Norris Family News

Two incredibly packed weeks

A few posts ago, Erika talked about how I am the one who does most of the the going out while she holds down the home and churns out the French Toast. Thankfully, we do get to spend a lot of time as a family here, spending most mornings and evenings together. Occasionally we are able to go into Mexico or join an outreach team together, and we do get to do a lot of work around the campus together. But the first two weeks of June I was essentially gone; greeting Erika as my head hit the pillow. I had the privilege of co-leading, with Kathy Hart, an outreach team from south Denver and went to Colorado ahead of time so I could spend the getting-to-know-each-other time with the team on the bus ride to Texas. Then, following the outreach, I rode the bus back to Colorado to do the debriefing training. Kathy would normally have done that part of the trip since she lives in Colorado. But this time she needed to stay at the House of Cornelius, so I did both ends of the trip.

Many years ago we read a biographical, romanticized, children's book about the 18th century evangelist, Jonathan Edwards. He and his wife had about a dozen children and were both involved in public speaking. Jonathan did most of the traveling, but his wife traveled sometimes too. The thing that stuck in my mind about the biography is how both of them always took one or more children with them on their travels. They did not want to waste all that travel time that could be spent building relationships with their children. So in that spirit I was able to rent a car and take Rosemary and Heather with me to Colorado a few days ahead of the outreach. We had a delightful drive, visited grandparents, hiked, and Rosemary and I colluded on a surprise, mountain tea party for Heather. What a delight!

That Saturday the girls and I joined the Mission Hills Church outreach and rode the bus from Denver to the House of Cornelius. Although not "required" it is so great to be able to spend the time with the team on the bus for a day. We do some training, play a great name game, and generally get to know one another. By the end of the day I know everyone's name and a bit about their lives. Our family really hit it off with the members of this team. Every team is unique and there are deep bonds of friendship that result. But in so many ways this team was like-minded with us. I felt like I was on a bus full of old friends. Of course there is always the factor of common suffering. The bus was an old one with a tired AC unit that could not keep up with the 105 degree El Paso/Juarez heat!

The week of ministry was awesome, and the family was able to join the team twice; once at Agua Viva and once at the Vino, Trigo, y Aciete Hogar de Niños orphanage. Being the team co-leader is a big responsibility and a great honor. We went to a new (to IFM) colonia and had many, complex activities that went very well. The team set up a hair washing station in a courtyard which at first seems odd. But it is really a wonderful way for the team women to interact with the neighborhood women in a Christ-like-foot-washing way. The operation takes a few minutes and feels really good. Meanwhile they get to talk and then pray afterwards. Meanwhile the team men had a well-attended men's bible study in a nearby room. The next day we went to Agua Viva where we had a glorious day hanging out with the men, playing games, and talking about the Kingdom. That place is such a delight. Then followed two days at the orphanage which were, in retrospect, overstuffed with activities; but glorious none-the-less. The team brought "speed stacks" cups for the game of cup stacking. We had never heard of it before, but apparently it's quite wide-spread. I'm sure it's on the way to becoming an Olympic event. It's far less obscure than curling! What a hit that was. Especially the older kids at the orphange really got into it and were really fast.

After the outreach I had the blessing of riding back to Colorado with the team and Daniel and Jeremy! On the return trip I did the debriefing training which is an extremely important part of the outreach; giving perspective to and advice for dealing with the team's coming reverse culture shock. The IFM leadership has put together many wise things over the years. The boys and I then spent the following day hiking for six hours in the Indian Peaks wilderness with my parents. Praise God for His awesome creation! The next day we rented another car from the Denver International Airport and drove to El Paso. Again, it was a delight to spend a relaxing day driving with and relating to my boys. Praise God!

--Thaine