We Help a Friend Pack Some Suitcases

If your job was helping children and adults whose lives have been disrupted by war, genocide, trauma, and incarceration, where would you start? This month, Becca Jordan-Irwin starts with a trip to the dollar store.

She’s the president (and, she jokes, janitor) of Charizomai International, a nonprofit she started to allow her to serve in a variety of ministries in a variety of capacities. This month, she’ll be a member of the Care Corps International team serving in Gulu, Uganda, caring for children who have suffered from the disruption of years of war and genocide.

Becca is on staff with Care Corps, and served with them in Gaza (“definitely the scariest place I’ve ever been,” she said. “If the border closes, you can’t get out.”), working with teachers and children. In the United States, she’s worked with refugee children and with women in prison. In all her work, she shows the love of Christ through words and deeds ranging from hugs to hospitality. We got to know her when she and her husband Dave served as our pastors at Healdsburg Community Church.

On her next trip with Care Corps, she’ll be serving alongside several other local ministries (including Sports Outreach, which is a catalyst in the recent movie Queen of Katwe) will be helping children in Gulu move through the suffering and difficulties of their lives toward a healthy future. They do this largely by means of art and play therapy techniques (which make use of those dollar store supplies) that allow the children (and even adults) to express their experiences in a safe way, enabling them to heal from past trauma.

Last year, the team was able to help around 300 children. They came from villages all around Gulu (one group of about 75 traveled in a dump truck. Others walk long distances; some don’t have shoes) for a week-long camp.

Many of the local leaders and pastors were abducted and forced to be child soldiers in Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army; now, they are able to share their stories to help others realize that God has better plans than what they’ve experienced in their lives so far. By openly admitting to their pasts while living a life that demonstrates the love and forgiveness God provides through Jesus, these leaders are able to help and encourage the people of their communities to accept that same love and forgiveness.

Becca told us, “A lot of times, it just helps to have our support. The biggest thing is just getting supplies to the kids.” At the same time, she added, “God uses the Care Corps staff in a powerful way.” The supplies, ranging from balls of yarn to play dough, fill the two suitcases Becca will be bringing to Gulu. The support -- emotional, financial, physical, and spiritual -- is less compact. She relies on donations of money and materials; she trusts God for the emotional, physical and spiritual strength the ministry and travel require.

I’m grateful and honored to be her friend.

Visits with Old Youth Group Students -- Heather

One of my favorite parenting bits came from Bruce MacLeod, father of Heather and Allison. Heather and Allison are not just Bruce's daughters but were also members of the youth group when I was a youth pastor at Concord Bible Church. Back in the day, Bruce used to say to Heather, "Heather, you're my favorite daughter. Now you know I'll have to say the same thing to Allison because I don't want to hurt her feelings. But you're really my favorite." He'd say the same thing to Allison (switching names, of course).

So let me say right off that Heather was my favorite student in youth group. There are others I've told this to, but I really mean it with Heather. She always brought energy and joy to the group along with earnestness about her walk with Christ.

This month Mindy and I are going to churches with former youth group students. We asked Heather what she appreciated about Concord Bible Church growing up. She said she appreciated that CBC was a multigenerational. There were a number of women that took her under her wing (talking about you Magda Bedros, and you Nancy Walter, and you Val Gallaher) and helped Heather to feel safe. So safe that she often wore pajama bottoms to youth group (which I remembered as a charmingly quirky).

I asked Heather why she thought she had remained consistent in her walk with Christ and her churchgoing through the years. Many kids, especially during their college years, drop out of churchgoing for a time, some more permanently than others. Heather thinks that part of the reason may be that she became a Christian a little later in life, in the eighth grade, and everything about church and faith was new and exciting to her. She appreciated that kids were a part of the church and not shoved to the side at CBC. Through the years, Heather has continued to want to be a part of things in church and church ministry.

Heather met Matt, her husband, on their first day as freshmen at Berean Christian High School -- not that they were a couple during those years. After they married and came to Fresno, the Bridge was the second church they visited. There were a number of young people in the church, which at the time was called Fresno Evangelical Free Church (The church is still Evangelical Free; the name was changed to help the baffled).

When their first kid became involved with the children's ministry, Heather was concerned about aspects of the ministry and she made her opinions known. She sent letters voicing those concerns, and during discussions about those issues she was asked if she was interested in being a part of the staff and helping to revamp the ministry. She took the offer several years later after being part of a group of volunteers.

Heather was on staff for two and a half years but quit at the end of the summer last year, when the time commitment proved too taxing for family time. But even after she resigned, she maintained a good relationship with the staff and volunteers.

She and Matt appreciate the church's concern for and outreach to the neighborhood around the church. I'm sure that on staff or off, Heather will continue to be a blessing for The Bridge, as she always was at Concord Bible Church.

-- Dean