So We Spent the Weekend in Ferguson...

Last week, I had a strange phone conversation.  It went something like this.  The person to whom I was talking was going on about the terrible events in Ferguson, MO, and it was obvious to me that the only information available to this person was the sensationalized media.  This wasn't the strange part.  Almost everyone I know had conversations like that last week.  The strange part was when she said, "Now I know why you homeschool your kids," as if, somehow, that was what was "protecting" them from being another statistic in a case like Ferguson, or from being a part of a violent demonstration, or whatever... 

It took absolutely everything I had to refrain from announcing our plans to spend the weekend in Ferguson.

I'm going to be completely honest with you.  When I looked into the sweet face of my four year old, in 2005, I couldn't bring myself to put him on a bus, because I was afraid that something terrible might happen...  like another broken arm or another school shooting.  There was some amount of fear that went into our decision to homeschool (at least from my perspective).  I could hardly drop my kids off in the nursery for an hour without panicking.  If you've ever seen "Finding Nemo," I was Marlin.

But as the years went by, some very fundamental things changed for me.  And, at this point, homeschooling our kids has nothing to do with fear.  It has to do with spending as much time as we can helping them to learn and grow in the understanding of who God has created them to be and then finding ways to send them out into the world, so they can share God's love with other people.  It's spiritual formation.  It's story sharing.  And it works.  As a side note, our kids are also getting a very good education, both in the foundational subjects that everyone needs to understand and in the individualization that can take place, allowing each of them to explore their own talents and abilities to the fullest.  I have the utmost respect for public and private school educators.  I have no idea how they make it work for the large number of students in their care.  

Ironically, this post didn't start out to be about homeschooling.  It just took a little turn due to that conversation I had last week.  

What I really want to share, today, is what happened in Ferguson.  On Friday, we left home early in the morning to meet with around 200 of our best friends from across the country for the 35th annual St. Louis District All Star Quiz.  I don't think there was a team there who didn't arrive feeling something like the passengers who finally make it back to the platform after a high speed, inverted roller coaster ride.  But we're a family, and this is what we do.  And, quite frankly, there is no way that the leadership of this quiz family would have allowed the quiz to go on if there was any imminent danger to the participants.  We take care of one another.

So often, in the midst of competition, we run around spitting numbers out at each another as we duck through another doorway to try our hands at another 20 questions.  These are called statistics.  And they matter.  But not nearly as much as quizzing matters.  Because, you see, quizzing is not really about those questions.  It's not really about the score at the end of the round and who takes home the biggest trophy.  Sometimes I feel like I'm beating a dead horse.

These are the things that mattered most, this weekend:

1.  As mentioned above, we got to be with our friends.  Real friends.  The kind that have seen you at your worst and love you anyway.  The kind you can be yourself around, and, even if they think you're crazy, it's OK.

2.  We were located in a place where there were so many people who love their community that we actually were not able to get into the spaces where food was being prepared for the people of Ferguson.  This was, in many ways, terribly disappointing, because we wanted to help.  However, it also put into perspective the immense ways in which the Church of the Nazarene cares.  How often can you show up to help somewhere only to find that there is no need?  Actually, I have never seen that happen before.

3.  We were there when another team needed help changing a tire, at midnight, in the pouring rain.  And by "we", I mean Phil.

4.  And, we were all there to pray when a friend was taken, by ambulance, to the hospital.  And, prayer matters.  A lot. 

5.  We raised over $300.00 for the community of Ferguson, and we raised over $300.00 for the translation of quiz materials in other world areas, so that others can know the joy of memorizing Scripture for the purpose of spiritual formation and for the purpose of fellowship with their closest friends.  

And after all of that, I'll just bet that there is someone reading this who is still asking, "Did you win?"  I want to cry for you, really.  But the answer is yes.  Yes we did.  We didn't bring home anything that said first place on it, this weekend, but everyone there won at life.  And that's more important.

L.