I cannot believe as I sit here this morning writing this entry for our newsletter that I have been away for an entire month already. I am just settling in, though.
I think I share the experience of being deeply tired with many of you. Right now, I am the one getting the time to rest and recover on behalf of all of us. I know how you feel in your daily toils as I get a chance to get a break. Come summer, I will be back and some of us will get vacation and rest during our warm season in Seattle.
As I rest from work, I find a deep fondness for the value of work, of my work, of our work at Sanctuary. I see and hear of many churches attempting to be as deeply involved in a neighborhood as we are after about ten years. We have worked hard in cooperation with God and His sovereign hand has blessed us at Sanctuary.
Down here, I see churches striving to involve neighborhoods. Much of the energy seems to be the church reaching out to the neighborhood like a big brother or parent, rather than church interacting with the neighborhood as a member. I think we are doing this pretty well as I reflect. I am grateful for partners like Gary Brunt and his properties, Jim Lustig and Upper Crust, Taproot Theatre, Razzi’s Pizza, the House Pub, Naked City, Top Ten Toys, School of Rock, the Volunteers of America and our own Green Bean, Awake Church and Aurora Commons. I think we are building lasting working alliances that may outlive us all!
Down here in the global South, hospitality is such a key to outreach, and people here drool at the idea of the Green Bean and its possibilities. We are truly blessed to be a part of this all.
One thing I am learning is that suffering is a key part of progress here in Central America. Successes come through losses and struggles. Safe communities emerge from reactions to senseless crimes like the one that took the life of David Peterson in Greenwood recently. Churches become close and effective through strained relationships that don’t quit but hang in all the way to reconciliation.
As we go forward at Sanctuary — it will not be without past, present and future pains, stresses and crises ranging from relational to economic…but, God is leading us on faithfully along with his church in all the world, like here in sweltering Managua, Nicaragua. God bless you as you carry on carrying his cross and his good news.
Much Love,
Randy Rowland
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