Trailer Park Pastor - The Next Chapter

“This is your last walk home.”

The thought plummeted from my head to my gut yesterday as I paused on the trail that bridges the trailer park to the church parking lot.

The trail itself suddenly seemed sacred to me. If there had ever been holy ground in my life, I was certainly standing on it right then. 
And after nearly five years, this was the final trek.

To be completely candid, I had originally expected this day to come sooner than it did. When I unpacked my life and few belongings into that doublewide in the Fall of 2011, I planned on giving it two years. I had no clue what to expect. I just figured I’d learn a little, teach a little, do some Good, then I’d be off to my next venture.

God, as he often does, had other plans.

For two years turned into three. Then four.

Then one day last summer, my life altered course.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a crazy weekend, as most summer weekends are at church. But I remember that day vividly. Due to a fluke (aka a hot, sunny day), a sudden shortage of adults left us a tinge outnumbered by children. Our staff was testy, the children were testing, and I was having a hard time finding a smile to stick on my face.

Luckily, I bumped into someone who had enough smiles to share.

Well, ‘bumped’ might be too tame of a word, truthfully.

A tsunami of kids bounded and bansheed around the corner, bowling me over. But in the middle of the deafening wave, I noticed a smile.

Perhaps I noticed it because it was the first one I’d seen all day.

Or perhaps because the smile stood about twice as tall as the wave.

Regardless, I saw the smile, and when its owner saw me, the smile split into a laugh and shouted “This is so much fun!”

“Well it is, now!” I thought.

I discovered that the smile belonged to a beautiful gal named Elizabeth. At that very moment, she lent me a smile, and a year later I still haven’t given it back. People say it looks good on me, and I tend to agree, so I’m planning on just keeping it. She’s got more than enough of them anyway.

~~~~~~~

In a few short days, I’ll be marrying the girl who gave me my smile.

We’ll be packing my bag and moving it to join hers in a cool little town that has practically everything. Well, everything except a discernable street pattern.

Amid the avalanche of feelings in my head and heart, joy and excitement currently have the lead in delegate counts. Don’t get me wrong… there are other feelings in the running, but there will be no contested convention in my July.

The only thing that outnumbers the feelings in my head is the amount of questions I’ve been asked. And none has been asked more than this: What am I going to do with the trailer?

Will I sell it? Will I move it? Will I turn it into a spaceship? (Kindergarteners rock.)

Well, the much-awaited answer is…

I’m giving it away.

Why?

Because I didn’t pay a dime for it. 

Since someone bought it and gave it to me, the least I could do is give it to someone else.

Although I never knew when I would leave the park, I always knew that whenever it happened, I wanted to give it away.

So as soon as I DID know that I was moving out, I started praying and asking God to send someone who wanted to take over. I didn’t want to have to search. Planning a wedding would give me enough to do.

I asked him to have this person seek ME out, since this kind of work requires a person with high initiative.

I asked him to send someone who would be coming with a roommate, because it’s difficult to do it alone.

I asked him to send someone who could take it over immediately after my wedding, because summertime is the best time to connect in the neighborhood.

And as He has done with every prayer that I’ve prayed about/for this place…

(That’s right… Every. Single. Prayer.)

…He answered it.

About a month later, an intern at our church asked if she could talk to me. She wasn’t in my department, and I didn’t know her well. I’m not sure we had ever had a single conversation before.

Not knowing that I would be moving out, she told me she felt like God was pushing on her heart to do trailer park ministry stuff like I was doing, and she wanted to know how I thought she should go about getting started.

I asked her if she had a neighborhood picked out, and she said she hadn’t.

I asked her if she was planning on doing this venture alone, and she said her roommate was planning on doing it with her.

I asked her when she was hoping to move into a new place and she said they were looking at July. Right after my wedding.

I then asked her if she wanted my house.

Because if she did, it was hers.

No strings attached.

No expectations.

Because that’s how it was given to me.

Needless to say… we are excited to announce that in July, I will be turning the trailer and the trailer park ministry over to Brooke Holtslag.

If you don’t know who she is, you need to. She’s awesome.

And we can’t wait to see what God is going to do through her.

~~~~~~~

There are so many things I could write right now.
And by the grace of God maybe one day I will.

But wedding details await.

So for now, with grateful tears swelling my eyes (seriously, the people in Starbucks must think me crazy), I have one last thing to say today.

Thank you.

Thank you to every person who has supported this journey.

Thank you to every person who…

tutored a park kid

sent a kid to camp

bought a Christmas gift

filled and hid an Easter egg

gave furniture

helped a resident find a job

volunteered at VBS

donated snacks

lead a Bible study

picked up trash
sent your kid to pick up trash

covered a utility bill for a single mom

dropped off a Thanksgiving dinner

planted a flower in someone’s yard

mowed a lawn

raked some leaves

fixed a leaky toilet

painted a wall
lead a game of soccer on the playground

gave a ride to a resident

lead a small group

joined me in praying for my neighbors

loved like Jesus

replaced a window or two (or eleven)

You have no idea how you’ve impacted me.

You have no idea how you’ve impacted them.

You have no idea how you’ve impacted the world.

Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus to this community.

Elizabeth and I have NO idea what’s next.

But if the last five years are any indication, we know it’s gonna be one great, wild ride.

“Come further up, come further in!” – C.S. Lewis