New Life in Dry Bones

This weekend, I was so blessed to be able to spend some time in Denver with my dear friends, Matt and Nikki. Shanta and I headed up to the Mile High City for some Rocky Mountain fun!

Matt and Nikki minister to the street kids of Denver. Their program is called Dry Bones--named for an amazing story of rebirth that took place in Ezekiel 37. Although surrounded by nothing but skeletons, Ezekiel obeyed the Lord's command to preach to the bones. As he did, they came to life--first with flesh, then with breath. The Lord was able to make new life where man saw nothing. The Dry Bones team works to allow the Lord to do the same in the street kids of Denver.

Thursday afternoon, I barely caught my flight (oopsie, I left work one hour before my flight left from DFW) but I made it to Denver in time to head to Shakespeare's Pool Hall in downtown Denver. Each Thursday night, Dry Bones rents out 14 pool tables for the kids to come inside, feel normal, play some pool, and, most importantly, build relationships with the Dry Bones staff and volunteers. Afterwards, they walk over to a park where they feed everyone a meal.

It was cool to get to see Matt and Nikki in action! They know and love each of these kids unconditionally, and it shows. When I first arrived, the street kids didn't want to have anything to do with me--here's this stranger in brown slacks and little bows on her shirt (we had to dress up to fly standby) talking to a 16-year-old all dressed in black with spikes, chains, and piercings all over. But by the end of the night, I had made some friends.

I talked with Cheeto and Bob (two guys who have become Christians and are now off the streets) for a while at the pool hall. I talked with Desiree and Bruno (who by the way, got married at noon Monday) and their dog Scratch. I talked with Susan and Robbie--the other two members of the Dry Bones staff. And I talked with Don and Nick for a little while.

At the meal--meat loaf and baked potatoes tonight--I got to meet a few more folks from the street. LaDon--who had written a guest column for the Dry Bones newsletter, as well as David and "Mamma Wife."

Then we headed for a bite at Old Chicago and were off to Matt & Nikki's cabin in the woods (please see picture of their giant dog Koda). On Friday, they had to attend a meeting with other community agencies in Denver and gave me several options: 1) go to the meeting 2) hang out at Denver coffee shop (M&N know EVERY coffee shop in a 100-mile radius, they are definitely well caffeinated) 3) chill at the house or 4) hang out with Nick and Desiree. Now I'll be honest--I felt totally comfortable hanging with the kids when Matt & Nikki were nearby, but all on my own? Hmmm, this would be interesting. But Matt said that he trusted Nick and that he thought I'd be fine--however, his parting words to me were "if you have an emergency or get attacked, call 911, then my cell phone." Thanks.

So Nick locked up his bike (he found it a few weeks earlier) and off we went on the "tour" of downtown Denver. Nick and I chatted for a while about Egypt--he lived there for a few years, and as we walked along Cherry Creek, he showed me a sanitized glimpse of his life--as he likes to say, he's "retired." I saw the storm drains where they sleep in the winter; the Plat River where the old school street kids initiate the new ones; the 16th street mall where they often spange (ask for spare change); and we talked to some other street kids along the way. It was definitely not your typical tour of Denver.

Shanty flew in on Friday afternoon, all aglow from passing the Texas Bar. YEAH! Then Saturday we woke up to SNOW! We grabbed a late breakfast, and drove through the mountains. Then we stopped for coffee at this caboose in Nederland, where Nikki introduced me to my newest addiction, a logic game called sudoku.

We "hiked" to the waterfall, walked around in Boulder, grabbed some Mexican food, and went back to the house where we played spades (I won't go into details about who won...), sat in the hot tub, and relieved some funny memories! Sunday we worshipped at the Lakewood C of C and then it was off to the airport.

So here are my "take homes" from this weekend. 1) Everyone wants to be loved--no matter what you look like on the outside, in some way we're all seeking acceptance. To the street kids of Denver, piercings and black eyeliner are the norm, so to them, looking so different is to be the same. 2) You don't have to be in a foreign country to do mission work. People need to know the love of God all around you. 3) God has blessed us all with different gifts. My daily life is very different from Matt & Nikki's --they know hundreds of homeless kids by name, they know where the jail and detox centers are, and God has blessed them with a heart for these kids. This is the life they are called to. But God has a different plan for me. I can minister here as a "roaring lamb" in Dallas. But although I'm not in Denver with them every day, I can offer them my support and prayers.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that God wants to use you where you are. If you're working on a specific mission field--rejoice! You are the hands of the Lord. If your ministry isn't quite that specific--rejoice! God has you in that exact job/office/school/classroom/city/apartment for a reason. The needs around you may not be for a hot meal or shower, like they are for the kids in Denver, but providing a loving ear and a caring heart for a classmate or coworker can be just as important.

Oh, and one more thing. Take a moment to look at your possessions--if you're reading this, it means you have a computer, and that fact alone means you are exceedingly rich compared to most of the world's population. Here's an interesting site to put it in perspective for you, I know I get caught up in what I don't have, sometimes and forget how blessed I am. And if you feel called to share your blessings, I know a great ministry in Denver that is always looking for opportunities to do more for their kids.