It’s been 10 days and I still find myself thinking about him.

I was asked to deliver the sermon and lead a workshop centered on the message of my book Step Back from the Baggage Claim at David’s United Church of Christ in Canal Winchester, Ohio. I was sitting up behind the pulpit, looking out at the congregation, as the choir was singing a hymn. I was about to be introduced to Aidan.

In the middle of the choir’s melodious notes, small six year old footsteps began making their way down the center aisle. His cockeyed glasses, oversized acolyte robe and tennis shoes were a cute combination. He made his way all the way down the aisle, up the alter steps, and began bobbing and weaving in and out of the choir. He was looking for his mom and calling her out by name. The choir just kept singing beautifully.

Aidan located Rev. David Long-Higgins, co-Pastor of the church who also sings in the choir, and made his way over to him. David calmly bent down in the midst of the song and lovingly put his hands on his shoulders.

I later learned that Aidan has neurofibromatosis, a disease in which nerve tissue grows tumors that may be harmless or may cause serious damage by compressing nerves and other tissues in his body.

From my vantage point up near the pulpit, I had the perfect view of Aidan’s journey down the aisle and the looks on the faces of every single member of the congregation sitting in the pews. I watched as person after person had a smile stretched ear to ear as they gazed at Aidan with such joy. This was no interruption to their worship service.  This was a divine celebration rooted in gratitude and compassion.

As Reverend Long-Higgins shared with me, “He (Aidan) is the presence of God for me.  Unpredictable and filled with grace.”

I am still thinking about the warmth of that community as they embraced each of Aidan’s steps. May the unpredictability of your world this week be filled with grace.

Travel Gracefully.

Jason Barger, 11-time Amor leader and author of the book, Step Back from the Baggage Claim:  Change the World, Start at the Airport

I recently sent out this email to members of Amor’s National Advisory Board:

On Sunday, I will be on a missions panel for a local church. One of the questions I will be asked is:

“Many of us here have been the beneficiaries of seeing our teenagers affected positively by volunteering their spring break to go to Mexico to build an Amor house. How have you seen God change hearts of volunteers or recipients through Amor’s ministry?”

Since a great many of our stories are your stories also, I thought I would pose this question to you as well. If you had two minutes to tell a story about how an Amor trip has changed the heart of someone you know, what would you say?

The responses have been amazing. What I began to see with fresh eyes was a theme of a deeper commitment to act, serve, and change stemming from eyes and ears being opened to the suffering all around us and a true grasp that we can and must do something about it.  Please check out these responses to that question and then tell us what you are doing.

Jason Barger of Columbus, OH responded with this:

I remember standing in the Amor campsite late one night with Drew. He was a high school student who was having a profound week. He could barely spit the words out with his heart beating so deeply. As we processed that night what we thought it meant to serve out God’s love in the world, you knew it was a sacred moment. Since then, Drew has carried that spirit into another journey.  I have no doubt his experience with Amor that week was a catalyst to even more committed service.

Love is Free Trailer from Homeless Drew.

Steve Ensz of Garden City, KS sent us this:

I have to say that the Amor experiences have had a profound impact on all of our students over the past 19 years.  I have seen individuals go on into ministry in a variety of ways and I believe the Amor trips were key to these career choices.  Missionaries, Youth Pastors, Worship leaders, Health care, Foster care work…the list goes on.  These trips have instilled a heart of compassion and God has been able to work in their lives in amazing ways.  One story stands out among the others: Luis, a little boy crippled up from birth defects, just melted the hearts of our students.  This song was written and recorded by these youth, and I couldn’t put it any better:

We are so excited that God has used what we do as a catalyst into full-time service for so many. To our core we desire to see the Kingdom of God revealed more and more through the love, joy and compassion of those working and serving in His name.  So what are your stories? How has this or any other act of  service changed your or someone else’s heart?

I’ll never forget the moment Ricardo approached me on that dirt road in Tijuana, Mexico.  I was busy working with the rest of our 15 person team during one of our many trips to build houses for those in need in Mexico. He walked right up to me and, in between my swings of the hammer, called me by name.

It caught me off guard because I didn’t think I knew this man. As we stood their face to face and looked into each other’s eyes, a smile crept across both our faces. We hugged and laughed. It now was clear.

Ricardo was the husband of a family that we had built a house for more than 3 years earlier. It was a sacred moment standing there with Ricardo. Somehow we both knew the feeling we were experiencing was way deeper than even the dramatic gift of a house. There was a connection between two human beings.

Years later, Abraham Heschel’s words from his book The Sabbath reminded me of this encounter.

“The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments…[I]t is not a thing that lends significance to a moment; it is a moment that lends significance to things.”

Stepping Back from the Baggage Claim in every day life is about pausing in between swings of the hammer, slowing down in the hectic spaces in our world, and embracing the sacred moments. Today, in the midst of ‘to do’ lists and crowded calendars, how can we face the sacred moments in our lives?

Jason Barger, 11-time Amor leader and author of the book, Step Back from the Baggage Claim:  Change the World, Start at the Airport