I enjoy apartment life. You have enough space to make your own, and the community owned amenities compound the experience. One less-than-stellar facet of our apartment complex is the fact that our building has to share one washer and dryer. This may seem splendidly spartan to some readers, however, to our many friends on the international field, our privilege is showing. My wife, the problem solver, found us a cheap Laundromat on the edge of our neighborhood, squeezed a few extra dozen quarters from the budget and christened Monday at 9:00 am Laundry Day.
Amber does the laundry; I help. Ok, I get in the way; therefore, I would stay in the apartment and do my daily administrative tasks while she got the laundry done. Well, last week, the plans sort of changed. She asked me to go with her; the laundry load was large, so I was her additional muscle. The Laundromat was a loud, musty image of the 21st Century America. The clientele was Native American, African American and Hispanic. The signage in the facility was in three languages. Even though she was new, Amber had developed a few friendships there, not “super-deep” “besties”, no weepy counseling sessions, but casual friends you make at a Laundromat. I watched as a few rowdy kids said hello to her, a Native American man clearly recognized her.
The owner is a hard working Vietnamese man named Steven , Amber has gotten to know him fairly well, just through conversations at his Laundromat. Today, she told him that we were planting a church in Sioux City and before she could present the Gospel, He shut down, but he was kind. Right now, he isn’t interested, but we will love him. What’s next for our journey with Steven? There’s no perfect solution, no “magic bullet”. We will pray for him and his business; it’s a pretty good Laundromat. One day I hope to speak the Gospel of Light in Love, until that happens, we will be there on Monday mornings with a bunch of quarters and hope for Steven.
Amber does the laundry; I help. Ok, I get in the way; therefore, I would stay in the apartment and do my daily administrative tasks while she got the laundry done. Well, last week, the plans sort of changed. She asked me to go with her; the laundry load was large, so I was her additional muscle. The Laundromat was a loud, musty image of the 21st Century America. The clientele was Native American, African American and Hispanic. The signage in the facility was in three languages. Even though she was new, Amber had developed a few friendships there, not “super-deep” “besties”, no weepy counseling sessions, but casual friends you make at a Laundromat. I watched as a few rowdy kids said hello to her, a Native American man clearly recognized her.
The owner is a hard working Vietnamese man named Steven , Amber has gotten to know him fairly well, just through conversations at his Laundromat. Today, she told him that we were planting a church in Sioux City and before she could present the Gospel, He shut down, but he was kind. Right now, he isn’t interested, but we will love him. What’s next for our journey with Steven? There’s no perfect solution, no “magic bullet”. We will pray for him and his business; it’s a pretty good Laundromat. One day I hope to speak the Gospel of Light in Love, until that happens, we will be there on Monday mornings with a bunch of quarters and hope for Steven.
In Christ,
Richard
Church planters....laborers bringing in the harvest. This was a great post. You plant one seed at a time and in God's time, it will harvest.
ReplyDeleteLove you all.