Tough Question 3 – Who are the Five People I don’t want to Meet in Heaven – God’s Forgiveness toward us and our’s toward others.

(By Rev. Malcolm Stranathan)

Tough Question Number 3 _ Who are the Five People I don’t want to meet in Heaven – God’s forgiveness toward us and our’s toward others:

Based on Scripture Text: Matthew 18:21-35

It was a great question; obviously the author of the question had heard of or read the book by Mitch Albom titled The Five People You meet in Heaven. After dying in a freak accident, Eddie, a simple yet dignified man, finds himself in heaven where he encounters five people who have significantly affected his life. Albom dedicates the book to his uncle Edward Beitchman. He says that he wants people like his uncle who felt unimportant here on earth to realize, finally, how much they mattered and how they were loved.

“The Tough Question” card asked a slightly different question, “Who are the five people I don’t want to meet in heaven.” Ouch, reading perhaps more into the question, the question seemed to dovetail into other questions dealing with forgiveness, how do we forgive those people in our lives who have done unspeakable things to us personally or society as a whole.
I asked my Facebook friends that questions and got some interesting responses. I feel like we need an applause-o-meter on if you agree. One wrote, Hitler and Gangues Khan as well as some recent U.S. presidents, another confessed that he would struggle with meeting people who he still owed money too (right up there with the tax man), another mentioned with a sense of humility “people I wasn’t nice too.” And still another wrote “unrepentant sinners”

Perhaps we all have some idea of who we’d rather like to think will never make it into the pearly gates (but that’s next week’s tough question). I believe that this person might be asking, how does forgiveness work God’s towards humanity and our’s toward others who do us wrong or perhaps even, how we do other’s wrong.

Each week, in one service and sometimes in all three, we pray a prayer that Jesus gave us to model, in it we pray by rote asking God to “forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Today’s message falls under the categorized “Easier said than done” Yet, John Wesley, co founder of Methodist societies and movement, often felt obliged to remind the people called Methodist that we are “going on to perfection” A process empowered by God’s Spirit and sanctify grace as we choose to love perfectly and to live out of that love in this lifetime. But … nobody ever said it was gonna be easy.

Let’s pray …

(Experience)
When my family lived in Bangkok, Thailand my brothers and I attended Calvary Baptist Church. The church had an active program for youth of which we were part. One evening a woman came to speak at church. She had a very thick accent, she lived in Europe during World War II in a country that in all truthfulness I can’t quite recollect. Her message was a powerful one, one that kept the attention of a middle schooler. She shared how during the war she spent some time in a concentration camp. I don’t recollect why she was there, she wasn’t Jewish, and she shared how she was released from the camp to return home. Many years after that, she would travel and share her story. At one of these events, she recognized one of the people in the audience as a particularly brutal guard during her stay in the concentration camp. After the meeting she shared that the guard walked up to her and addressed her as a follower of Jesus Christ, and asked for forgiveness over that time.

When she and her family were arrested, some of them died because of they were arrested and sent to these camps. Not all, but some. This woman shared how difficult it was to address her former prison guard, but address him she did, not with condemnation but with grace and forgiveness granted which she attributes to their common faith in Jesus Christ.

(Scripture)
Today’s scripture text (Matthew 18:21ff) is a lesson and then a story.
Jesus has just been talking to his disciples about how to encourage someone to step away from sinning and then one of his disciples ask him, “How many times Lord should we forgive someone?” (Seven times?)
Jesus response, not just seven times but (seven times seventy)
The number seven symbolizes completeness and repetitions of the number intensify the results – not just completely but really completely leaving no room for question.

Then …

Jesus goes into a story about a lord who forgives a man of a great debt because he took pity on the man. The money that the man owes the king is an incomprehensible amount – it would be unlikely that this man could ever repay in a hundred lifetimes let alone one.

As the forgiven man leaves the court he comes across a man who owed him an insignificant sum (a hundred days of labor) compared to what he had just been forgiven and refused to offer the same grace – he throttles the man and has him imprisoned until he can pay the debt.

News travels fast and when the lord discovers how this man handled such a small debt when he was forgiven so much more, he calls him into account, and has the man punished for his lack of mercy.

    People surrounding Jesus were probably nodding their head  �
                          – yes that is fitting justice for the man who lacked mercy.
    Then the zinger – “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister^* from your heart.”

    Forgiveness in this context means to ‘give up or let go’. To “let go” of the hurt, pain, the desire for getting back what was taken, certainly not to take but revenge.” It cuts to the heart, literally, of the matter.
                           Easier said than done — certainly.
                           And yet, there really isn’t any wiggle room on this one. �
                           Try as I might I just can’t find it anywhere.

In fact if anything, what Jesus says here undoes a lot of teaching from the Hebrew scriptures regarding how wrongs are corrected.

The earliest instance of revenge/retribution being allowedwhen God confronts Cain for killing his brother Abel the ramifications toward Cain is banishment. Cain complains to God that if he is banished he will come to harm and God assures him that if any harm comes to him the perpetrator will pay seven times (completely) for their wrong against Cain.

Cain’s son Lamech determined that if anyone tried to harm him he would harm them even more so – seventy seven fold.

Jesus choice of words to forgive others not just seven times, but seventy seven (seven times seventy) completely, may have reminded the people gathered around him that day of this ancient teaching is no longer an option.

Exodus 21 outlines a “life for a life, eye for and eye, tooth for a tooth…” was written with the intention of reigning an act of revenge/retaliation more comparable to the initial crime/infraction.

Jesus’ words imply that when a wrong is done to you, an eye for an eye doesn’t work. He even says so much in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5.38-48) ” You have heard it said an eye for an eye … but I tell you then when someone strikes you, you are turn the other cheek … ”

Not forgiving someone rates up there with the only other unpardonable sin of blaspheming God’s Holy Spirit – (Mt 12:31,32; Mk 3:28-30; Lk 12:10).

For followers of the way, forgiveness is the only choice.

Easier said than done
(Reason)
Socieity has set up courts of law which now have a role to play when injustices takes place.

At the end of WWII, an International Military Tribunal in Nurenburg, Germany spent five years to either sentence (some up to life imprisonment, others to death) or acquits Nazi leaders for war crime against humanity.

In contrast to the the Nurenburg Trials, when South Africa’s Apartheid ended (For the young people – a system of legal racial segregation enforced by the National Party government in South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority black inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and minority rule by whites was maintained) South Africa set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In his book “No Future without Forgiveness” Archbishop Desmond TuTu, argues that true reconciliation cannot be achieved by denying the past. Rather than repeat platitudes about forgiveness he recognizes the horrors people can inflict upon one another, and yet retains a sense of idealism about reconciliation. The commission allowed people to come forward and share what they did and be absolved from punitive repercussions. “When one look the beast in the eye” Tutu writes, “only them can we move forward with honest and compassion and build a newer and more humane world.”

(Easier Said than Done)

Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian woman who survived a Ravensbrück concentration camp during WWII said, “Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you.” prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you.” In her book Tramp for the Lord, Ten Boom tells the story of how, after she had been teaching in Germany in 1947 she was approached by one of the cruelest former Ravensbrück camp guards. While reluctant to forgive him, she prayed that she would be able to. She wrote “for a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.”

Reflecting on her post war experiences, Ten Boom also wrote that her experience with other victims of Nazi brutality – it was those who were able to forgive who were best able to rebuild their lives.
Easier said than Done.

We ask, “Who are the five people we don’t want to meet in heaven?”

And yet this question speaks to more to our unforgiveness than God”s.

God’s answer is, “It just doesn’t work this way”

God wants us all …

The next verse after this our scripture text for today says

(Matthew 19.1 – When Jesus had finished saying these things he left Galilee …)

He started his journey to Jerusalem … he was heading to a cross
On the cross, as David shared last week, your sins were forgiven. To which I might add, not only yours but also the sins of those five folks we don’t want to meet in heaven. Such is the forgiveness of God toward all of humanity (through millenium until eternity!) … it might take a lifetime to understand and emulate the mercy which God does … but we are called to do so all the same.

Please know that sometimes forgiveness is a slow process.

But we’ll know the work of forgiveness is complete when we experience the freedom that comes as a result (like Ten Boom’s experience).

We are the ones who suffer most when we choose not to forgive. When we do forgive, God sets our hearts free from the anger, bitterness, resentment hurt and yes sometimes fear that previously imprisoned us.

-Easier said than done but no one ever said that the life you were called to was going to be easy.

Filed under: tough questions on January 31st, 2010 | 6 Comments »

Tough Question #2 – God’s Answer to Humanity’s Inhumanity

toughquestion01

(sermon by David Norton, Lay Leader, January 24, 2010)

Today’s topic is the second in a five part series on tough questions. I have the pleasure today to share my thoughts on “What is God’s answer to Humanity’s Inhumanity.” This question leads to a couple of other questions: what is humankind’s true nature and what does humankind do that is inhumane? I think the answers to these later two questions must be explored first before we can answer the first, “What is God’s answer to Humanity’s inhumanity?”

Have you stopped to think about what makes us human? Science tells us that we are members of the animal kingdom, of the phylum—chordata (vertebrates), members of the class—mammals, from the order—primates. So we know we are in some way similar to other animals and especially close, genetically, to chimpanzees. In fact, we share 98% of the same gene sequences as chimpanzees yet we are not chimpanzees.

So what makes us distinctly human? In Genesis there are two accounts of the creation of humankind. Genesis 1 tells us that God created humankind in His image and Genesis 2 tells us that God formed Adam from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. I believe this is what distinguishes us from the rest of God’s creation, we were made in His image and he breathed into us the breath of life, he breathed into us our soul. What makes us different from the rest of God’s creation is that we are children of God. Like a loving parent, God created us to love and would like his children to love him, to live in a loving relationship with him.

Filed under: tough questions on January 30th, 2010 | 6 Comments »

Tough Question #1

Does God exist and if so why is there so much suffering in the world
toughquestion01
(Sermon Notes from January 17, 2010)

It was 2 am and I was standing outside with of Georgetown hospital with a family member who was verbally trying to come to grips with events of the past evening. Her sister in law fell, the placenta tore and the child had been transported from one hospital to the other and the trip proved fatal to the child. Now the long as the mother had to give birth to her dead infant. She ranted and raved, her anguish spewed questions “Why did God let this happen???”

Throughout this week, difficult to view photos and stories have filled the newspapers, television and radio news broadcasts. The world’s focus on the poorest country in our hemisphere, plagued annually by hurricanes (mainly because of location in the path of Hurricane Alley) and now hit with a devastating earthquake that may have killed an estimated 100,000 people (to put that number in perspective (one half of the people from Columbia, Laurel, Elkridge and Ellicott City -DEAD– look to your left or right that person would not be here)

Some ask, “Where is God in the midst of all of this. How can a good God just let this happen?”

Some Christians try to give answers to these questions.

Unbelievable but yes, true Story, Rev. Pat Robertson shared on the 700 Club that the Haitian population (which nearly 95% are Christian), are cursed because of a pact that was made with the devil in 1791 who as slaves fought for their freedom from the French. (Give credit – he asks us to pray for them – sends money). But his alluding of connect the earthquake to being cursed is dangerous and I believe misrepresents what we the church believe. Sadly I don’t have the audience or the means of the CBN to correct his views.

Rev Jim Wallis (founder of Sojourners, an organization which works for justice and peace for the poor.) writes this week, “I have no idea what Pat Robertson means by this … my God does not cause evil, my God is not a vengeful and retributive being waiting to strike us down … when evil strikes, it’s easy to ask, where is God? The answer is simple: God is suffering with those who are suffering.”

Somewhere between these two extremes people of faith struggle to understand the nature of God, suffering and evil.

Tough Question 1 – Does God exist and if so why is there so much suffering in the world and clueing in on the title of Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book, “Why do bad things happen to good people? What does Scripture, Tradition, Reason and Experience say to the nature of suffering?

Filed under: tough questions on January 17th, 2010 | Comments Off

Five Tough Questions

I asked you what are life’s tough questions regarding faith. I then took the top five questions that seemed to be of the greatest concern. In the coming weeks we shall process through these questions. Keep an eye on the bulletin for weekly reading related and reflections to compliment our worship series.
toughquestion01
January 17 – Tough Questions – “Does God Listen?” Is there a God and if so why is there suffering and pain in the world. Is there any value to prayer?

January 24 – Tough Questions – “What is God’s answer to Humanity’s Inhumanity?” What is sin and what is God answer to sin in the world. David Norton, Mt Zion Lay Leader to present.

January 31 – Tough Questions – “Who are the five people I don’t want to meet in heaven?” When people hurt us or commit unspeaking atrocities to us, how can we understand God’s forgiveness and example it in our own life.

February 7^th – Tough Questions – “Is Jesus my ticket to heaven? What does it mean to be saved or as some consider being “born again?” How does God’s grace and the openness of heaven relate to us and people who practice other faiths?

February 14^th – Tough Questions – “What does it mean to belong?” Is there a place for me and what is my role or the role of the church in restoring community?

Filed under: tough questions on January 17th, 2010 | Comments Off

Tough Questions

Life is full of tough questions. toughquestion01

Are you going to go on that diet plan now that the new year is here? Are you going to start a new exercise plan for the new year? Are you going to start to save for retirement, house, children’s education?

Faith is full of tough questions as well.

How do I know that God loves me? Why does God let bad things happen to good people? What happens when we die and what happens to people who don’t believe in Jesus? Why can’t I forgive a hurt done to me? They are endless. I recently surveyed our congregation on their tough questions and then agreed that together in January we would start up a sermon series addressing these tough questions of faith. We then selected the TOP Five questions from our congregation and put them into a sermon series.

I suppose it might sound a little arrogant to think that I have the answers to life’s tough questions. Well, I have a confession to make, I really don’t, but I do have a process that we can all learn to practice as we try to discern answers to tough questions of faith.

The late Albert Outler, professor, writer and 20th century United Methodist theologian on John Wesley and the history of the Church came up with theological synthesis to gain a better understanding over life’s tough questions. He coined the process as the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral.” When we are confronting any issue, we can seek answers first from God’s word. We then look to the traditions or teachings of the church. We then consider reason, what does science or what we are knowledgeable about the issue and lastly we consider how our experience, not how we feel necessarily as much as our personal life’s experience speak to the issue. Scripture, tradition, reason and experience. These are not equally applied, first and foremost Scripture figures prominently in the process then the other points are considered. Sound confusing, then why not join us in a study group that will meet on Wednesday morning (January 13th is our first meeting) at 7:30am each week to discuss the tough question at hand. We will be using this Outler’s “Wesleyan quadrilateral” as we seek understanding to our tough questions. I invite you to join me in the chapel. I reckon that it will be an enlightening time for all of us.

Filed under: tough questions on January 17th, 2010 | Comments Off

Maryland House – Week 4 – Oct 18 to Oct 24

Volunteers working week 4 are Wendy Singer, Wayne Mullinix, Janice Gottsman, Mary Lou Bernota, Betty Cashmark, Sam Hergert, Bill DeVuono, Bevery DeVuono, Doug Wallace, Joan Morrill, Beatty Shipley, Ken Shipley, Judy Johnson, Sue Ball, Liz Ball, Dave Thomas, Rick Johnson and Jim Morrill.

Wednesday - October 22, 2009

Today was drywall day (and so will be tomorrow!) In order to get the drywall complete by the end of the week we pulled everybody off other jobs to hang the dry wall, starting with the ceiling. We even pulled people off the roof doing shingles in order to move faster. We made a good start, but it will take another couple of days. We also got about 50% of the final roofing done, before deferring to work on drywall.

We had several visitors today, including people from Virginia/Camp Love who are interested in possibly building their own house, people from another group of Maryland churches on mission work in Biloxi who had heard good things about “The Maryland House” and wanted to see how it was coming along (and also all the details on how to go about building your own house), as well as friends and relatives of the homeowner, Vena Trosclair.

The weather has been great the last 3 days, much different than the record setting heat and humidity during the first 3 weeks. However tomorrow we have to get on-site early to finish the roof since the rains are scheduled to start again tomorrow afternoon, evening and for the rest of the week. There has been no rain for at least 3 days and the “swamp” is beginning to dry out around the house.

Tuesday – October 21,2009

We PASSED the Framing Inspection today, and immediately insulated all the walls and started to hang dry wall. 100_4799 Apparently it is very unusual for volunteers to pass the inspection the first try, so this was great. All 3 stairs and porches have been finished, including the railings. We had to pick up and deliver our own dry wall, which was quite a challenge. Three sides of the house have now been sided with Hardy Board and painted 3 times, 1 prime coat and 2 finish coats. “The Maryland House” is progressing nicely and several other churches have approached us for information about our experience, with the idea they might try to sponsor their own house.

Filed under: Maryland House, Mission Mississippi on October 15th, 2009 | Comments Off

Maryland House – Week 3 – Oct 11 to Oct 17

Severna Park UMC is working on “The Maryland House” during week 3. Volunteers include Sue Gerberich, Joanne Redick, Harry Henkel, Roger MacWilliams, Kathy Padgett, Katherine Geissler, Michelle Mohr, Mel Merritt, Ann Harrison, Steve Collier, Dawn Cullis, Tracy Prettyman, Maureen Reardon, Allison Wise, Sandra Cuzzart and Gene Cuzzart.

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2009

I talked with the group from Severna Park UMC (SPUMC) this afternoon & thought I would update you as to what they have accomplished in about 2 1/2 days. When we left this last Friday, the roof on the back side of the house was about 70% completed and the rest of the roof had felt paper down and all the bundles of shingles were on the roof. We had the hardy board on both the front and back & had primed it. Most of the soffit and all of the fascia was installed & most of it primed. All the interior walls & the roof over the front porch was built. A few rows of hardy board were installed on the sides of the house. The plumber completed his rough in on Friday.

SPUMC has finished shingling the back side of the roof, and in all probability will not complete the front side of the roof. If it is not completed we will finish it at the beginning of the 4th week. They have put two coats of paint on the front and back of the house, and most of the hardy board has been installed on the sides and primed. They are working on one set of steps. The electrician has finished the wiring. This past Monday one of the men from SPUMC suffered from heat stroke. He and his wife are leaving tomorrow to come back to MD. The temperature in Gulfport this week has been in the mid to upper 80’s. Jim, Rod and I are very grateful that no one in our group had a heat related problem.

SPUMC is hoping to have all the outside finished or nearly finished by the end of Friday.

Rick

Filed under: Maryland House, Mission Mississippi on October 15th, 2009 | Comments Off

Maryland House – Week 2

This is how “The Maryland House” looked at the end of Week 2. Note that the house is closed in against the weather, all windows and doors are installed, the two long sides are completed and primed, and about 1/2 the roof is shingled. The interior walls are complete as is the plumbing.

Volunteers working week 2 included John Coonts, Chuck Strickland, Duane Norman and Kathy Dunn, in addition to holdovers from week 1 Ed & Deb Mihm, Earl Stoyer, Jim Williams, Rick Johnson, Rod Barr and Jim Morrill.

More pictures from the workers can be found at www.flickr.com/jimmorrill/collections - click on “The Maryland House.”

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Greetings to the Mt. Zion family from the Maryland House team

Early this AM our core group left hot, steamy Mississippi to return home to a crisp, fall day in Maryland after two eventful weeks starting work on the “Maryland House” for the Trosclair family of Pass Christian, a family who lost two family homes in Katrina. Work on their new house is now well underway, and with cooperative (cool, dry) weather we plan to finish their house by October 31. Other teams will continue work over the next three weeks. I will return for our last week of work.

When we left on September 25, things didn’t look very encouraging, for work on the foundation had still not started due to two weeks of steady rain, and no one knew was sure when the rains would end. On Friday, as we drove south, we learned by phone that work on the foundation had finally begun, and when we reached the work site on Saturday afternoon we found the pillars installed but the five foot high deck barely begun. However, by Sunday afternoon, through the hard work of the foundation crew, the deck was completed and we were able to lay out the walls on the deck.

However, those rains had not finished with us – the site was a real quagmire and the gumbo around and under the foundation seemed ever poised to slide, with us, into the surrounding “swamp” or to swallow us up “a la quicksand.” Eventually our “swamp” solidified somewhat, helped by six large loads of clay and sand spread around the foundation. This relative solidity, coupled with the eventual delivery of our porta-potty on Tuesday, provided us with a semi-viable work site.

Upon our arrival, the biblical style rains ended, giving way to mid-summer heat, with temperatures up to the 90’s (in the shade) and 80 to 90% humidity. Our first work day was perhaps the worst, but record high heat and humidity were our regular companions, slowing work and making potential dehydration our constant companion. Fortunately the two weeks ended with no heat stroke and no serious injuries.

We were fortunate to have highly skilled professionals like Mike, Earl, Ed and Deb to lead our effort – we could hardly have undertaken this project without their guidance and leadership. Everyone made important contributions and most of us learned new skills. While I had many tasks, I spent much of my time as the team “sawyer”, cutting headers, porch beams, jack studs, cripples, plywood sheets and porch roof ladders with an array of power saws. I addition to my job site duties, I oversaw the cook duties for our team (3 breakfasts and 2 dinners each week). We shared cook and dorm cleanup duties with teams from Virginia and Pennsylvania, forming a strong bond with the latter. The Pennsylvania ladies did all of their cooking (chauvinism lives!!), and after dinner on Thursday night one of those ladies told me they had dubbed me “Papa Smurf.” just as the girls from Baltimore County Community College had done on our trip to the Vermont Choral Festival. I guess there must be a message there!!

The Trosclair family, which we quickly came to cherish, consists of Vena, a single mother with four sons living at home. 26 year old son Chris was treated last year for brain cancer and still has serious residual problems from his cancer surgery, and an uncertain prognosis. 12 year old son Ashton has severe epilepsy, with many serious and countless minor seizures every day – frequently we had to grab and hold him when he had a seizure. Vena’s brother Alvah, who is largely disabled by severe back problems, lives in a non-functional van on the adjacent lot, and Vena’s 31 year old married daughter Hope, who does not work due to medical disabilities, spend much of their day with the family. Despite the myriad health problems and their poverty, the Trosclair’s never seem to complain. When asked how they were doing, the two younger boys, Ashton and 10 year old Nathan, always said “Gooood” in their relaxed way of speaking. The family seemed truly touched by our coming so far to help them, and we hope and pray that their new home will help to start moving their lives in a more positive direction. On the first Friday the family provided us with a wonderful fish fry (fried fish, shrimp and oysters that the older boys had caught and cleaned) with all the trimmings – enough to feed three times our numbers.

When we finished work yesterday, after a lot of mud, sweat and tears, the external struc 100_2812 ture of the house was nearly complete (some siding and the roof shingles remain to be installed), all of the interior walls were built, and the plumbing (done by local contractors) was nearly finished. Next week we hope that all plumbing, electrical and HVAC work will be completed, the roofing and siding will be completed and the framing inspection will be passed so that drywall work on interior walls can begin.

Last Sunday we visited Betty Holmes, whose house we started in April. We expected, based on our progress, that she would have soon moved in, but found that she had received her house in mid-September, and that problems with the house included the a failure to tape the drywall joints, leading to many ugly and non-repairable cracks at the drywall joints. Despite these problems, the house looked really nice and Betty was thrilled to finally have her own home again after four years. Based on Betty’s experience we certainly do not want to leave the Maryland House unfinished, to be completed on an uncertain schedule by teams of unknown skills.

My mission trips (this is my twelfth) to help victims of disaster, and often also of poverty, always reminds me of how blessed my life has been, despite the loss of a son and the failure of a marriage. I had originally not planned to return for the fifth week, but after knowing the Trosclair’s and their needs, I quickly decided that I had to return, hopefully to see the house finished.

Rod Barr

Friday, October 9, 2009

Friday morning of week 2, t Maryland House 2010 Bathroom Help he youngest son, Nathan, came over to see the progress on his new house. He quickly took me up on the offer to help out by using the miter saw to cut some 1” X 2” boards to bring out the bathroom wall to clear the plumbing. He then learned how to safely use the pneumatic nailer to nail the boards to the existing studs. When he finished, he had the biggest smile on his face. He was so thrilled to be able to help out.

Friday afternoon as we were beginning our final week 2 cleanup, Nathan, Hope and Aston came over to see their new home. Nathan and Aston proudly claimed their bedroom (immediately behind them). Hope, who is married and will not be living in the home when it is finished, was just as proud of the house as her younger brothers. The gleams in their eyes tell how excited they are to finally get their new home. How happy they are.

As we are wrapping up week 2, preparing for week 3 was on the minds of those that would be there when Severna Park UMC showed up to continue the work. Earl and Ed are coordinating with Steve, Camp Love Construction Manager (center) while Al, brother/uncle of the family, is taking it all in. Nathan is in the background.

Nathan has to pull out a nail that didn’t go where he wanted it to go. That happens sometimes.

Kathy Dunn

Maryland House – Week 1

This is how “The Maryland House” looked at the end of Week 1. Note all the walls were up, the trusses and sheathing covered the roof, and most doors and windows were installed. The front porch was up, scaffolding was set up, the Hardy board siding was well underway and we started the interior partitions.

Volunteers working Week 1 included Rick Johnson, Rod Barr, Ed & Deb Mihm, Earl Stoyer, Jim Williams, Mike Varney, Kent Johnson, Dave Wileman, Sue Loomis, Sandy Binotto, Becky Hein, Klaus Hein and Jim Morrill.

More pictures from the workers can be found at www.flickr.com/jimmorrill/collections and click on “The Maryland House.”

For a video of the 1st wall being raised on the Trosclair House, click on www.flickr.com/groups/themarylandhouse/pool/show.

The Trosclairs

The Trosclairs are a warm and caring family that daily deals with severe health issues and poverty, but still seems to remain positive about life. The family currently lives in a Mississippi MEMA “cottage”, which is essentially a trailer without axel or wheels. The cottage is about 12 feet wide and is certainly “tight” quarters for Vena and her 4 sons.

Vena is a single mother who has five children. In 2008 Vena was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she was told that her tumor was pre-cancerous, although she remains concerned about this.

Hope, the oldest child and only daughter, is 31 (all ages are our best guesses from what we have heard) and is married. She lives with her husband at his parent’s home, but spends a lot of time with the family. Hope is a very sweet woman who seems much younger than her age. She receives disability support from Social Security due to various health issues which prevent her from working. Robert, 28, is the oldest son. While Robert has no apparent health issues, he appears to be able to work only part time doing commercial fishing and oystering. Chris, 26, was treated for brain cancer in 2008. His cancer appears to be in remission, but he is essentially disabled because the large rear portion of his skull removed to perform the cancer surgery is now covered only by skin, leaving his brain exposed to severe injury. Chris also receives disability support. Chris and Robert go fishing most nights and fish appear to be a primary part of the family diet. Both Robert and Chris frequently helped us with our work.

On our first Friday of work, the family held an elaborate fish fry for us, with fish, shrimp and oysters and a wide array of side dishes. This was their way of thanking us for helping them. Robert and Chris spent most of the week catching and cleaning the fish, shrimp and oysters we were served.

Ashton, 12, suffers from extreme epilepsy. Ashton suffers many seizures each day, and we several times observed him to having two seizures within a 10 to 20 minute period. It appears that his brain “misfires” many times each minute, causing him to have severe difficulties with routine school work. Ashton received disability support. Ashton wears a football helmet to school to protect his head during a severe seizure. Nathan, 10, is the only member of the family who does not appear to have any health issues. He is very intelligent and does very well in school.

Vena’s brother Alvah, who lives in a van on the adjacent lot, spends most of the day with the family. He is gregarious and entertaining and spends much time talking with members of the work crew. Al suffers from severe degeneration of the spine, and we often had to caution him not to help us in ways that could further damage his back.