Provisions

Praise God!

Ok, Burton is in charge of LOT (Least of These) ministries, a Saturday morning homeless feed. Recently he acquired a bus (an actual sized activity bus) for dirt cheap from Raleigh, so he decided to turn it into the mobile LOT bus. There are big plans in the works for that bus - a pedicure station, free transportation, and a thrift "store" - but nothing has materialized for it because there are no funds. That is, there weren't any funds til yesterday. Burton received a check for $2,200 from his wife's cousin's boyfriend who volunteered one time. The check is directly for LOT. Now there is a great starting point for the bus project; its dream is being realized! God is expanding our capabilities to love the least of these!

The Aroma of Christ in the Poor

Another Holler first. So it all began with Mary Susie. After our encounter with her, Justin went to work devising how to best be equipped for the next opportunity to love some least of these. The very next Saturday, me and Brackin were put in charge of cleaning out the best room in Justin's basement (there are 15 horse stalls in the process of being renovated). We stripped the room and gave it a temporary floor, insulation, plastic water vapor guard, and two mattresses. It didn't turn out to be even a three star hotel room, but it's much more homely than having to sleep on the street.

So God gave us a chance to fill the room  within a week. Last Thursday, Brackin was driving home when he past a homeless guy on the side of the highway with a sign. He stopped and offered the guy a hot meal and a place for the night. Right then, his buddy showed up. They introduced themselves as Pegleg and Charles Manson, train hoppers trying to get to Tennessee. Not exactly the most comforting of folks. Nevertheless, Brackin picked up the two of them and brought them back to the Holler.

When they arrived, we found out their real names were Ronald and Don. Ron calls himself Pegleg because he lost his left leg while trying to hop on a train. Don calls himself Charles Manson because he says he looks like him. According to Justin, they don't get much rougher than Ron and Don. They were the worst smelling homeless people I have ever smelt, and I've been around quite a few. They were very dirty, almost like they had been the ones to shovel the coal into the furnace of an older train engine. And they were more than likely drunk, Don a bit more than Ron. But we showed them every bit of hospitality that we would show any of our friends that might come by. Rebekah and Lindsey cooked a nice breakfast-dinner, and Brackin told a short version of his life story to our friends, incorporating the Gospel as well. Then Ron and Don got to be the first to try out the room. They spent the night and Brackin took them up Interstate 26 in the morning.

I realize that there might be a danger in doing this sort of thing, but just think, we were able to share the Gospel through word and deed to two folks. We planted a seed and showed them a love they have probably never seen. And they received a Bible. In my opinion, the resulting good outweighs the potential danger.

Loving Our Neighbor

On Saturday mornings, Burton heads up LOT (Least of These) ministry where he and volunteers serve breakfast to the homeless folks in downtown Asheville. When he moved to the Holler, we kind of adopted this ministry and now it is our main outreach service project for Holler Days.

This past Saturday, LOT was very blessed to have an abundance of volunteers but only a handful of people in need of food showed up. On a normal morning around 150-200 homeless folks show up. But I guess the fact that it was 7 degrees had something to do with the shortage. We (Brackin, Ryan and I) decided to recruit some folks from AHOPE (a day shelter just down the street) to come have a hot breakfast because we just couldn't give enough of the food away. While at AHOPE, we met a lady who was cold and hungry and in need of a warm place to stay for the day. Her name was Mary Susie. We didn't have much to offer in terms of shelter, but we invited her to come to the LOT location in hopes that someone there would have a solution. It's a good thing that Burton has a lot of knowledge of the options available to homeless folks in Asheville. So he told her every option he knew of but none of them were possible because of her situation.

So we had to make a decision. We didn't have anywhere for Mary Susie to go, but we couldn't just leave her out in the cold. So we did the only logical and loving thing. We invited her out to the Holler so she could warm up. After LOT was over, we headed to the Holler and gave her a warm meal and a warm house. We got to spend a couple hours with her to get to know her. We served her soup that Rebekah had made for her family and treated her as part of the Holler family. Most of the community members were there and nothing really seemed out of the ordinary. We had a good lunch time just talking and enjoying the company of the community and a few guests.

This episode was a Holler first. We have been working closely with the homeless folks of Asheville for well over a year, but none have ever come here before Mary Susie. It was a simple case of loving our neighbor the same way we would like to be loved. And there was a little miracle that came out of it at the end

The Holler Family

These are the people that I have been sharing life with for the past few months, they are the Holler Community members.

This is Burton and Ashley. 

This is Brackin and Lindsey and Forest.

The two families above live in the Hill House, where I live.

This is my roommate Ryan. He's been living here in the same program I'm in for over a year.

Here are Justin and Rebekah and their son Jonah, on the right. They live in the Holler House.  

 And this is the Lucas', Mark, Kathy, and Connie.

My Home

This is probably overdue. I have actually been living at the Holler for 4 months now. Up until 2 weeks ago, I was seriously considering leaving the Holler to return to a semi-conventional Christian life. But, God had other plans for me. Now I'm sticking with it and I'm trying to give the ministry my full support for this season.

Well, a little bit about what the Holler is, because I've gotten many questions about what it is I'm doing. The Holler is a Christian Community, Camp, Ministry, and Farm. I'm in the program called the Discipleship House. This is for college kids or older (I think) to come and live in community, be a part of the ministry, and most importantly be discipled by mature Christian's by being in their lives and serving along side them, very much as a family. The goal is to love God, love people, and teach others to do the same.

I live on the Holler campus; it's 75 acres of land owned by Justin Rhodes. There are currently 4 houses on the campus, but only 3 are in the community. There's the Holler House; this is a modified horse barn that houses Justin and Rebekah, Jonah and Josiah. It's the central house in the Holler. There's the Log Cabin; it is home to the Lucas' (Mark, Kathy, Connie). I probably spend almost as much time in the Log Cabin as I do at my house. Then there is the Hill House, so named because it sits atop a mountain. This is where I live. Me and Ryan share the Man Cave (our room in the basement). Also in the Hill house are Burton and Ashley, Brackin, Lindsey and Forest. Burton and Ashley  are the main house parents over Ryan and I. Brackin and Lindsey actually sleep in the Wheel House, an RV they bought for $2500, but they spend a lot of time in the Hill House. Forest is their 1 year-old son.

So far I've been on an incredible adventure filled with homelessness, poverty, camps, baptisms, missionaries, cow slaughtering, chicken wrangling, weed-whacking,  mountain boarding, guitar playing, tire rolling, widows, orphans, movies, dutch-blitz, baby-birthing, tractor riding, Spirit-filled meetings, transformation, Jesus seeking, and the best of friends. And that's just the beginning! I know there are more and better adventures to come if I allow Jesus to rule my life.

This is my life (which is owned by Jesus, by the way).