh in Morocco. The crucifix itself is a freeway interchange in LA. Some of you have asked me about purchasing prints of the painting; you can do that right here, at Imagekind, where you can also get prints framed and matted, or as greeting cards.)

Being an unpretentious man, Christe and I knew Manny was loving it (because of all the relationships) and hating it (because of all the attention). A better mentor I could not have hoped for. He was not only my closest teacher in seminary (both Master’s and Doctorate levels), he introduced Christe and me to each other, and he performed our wedding. He led us to pray about Germantown and walked with us through all the ups and downs of planting a church here. He baptized our boys. He got me started teaching at the graduate level. The amazing thing is that I’m not alone in being so indebted to him. There were so many lives deeply touched by Manny in that chapel; many more still weren’t able to be there. Even among the contributors, friends serving in cities all over the world—in Peru, Serbia, South Africa and Nigeria—weren’t able to be travel to the presentation, but wished they could.

I’m delighted that I could help celebrate how the Lord has worked through your life and work in this way, Manny. Many blessing on you as you continue to work for justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord!

Delightful also to have lunch with various good friends, contributors, and the Ortiz clan. I went around and got autographs from all the contributors present—Manny and Sue, of course; Bill Krispin; Jeff Jue; Mark Gornik; William Shaw (who is based in Belfast; we want to go visit him this summer during our N. Ireland trip!); John Algera; John Leonard; Tim Witmer; and Pedro Aviles—that was fun. The Ortiz clan found a ping pong table in the second floor of the Student Center where the luncheon was held, and proceeded to play ping pong, Ortiz style. It consists of the whole group (more than 20 of them) rotating around the table hitting the ball across to whoever just rotated in. If you don’t keep the ball in play, you’re out. I’d never seen anything like it before; I don’t know how many of them actually got a chance to eat! A great day of celebration, for which I am thankful.

I’d of course appreciate it very much if you could go out there and purchase the book for yourself! Deepest thanks in advance.

G.Hope Oct – Dec 08 Newsletter Out Now, and a Few Other Tidbits

2009-03-25T22:30:00.001-05:00

For those of you who are already a part of the Friends of G.Hope group, this is old news. (No need to be left out; you can join up here.) G.Hope’s latest newsletter is out; you can get it right here.

You will be familiar with some of the stories already if you’ve been following along on the blog—Diallo and Theo’s baptisms were covered here; the post on the Northern Ireland trip is here, of course. But the news of the upcoming celebration of Easter Sunday / our 6th church anniversary / installation of our dear friend Ms. Penny Meads as a deacon wasn’t shared on the blog yet. So you should check it out.

I also asked the Friends of G.Hope group to pray (which is what the group is for); if you are a praying person, I’d like to ask you to join in. In the last few weeks, our little church family has been experiencing a lot of personal difficulties. One member is undergoing foreclosure on her house, two are grieving the loss of their fathers, and still others are dealing with tremendous life-consuming struggles. Thanks in advance.

On Sunday, March 8th, 4 of the young people on the N. Ireland trip team and I had a chance to visit City Line Church to share about the work going on at G. Hope the upcoming trip, and we received a very warm response, for which we are very appreciative.

Now, this is a story that didn’t make it into the prayer list email. After the service, as the teens and I were interacting with the congregants, someone called out, “Q jundosanim!” (Jundosa is a Korean church title for youth pastors; literally means ‘evangelist’.) I looked up, and I saw a woman whom I recognized, but it had been many years. “Oh my gosh! Benica?” The last time I saw Benica, she was in the junior high youth group at Cherry Hill Korean Church that I led during my first two years in seminary… almost fifteen years ago. She was not a kid anymore; she was now an adult.

The funny thing is, almost the first thing she said was, “We were so bad with you! I’m so sorry!” while her friend was laughing next to her saying, “Yes, she is! When she saw that it was you up there today, she was sitting there feeling really bad.”

But now, she’s a grown-up, responsible elementary school teacher taking care of kids coming up after her. It was good to see her; it made me feel like I’ve been accomplishing some things in life along the way. And it made me feel like a real geezer. Now, through the magic of Facebook, I’m getting reconnected with more of that crowd from that period of my life. All of my pasts are making a comeback into my present. A little surreal, in a good way.

“The Wire” / Germantown Connection

2009-03-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

Some of you know about the recent passing of Mr. Henry Barksdale, father to Stephen, a fixture around our church. Stephen’s mother had passed away only a couple of years ago, and since he was living with his cousins and grandmother, whose family was already overburdened with a very sick husband and numerous children, it looked as though Stephen would be displaced to someplace too far for us to stay in touch.

In a wonderful answer to prayer, Stephen’s uncle Ron, who lives in the nearby neighborhood of West Oak Lane, took him into his house and agreed to keep Stephen attending G.Hope. Stephen hasn’t missed a Sunday service, except for the one right after his father’s death, and he’s even gone on our ice skating outing. We were hoping that he would be able to go on the Northern Ireland trip—unfortunately, the paperwork for the new guardianship will take too long to begin his passport application in time, so Stephen won’t be going with us.

Now, in a conversation with Mr. Ron, somehow this came up. Robert F. Colesberry, the executive producer (while he was living) for one of our favorite shows, “The Wire,” used to live in our neighborhood and was a good friend to the Barksdale family. The families were neighbors in the Pulaskitown section and the children used to belong to the same Wissahickon Boys & Girls Club—just down the road from us. When Colesberry worked on “The Wire,” he named one of the characters after his good friends from the neighborhood—Avon Barksdale, the notorious and very smart Baltimore drug dealer.

“But… Avon’s a bad guy, isn’t he?” C asked. “That’s all right!” Mr. Ron said, enjoying his family’s claim to fame.

I did a search for Robert F. Colesberry after that interchange, and found a memorial page set up for him at the show’s site. Here’s a quote about the man’s early life in Germantown:

To those who knew him early in life, Colesberry's successful film career was an improbable outcome. Born in Philadelphia to a prominent family, Colesberry's grandfather, the city's district attorney and a socialite, was “a Philadelphia lawyer when that meant something,” according to Colesberry's sister, Jean Brown.

But instead of the Main Line, he grew up in a modest Germantown rowhouse after his father struggled in business and ultimately, with alcoholism. Friends at Germantown High School remembered a talented athlete who did little else beyond hang with the neighborhood boys at the celebrated corner of Wayne and Tioga.

“He wasn't a boy that got into trouble,” recalled Ms. Brown, making exception for a single loitering arrest and one notable attempted theft of a ceramic cow from the roof of a local steakhouse. “But he was around the boys who did.”

Jill Porter, a high school friend who years later would profile Colesberry for the Philadelphia Daily News, recalled that the young man would attend all four periods of lunch every school day, having little use for classes. “He was nice and had this charm to him,” Ms. Porter said, remembering that Colesberry struggled to graduate with his class in 1964. “But we all thought he was going absolutely nowhere.”

In some ways, not a lot has changed. But in other ways, a lot. Will the young people growing up today in our neighborhood have the same opportunities in life that Robert F. Colesberry did? Their stories remain to be written. We want to be participants in them. And we want Jesus to be the main actor in them.

Northern Ireland Trip Team Profile

2009-03-04T09:47:00.001-05:00

Introducing the team members of our Northern Ireland trip this summer (find further details about the trip in a previous post):

--------------------------------------------------------

Name: Rondel

Age: 13

Where I live: West Oak Lane, Philadelphia

School Name: Fitler Academics Plus

Number in family: 4

Interests/Hobbies: Football

Favorite Food: Pizza

Favorite Subject: Math

Why do I want to go on this trip? To teach kids in Ireland how we learn about God in Philadelphia

How do I feel I can benefit from going on this trip? I can benefit from this trip because I can see how kids in Ireland learn about God

What strengths/gifts do you think you’ll bring to this trip? I can teach the kids American Football

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Name: Michael

Age: 12

Where I live: Germantown, Philadelphia

School Name: Mastery

Number in family: 2

Interests/Hobbies: Skateboarding

Favorite Food: Pizza

Favorite Subject: Everything

Why do I want to go on this trip? Learn from others on how to become a better Christian

How do I feel I can benefit from going on this trip? I can learn how others worship God

What strengths/gifts do you think you’ll bring to this trip? I think I will bring grit and humor

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Name: Lyriq

Age: 12

Where I live: Germantown, Philadelphia

School Name: Mastery Charter

Number in family: 2 sisters, 1 brother

Interests/Hobbies: Dancing, internet

Favorite Food: Fried chicken

Favorite Subject: History

Why do I want to go on this trip? I want to go because I have never been to Ireland before.

How do I feel I can benefit from going on this trip? I can learn about how they do things out of the United States.

What strengths/gifts do you think you’ll bring to this trip? The strength I will bring is my intelligence.

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Name: Kim

Age: 16

Where I live: Germantown, Philadelphia

School Name: Home schooled

Number in family: 13

Interests/Hobbies: Cooking, baking, music and playing the piano

Favorite Food: Italian

Favorite Subject: Music

Why do I want to go on this trip? I think it would be a great trip and experience for me.

How do I feel I can benefit from going on this trip? I’ll learn more than I already know about God, and I’ll meet new people.

What strengths/gifts do you think you’ll bring to this trip? Music, piano, and friendship

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Name: Derek

Age: 16

Where I live: West Oak Lane, Philadelphia

School Name: Military Academy (Leeds)

Number in family: 4

Interests/Hobbies: Football, Basketball and Drawing

Favorite Food: Cheese steaks, hamburgers and fries

Favorite Subject: Math

Why do I want to go on this trip? I think it would be a great trip for me because I enjoy meeting new people and usually work well with them.

How do I feel I can benefit from going on this trip? I feel I can learn from this trip because it will give me a lot of different new experiences.

What strengths/gifts do you think you’ll bring to this trip? I am good at sports and I can also teach about God.

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Name: Anayansi (Ana)

Age: 13

Where I live: Germantown, Philadelphia

School Name: Home Schooled

Number in family: 13

Interests/Hobbies: Walking on the Avenue (this means shopping)

Favorite Food: Sweets

Favorite Subject: Music

Why do I want to go on this trip? I really like the sounds of Ireland I want to travel there.

How do I feel I can benefit from going on this trip? I will learn from a new culture

What strengths/gifts do you think you’ll bring to this trip? I am very good at listening and teaching younger kids

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Name: Kurt

Age: 32

Where I live: Germantown, Philadelphia

Family: 2 brothers, 1 sister, 5 nephews, 1 niece

Interests/Hobbies: Cooking, camping, making sculptures from clay

Favorite Food: Fish that I just caught and fried up at home, mmm.

Why do I want to go on this trip? I have heard about some of the exciting things that God is doing in Portadown and I am looking forward to serving alongside brothers and sisters in Christ there.

How do I feel I can benefit from going on this trip? I am praying God will use this trip to teach me and each of the youth who come more about our gifts and calling from God to build His Kingdom.

What strengths/gifts do you think you'll bring to the table on this trip? I have had the privilege of working with the youth in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia for nearly 5 years. God has taught me patience and perseverance. I hope to benefit this group by encouraging others to be faithful and consistent in serving others.

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Names: Kyuboem and Christe

Ages: In their 30's

Where we live: Germantown, Philadelphia

Occupation: Q is a pastor, Christe a stay at home mom

Children: Amoz (2½) and Theo (9 months)

Interests/Hobbies: Q likes swimming, running and taking photos. When he has time he likes to draw and paint. Christe likes to cook and take long walks. Amoz loves sports, Curious George and finding ways not to sleep. Theo likes to watch Amoz and just hang out and look cute.

Favorite Food: Q and Christe--Korean Barbeque, Amoz-potato chips, candy and ice cream. Theo-never had anything yet he doesn't like.

Why do we want to go on this trip? We are very excited about the opportunity to lead a group of inner city youth on a mission/Christian service trip abroad. All of the young people coming are from low-income African American families, and live in a economically challenged part of Philadelphia. These opportunities of cross-cultural service, worship and interaction with their Northern Irish peers are unlike any the members of our youth group have experienced. By and large, these opportunities that come regularly to other Christian youths in US aren't considered a possibility for our youths who have grown up in inner city neighborhoods. We are praying that this will greatly impact their worldview, and most importantly, how they understand God and His people worldwide. We are praying that the team will gain a heart of service that extends beyond our own comfort zones, so that we will return changed and eager to be available to serve God and others back home.

How do we feel we can benefit from going on this trip? We are hoping for deeper relationships with the members of the youth group, whereby we can continually help the youth interpret their lives and circumstances through the lens of the gospel of Christ. We are praying God will teach us how to be better leaders and counselors of our youth.

What strengths/gifts do you think you'll bring to the table on this trip? Christe and Q have had many individual and combined cross cultural ministry experiences and hope to bring sensitivity to other cultures and appreciation for the differences and similarities that exist among people who bear God's image.

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Overheard in the Lee Household (Pt. 1?), or: The Metaphysical Significance of Facebook Status Updates

2009-03-04T09:39:00.001-05:00

Blogging is its own distinct genre of writing (you can read an interesting article on the subject by The Atlantic writer Andrew Sullivan here); but Facebook status update has developed into a unique genre all its own. Micro-blogging, if you will. I hear that Twittering is very much like this (I’ve never tried it)—in fact, Wikipedia does call it micro-blogging—you keep others updated on your present status in 140 characters or less.

Because of this constraint, whatever you write has to be extremely concise; logorrhea is mercilessly cut off. This is refreshing, and provides some unique creative challenges. FB statuses can be purely functional, as in “Kyuboem is doing his taxes and is bored out of his mind,” but they can also be clever, entertaining, and even artistic.

This doesn’t mean that my FB statuses are so wonderful, or all that clever. But I’ve hit on a series that is getting a reaction from friends. And, of course, it’s about the most interesting personality in our family right now, Amoz. And I thought, What would it be like to compile them into one post? FB friend Elaine said that C and I should write a book of these… expressing an idea that I was already entertaining. Well, maybe not a book… but at least a blog post. So excuse the preceding logorrhea (on a blog, of all places!) on esoteric philosophizing on the nature of FB status updates, and on to the true subject at hand:

8:34PM, March 3, 2009: overheard in the Lee household: (to the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider) itsy bitsy bana the water water spout; down came the ashes, down came the doo doo...

6:18PM, Feb. 23, 2009: overheard in the Lee household: Amoz: I'm Superman. Daddy, you're Word Girl.

9:15PM, Feb. 19, 2009: overheard in the Lee household :: Amoz, pointing into his potty: Look, mommy, a turtle! Christe: No, it's a turd.

3:01PM, Feb. 16, 2009: overheard in the Lee household: Amoz atop overturned plastic bin: Welcome, our next president... Barak Obama! Clap, everybody!

8:07PM, Feb. 10, 2009: overheard in the Lee household: want a peekabooni pizza, daddy?

7:49PM, Dec. 10, 2008: (technically, not a true “Overheard in the Lee household” item, but an important precursor…) Amoz was just wearing his baseball-themed potty seat on his head saying, “I’m baseball king!” He was trying to cheer up sick Theo.

(The others are more precursors… you get an idea of how these evolved.)

5:57PM, Nov. 24, 2008: amoz says: don't clean up i just made a mess.

4:31PM, Nov. 23, 2008: Kyuboem is drawing pictures of poopies for his son.

7:45PM, Nov. 6, 2008: Kyuboem doesn't understand why his son is running around stark naked.

I might have another collection ready for you in a few months’ time, if you like these!

Sale Alert: U2's No Line On The Horizon

2009-03-03T10:29:00.009-05:00

For just today, U2's new album, "No Line On The Horizon," is on sale at Amazon MP3 for $3.99. (Update: It's March 5, and the sale is still going on...!) I just had to share the good news with you, much like the lepers felt compelled to with the besieged city of Samaria (2 Kings 6-7), because I'm very excited about this album... it ranks up there as one of their best, in my opinion. I know, I know, many people don't like it and a lot of critics have trashed it. U2 has now attained the status of the band that's cool to hate--it's hip to call them "irrelevant" and too old to be in touch with the young listeners. Then there are the old-time fans who demand that their band keep putting out the old familiar sounds that they've grown to love. But I love it when U2 does something different, stretching itself (as they've done on their latest), and not fall back on their tried and true formula for success. The album rewards repeated listens; it gets better and better over time. So head on over and treat yourself (it's practically free!), and let me know what you think. And... for those of you who check in everyday, you see how you get rewarded for it? The Q Chronicles: always sharing the best with you.

Update: WXPN (our favorite local radio station) has picked NLOTH as the Featured Album of the Week, and here's the glowing review:

It's sometimes difficult to critique a band as accomplished and as influential as U2. And it must be equally as challenging to be a band of that stature and continue to create music as stimulating as your earliest works. On their 12th studio album, No Line On The Horizon, U2 has yet again crafted an album that is expansive, and at the same time attentive to that familiar U2 spirit.

No Line On The Horizon is immediate. It doesn't take very long to realize that U2 has done it yet again. Backed with the dream team of producers that includes Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Steve Lillywhite, No Line On The Horizon exceeds expectations and turns out soon to be classics. Songs like "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" and "Magnificent" will certainly find their place in the epic U2 catalogue of hits. And for a band that knows the formula so well, they continue to be on the innovative front.

Influence for No Line On The Horizon certainly was impacted by travels around the globe. The band recorded in New York, London and even Morocco which becomes evident after listening to the atmospheric "Fez – Being Born". And while his work around the globe often takes headlines, credit Bono with drawing a line between the activist and the rock star. As he states boldly on "Get On Your Boots", the albums first single "...I don't want to talk about wars between nations, not right now...".

Whether it's opening the Grammys or five nights in a row on "Letterman", there are few bands that can match the promotional blitz with an album as engaging; U2 is one of the few.

Written by Mike Vasilikos

Germantown Youth Service Trip to Northern Ireland

2009-03-02T10:41:00.014-05:00

Youth Retreat, Fall 2008, Camp Donegal

Many of you know that Q and I, along with our dear friend Kurt, have been working closely with neighborhood youth for around five years now. These precious young people are very special to us, and central to the life of our church. They are the current energy and future influence of our community. The privilege of engaging with young people has allowed us to share in their lives while continually trying to provide loving instruction and counsel that is biblically based.

We have been alongside them and their families through victories and trials alike, including the pride and accomplishment of finishing high school despite the odds, as well as suffering the tragic loss of both parents. We have accompanied them to court, tutored them through challenging school assignments, consoled them at funerals and vouched for them at the request of probation officers. We have helped them find and maintain employment and have seen some go in and out of substance abuse rehab programs. We have had to get in between fights both verbal and physical and sometimes involving a weapon. We listen to and encourage them through romantic heartaches and challenge them to resist the pressure to initiate or react to conflict with violence. We support them in their anger towards an absent dad and in their many questions about God. We listen to and read the lyrics of the music on their iPods, MP3 players and cell phones, and discuss their meanings and values. We laugh at their jokes, share meals, play games, watch movies, go camping.

When Danny O'Hara joined our church last summer as an intern interested in working with our youth, we began dreaming of the possibility of forming a team of our kids and traveling together to Northern Ireland, Danny's home country, for an experience like none they have ever had. The First Presbyterian Church of Portadown is a church of about 1,000 members in the 30,000 person town of Portadown. For 2 weeks in August, the church has service opportunities in which youth could participate including a Vacation Bible School and a ministry called Xpression.

The dreaming turned into planning and now we have been invited by the church to spend the second and third weeks of August with them. For the first week, our kids have been asked to serve as junior counselors at the VBS, which is attended by preschool and elementary age Northern Irish children of the Portadown community. They will be assisting teachers and students and serving in various other ways.

During the second week, they will participate in Xpression--an outreach comprised of around 400 youths organized into teams carrying out service projects in the community. This is an annual concerted effort to love, serve and "express" the gospel of reconciliation in the community of Portadown, which is largely divided among Protestant and Catholic lines. In addition to participating in these programs, our kids will have the chance to share aspects of their own African American culture in both formal and informal settings, including hip-hop demos, spoken word deliveries, and sharing their own nuances of the English language while hanging out with Northern Irish teenagers.

YouTube video for Xpression 08 (only on Blogger, for those of you on Facebook and other places that are getting the feed)

These opportunities of cross-cultural service, worship, teaching and exchange are exciting and unique for our kids. By and large, these opportunities that come regularly to other Christian youths in US aren't considered a possibility for our youths who have grown up in inner city neighborhoods. Also, an opportunity to visit another country and participate in God's work in other parts of the world is not one that is within easy reach for them. We believe that this can impact their worldview--in how they understand God and His people worldwide. We are praying that the team will gain a heart of service that extends beyond their own comfort zones, so that they will return changed and eager to serve God and others back home.

Those of you who have traveled abroad know how exhilarating and educational it is. And those of you who have not only been tourists but participants in another culture know how much it stretches and grows you. You have had your self-centered view of the world challenged and the treasures of another way of life deposited into you. Your gratitude has been increased, your understanding enlarged and your sensitivity heightened. Q, Kurt and I have experienced this a little bit. We want this for our kids, too.

We are thankful to The First Presbyterian Church of Portadown, who has not only generously extended the invitation to come, agreed to host the kids and leaders in congregation members' homes, and committed to praying in a personal way for individual youth and the team, but have also already hosted a fund raising luncheon where they donated almost 1/4 of the total amount needed by the team! The pictures are from the event, 2 weekends ago.

We are currently estimating the total cost of the trip to be around $11,500. The bulk of the expense is of course airline tickets. But we have some additional expenses such as some food and ground transportation. Each of our youths' families has agreed to be responsible for obtaining their child's passport. The passport fee is $85 and that's a sacrifice for many of the families. But each parent is so supportive and extremely eager for their child(ren) to have this experience, they are determined to find a way to pay for it. (In 2 cases, it is an extra financial burden because 2 sisters and 2 brothers have committed to go.) Additionally, each student has agreed to contribute $250 of their own money that they earn themselves (not given to them by anyone), as well as to seek support to pay the $1,100 necessary to go. They are writing support letters to family and friends and giving presentations at churches. They are actively seeking prayer support from at least 15 people who will pray for them everyday during the trip.

I first want to ask if your church or small group would be willing to invite the team members to come and share with you. Just the process of sharing with others and inviting them to partner would be a wonderful growing opportunity for our young people. Second, would you consider giving to the trip? We are currently raising support! We are hoping that with many people giving a small amount, we can help make this happen for our young people.

May we send you a letter that describes a little more about the trip and the individual kids going? In it will be a request for financial and prayer support. If so, please contact me either by commenting on this post or through email, so we can get that to you as soon as possible. (Let us also know whether you'd like that in hard copy or in electronic version.)

Thanks for reading this far; thanks for caring about what we're up to in our neighborhood; and thanks for caring about the people we've been called to. In case you are interested in praying for the team, ~~we will put up the team profile soon on the blog~~ we’ve put the team profile up here (as of March 4). We'll also keep you updated through the blog as preparations unfold.

Lazy Man's Blog Post: Model Trains at Citigroup

2009-01-29T11:46:00.003-05:00

The Lee Fam visited Joseph and Theresa in The Big Apple between Christmas and New Year's, and we went to see the model trains at Citigroup. I considered blogging about it a few weeks back, but then I've been too lazy. But lo and behold, Joseph did all the work for me, complete with pictures, and now all I have to do is provide the link. Added incentive: a view of my hat head in all its glory. Enjoy! And thanks, Joseph!

Sale Alert: Get Outta My Face

2009-01-23T13:04:00.007-05:00

I'm poking my head in from another unplanned fast from Unblocked Writers Syndrome (symptoms include: blogaholism, Twitteritis, RSS Dependency, and Status Update Disorder) to share about a great deal on what promises to be a great resource from the Westminster Bookstore: "Get Outta My Face: How to Reach Angry, Unmotivated Teens with Biblical Counsel". The store is selling it at $4.88, 65% off the list price, while a limited quantity lasts. (I ordered a copy for myself as soon as I read about it last night.) Endorsements from the promotional e-mail:

Here's what Paul David Tripp has to say about it: "Rick Horne has invested in teens his whole life. He has learned that he is more like them than unlike them. From years of first hand experience, he knows how to talk with them and his is not afraid of the tough ones. What you will read here is the wisdom of a man who has experienced the courage and hope that transforming grace can give to you and that hard teenager God has chosen for you to be near. This book is a call to action with biblical perspectives and practical steps that God can use to change the teenager and you as well."

Dave Harvey, author of When Sinners Say "I Do" says: "Rick Horne knows teens the kind that won't talk and those that won't stop talking. If you have a teenager, you need this book. In fact, don't wait for the teen years! Arm yourself now with the timeless truths from this book that counsels moms and dads with gospel-hope for teenage trials."

Get on it, those of you working with or parenting teens!

Our Last Month in Eight Bullet Points

2009-01-12T15:00:00.008-05:00

A belated Merry Christmas and a belated Happy New Year, dear reader. Doubtless, you have surmised that we've abandoned blogging and you've stopped visiting couple of weeks ago. No, we haven't given up blogging... but life has been full. Besides, a little fast from Unblocked Writers Syndrome is not a bad thing once in a while (not that we're all that known for blogorrhea). As a way to make it up to you, let me offer you an overview of our past month (has it been a full month since our last entry? for shame!) in eight bullet points--not unlike how TV shows offer 6-minute recaps of the story so far, to get you caught up.

We didn't send out any Christmas cards or end-of-year family newsletters. Could never quite get around to it. We're shooting for a Christmas in March or April (or July) communiqué instead. Thank you to those of you who didn't procrastinate as badly as we did, and sent us your Christmas cards. We are in awe of you.
Theo was sick for about a week with a pretty bad respiratory infection around the time of our last entry. He had a fever that kept coming back, and his wheezing and coughing seemed interminable. Amoz had never been sick like that, and we were pretty worried about the little guy. When he was finally himself again, it was such a relief. We are blessed to have healthy kids; many parents don't have as easy a time.
The Lee Fam drove up to Mt.Top for our annual Christmas pilgrimage to C's parents', and Amoz made out like a bandit. Matchbox cars, trains, Tonka trucks, a remote-controlled transporter, a three-wheel scooter... All that anyone else got from us were lousy gag t-shirts (for Dad W: "Del Boca Vista Retirement Community: where older people come to die"--he's a big Seinfeld fan). From now on, every Christmas will be this way: all about the boys. During our Christmas stay, Amoz also had the first sled-ride of his life and threw his first snowball ever. He tried to make a snow angel (the first thing he did on seeing snow--too much TV), but it was too hard from the freezing rain the night before. Ah, Christmas is indeed a wonderful time when you're a kid.
We were in the Big Apple between Christmas and New Year's day, visiting with Joseph and Theresa in the Morningside Heights. They hooked us up with a visit to an amazing train model display at Citigroup Center (which, believe it or not, was free), and free tickets to the (amazing) Museum of Natural History to see dinosaur skeletons, a life-size model of a blue whale, and stuffed African animals (picture Amoz walking around on all fours imitating a gorilla). We visited with old friends Steph, Debby, Arthur, Esther with her daughter Madeline, and ate really, really well. "We don't always eat like this," Joseph told us, but we don't believe him (check out all the crazy food on his blog). After all the hedonistic eating over Christmas to New Year's, we needed to get back to our regular Korean food diet, pronto.
Traveling with small kids is a lot of fun, but it's also pretty hard. After we got back from all the schlepping around, C saw that the Facebook statuses of her friends with small kids were along the lines of, "OK... back on the wagon with the schedule after the holidays..." Good to know we weren't the only poor sobs struggling with kids.
G.Hope held a talent show on New Year's Eve; lots of fun. Amoz had an entry; he marched right up and in front of all the people, grabbed the mic with both hands and belted out "Jesus loves me this I know" as clear as a bell. We never had any practice for this; I simply started him off on the first line and he was off. C and I got ourselves a performer. He sometimes takes a bow after doing something laudatory (like pooping in the potty), and says, "Thank you!"
Speaking of which, here are a few lines from Amoz: During Christmas, Amoz had a whole bag of cashews to himself while watching TV. Uncle Steven said, "Boy, I sure would like some cashews. Amoz, do you know where I could get some cashews?" Without taking his eyes off the TV, Amoz replied, "Grocery store." The next two, I wash my hands of. When the "Elmo's World" (Sesame Street) theme song came on the other day, he said, "Ooh, that's my jam!" And during a recent "Funky Friday" broadcast on WXPN, he was like, "Shake your bootie!" Yes, yikes. OK, these next ones are cute. At Joseph and Theresa's when were were getting into the elevator, he said, "Ride the alligator?" He shuts us out of the bathroom when it's time to go potty--"Close the door, I be privacy." And the last one for now: When we are leaving him and about to go out the door, he says, "I better hug you."
Thanks to the Freemans coming over to babysit, C and I had our first date-date in aeons... like since before Amoz was born. Every other time, we had one of the boys with us or we were at a wedding or something like that. We took in Northern Liberties and poked our heads into the opening for a photo show by a Flickr friend, Laura Kicey (here is her website; here is her Flickr stream; her show, "Living Rooms" is at Café Estelle through January). We could have stayed out until 11PM, but we came home at 9:30. We were too tired to stay out any later. Pathetic! We are so boring and old.

Hey, thanks for reading this far, and for checking in with us on a regular basis, even with all that dead air. We'll be blogging more regularly... the boys permitting.

G.Hope Apr-Sep 08 Newsletter, Etc.

2008-12-10T22:18:00.004-05:00

I know this is a lazy way to share the news, but I'm copying and pasting my latest email out to the Friends of Germantown Hope group. (Theo is sick with a respiratory infection, and we've been trying to nurse him back to health. I have it a little too. If you're a praying person, I'd appreciate your prayers.) If you haven't done so already, please join the group here. You may have joined already, but your email address might be old. Please re-register with your new address. Thanks!

And now, without further ado...

Dear Friends of G.Hope:

Please find our latest newsletter here: http://tinyurl.com/5cheo7

There's a lot to catch up on since our last update. The youth group had a wonderful retreat in October--there were 15 kids attending. (Thank you, those of you that came out to support them for their fund-raising breakfast!) In Novemeber, my second son Theo was baptized as was Diallo, a young man who was born into a West African Muslim family but came to put his faith in the Lord Jesus in quite an extraordinary manner. More of this story to come. We also had a very uplifting Community Thanksgiving dinner as a part of our Sunday service on Nov. 23.

If you are able, we'd like to invite you to join us for our Neighborhood Christmas Caroling on Sun. Dec. 21 after our Sunday service (10:30AM) and a potluck lunch (about 12:30PM). The caroling should begin around 1:30 or 2:00. It would be wonderful to connect with you and to have you partner with us in spreading the news of our Savior's coming in song around our neighborhood.

Also: If you are praying about where your end-of-year contributions should go, please consider Germantown Hope Community Church. Please also consider becoming a regular contributor; we are still running our 50/50 campaign (50 friends giving $50 per month). We have passed our halfway mark, but there is still more to go until our goal.

Thank you for your friendship, your prayers, and your contributions. May the Lord who came many years ago to the down and out, the hopeless, and the lost grant you much joy in his kingdom this Advent season.

Shalom,

--
Kyuboem Lee
Germantown Hope Community Church
(Join Friends of Germantown Hope Group) <http://groups.google.com/group/GHope-friends/>
The Q Chronicles Online <http://qchronicles.blogspot.com/>

Free Download Alert: Jay Bennett's Whatever Happened I Apologize

2008-11-26T10:16:00.005-05:00

Jay Bennett, formerly of Wilco, has a new album out called "Whatever Happened I Apologize," and you can download the whole thing for absolutely free right here. Haven't listened to it yet, but I wanted send out the alert just in case you like free (and most probably very good) music. (HT: WXPN's My Morning Download, where you can also get two free downloadable songs from the album... but why not get the whole shabang?) Ah, I love all the great free music you can get on the internet!

Why We Never Go Out Anymore

2008-11-24T16:37:00.003-05:00

These days, trying to get out as a family is ridiculous. The cold weather means that everyone has to get bundled up, and the kids are not going to dress themselves. C and I have to pick out all the clothes, dress the boys, then dress ourselves; pick up all the various and sundry bags and supplies that now accompany us wherever we go (every trip is like a move). Oh yeah, these have to get packed before each excursion (diapers, extra sets of clothes in case of leakages and accidents, wipes, discreet cloths for nursing mommy, toys, snacks...). Not only that, although Theo is still a relatively fixed target, Amoz likes to run after each piece of clothing is put on him, which leads to a chase around the living room. He's been running around the house completely naked a lot, I've noticed, crying his freedom from the oppression of clothing. Amoz likes undoing all that his parents do anyway, so that's another angle (for instance: while he naps, all his toys get put away in an orderly, organized manner; after he wakes up, chaos and anarchy once again reigns in the Lee household). When finally the boys are clothed, the right shoes are on their feet, the jackets are zipped up and the hats are on their heads, we might smell something funky... one of the boys' diaper needs changing. Some days, we're lucky if we get out under 45 minutes. Can you blame us for being home bodies?

Theo and Diallo Baptism

2008-11-24T15:36:00.000-05:00

This post is about two weeks overdue. On Friday, Nov. 7th, the various church plants that got sent out from Spirit & Truth Fellowship got together to do a whole bunch of baptisms. What an encouraging time to be a part of all those baptisms and lives being touched by the gospel! Theo was one of those getting baptized, and Manny and Randy did the honors, as they did with Amoz couple years back.

Another addition to the family was Diallo, who walked into our church about a year ago. He was born into a West African Muslim family, came over to the States while a teenager, and went through life on the streets. He pretty much came to the Christian faith because he prayed to Allah during a time of crisis, "Please give me your Word for me to read," and found a Bible instead of a Koran. Then, shortly thereafter, a good friend of his died in an act of violence; Diallo avoided the same fate only because he decided he was too tired that night.

"Why am I still living? I should be dead, especially since I was flirting with infidelity by reading the Christian Scriptures," Diallo remembers saying to himself. "God must want me to still be around; I must be on the right track." Not too long afterwards, he found himself at our church.

He has indeed become like family to us, and we're so happy to have him with us. His life is a testament to the miracle of life-changes that God can bring about. It was my pleasure to baptize him, with the help of Scott.

It's quite long, but just in case you want to be as close to being there as possible, here is a video of the whole night (Thanks, Ryan!):

Spirit and Truth (and friends) Baptism Service - 11/07/08 from Spirit and Truth Fellowship on Vimeo.

Kevin Payne Cup

2008-11-20T10:46:00.003-05:00

I've had quite a few visitors to this blog because of the post I put up at the passing of my old friend from Kenya, Kevin. Folks from all around the world contributed some very touching comments in a collective grieving for a really good guy. Today, I learned that some old friends are getting together and organizing a bike race in his memory back in Kenya, to be held Sunday, Nov. 30th. (Thanks for the heads-up, Marian.) You can download the complete info in PDF format here. I wish I could be there; I'm sure it will be a wonderful time.