Winter Update: Two Years on the Job

Ah, Pittsburgh: the museums, the shopper's 'Strip', the Cultural Center, the sports arenas—so much to see.

#1
Actually, I've seen little of it, although I did take young Alex to the National Aviary and a Pirates game.

When my Bishop invited me up here to western Pennsylvania, I thought to take about 6 months helping him develop some ministry documents and perhaps help out at Church Army headquarters. I've done a bit of both, but I'm still here two-plus years later.
.
.
.
.

#2
I arrived in Ambridge on Christmas Eve 2007. Three days prior I had met a friend who was working as a long-haul trucker and living in the truck with her 8-year-old son Alex. Then on January 4, she called to ask if Alex could move in with me until the end of the school term.
.
.
.
.
.

#3
By January 25, Alex had arrived in Ambridge as a small and insecure bundle. Before long I discovered that the "end of the school term" was not to be June 2008 but 2009.

Then the recession hit—and it did not spare the trucking business. I volunteered to keep Alex until the end of school 2010, which was a prescient move, because his mother ended up spending some three months in the fall of 2009 not only homeless but also unemployed.
.
.

#4
So here I am, a substitute "single mom" at age 65-plus. I've been on the job 24/7 for two years, with four days off to make it to my daughter's wedding. I feel a need for vacation coming on.

Although some days seem to drag on while Xavier is at school, at other times I have to move the camera in my brain so fast to keep Alex in focus that the rest of the world seems like a blur.

Besides extra-curricular basketball (where his team won the championship last year), Alex has participated in football, martial arts, chorus, band (saxophone), and the summer programs of Ambridge Youth Ignite.
.
.

#5
He's a head taller now than when he arrived, and headed for an eleventh birthday in March. He's also showing early signs of thirteen-year-old syndrome, wherein a boy begins to believe he can do a better job running his life than his adult supervisors.

Like control of the ball in basketball, he'd like to have more control over his own life.
.
.
.
.
.
.

#6
Alex has adapted well to the winter weather, and has to be watched lest he go out in the cold under-dressed.

He lacks no friends to play with, and counts some 5o numbers of friends on his cell phone. His phone is our safety connection and my leash to draw him back in for dinner.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

#7
Alex's mom does not celebrate the Christmas season, and I take a dim view of its shopping binges and pagan accoutrements. Alex was having none of that attitude.

He came home from a friend's house with a fully decorated Christmas tree in tow, and set it up in his room. He was highly doubtful that he would see any presents under it come Christmas morning, and had convinced himself of this so securely that he had been up for an hour that day before he discovered them.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

#8
One of our pastimes during Christmas vacation was watching the Disney movie UP!. I think we saw it eighteen times.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

#9
The movie is about a crotchety old home-bound dude who dreams of going out adventuring in the high country. He achieves his dream, but it comes along with a young boy who he must reluctantly care for.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

#10
So here's the goal of the Old Dude in the animated flick: "Paradise Falls" in South America. But what he won through his friendship with the boy surpassed what he achieved by finding his wilderness dream spot.
.
.
.
.
.
.

#11
I sent my last post in early fall, before the autumn colors reached their peak, so I'll share some photos showing the march of the seasons here in frigid Pennsylvania.

This red-orange tree is on a street in Ambridge. There was another tree that was even more brilliantly florescent red, but when I got back to it a week later with the camera, all the leaves had fallen.
.
.
.
.

#12
These yellow-orange trees were blazing in all their glory on the hillside a block from my house in Ambridge.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

#13
Looking north from my porch in October, all I can see are maple leaves.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

#14
Looking north from my porch in December provides an unobstructed view of the neighbor's back yard.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

#15
Although we did have a nasty bout of freezing rain, the ice curtain hanging from my back fender continued to grow daily whether it snowed or not.

We had two weeks of weather when the temperature was never above freezing, even in the midst of sunny days. We're headed into another bout of the same right now.
.
.
.
.
.

#16
I have a gym membership that comes with my health insurance, and I've been visiting the treadmill two or three times a week.

The view out these second-story windows overlooks the Ohio River.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


#17
And here is that Ohio River in December (behind the trees), clogged with ice floes. For a while there was even an ice jam downriver that was causing concerns for flooding.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

*18
While I walk the treadmill watching ice floes move down the river, folks in Australia are stretched out on the beach for a mid-summer tan.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


Watch for another posting soon: Kid's Alpha is coming up and we're going to need prayer support.


PHOTO NOTES:
1: Pittsburgh sits at the juncture of three rivers. This photo shows the point where the Allegheny river on the left joins the Monongahela on the right to become the Ohio river headed for the Mississippi.
2: Freddy is an adult male chimp in Africa that has taken over the care of baby Victor, who is motherless.
3: Alex already had computer skills when he arrived. Now that he has his own Playstation 2 and DVD player, we spend less time tussling over who gets control of the computer.
4: I was trying to follow Alex with the camera as he dribbled down the court during a fast-paced game and ended up with this.
5: The baskeball season is short: they practice during December, break for Christmas, and have their games during January and the playoffs for the championship in February.
6: We got about 4 inches of snow that night. It's been a long and bitter winter so far.
7: The tree came with lights and ornaments.
8: This is Angel falls, which served as the model for the falls in the movie UP!.
9: This is wilderness scenery in China, which may have inspired backdrops in the movie Avatar.
10: Combining #8 and #9 gets us Paradise Falls, the adventure goal of the old dude in UP!.
11: An Ambridge street in autumn.
12: A street near my house this autumn.
13: Looking north from my porch in October.
14: Looking north from my porch in November.
15: The snow melted off but the ice curtain stayed.
16: This is a rehab gym that also has programs for the elderly.
17: The view from the gym.
18: Sidney, Australia, January 25.

The Lion shall lay down with the Lamb

That day has not arrived. Yet.

Nevertheless, the Animal Planet channel brought these amazing scenes to light:
a young lioness that adopted a baby oryx antelope.

Unfortunately, they were both starving because the oryx was not getting its mothers milk and the lion was not hunting for its food,

Eventually the oryx was killed and eaten by another lion

Hat-tip: Roger Bruno

Fall Update

.
Summer came and went with no update, so here's an early start on the Fall:

The strawberry plants continued to send out runners apace, and did a good job on covering up the mudpatch beside my walk.

Alex and I did get some fresh strawberries to eat, but the neighbors keep assuring me, "It takes a year to get a strawberry patch up and running."

It turned out that competition with the birds was not my problem, but rather the crawly bugs that found the strawberries to be a sumptuous breakfast (and lunch, and dinner).

I found that if I could keep the berries from touching the ground, I would have to share fewer of them with the creepy-crawlies.

Summer was quite eventful for Alex, thanks to Ambridge Youth Ignite, which ran a daily sports camp and arts camp through the end of July. Alex played soccer, lacrosse, baseball, flag football, and "ultimate frisbee." They capped off the season with a free trip to Pittsburgh to watch the Pirates play major league baseball. Eric Geisbert and the crew of young folk at AYI deserve high praise for the dedication and love they poured into the children of Ambridge.

After spending the month of August playing with his friends in the neighborhood, Alex was really ready for school to start again. He is excited about being in the fifth grade, and has joined the choir and the band.

His face really beamed the first day he brought home his saxophone. He said, "I'm going to practice every day! This is while I'm thinking, "How can I make that fun for him?'

He's looking forward to a visit from his mother this weekend. In part due to the recession, she had some significant business reversals this summer, and was unable to take Alex with her for a while as she had promised.

As a result, I had to cancel my own plans for a short vacation. I've been on the job for almost two years now, and could really use a break. But God is faithful, and He knows what He's doing. We remain targetted toward Alex re-joining his mother full time for his next school year.

Please put in a prayer for Alex and I, and for his mother's success in her new job search.

And may God richly bless you all.

Rolin
.
Postscripts: The marigolds that Alex planted for his mother;
.
.
The tomatoes that grew up through the deck;
.
.

And the red berries among the fall colors on the tree in our front yard.
.

Michael Melendrez II

YOUR PRAYERS REQUESTED

In February 2007 I received a letter from my sister Lucy about her grandson Michael, who had received the Lord in prison after years of substance abuse. Michael had been a carrier of HIV for 10 years and had infected his wife with the virus, and had been near death many times from his use of drugs. However, after his conversion he experienced a miraculous recovery: The doctors, in repeated tests, were unable to find any trace of HIV in his system.

Lucy wrote: "He ended up doing study courses on the Bible, and sent us the certificates he completed. He accepted Jesus as his Savior, and his Mother Sally could not believe the change in every aspect of his self. He has been given supervised work duty outside the prison, a big privilege."

Here is Michael's testimony at the time: "It began in 2005 when I turned my life over to the care of God, and no longer live for me, myself and I, only for our Father in heaven" He also gave credit to the Church, family and his personal prayers. Michael said "I have received the ultimate blessing of a lifetime. The power of God's healing hand is resting upon my soul."

By December of the same year Michael had been released from prison. As I travelled from Mississippi to Pennsylvania I was able to meet him in Cartersville, Georgia, where I attended Sunday church services with Michael, his mother Sally and two of his children. He had moved in with his mother, was looking for a job, and was participating fully in the life of Liberty Square Church. On that day he was invited onto the podium to give his testimony before the 1000-strong congregation of the church.

In this photo are Michael and myself along with his son Garret and daughter Ashley, now aged 10 and 6. He also has a son by different mother: Gevin, age 13. All are living with grandparents.

The tragedies in this family began a generation earlier, with the drug involvement of Michael Melendrez I, which ended in his father's death while Michael was still a toddler. Those tragedies have now returned.

Some time after I met Michael II, he won a disability benefits appeal and was awarded a substantial cash settlement. Those of you who know recovering drug addicts recognize the dangers such an award poses.

Michael's life again jumped the tracks, leading to his re-imprisonment for parole violations after spending most of the money. After months in prison without medical attention, he became too weak to walk. He was suffering from Hepatitus C, and is now in the final stages of liver failure. He is due to be transferred from the prison hospital to a hospice, and that may already have happened.

I invite your prayers for Michael and his family: his children and their two mothers, and his grandmother. I invite your prayers also for all those still in addiction to these tools of the Enemy, ravaging the families and youth of our nation. Michael is 35 years old.

My Lord, I thank you that Michael has accepted your saving grace and that you will call him to you at the time that you choose. Grant us the strength to serve those that suffer and to help those who fight against this scourge.

In Jesus name I pray,

Rolin

Urban Gardening

It has been said that time spent gardening is not deducted from one's alloted span on this earth.

















Whether that's true or not, I one of my chief joys is gardening. In Mississippi on the grounds of God's Katrina Kitchen I had no opportunity. Here in Ambridge, my young charge brought home a cherry tomato seedling last year, and I planted it under the deck, where it thrived rather tnan died, to my delight.














This year I bought an Early Girl tomato plant and put it in the same spot.

It has taken off, growing up through the floor of the deck!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Nights have been cool here-- we've all been wondering when summer will actually start. One side effect is that everyone has plenty of green tomatoes but very few are turning red.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Fried green tomatoes, anyone?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Between the walk and the side of the house was a bare, muddy spot that I had been grumbling about, while I had been buying luscious strawberries in the store.

Idea flash-- plant strawberries. But there was a run on plants this year, and I had to hit four stores to get enought plants. So now I have four different varieties of everbearing strawberries in my 3 by 12 foot "garden."

(In California, there was a time when I had a garden that was 50 feet by 150 feet. I had to rent a tractor once a year to turn over the soil in the Spring.)

The plants are mostly sending out runners, which is good. I have been counting on using it as groundcover for an otherwise muddy mess. A few are setting some small fruit, but it lingers on the plant for a long time before turning pink. I wonder if the cool rainy weather is responsible for that also.

The final hurdle will be battling the birds, who spot the faintly pink berries long before they turn red. I'll have to look for some netting if I actually want to eat some of them.

Nevertheless, I'm enjoying tending to my plants and watching them grow.

Thank you, Lord.

.

I know that you are tending to me even more lovingly than I tend to my plants.

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

... Spring Update
After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.

Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.” (Mark 9:33-36, NLT)

I write to you from western Pennsylvania, home of Church Army USA. I moved here in late December, 2007, and soon found myself in charge of a school-age boy on the verge of homelessness. He came to live with me to finish his third and fourth school grades, while his mother worked toward financial recovery and re-establishment of a permanent home for the two of them.

Then along came the recession with its layoffs and scarcity of jobs. Present circumstances are indicating that this young man will remain with me another year, finishing out the fifth grade.

This young man, who I'll call Alex, says that he has Jesus in his heart, and looks up to me to support him in his belief. While I think I am teaching him, though, I suspect he is also teaching me.

From the start, his nature was to contradict everything that I say and imitate everything that I do. That abruptly taught me which was more important: words or actions. As he grows older and begins to test the limits of his behavior, choosing the right actions has become more challenging.

My core ministry has been caring for the homeless. What I'm learning from this small homeless person is what God wants me to do for any of the homeless. He wants me to welcome them as Jesus welcomed the little child. He wants me to be Jesus for them.

I don't think I'm up to that, of course. But that must be my goal. So until God moves me on to my next assignment, I need to learn that lesson so that I can take it with me.

Pray for me, friends, as I continue down the path that God has set out for me.
And thank you for your caring concern.

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
. (Isaiah 11:5 NLT)

Core Ministry: the Homeless

. Spring Update

From the time I rededicated my life to Jesus out in the desert, I have always assumed that ministering to the homeless would be a part of my life. Here is a short summary of those times, as best as I can reconstruct them at the moment.

1995: My first ministry began right there in the desert. For three months I led a ragtag group of homeless in Morning Prayer on Sundays at Saline Valley Hot Springs, California. I used my experience as a licensed Lay Reader and my copy of the Book of Common Prayer to lead services. Three to six of us (or often just myself) met atop a lonely bluff overlooking our remote desert campground.

1996: Six months with the Mens Home at Victory Outreach Riverside gave me opportunity to interact with the homeless when we went on evangelizing trips into the roughest parts of town, looking for heroin and cocain addicts who needed Jesus. As Office Manager, I was on the front line of contact with men who called in looking for conseling and help. Most of these men were already homeless by the time they began reaching out for release from their addictions.

1997: A year in Springfield, Missouri put me in frequent contact with the homeless. As an outreach of Solid Rock Assembly of God, I went to the Town Square each Saturday evening to pass out leaflets that I had prepared at the church. Later, with another street evangelist, I planted a church just off Springfield's 'Skid Row' where more than one homeless man or woman turned their lives over to God. But when the town fathers found out we were ministering to the homeless—with up to a dozen people sleeping on the pews overnight—they promptly shut off our heat and electricity in the midst of a bitter, icy winter.

1998-99: While attending the School of Ministry at Victory Outreach in La Puente, I had occasion to join groups that visited Skid Row Los Angeles to evangelize.

2000: For a year I was director of the Mens Home for Victory Outreach Pasadena. We not only evangelized but also brought homeless men in from the cold to turn their lives over to Jesus, defeat their addictions, and learn the spiritual disciplines of prayer and bible study.

2001-2002: For two years I was assistant pastor at Harvest of Hope Assembly of God in Skid Row Los Angeles. This storefront church was established to minister to the thousands of homeless in central Los Angeles. Besides preaching and counseling the homeless—and living among them—I spent many hours patrolling the streets of Skid Row, seeking out homeless men and women in distress.

2003-2006: While attending graduate school at Vanguard University I joined Saint James Anglican, finding there an Episcopal church that was also orthodox, evangelical, and charismatic. I had several opportunities to join with members of Saint James in ministering to the homeless and preaching at the homeless shelter. After I graduated, Saint James helped start my ministry by founding the Rolin Bruno Benevolence Fund for the Homeless, and they have continued supporting me to this day.

2006-2007: With the Rev. James Giles of Church Army we launched Church Army Gulf Coast to minister to the homeless that were frequenting the food lines of God's Katrina Kitchen in Mississippi. The kitchen was feeding thousands of hurricane-struck residents and relief workers as they tackled the rebuilding of the Mississippi coastline. For over a year we ministered to the homeless who showed up at the food line in the kitchen, helping with referrals or just a shoulder to lean on. More intense care was provided to others, especially 14 men who we invited into my bunkhouse to work in Katrina relief, practice spiritual disciplines, and learn the 12-step addiction recovery program as taught by Church Army. All of them were touched by their experience there, and one of them—Samuel—we baptised in the Gulf of Mexico.

2008-2009: Moving to Pennsylvania, home of Church Army, I found myself in charge of a school-age boy on the verge of homelessness. He came to live with me to finish out the third grade and attend fourth grade while his mother did some financial recovery and attempted to re-establish a permanent home for the two of them. Then along came the recession with its layoffs and scarcity of jobs. Present circumstances are indicating that this young man will remain with me another year, finishing out the fifth grade.

Dear Friends, I'm late again getting back to you: I posted a dreary Winter Update on my web log, but didn't have the heart to send it out via email. The long and short of it is, after a disastrous year trying to find and maintain a reliable vehicle, God led me to a late-model car with a favorable and entirely unexpected loan approval.

God will provide. He always does. Thank you for your prayers.