In the Shadowlands...

Ministering to the hurting, outcast, misfits, and subcultures, often is a lonely thankless ministry.  Even more so if you are in an area where the views are still stuck back 30 to 50 years in the past, where misunderstandings, miscommunications, and misidentification are common place. It is often tempting to lay aside the calling God has placed on your life, and just try to blend in.  To walk away and try to fit into the mainstream, but that is like walking into a deep foggy forest without a compass...

It takes courage to come back out of that forest, pick up the compass and the Light for your path, and do what is asked of you.  Even if some close to you don't understand why you still walk in the shadowlands, you have to keep going.  It will be like a fire in the bones if you dont.  When one is not on the right path, everything is wrong, and you are miserable.  But when you find that path again, and take up your journey-task with courage, joy creeps back...

So, having learned that the hard way, as I must so many things in life.  My cut up and bruised bare feet, are back on the narrow pathway of my calling.   Am I meant to serve the outcast, broken, and wounded?  Yes!  Am I meant to minister subcultures?  Yes! Am I meant to serve in Dine Bikeyah and the Native Southwest?  Yes! Took me forever to learn that and to learn what that might even look like... Each path is diffrent, and everyones hardship diffrent.  Take heart to walk the path and do the journey take He has set before each of us.  His ways are good, even if they always remain hard.  His comfort sustains, even if enough to just make it one more day, one more step... His light is just enough.

~ Morria

Living our Faith...

When we talk about living our faith, and being Jesus hands and feet, what do we really think about? Do we see a poor widow?  Do we see the fatherless kids down the street?  Do we remember the thousands without clean water?  Do we think of the many without a meal, espcially the 1 in 5 children who will not eat today?  Do we remember the orphans, the homeless, the strangers, and the outcasts?  Do we think of those ill?  Do we think of those alone?  Do we care?    Do we picture feeding 5,000?

When Robby and I returned to Kentucky, we also returned to our anchor church here, Immanuel Baptist Church of Corbin, because of their heart to reach the world.  Little did we know we would be returning during the Love Loud outreach, which is not just hosted by IBC but many other churches from the area.  One of the goals is to feed 5,000.  How?  That is the awesome part...

Have you ever gone to church Sunday and had a reverse offering?  What is that?  Were the church passed the offering plate and TOLD you to take $1 dollar out for yourself.  Then we learned about the parable of the talents   Then we all, along with many other churches descended upon Walmart (only food place that could handle all of us), and each spend that money, and many of us beyond that, to buy food for others.

Result?  One large truck, plus 7 small pick-ups full of food...  how many feed still pending...  That to me is living our faith... in a BIG way.

~ Morria

What Do They Know?

As I am sitting here, working at the homeless shelter in Chicago, my thoughts wonder to all the homeless, the Roma, and the gypsy/bohemian/nomad/travelers of the world, especially those in dire situations...

~ Morria

What Do They Know?

I sit here in this room,

nothing but this bag to call my own

Why am I here?

What has happened?

They say I am a streetrat, 

an outcast, a vagabond.

What do they know?

I sit here praying,

Family's still on the move,

Why are we hated?

What have we done?

They say I am a streetrat, 

an outcast, a vagabond.

What do they know?

I sit here in this slum,

nothing but rot to call a home.

Why don't they care?

How could things change?

What do they know?

We have a history,

We have names.

We are humans.

We are everyone. 

MMN - 2009 

"Bardic Circle"

Today our friends the Grover's hosted a "Bardic Circle".  This weeks theme was Native Drum Circle, Aaron was there for it of course, as were many of our other gypsy, goth, subculture, traveler, and nomadic friends.  As we began to share music, songs, and stories, my heart began to cry.  What are we doing here?  Our hearts for helping other people, maybe living in Dine Bikeyah, but not in the city here.  It hurt to much, but now I realize I cannot put the open road and ministering to fellow outcasts out of my mind or heart.  Tis in there just too deep.

What now?  I dont know what this means for the future... I dont know what roads this means we will go down.  But I do know that it means Chicago is not the end point, but just a stop on the trail...

We are here in Chicago for until at least next August or September, and after that I have even less clue where we shall journey.  God, You have to be in this, because I have no clue what You are up to here...

~ Morria

Mt. Zion, my aim!

Dark lips,

Blue hair,

Tattered cloths,

Yet singing Your praise!

Unique,

Rejected,

Outcast,

Called for Your service!

Nothing to lose,

So much to gain,

Mt. Zion is my aim!
© 2005 MMH/MMN

Trials...

Trials, tribulations, and persecution, ne’er before for the past nine months have I had so many and at the same time! I thought I knew a little about what it meant to be disliked, to be an outcast, to be sorrowful, but in the past nine months my world has turned over. I have lost 5 people (people from my church and in my family) and my dog to death. Of those, Samuel's death hit me the hardest. He had been my teacher, mentor, and friend; in truth, I counted him my "big brother". With his passing I learned to have faith in God no matter how hopeless things looked and to trust in Him even when every thing made no sense.

Then with my work, which I took because it was my dream job, (a nightmare, though I knew it not!), I have faced a boss that has no understanding of this area, of the costumers she “serves”, compassion on her workers. She pays no mind to the health of her employees even when she is told of doctor’s advice. On top of all that, she has turned on the few of us that are different for dressing “too different”, even though we have followed everything that the company has told us to do.

How much I have grown through these testing times. I am not the same person I was a year ago, for in truth then was I a girl and now am I a woman.

~ Morria