Isaiah 61:4 in action

"They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." - Isaiah 61:4 

As of January 25, 2011 Cross and Crown Mission is now the proud owner of the old Whittier Elementary School building located at 1900 NW10.  It is a three story building with long hallways, big rooms and lots of space (basketball courts require a lot of space, hmmmm).

Below you can check out some very unprofessional, blurry pictures taken by myself with my camera phone.  Paul closed on the building at 3:00 Tuesday afternoon and as soon as Ron and I got word of the news we quickly rounded up the Rock Island kids that wanted to check it out.

Most of the kids were excited to browse through the building because it has a old, vacant, haunted house feel to it.  I can't blame them.  It's old.  It's rough.  It has a lot....a lot of work to be done.  As you can see from some of the pictures, we, along with the help of many partnering churches and individuals, have a lot of work to do.

There have been several individuals and, undoubtedly, will be more who will ask, suggest and question whether or not this building is worth the time, energy and investment to restore.  And, I can't blame them.  That's the same thing I, along with countless others, thought when the original, founding group laid eyes on the building that is now Cross and Crown.  

Something I have learned during my time at Cross and Crown/Rock Island is that God has a special interest in restoring and transforming.  In the Old Testament God restores people (Saul/Paul), nations (Israel) and even buildings (the Temple).  

I happen to believe that God is still in the business of restoration.  I've seen individuals restored from addictions and in relationships with others.  I've seen homes and buildings restored and transformed through Christ-followers, his hands and feet, from this very neighborhood.

I would love for this building to be restored and completed in the next couple months.  I would love for 400 people to come at the snap of a finger with cars full of money, shovels, paint, brooms and other tools to knock this project out asap.  I also know that God's faithfulness and timing never fails.  His word is good. And, because I know this, I know that I, that we, might have to wait.

"LORD, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God." - Psalm 38:15

"Since ancient times no one has heard,no ear has perceived,no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him." - Isaiah 64:4 

But, until then, we will be doing the best we can to recruit professionals, located supplies and find bodies that want to get dirty.  If interested or curious as to how you can help in any way you can contact us in one of the following ways.....

Phone - (405) 232-7696

or...

Email - crossandcrownmission@gmail.com

or...

leave a comment and/or contact information in the comment section of this blog.

  

Loaves and soup...and salad?

          

On Thursday, February 10, 2011 Panera Bread on 15th and Bryant in Spring Creek Shopping Center will donate 10% of their sales to Cross and Crown Mission.  So, between 5:00 and 8:00 pm grab you a couple sandwiches, some soup or a salad and, like, 25 cookies knowing that a portion of your purchase goes directly to Cross and Crown!  See you there!

Long time no C

Now...

...and then.

"C", as in, Cory.

We haven't seen this kid, now young man, in close to 3 or 4 years.  Last time we saw him was when he and his family still lived across the street and a few doors down from Cross and Crown.

A lot has changed since the last time we saw Cory, both physically and maturity wise.

He has matured from the pesky, undersized, skate boarding, problem child we once knew to a nice looking, mild mannered, respectful, still skate boarding, young man.

Cory now lives in Missouri with the rest of his family but made it back to OKC for a couple weeks to spend some time with his long distance best friend who still lives in the neighborhood.

Cory initially planned to spend a couple weeks in the city over Christmas break but after a significant miscommunication between he and some of his extended family has been stranded here in the city.

Because Cory had some extra time on his hands while in the neighborhood we were privileged to visit with him several times.  We talked about future goals, school (and how missing 2 weeks of school or more could definitely affect those goals), family and decision making.

There are two major realizations/confirmations I walked away with during our extended time with Cory.

First, I am genuinely optimistic for Cory.  Even though Cory has a lot stacked against him and has some tough circumstances; he seems to be rising above those circumstances and staying, for the most part, on a straight path.

Second, after talking with Cory about both past and present we both laughed when we verbally confirmed that Cory is the only individual that I have baptized both spiritually and toilet-ually.

It's a long story, but, basically, back in the day Cory got a little carried away one day at Rock Island and when he got upset he ended up throwing nacho cheese all over Rock Island.  Whenever I confronted him to clean it up he then responded by throwing the nacho cheese on me while cursedly refusing to clean up the rest.  I then did what any good, Christ-like mentor, parental or fatherly figure would do and physically grabbed him and dumped his head and face in the toilet.

The old is gone and the new has come, right?  Not exactly how it worked.  But, if I remember correctly, he did clean up the nacho cheese after he dried his head off...

Anyways, Cory informed us this past Sunday that he had worked out a plan with his aunt who lives nearby to get him back home to Mizzouri.

So, until next time, Cory, we pray the best for you and anxiously await the next time you return to the neighborhood.  We love you and God bless.

Now...

...and then.