Carthage, Missouri

Dateline:  Carthage, Missouri

Brian and Marilyn are Evergreeners.  But there is so much more to their story.  I don't usually dedicate a posting solely to any given Evergreen host, as they all are so very special.  But...

 

Brian and Marilyn (or as they say people often spell their names...Brain and Maryland) are Christians.  That may not sound so special.  Many "Christians" have given our name a black eye, because they don't necessarily walk the walk, but only talk the talk.  Not so with this family.

 

When I called to see if their hospitality was available for a recent night, I heard the voice at the other end of the line answer "Crises Center."  Oops, I'm sorry, I must have dialed the wrong number.  "Well," says the very pleasant female voice at the other end of the line, something to the effect of "Don't hang up.  What are you looking for?"  I am calling about Evergreen, says I in a bit of a nervous voice.  Marilyn piped up and said that they were, indeed, Evergreeners

 

She further explained that they ran a shelter and crises center.  She further mentioned that they had their own apartment on campus.  I said fine, gave her the date that we wished to visit and went about our merry way.  Normally, I call a day or two ahead or sometimes the morning of our potential stay.  But we ran into an unexpected bump in our schedule.  Our cell phone did not work trough some of North Dakota, none of Montana or Wyoming and most of Nebraska.  When it finally worked, Brian and I had a wonderful, fairly long game of telephone tag.  I would suspect that he might have been just a tad frustrated with me.  We finally connected.  And, yes, I would like to stay with them that night.

 

We plugged in Maggie Magellan, and following her voice.  We got to Carthage a bit earlier than we had hoped.  So, we took a quick tour around the town after we bought gas at a local convenience store.  There I noted to the clerk, the towers of the Court House.  She said her four-year-old daughter called it a Princess Palace.  By the looks of it, she could be right.  We drove to Court House Square (one way traffic around the square) and checked out the building and grounds. 

 

 

 

It turns out that there was a Civil War battle there on July 5, 1861.  The Yankees burned the Court House and the town in general.  The Confederates are proud that they won the battle, however.  We did note that most of the buildings, although old, had dates in the late 1880's or 1890's in the immediate vicinity.  The square was left vacant for many years until the town could afford to rebuild.

 

Missouri never did officially become part of the Confederacy, although Second and Third National flags of the Confederate States of America included thirteen stars (one for Missouri and one for Kentucky--neither of which were officially Confederate States).  Eleven states made up the Confederacy during the period of the War.

 

Back to my original story...

 

Maggie kept directing us to this very big building.  We drove around the block several times before we finally pulled into the parking lot.  Now, I had mentioned to Steve what Marilyn had told me on the phone.  But, when he pulled into that parking lot and looked at that gigantic building that looked like a warehouse, I really thought he was going to bail on me and leave.  Fortunately, an extremely polite young man named Arron (yep, that's spelled correctly...he told me that all the siblings in his family have double r's in their first name) approached the car and said, "May I help you?"  I answered that I was looking for Brian.  He told us to enter the doors in front of us.  I think, by this time, I was a bit on edge, mostly due to Steve's reaction.

 

We entered the designated door.  To the left of the door out of doors, but out of general sight, were a lot of bicycles.  Upon entering, we found a wonderful surprise!!!  The common area as we walked in was beautiful and comfortable.  Brian told us later that the building had been donated to them as a not for profit organization.  It was a 43,000 square foot warehouse and show room.  It obviously needed lots of work to make it a "home."  But, they had lots of help.  They have been in this facility for several years now.  Local churches have been/are extremely supportive.  And many of the residents helped with the conversion of a warehouse to home to so many.

 

Marilyn and three of the most pleasant women residents were getting dinner (or supper, iffen y'all are from the South).  I offered my help.  But Marilyn declined, saying the women were very capable.  We chatted in her big and bountiful commercial kitchen.  I had a long conversation with the woman cutting cukes into slices.  I did not ask any questions that I felt would invade their privacy.  The woman who was cutting the cucumbers volunteered that her kids were with their Dad, but she saw them (I have no idea why she is there).  She did tell me that she missed her Chihuahua very much.  He was staying with a friend for now.

 

The evening meal is always a buffet...sometimes more casual than other times. The buffet meal was in the kitchen.  This night was hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, lots of various kinds of fresh fruit, corn on the cob, fresh broccoli, and carrot cake for dessert.  Condiments were in the dining room. Almost any kind of beverage one could image was available.  We had been invited to join them for dinner.  Sometimes, depending on donations, they have had shrimp or other pricier yummies.  But, we enjoy our hot dogs/hamburgers.  So, we were happy.

 

There are lots of very strict--but extremely practical--rules.  I will tell more about that later in this posting.  One rule about dinner:  Guests (Steve and I) go first, Marilyn and Brian go next, Mothers (or fathers) with children in tow go next, then the rest of the women and lastly the men.  All very orderly.  Plenty of food, so no one has to worry.  We had plenty to eat.  I went back for seconds on the fruit.  The four of us ate in the dining room, albeit, we were at a separate table.  A different crew cleaned off the tables.  And a third crew prepared the dishes for the dish washer.

. 

We did not see the residents' residences (yuk, yuk),  The common areas were very nice, so that leads me to believe that the rooms are also nice.  Four men to a room. Or two women to a room.  Or a family unit shares one room by themselves.  We saw three little children belonging to two women.  But, we understand that two more children reside there with their mother.  They were, out for the weekend with their Dad.  Twenty eight residents when we visited, but they can house many, many more.

 

We retired after dinner to Marilyn and Brian's absolutely gorgeous apartment--four bedrooms, two baths and a huge common area that included a very modern kitchen, living room with a fireplace and a dining room table.  Throughout both their apartment and the common area of the residents are wooden, cross stitched and embroidery signs with positive expressions...many Biblical.  We were given a choice of one of two rooms.  Steve chose the one with the king-sized bed.  The bed looked small in the room. 

 

The next morning (Sunday) we dined in their apartment...scrambled eggs, toast, more homemade jam, etc.  They said something about Church.  I asked if I could join them.  We went to a church which has the initials FCC.  The Pastor does three services:  8:00, 9:15, and 10:30 in two different buildings, but on the same campus.  The services, therefore, are very succinct.  We went to the early service.  Communion was served.  Some churches do not allow non-members, but this church was quite welcoming.  Dave, the Pastor mentioned that all of us know the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.  He wrote a Pledge of Allegiance to God which he emailed to me when I got home.

 

Here is the pledge based on Deut. 10:12. (by David Cook, 8/2013)

I pledge allegiance to my God.
The one true God of the universe.
And to you great God, whose image I bear,
I’ll love you, and serve you, and walk in your ways,
With all of my heart and my soul.”

 

I would love to see this memorized in every Christian Church.

 

Marilyn and Brian enjoy giving a hand up.  There have been many success stories over the years.  One man who had some problems (don't know what they were), but became a resident.  He held a CDL (truck driver's license).  He has recently requested of Brian if Brian might have 2 CDL drivers, as he now holds a position that hires.  Lots and lots of stories.

 

They provide people with "spot" jobs and a "permanent" address, so that identifications can be acquired in the event the resident does not have one.  A recent newbie got a spot job, used the money to buy himself a bicycle, and got a job at a local country club as a chef.  Turns out that he is/was a chef, but whatever happened in his life put him into some challenging circumstances. 

 

At the major holidays,  Marilyn and Brian, serve one hundred and fifty meals.  They are kind of a collection depot for food.  Sometimes, if a company has a surplus, of say, one hundred turkeys, Brian/Marilyn will take them all and distribute them to other soap kitchens, churches, and shelters.  He said that often (before Brian) some of these companies would call a shelter who would say that they wanted, three or five or ten.  That means the donor would have to call other places.  Now, they just call Brian and he finds homes for all.  The donations are in such magnitude that the shelter only spend $50 in the year 2012.  They have doing this for (I think) eighteen years ( but a good number, none the less).  Brian had been a high-powered, high-priced (I assume) attorney.  But, he felt a calling from God to this ministry.  He says, "Money isn't everything!!!"  They do seem to be very much at peace, are joyful and pleasant to be around.

 

They have five children (4 girls, 1 boy) and 11 with one on the way grandchildren.  One of his daughters and her husband are missionaries in some country I can neither pronounce nor spell (one of the "stans.")  We met their youngest daughter, an OB nurse, with her two little boys.  The high energy boys seem to be a delight to the residents.  One corner of their living room is heaped with toys.

 

Some of the HOUSE RULES:

• Everyone must work (all have specific chores) at the shelter...dishes, food prep, laundry
• If possible, they must get an outside job
• Saturday mornings all residents work for the betterment of the facility
• Must attend Church on Sunday...church bulletin in hand signed by Pastor or Elder (unless they have a job that precludes their attending).  Any Church.  A couple of the local churches provide a bus
• Required evening meetings three nights a week (don't know what is discussed, but it is for the good of the order)
• NO drugs or alcohol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Smoking outside in male or female (separate) designated area
• Door is locked at 10:00 pm and opened at 6:00 am.  If one leaves or comes back after 10:00, one cannot re.enter until the morning.  Second time, pick up stuff and move on.  (in other words, they have been kicked out)
• Breakfast (and maybe lunch), the kitchen is available for whatever goodies they may have...cereal, muffins, beverage (again, whatever has been donated)

Thank you Marilyn and Brian for a great lesson in how Christians SHOULD behave toward their fellow man/woman/child.

 

I am so pleased that God blessed us with this opportunity.  Even Steve was happy with the outcome.