Pure Grace and Praise at Starbucks

We'll pick up where we left off. We drove out of Greensboro last Friday night, headed to Roanoke, VA which was only a couple of hours North. We went to a Starbucks to find a hotel on Priceline for the night. Before I went on to start the Name Your Own Price, I checked my bank account. All of our purchases that had been in the pending status went through and we were left with $40. I told the girls the uncomfortable news and we looked at each other with that, 'Oh we have been here before but we still don't like it' look. We knew that God had told us to go, to leave the safety and comfort of our fabulous new friends, but without provision? Donna Renee had enough in savings, but one night would drain it. That is where we all were at that point. We decided that instead of getting anxious and spinning out of control, we would stop and pray about it. So, we bowed our heads and started asking God out loud for direction, discernment, and provision. When we finished praying, we decided to just sit still and wait.

We then got a call from our friend Charlie, asking our whereabouts and to ask us to pray that people would start talking and interacting with one another at the Elsewhere Grub. I prayed with him then and told him that we would continue praying. I hung up the phone and threw it on the chair. "I knew it." I had developed a heart for these young artists and their pursuit of community and connection in the make-believe world of their own fashioning. We stopped and prayed again for our friends and their guests. We continued our wait.

As we were sitting still, Laura and I overheard a conversation between the the three baristas. They were talking about the rules and behavioral perimeters of each of their churches. One was a pastor's daughter. Laura and I looked at each other and decided that we needed to engage these ladies.

After some time Donna Renee felt that God had impressed her to put her money towards a room for the night. He was teaching us something about the concept of "daily bread". Laura said that she believed that God wanted us "all in". So, we put a $50 dollar bid on a hotel room and a three star hotel accepted it. We began praising God and thanking Him for His mighty provision and for His love and care for us.

On my way to the bathroom, I stopped by the counter and said, "Ladies, we are terrible eavesdroppers. We overheard you talking about your churches. Which one of you is the preacher's daughter." They told me it was Carissa. I told them about our project, how we had just entered state #35, and shared with them the amazing experience that had just happened to us. I introduced myself and one of the girls said that her name was Hilah. I asked her what that meant and she said it was Hebrew for praise. I asked Carissa what her name meant and she said grace. The other girl named Katie said that hers meant pure. Pure Grace and Praise. Now that was some schedule line-up.

As we were heading out the door, Carissa came over with a brown bag and said that they had a little something for us to take on the road. Miss Grace with a bag full of God-provided treats! We thanked them profusely and made our way out the door. We still are dining on those godly reminders, five days later.

We have more stories of praise and provision that we will pass along as time and internet access permit. Please continue to pray for us as we push forward through our last ten states. Protection, Provision and Praiseworthy moments as we finish this work and make our way home.

Sweet dreams!

Princess Angela

Grubbin' in Greensboro

I love lighthouses. They are big, majestic, and most importantly, serve a divine purpose, to help those lost find their way in the darkness. Lighthouses have been a big deal to me on this project. The first summer I didn't get to see any, the second summer we saw two. The East Coast leg of the trip promised the sure sighting of the largest lighthouse in America, Cape Hatteras. Our original mapping conversations were pre-built with Hatteras in the forefront.

As we made our way through North Carolina, we landed in Wilmington. The girls had spent two or three days telling everyone that we were in Charlotte, instead of Charleston or Wilmington, or wherever else we found ourselves. We went to Starbucks two Saturdays ago to find a Priceline hotel near Cape Hatteras. We went online and looked up ferry fees and travel routes and all kinds of things to get us to my lighthouse. The more we looked, planned and plotted, the more anxious and confused we all became. Finally, Donna Renee said, "Stop, just stop. Something is not working." Laura cautiously said, "Maybe we are not supposed to go." They both hesitantly looked at me. I looked back. I said, "Maybe we are supposed to go to Charlotte. You two have been talking about it for the last two days." The girls were watching closely for my reaction.

God has grown us all a lot in the past four years. If it had of happened on the first leg of the trip, I would have been crushed for days. Now, after all that God has brought me through, my response was, "My God doesn't cheat me." I knew there must be something better that I surely didn't want to miss. So, we jumped on the road and made our way to Charlotte. You have already been told the stories from there.

What you don't know is what happened after Charlotte. A friend we met on the road in Portland who is from Indianapolis, Pete Gall (http://www.petegall.com/tegall.com/), told us about a couple, Ruth and Charlie Jones, who make up the Christian theatre company Peculiar People (http://www.peculiarpeople.com/). Originally when we first heard about them, they were in Franklin, TN. Pete told me I needed to go meet them because of our similar backgrounds in theatre and also with our common interest in community building. When we landed in Charlotte, I saw that their home in Greensboro, NC was only about an hour and a half away. I contacted Charlie via Facebook. Charlie went and checked out our site and sent us his and extended an invitation to stay with them. The girls seemed game, so we prayed about it, made sure that we got a green light from above, and made our way Northeast. We found ourselves on South Elm St. and rang the bell. After some time the door opened and Charlie greeted us. We creaked up the stairs to the third floor where we were welcomed by Ruth (Charlie's wife) and Starbucks, Cappuccino and Bear (the dogs). Charlie took us on the grand tour, an exercise he has down to a science. The art, the books, and the creative air captured our full attention, but my favorite feature of the house was the trash chute. At the back of the house is a storage room with a window that stays open. Three floors south of the window is the dumpster. I begged as many of their guests have done to "take out the trash".

After the tour Charlie helped us cart up our luggage from Lola, the Forerunner, and then he excused himself to go work on his newsletter. We put our things in our rooms and all went exploring.

Laura roamed through the house with her camera, taking pictures of the interesting art pieces and bookcases throughout the house, snapping shots of snoozing dogs draped over hardwood floors. Renee made her way through each room with video camera on record. I beelined for the room with words on the wall, capturing thoughts by Luther, Josephine Butler, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I grabbed my journal and traveled to the bookshelf by the fire escape door. I leafed through books, wrote down titles, skimmed back covers, and stopped my search when I lighted on a little reader entitled Drawing Angels Near:Children Tell of Angels in Words and Pictures by Mimi Doe and Garland Waller. I took it into the great room/performance area and stretched out on the Oriental rug. I giggled and beamed as I read the beautiful tellings of the little ones and gazed at their angelic reproductions. We eventually wandered into the dog/TV room and sat with Ruth and talked about our project, their work, and looked at the beaded jewelry that she had been working on recently. Charlie asked us what time we liked to eat and then announced that we would be having Charlie's Chardonnay Chicken at 6:30. Ruth went to help him with dinner preparations and we continued our look around. "Girls, supper's ready." We made our way into the dining room.

We settled in, grabbed hands and Charlie said the blessing. Then he asked, "So how the hell did you get into my dining room?" The story began. We told ours: the project, the shift in direction, the light house. Charlie jumped on that. "We are light houses. You found us." They told theirs: their meeting, marriage, ministry, and how South Elm St. had become his Parish. We found out that Ruth had grow up as a missionary's kid in Kenya. My ears perked. I told her that I would be wanting to hear more about that in our time together. We also got introduced to the concept of "The Grub." We had looked at "The Grub" picture book that Ruth had made, but it came to life when animated by the visionary storytellers. After dinner we went over to the adjoining great room to watch two of their performance pieces. The audience of three wiped tears from their eyes, sharing how the pieces had resonated with us.

Ruth bid us goodnight as Charlie bid us to take a seat in his office to show us some of his favorite videos. All irreverence broke loose, intermingled with peals of laughter. My personal favorite was Tim Hawkins music video, "Cletus take the Reel". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfs3BJZxKkc After about an hour, we called it a night and headed to bed.

The next day we awoke to the smells of coffee and bacon. We sat with Ruth as she told us about her time in Kenya and what it was like to transition to the States. I found a magnet of Cape Hatteras on the refrigerator, and Charlie took my picture with it. We left Charlie and Ruth to work on preparations for the casting of Charlie's new three act play that they will be producing in the next six weeks.

We wandered around downtown, took pictures, blogged at the Greenbean and came back in time for supper. We had Charlie's Fried Chicken (everything out of that kitchen starts with 'Charlie'). We watched more videos and turned in.

Every night we (the three girls) pray before we go to bed for direction regarding the next day. We discussed whether our time was done or not. We knew that we had gotten what we needed. Rest, good home cooked meals, inspiration, laughter, new friends- "Our tribe." Although we had gotten our needs met, we talked about how these two precious people, our people, were about to encounter one of the heaviest weekends of their lives. They would be hosting two "Grubs" the first on Thursday night at their house for 50+ people, one on Friday night in a new venue for 40+ people at "Elsewhere" the artist collaborative down the street, and then wake up early Saturday morning to hold auditions for the new show. We prayed and decided that if they were willing to accept the help, we would stick around and help prepare for "The Grub".

The next morning Ruth and Charlie were up early as usual. Charlie was off to Sam's and Ruth was off for an errand of her own. We got the call I predicted to come unload the groceries. In record time, we got the Grub stuff up the three flights and stuffed in the three refrigerators. Ruth came back and I had a chance to speak with them for a minute. The tension and weight of the next four days was heavy on Ruth's shoulders and thick in Charlie's voice. They took off for another appointment. I reported my findings to the girls and just as we were about to sit down and pray, they came back in and plopped down on the couch. "Will you guys pray for us," Charlie humbly asked. We listened to his requests and did just that. We then offered to help. The offer was graciously received and the five of us got busy. Ruth and Laura stayed at home and baked cakes for the two Grubs.

Charlie, Donna Renee and I all jumped in the Explorer and made our shopping rounds. Our first stop, COSTCO. Charlie had his grocery list programmed on his iPhone, and although impressive, grocery stores aren't laid out in alphabetical order.














Our next stop was Super G, where Charlie has made friends with the owner and always gets his Grub produce. We got fresh herbs, sweet potatoes, and lots and lots of coconut milk for all of the Jamaican recipes. I found an unexpected item for sell, a bidet, at the front of the store. Charlie suggested we get it for our passenger seat.

Our last stop was Harris Teeter grocery store, making our faces cring every time we have driven by one. Unappetizing name, great groceries.

When we got back, we found three others had come by and were staying for lunch. We ate, visited, and once the guests were gone, started the Grub preparations. Donna Renee and Laura helped Charlie in the kitchen as Ruth and I hung lights down the hallway and made table decorations. We worked on our different jobs and took a break to go eat dinner at the Mellow Mushroom across the street.

On our way back to the house, we stopped by Elsewhere (http://www.elsewhereelsewhere.org/) to see what these artists from all over the world were up to. We walked into this chaotic blast from the past thrift store turned living museum and met Curtis, the artist doing introductions at the front counter. We made a contribution of our leftover pizza to the artists and wandered through the playground, shelves and counters full of toys and trinkets from our parents' generation and our own. We opened old suitcases turned into time capsules and viewed the gathering of items that an artist had spent weeks putting together. We met people who were excited to meet us since we were friends of Charlie and Ruth. We got invited to their Grub on Friday night and told them we were not sure what Friday looked like. We wandered back to the house, finished our day's work, listened to one of Charlie's sermons, and fell into bed.

We got up at 7:00 the morning of the Grub and got ready to meet the day running. Mike the plumber came a little after 8:00 to help set up tables, chairs, and set the grand table. Mike has been their mainstay of Grub support since the very first one in Greensboro. He knows where everything is, how to most efficiently set up everything, aligns the glasses on the table to make it picture perfect for the traditional table photo, and even stays after and does dishes. Ladies, he is a catch!

As the hallway was being converted to a banquet hall, the kitchen was teeming with spices, steam, and a steady stream of banter. The chicken was all grilled by 9:30, the food was all prepped by 2:00. Time for naps, last minute errands and finishing touches. The phone rang throughout the day, inquiries about bringing a friend or regrets about not being able to come. The numbers increased, but there was plenty for all. Clothes changed, pictures snapped, and around 6ish, the crowd began to show up. The Grub was on!

A delightful inter-generational guest list manifested, bringing a sense of delight and expectation. The former Grub attendees knew the rare occasion that they were going to be privileged enough to once again attend. The newbies had heard outlandish stories of spectacular cuisine and hilarious hospitality from either a friend or one of the six newspaper spreads that had covered the Greensboro Grub since February 2008. Donna Renee had the video camera strategically placed at the end of the table, Laura wandered around with her camera as I watched for my cue to start dishing up the serving bowls.

People mingled until Captain Charlie's bellow moved the Grubbers to the long awaited table. He prayed, we dove in, 50 places at the feast. The volume roller-coastered as people silenced themselves with a chicken leg or a spoonful of sweet potato pudding or squealed in delight at a new friend's conversation contribution. People that would never call each other to have coffee, go shopping, or see a movie find themselves dishing and dining with new-found friends.

Charlie interviews a few people at each Grub. Our trio got tagged. He used the opportunity to introduce us to the crowd and to thank us for our help. After dinner plates were cleared, Ruth's Tres Leches was served.

After dessert another directive was given to promptly without delay move to the great room for a sharing of talent. Another beautiful chance for the dinner guests to better get to know one another. Charlie explained how this portion of the Grub was developed. He and Ruth extended the invitation and was told by their pastor that he would go but not first. So the hosts made their way to the front of the crowd and did "Who's on First?" which got interrupted by Starbucks, the dog. The next person came forward, Josephus III. A spoken word poet. A radiant light. Poetry,essays, journal entries and a mother's love letters to her dead husband were read, some jokes were told, a script was performed, and the hokey pokey was danced. The evening grew late and the traditional invitation out the door was barked by the master, "Get the hell outta my house!" Laughter and movement followed and people said their goodbyes.

The three girls talked to Josephus (http://www.josephus@mentalityenterprises.com/) about his vision and aspirations and told him that we would tell others about him. We washed dishes, put things away and made another trip to Charlie's office. He introduced us to the heart wrenching music of Michael Kelly Blanchard (http://www.michaelkellyblanchard.com/). We sat with the Kleenex box and wept as his stories of people that we knew or were came pouring out of the speakers. We said our good nights and fell once again into bed.

The next morning we got up and found more bacon, eggs, and coffee waiting for us. We also found ourselves in the kitchen chopping and cooking meat for the Friday night Grub soups. The Elsewhere founder came by and invited us to the Grub. April, the "help keep things in order" person of Peculiar People came by and gave us an encouraging word about reading our blogs. She and I talked for a few minutes about my blog regarding my lessons from Montana and what it means to have culture shape your Spirituality.

We finished the meat and told Charlie and Ruth that we had to go pray. Charlie kept telling us that the Lord was telling him that He wanted us to stay for the Grub that night. We told him to stay in the kitchen while we went and checked in ourselves. We retired to the parlor and prayed. We cried and cried as we got our release to leave. See, we had found a place that we could stay forever. But, the reality was we were in state #34 with 14 more to go. We had done what God had brought us there to do.

We returned to the kitchen with soaked, crumbling Kleenex in our hands to share our news. After some ranting from our brother, we gathered our stuff and started taking it downstairs. Charlie and Ruth helped with the last bit of the load and came bearing Peculiar People DVDs, Michael Kelly Blanchard CDs and Peculiar People coffee mugs. We stopped in the stairwell, prayed for one another, the Grub of the day, and the people of Charlie's South Elm St. Parish. We hugged goodbye and left with very sad hearts. We had found two rare people, four capable hands, four beautiful feet, two passionate hearts, one lighthouse, well equipped to bring community, acceptance, joy, love, reconciliation, and restoration to those lost in the darkness.