Hi family and friends,
Here's some rapid fire updates for you:
-Micah landed a volunteer slot at the on-post library here in Germany. He started yesterday and he really loves it.
-We've found a homeschool group consisting of other military families here in Heidelberg.
-Rachel is due to head back to Arizona and spend a few weeks with her almost fiance and we are going to miss her. She's scheduled to return to Germany in early January.
-Our family van is already "in-country" and we should be able to pick it up this week or the next.
-We should be moving into our home off-post in early January.
-Our missionary friends in Kenya just gave birth to their newest baby girl:
www.purechristianity.blogs.com
-Hannakuh starts this Friday.
-Our friends in Arizona who are in the early stages of building an intentional community in Missouri have launched their website:
http://thisismyfamilysblog.blogspot.com/
-Please keep my Uncle Terry in prayer for some significant medical concerns and we are asking for God's healing.
-We held our first home fellowship last Saturday night and it went really well. I made my homemade Sabbath bread and we enjoyed sparkling grape juice for the opening ceramony and then some excellent, Southern style iced tea to go along with our meal of chicken egg noogle soup. After dinner, we listened to and sang praise songs with accompaniment guitar playing provided by our daughter, Rachel. We read from Proverbs and then went into a discussion of all that was going in life. Among the things discussed, I recall one topic was: what would be the effect of an apology from white persons on behalf of the wrongs committed against those of African descent in our country by previous generations of white folk. One of us had a dream where we were apologizing on behalf of our ancestors for what had occurred in the past. Those apolgized to we extremely moved and received such healing. Only later did we realize that MLK day is coming up. Would an apology help things? I think it would.
Matthews Family Herald
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" from Joshua 24:15
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5 comments:
wow, you guys have quite a bit going on!! 'tis the time of year, AND a recent move across country will definitely do it. How great that you all are about to have your wheels and a place big enough to accomdate your family. Congratulations!! What plans have you made for Christmas day?
It sounds like you guys had a pretty interesting discussion about reparations, apolgies, or was it just about apologies. I don't see how one could hurt, really. I truly am sorry that those things happened to people. Sadly, people are being enslaved even today. I do think that just hearing an apology does create so much healing, even when given by someone who didn't cause the harm. An acknowledgement that the harm was caused can do so much.
I agree with you. It can mean a lot when a person offers a sincere apology on behalf of someone who is part of the same group of people who a few generations ago did some harmful things. What Jewish person would not aknowledge the meaningfulness of an apology from a child or grandchild of a parent who was a Nazi party member? Same thing. "I did not do it but on behalf of those of my race who once participated in these things, I apologize."
Wow. Some big stuff. I really wish my family and I could be there. Honestly I think the best fellowship I've had was the one at your house. Here there's not very many like-minded believers (although there are many believers), we really haven't had much fellowship with others at all in recent months. I feel my family and I are starved for time with others who share similar convictions and beliefs.
We do celebrate Shabbot every Friday night, and rest on the seventh day. Interestingly, I end up making the Challah ('Sabbath Bread', I think) every week. This didn't happen at first but my mom and sister were sick one week and couldn't do it. Everyone thought mine was so delicious that they wanted me to make it every time. XD
Apologizing for previous racism (not committed yourself) is something I had thought about before. I don't remember why or how I came to it, but I do think it is probably very powerful
Apologizing upon behalf of another is something that rarely happens, I think.
Hi Brian, great to hear from you and thank you for sharing. I think it's cool making the shabbat bread. It's a meaningful experience, don't you think. I braid three pieces thinking about things like Father, Son, Spirit, and Mother, Father, children. I make a larger and smaller loaf and combine them atop one another as my book suggests. It doesn't say why but I think of things like Jew and Gentile as one loaf, the two covenants, the two testaments, the ten commandments written on two tablets. I miss you guys too.
Yeah, two braided larger and smaller loafs on top of each other. We really hadn't thought a lot about why it's done this way. We also light a candle (well, generall my mom does) to represent the Light of the world.
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