Up, Up, and Away!  We arrived in Joplin after a beautiful drive through Kansas and Missouri autumn countryside.  We were amused at a rest stop, when we observed a couple of goats being 'walked' in the parking lot.



Soon after our arrival at First Presbyterian Church of Joplin, this hot air balloon floated by.

We are encouraged to see signs of progress here.  Lots of new businesses are under construction; some lots have now been cleared of debris. On the other hand, we saw at least one restaurant that was open last spring, now closed.  The recovery process is not without its setbacks.

After hearing the story of the blind beggar Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) in church this morning, we listened to the story again this evening, this time listening from the perspective of displaced homeowners in Joplin, volunteers who come to this community to help, and the organizations (like Re-Build Joplin) who are here for the long-haul, overseeing the process.  Just as we were settling down for our discussion, there was a knock at the door.  I went to open it and found a young man who was, along with his wife, stranded without shelter, looking for help.  Faced with our very own Bartimaeus, we listened to his story and gave him some food.  He seemed to have an idea about where they could spend the night, so he departed.  We were struck, once again, by the irony that we came to this place to serve the people of Joplin without knowing how we would be asked to serve.  As we continued our reflection on the story of Bartimaeus, someone noticed the alliterative similarity between Jericho (where Bartimaeus called out for mercy from Jesus) and Joplin (where displaced homeowners are, likewise, crying out for mercy).  We observed that we, too, are asked to throw off the cloak of security in order to follow Jesus.  We were struck by the question Jesus asked Bartimaeus, "What would you like me to do for you?"  We picked prayer partners and talked with one another about how we might answer this question, if Jesus asked it of us.

Bright and early tomorrow morning, we'll receive our work assignments from Re-Build Joplin.  Blessings, Cheryl and Team Joplin!