Feliz Navidad

Classes have been winding down here at Acorn, and our numbers have dwindled a bit. We've been keeping attendance stats for 3 years now and there doesn't seem to be any pattern related to weather or time of year. In any case, we are taking a 2 week break from English, computer and Spanish classes, resuming the first week of January. I was encouraged that even on Thursday, our last day of class for 2009, we had 4 first-time students show up.

As I mentioned in my last post, a couple of my Acorn friends have been going through deep waters, and so these past weeks have been filled with sadness. And yet in this Advent season, I want to rejoice with the angels who brought "good news of great joy that will be for all the people". The recent issue of Christianity Today had a wonderful editorial called The Joy-Driven Life that I highly recommend you read. Here's a quote from it, that was actually a quote from G.K. Chesterton: "A person is fully human when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief the superficial...Pessimism is at best an emotional half-holiday; joy is the uproarious labor by which all things live."

As we celebrate the scandalous visitation of God in the flesh, may we all know great joy!

Giving thanks

The past month has been challenging for a couple close friends of ours in the Acorn community, and I have been preoccupied with these situations and suffering with those who suffer. But now, as we are about to celebrate Thanksgiving with a party at Acorn tomorrow night, I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge and recognize God's goodness and faithfulness in recent weeks.

I am thankful for the gift of friendship - many people have come alongside me and my friends who are hurting, with gifts of time and money and tangible support. Truly God is present in each of them and they have been his arms and legs, reaching out and caring for others.

I am thankful for the two churches I attend - Calvin Presbyterian, and Iglesia Emanuel - where the love of God and the good news of Jesus Christ are both proclaimed and lived out among the people. The pastors and members of both churches have faithfully prayed for me and my friends who are hurting, and this has been a great encouragement.

I am thankful for my husband and children, who are beautiful examples to me of what it means to seek the Lord with your whole heart, and to pour yourself out for others.

I am thankful for the many people in Corvallis who are reaching out to immigrants and are working to make this community a safe, welcoming place for all. There are several organizations and many churches and other groups who are active on a local and global level.

And finally I am thankful for the volunteers who have given hours of time and energy to this ministry. Besides teaching English and computers every week, they have befriended new students, taken people to the doctor, visited and written to people who were hurting, provided housing and hospitality, and reached out in many other practical ways.

I'd love to hear your stories of God's faithfulness in recent months. Thanks for being part of our story here at Acorn.

Bad seeds

We hate to even acknowledge the "other" Acorn you've heard about in the news, but a couple of donors have asked if we're related to the New Orleans-based charity. The answer is a definite no. All we share is a similar name. Our legal name is Acorn Foundation, and theirs is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). The scandal in which the other Acorn is involved hurts other community-based nonprofits, and not just us, as this article by the Foundation Group explains.

Helping people make a place in the world

The idea of walking a marathon is a little nutty, but what do you expect from someone affiliated with a nonprofit named Acorn? I would have run, but I pulled up lame a few weeks ago so had to throttle back. Here's the good news: We raised almost $10,000 for Acorn via a fundraising campaign based on the one-year anniversary of my completion of cancer therapy. That's a huge sum for a small organization like this, which operates on an annual budget of about $12,000.

Knowing that there are dozens of people who support this ministry of outreach to the Hispanic community in Corvallis is heartening. It's hard being an immigrant in a place that's not as hospitable or tolerant as we--those of us in the majority--like to think it is. For example, we know good people who have been picked up for deportation because they're undocumented, despite having lived and worked here peaceably for years. Acorn is needed because we impart skills and knowledge that allow those at the margin of our culture to find a measure of security and competence for themselves and their families. We are, as Christ has commanded us, extending a cup of cold water to those who thirst. Whether the people we help have documents or not doesn't concern us. They're here, they need help, and we can't turn our backs.

(On this topic, we endorse this statement by Bill and Christine Hybels (Willow Creek Church) that was presented recently to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees.)

Raising money for Acorn was made easier by the fact that I won the sympathy vote. Anyone who survives cancer has a golden moment when anything they do or say is taken seriously. It doesn't last long. I had considered raising funds for cancer research, and then realized that if I wanted to assure that donations were used wisely, then Acorn was the place to direct them. For me, raising dough for cancer research is too big a leap of faith. We greatly appreciate those who donated to our campaign. The money is being invested in the lives of ordinary people who, like you and me, are willing to work hard and want only to make for themselves a better place in the world.

Grow a tomato, make a friend

When the property that became Acorn Center was purchased in 2000, the front yard consisted of scabby lawn and a perimeter flower bed that hadn't been tended in years. It's amazing what a little water and love will do.

With help the first year from our friend Tyler Jones, we tore out the grass and piled up the dirt and planted tomatoes, cukes and zucchini - bullet-proof veggies. We had a bumper crop. The next year we built raised beds, hauled in fertile mix, and put out an invitation to neighbors. We wanted the garden to be part of the community life of the neighborhood.

The result? If you build it, they will plant. Over the years, Acorn Gardens has become a popular place for both residents of the Acorn duplexes and other Division Street neighbors to get their hands dirty by raising their own produce and flowers. We provide water and maintain the perimeter beds, and residents grow what they want in one of 10 boxes. I come by with the weedwacker every few weeks, and top up the boxes each year with fresh compost. We've had plenty of volunteer help with the heavy lifting from men at Calvin Presbyterian and Iglesia Emanuel churches. Our neighbor Lee Rockey volunteered to repaint all the fences around the garden this summer.

One of the special pleasures I've had in my time at the garden is chatting with folks who walk by on the sidewalk. I've learned that nearly everyone over the age of 60 has an opinion on how to best grow tomatoes. There's a retirement home down the street, and the ladies I've met love to peer over the fence to see what's growing. Even those who don't actually garden take pleasure in what others are doing. Most have never seen a tomatillo.

One last thought: I was surprised by what grew up when I started watering the perimeter beds: apple trees and lilacs! Plants that I didn't even know were there grew back from root stock once they got a little TLC. What a great metaphor for what we are doing at Acorn. Never write off those who appear to be dead to truth and beauty. A little kindness just might bring them back to real life.

Peter

Vacation Bible School

The week of the 10th through the 14th was a bit busier than normal at Acorn Center. A group of wonderful young moms (and a couple of dads) from Northwest Hills Church had contacted me months ago about doing a Vacation Bible school for neighborhood kids. They decided to open it up to very young children and so the group ranged from age 2-5 and the kids were very active and fun. Briza, Bryan and Julian, children of students in our English classes who live nearby, came to VBS every day and heard Bible stories for the very first time.

We hope this will be an annual event, although judging from the excellent lessons, crafts, games and snacks, it was a lot of work for the volunteers. I loved having the kid energy happening around Acorn again. We've missed that as we have moved to working more with adults. We're certainly open to having children's programs again, but we need more energetic young volunteers like this team from Northwest Hills.

Our adult classes have continued seamlessly all summer long, in spite of vacationing teachers. In an earlier post I wrote about needing more volunteers and I am happy to say that I have 3 new people who have started in the last few weeks. There is still room for more helpers, since my most long-term teacher, Karen Berg, just left for a year in Uganda (hopefully she'll be teaching some English there to keep in practice), and another long-termer, Sara Phillips, will be having her first child this fall and will need some time off. She wants to continue at Acorn though, so maybe I'll volunteer to take care of her baby while she teaches!

Our student numbers have been down a bit this summer since lots of people are working long hours while there is work to be had. But we have had students of every ability level coming to class, and we have been trying to offer 3-4 levels of English as well as computer instruction at all of our class times. I anticipate the attendance will increase as the weather gets worse.

Beating the heat

I was impressed that we still had plenty of students last week, in spite of the record temperatures. So while I was coordinating and teaching our English classes at Acorn, Peter went on a field trip with 4 of our neighbors.

Now that our own kids are grown up, Peter needed someone to play with and invited the Refugio family children. The highlight of the trip was probably the campfire and s'mores, but the kids are still young enough that they enjoyed the frigid water.

On a completely different topic, I have created a section for links on the right side of the blog and so far I have included two that have to do with immigration. I plan to add to these and change them from time to time as I find interesting articles and/or websites. I wholeheartedly recommend the on-line and print magazine called Prism, published by Evangelicals for Social Action. If you haven't heard of it, definitely check it out - Ron Sider is the head of the organization and they have been doing wonderful work for about 25 years now.

Volunteers are beautiful

What would any non-profit organization be without its volunteers? We are so blessed to have many people who give of their time and energy in a variety of ways that support our ministry. I love that there are opportunities for people of almost any age to help out. Some volunteers are teaching or assisting in our weekly English classes, others help with childcare, many have helped with work projects over the years, others donate their professional expertise (accounting and computer tech support are at the top of my list), and some give money and materials for our programs. Countless others are praying for us and the people we serve.

I'm humbled by the number of people who support us, but I do need to say that we could use more helpers, if you or someone you know is available - students needing to pick up some extra volunteer hours, underemployed people who want to contribute while they are looking for work, retired folks with a bit of extra time available.

In Spanish, at least among the people I speak with, the words ugly and beautiful show up a lot. Almost anything bad that happens is feo and if you want to report on a good time you had on a trip, at a party, or even just a dinner with friends, it was bonito. I speak Spanglish better than either Spanish or English, so let me just say that in the midst of a world where feo things happen, Acorn volunteers are muy bonito.

Reflecting on friends and food

Now that we have this blog, I guess I'm supposed to be posting on it regularly. The problem is that I'm too busy living life to stop and reflect on it. Peter and I have just returned from a 25 year reunion where a group of us who were friends in our carefree 20s spent three days together reflecting on our friendship and where our lives have gone over the years. It was a great experience, and on the drive home, Peter and I both expressed that while we loved being back in the Bay area because of all the friends, we are so happy with the life God has given us here in Corvallis, that there was no sadness in leaving. Rather, we were excited to get back to work and back to the people we care about here.

Our open house on the 21st was a wonderful time of appreciating where God has led the ministry in the past 10 years. There were about 40 people who stopped by, and I was able to introduce some of my awesome volunteers. Blanca (in red apron) made pupusas for everyone.

She wants to work from home selling this traditional food from El Salvador, so let me know if you're interested, and if you still don't know what they are, just ask and we'll invite you to our next pupusa party.

We also served amazing Mexican sweet breads that my friend Manuel from Iglesia Emanuel bakes in his home. Yes, I am shamelessly advertising for my friends.

Welcome and Open House

Welcome to our Acorn Outreach blog, not to be confused with any other Acorn blogs that might be in the news now and again. Most of you who have found your way here know that we are a small Christian non-profit located in Corvallis, Oregon.

We are beginning our 10th year of ministry and would like to invite you to an open house next Sunday, June 21, from 11:30am to 1:00pm. We will be serving coffee, Mexican pastries, pupusas and other goodies, and showing off our 1200-square-foot learning center and neighborhood garden. The address for Acorn Center is 1740 NW Division St.