Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

The city of Savannah, GA is filled with mystery, beauty, and plenty of deep secrets.  Jena and I first met in Savannah and I named my second daughter Savannah.  Of course, Jena was born and raised in this city of intrigue.  One of the many reasons I am intrigued by her.  Anyway, Midnight in the Garden of Good Evil is a novel written by John Berendt about a murder trial in the 1980's and the many characters that make Savannah what it is.   A motion picture followed the book in 1994 starring John Cusak and Kevin Spacey.  I have read the novel twice and seen the movie 4 or 5 times but on my recent Christmas visit to Savannah, I took a tour of all the spots.  The Chatham county courthouse, Bonaventure cemetery, Mercer House, Clary's, Oglethorpe Club, the Savannah River.  It was incredible.  My father-in-law--another native--showed me around and even knew some of the real characters from the book.  I probably need to place a disclaimer because the movie is rated 'R' and the book is not much different.  However, for someone like me who fell in love in Savannah....returns to Savannah once or twice a year....read the book....seen the movie....it was way cool.  

Merry Christmas

Our family Thanksgiving was off the chart.  We had the whole family home and quiet moments came at a premium. We celebrated Thanksgiving, Kaiden's 3rd birthday and our 6th wedding anniversary all in the same weekend. Crazy . Jena cooked an amazing dinner, the Cowboys beat up on the Seahawks and Kaiden got up and personal with Chuck E. Cheese.  

Our Shelterwood numbers are still at 10.  In accordance with my last post, we lost one guy and gained one girl.  We have experienced our first few Kansas City snow storms and boy, what an adventure.  Thank goodness for 10 years of driving experience in the Colorado snow.    

This Saturday Jena and I are headed to Savannah, GA with Kaiden to celebrate Christmas.  Our family will be scattered for the the 2008 Christmas but we will be back together with all the fanfare to celebrate the New Year.  Jena and I would like to say a special "Thank You" for your faithful support of our ministry here at Doulos.  Even though it has been a turbulent ride of transition for the Albright family I know that each of you have experienced plenty of stress and challenge, yet you remain faithful.  Thank You again.  From our family to yours, "Merry Christmas."  The birth of Christ is a celebration of new beginnings.  Blessings!!

First time. Not unlike the last.

One of our residents left the program on Friday and it was tough to watch.  It wasn't a graduation but at the same time it was a sweet transition from Shelterwood to the next stage in life.  He was one of the original 4 guys that made the move from Denver.  A few of us gathered around and prayed before watching him walk out the door with dad.  In the group home business you never know if today is your last day with a kid.  It's what I love and it's what I hate.  God help me make the best of every moment.

Even though we're down to 9 residents, we have one coming Wednesday and two more in the mix.  The Guys Lodge is still under construction and our maximum occupancy in the Girls Lodge is 20.  Please pray for all the necessary "things" to fall in place for the completion of the lodge.

Our weekly chapel on Thursday has been going great.  Several staff have rotated through with a special message and the music has been amazing.  Brad has been killing the drums both during chapel and on Sunday mornings during worship at New Community Church.  He's a great kid.

Happy Thanksgiving

It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, "Tis the season to be thankful."  After all, Thanksgiving Day is almost here.  I have much to be Thankful for on this November Tuesday.  First of all, our family will be together.  All nine of us.  Justin, Sumer, Savannah, Lauren, Samantha, Corey, Kaiden, Jena, and myself (and Brandy too).  I can hardly wait.  Second, Jena is the most amazing cook and our Thanksgiving dinner will leave no complaints and eventually no scraps (after we eat leftovers for a few days).  I look forward to all the Thanksgiving traditions...the Macy's Day parade, football, turkey, naps, more turkey, family games, more turkey and more naps and maybe a movie?  Whatever the Thanksgiving holiday brings to you and your family, be blessed.  

RAW

Normally when I use the word "Raw" I am referring to the ministry experience at Shelterwood but this weekend it took on a new meaning.  Corey turned 12 on Saturday and to celebrate we had a WWE style birthday party with "John Cena" and "Ray Mysterio" grappling for the Main Event.  Translation: (Jason Ussack vs Nick Muroki).  Two of my friends.  As you can imagine, it was a riot and the boys loved it (if you have Facebook, check out the video).  Honestly, even though I laughed and even joined in as the Referee, I was humbled that my friends cared enough about Corey to practice and perform a wrestling event at the risk of looking ridiculous.  I am grateful and blessed.  Thank you Nick and Jason.

A few other cool things from last week...my good friend Jeremy was the guest speaker for Shelterwood chapel on Thursday.  He spoke on the ups and downs of life through the example of Elijah and Mt. Carmel.  It was just what we needed to hear and Jeremy did an excellent job.  

I recently started leading worship at our local church - New Community Church  http://www.nccbluesprings.org/.  In the process I recruited some talent from Shelterwood.  (Brad is playing the drums).  Always a win-win situation to worship along with a SW kid.  Brad did a great job and the worship time was amazing.  

One last note...this morning Tom and I did wake-up in the Guys House while the house staff was away on a leadership conference.  It was just like old times.  The guys make me laugh all the time I enjoyed spending my morning with them.  With an new guy coming Monday, we are now up to 10 boys (5 girls).  

Good Times

God is good.  Ministry happens and lives are changed along the road of everyday life.  This past weekend the road of everyday was just a little sweeter.  Maybe lives weren't changed but I had a great time along the way.  It started Friday night with our Halloween Party.  Jena and I hosted a costume party in our home.  What a blast!  Sharing life...looking ridiculous in our costumes...eating some serious grub!!  

Saturday morning was Doulos Open House out on the new property.  We sent out invitations to local neighbors and friends to come on by and see what we're all about.  We had coffee and donuts and gave tours of the buildings throughout the morning.  We had several guests.  Many of the local folks are retired and they, in return,  told us many stories of "back in the day" when our property was still a YMCA camp.  

Sunday afternoon I had a chance to take my son Corey to the Chiefs/Buccaneers game.  My first trip to Arrowhead Stadium and his first NFL experience.  It was ridiculously loud, raucous, and completely amazing.  The Chiefs lost in Overtime, I lost my voice and Corey will be telling all his friends about it this week in school.    

The Change and Healing of Fall

Most of the time life at Shelterwood is defined by the unexpected and unusual.  I often find myself unintentionally dominating conversations with church friends and neighbors with unending Shelterwood tales.  Would this week be any different?  I had a chance to speak during our chapel time on Thursday. It was a cool October morning and we met in the Girls Lodge with a nice fire brewing.  The view behind the fireplace is the picture I placed next to this Post.  Anyway, I shared about Jonah and the life of change God brought him through.  You see, we have a unique and, possibly a one-time situation here at Doulos:  ALL  have  experienced change. Usually it's just the Residents or Leadtimers but this time it includes everyone.  Staff has relocated, Leadtimers have committed to a blind-year and the Residents are placed by parents without warning.  The point is simple: God has brought me (and everyone else) to this point in His relentless pursuit of our hearts.  Yeah sure, lots of big-picture "ministry" takes place around here but it is always about the individual.  Your life is no different.  Don't miss it. 

The Leadtime class meets each Friday morning for about 90 minutes to worship.  This week it was my pleasure to join them and lead worship. It was an amazing time.  Our young adults are truly here to serve and it shows in the way they worship.   One of our young ladies is from Israel (isn't that cool?).  Anyway she has been struggling all week with back pain to the point of scheduling a doctor visit on Friday afternoon.  Well...God inhabits the praises of His people and on Friday morning during worship she was completely healed of her back pain. Yeah, really. We didn't stop to pray it just happened while the LT'ers were praising.  I saw her this morning in the dining hall and we chatted while sharing some coffee.  She was still beaming from God's grace and told me that she had followed up on the doctor visit Friday afternoon.  Doc had no explanation.   

Jena and I have been blessed with a beautiful home here in Independence and we love to have company as evidenced by the revolving door in our home.  This past week there were no scheduled events or parties in our home but the following folks passed through:  Tom, Cindy, Nick, Pam, Leah, Jason, Luis, John D., Dusty, Kenny, Myles, Carter, Nate, Pam's parents and little sister, Heather and McKenzie.  If you ever come to KC, let us know and add your name to the list.  

Fall Parents Weekend

We just wrapped up another amazing Parents Weekend here at Shelterwood.   Even though the weekend was shorter than normal by one day, the impact on the families was just as real.  After experiencing 6 parent weekends in Denver over the past 3 years, I am still amazed at how God works in spite of us.   God reminded me this past weekend why I moved my family from Denver to Kansas City.  I learned that whether it be Denver or KC, God's Will prevails.  God doesn't seem to mind the construction zone filled with tractors, scaffolding and mud from the recent rain.  When my focus is on settling into a new culture, building community and working with new staff and families, God's focus is still marked by forgiveness, healing, confession, and hope. 

About the property...we moved into the Girls Lodge on September 19th.  It was a minor setback from the scheduled move in date of September 1st; however, we were blessed to stay at a local camp near St. Joseph while waiting for clearance to move it.  As of now we have a Dining Hall and Girls Lodge completed while the Boys Lodge and Field House are scheduled for completion in November and February.  We moved 5 residents from Denver to Kansas City.  As of this morning, we have 8 boys and 5 girls for a grand total of 13.