Leaving for Africa

Update, leaving this morning for Africa. Check out blog and more updates here.

New Site

well folks, someone finally blessed me with my own domain.  For the most part it’ll be the same thing.

Here’s the new link:  Timothy Kirkpatrick

The day of Jubilee

Last week, almost quite randomly, the Hope Center saw about 60 people blessed simply and practically.  Let me set this up for you.

Each week we have about 60 people come in to get groceries for about 100 people (for mothers, themselves, and family members mostly).  We usually have a bag of rice, beans or spaghetti then about 4-5 other cans of “sides.”   Lately we’ve received a lot of random donations that don’t fit into our normal commodity hand outs.  We’ve received everything from canes and crutches to fabric softener and place mats.  We were planning on having a huge Block Party with a Health Fair to celebrate our 1 year anniversary in St. Martinville so we needed to clear out some room.  At about 4 pm we decided to put these random items on various tables.  Food was on a few tables, shampoos and hygiene products on another and so forth.  We had about 10 tables FILLED when we started.  It was like setting up for a yard sale, except we were holding it at 5 pm instead of 5 am, and everything was free instead of mostly free.

At 5pm, as usual, we start the food pantry.  People walk into our foyer, sign in, then go through the small door to the back room to receive prayer and food.  The looks on their faces when they saw the vault of treasure was priceless.  Almost everyone said “Who dat fer?”  With excitement we exclaimed “For YOU!”  Their eyes lit up.  

The first person to come through, “Foot” they call him, because he has a regular foot and a club foot, always always always asks for things beyond what we can give.   “I can have the sofa? That Picture? That 1 gallon jar of Jalapenos?”  He was one I was kind of worried about.  We wanted everyone to be able to have an equal shot at some of the goods and Foot is definitely one to take as much as he wants for his times of need later in the year.  However, he came up to me afterwards, with his bag of food and his bag of goods and said “Pastor Tim, I only got one of everything.  See ya gotta leave for the others who need it.”

This may not seem like a giant revelation or a major win in most people’s books, but that is CHANGE.  The community is changing, and Christ is doing it.  On Saturday we had our block party.  We had free red beans and rice (soo good), fun jumps and jousts, and free pregnancy and HIV tests.  The first person to show up, was Foot…and he brought his friends.  It’s touching, and really almost brings a tear to my eye thinking about it.  The joy that comes from seeing a seed start to grow is minuscule in real life compared to seeing the fallow ground begin to finally and with justice have seed.

In Proverbs 13:23 says “The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice.”   Fallow ground is ground that is plowed and worked but there is no seed sown.  It is an injustice, scripture tells us, that there is no seed for the poor.

I also have seen a difference in scripture between the poor and those who have poverty come upon them.  The poor seem to be the ones that are a victim of injustice and circumstances, where as those who are in poverty are victims of their own consequences.

Regardless, Thursday was a day where debts were alleviated and equality was grasped, maybe if only for a brief moment, in a time of jubilee.

 

                          Foot and Me

Thursday

From now on, when there isn’t a certain topic to write about, I’ll just list things on my mind, like Heath does.

1. Katie and I received a cool hand made oil lamp (from some fancy place in N.C.) and I just lit it for the first time.  I’m sitting at a mahogany desk with a worn green leather top I supposed was for handwriting personal letters, in the dark with this lamp…in our 105 year old house.  Everything is old and nostalgic, including my dell laptop from 2003.

2.  I’ve been learning to play the guitar since 1995.  I still only know 4 chords, should I give the dream up? Maybe I’ll sell my two guitars and buy a Wii and guitar hero.

3. This week has been very hectic, with some late nights (house renovations) and early mornings (Bible Studies, church meetings), and it’s all culminating Saturday at the Hope Center Anniversary Party.  801 S. Main street in St. Martinville, LA.  Come if you want, there will be free food and free confidental HIV/AIDs testing.  Sign me up!

4.  I’m realizing why Heath likes the lists so much.  They allow for some downloading without details.  I can also jump around too.

5.  Today I’ve had some thoughts rolling around in my head about WWII and the “atomic veterans.”  There will be a more thought provoking post about that later.

6.  If you could dream, would you?  And if you did dream, but didn’t see it through, was there a point in dreaming?

 

 

Songs that Save

In Walk the Line, Sam Phillips talks about Johnny needing to sing a song, just one song that would tell God and the World why he was alive.  Songs like that is what saves people.
No one is original.  In that vein… I am stealing Joey V’s idea for a blog. (by the way check his out, he’s money)
Some Songs that have changed my life…
The Drugs Don’t Work – Ben Harper, Live at Mars.  Originally a Verve song.  I don’t know what to say. I bought the cd around Christmas 2001 from best buy.  Heard it once, listened to it on repeat Christmas Eve and have not been the same since. Nothing special about the song except it just grabs you. Sometimes that’s all you need.   Best Line; “And if you wanna show, then just let me know and I’ll sing in your ear again.”
Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen, Greatest Hits.  Great Cd, Great Song, Great Artist.  Bruce has a way of taking all these feelings that you don’t think about and make you think that what he’s going through is happening or going to happen to you.  Best Line: “Don’t run back inside you know just what I’m here for, So you’re scared and your’e thinking that maybe we ain’t that young anymore. Show a little faith, there’s magic in the night You ain’t a beauty, but hey you’re alright. Oh and that’s alright with me.”
Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here.  Does it need an explanation.  IWU Summer 02.  I really got into them and into this song.  It’s amazing.  The one line in there that I always go back to, especially with God.  It’s a great song about questioning yourself and your motives.  Best Line: “And did they get you to trade/your heroes for ghosts/hot ashes for trees/hot air for a cool breeze/cold comfort for change/and did you exchange a  walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?”
Stay or Leave – DMB, Dave and Tim actually Live at Purdue Univ.  They had only been playing the song for a week. Me and Matt Carlson went to the show at Purdue. I somehow got in for free and make it to the 7th row.  The song just grabs you from the beginning and won’t let go.  If they went to radio it would have been bigger than Crash.  Best Line: “Wake up naked drinking coffee making plans to change the world, while the world was changing us, it was good good love.”
Time after Time, by Eva Cassidy…Ok OK OK. Let me explain this.  Yes it is the old cyndi lauper song.  No it does not suck.  I however was not at a great place in my life. Just got back from the SWU fiasco (shout out to Joey V) and was sitting homeless in my frozen car in a frozen parking lot locked out of my friends apartment which was a little bit warmer than the INdiana February I was experiencing.  When Eva hit’s those notes in this raw deseration at night, alone, one will shed a tear. I did.  Best Line : If you  fall I will catch you, I’ll be waiting, time after time.”
 
Sorry for stealin’ the idea joey. You’re still credited with situ and anything else you stole from san D.
enjoy, listen, and write your favs.