… I had too much stuff going on with my family

In the Faithwalking ministry we often hear how the call to living missionally represents a great challenge for families with small children. No doubt the demands of raising young children limit some options for those who consider a call to do “ministry” in a sustained way. Brad and Natasha Sollenne provide us an example of a family that has wrestled with this issue, and have chosen a path that has them on mission as a family. We offer you their story, in their words, as an example of what can be.

“Saturday night church was awesome! Hearing what everyone is doing within their missional communities is very motivating (this includes those of you that weren't there and what you are doing in the community)! This is why we moved back to Houston. Brad would tell me about the extraordinary people here and what they were doing and we wanted to raise our kids with such extraordinary people.

Recently, as you know, we began feeding homeless people again. Brad and I have had a dialogue going as to what more might be needed. Brad has a more intimate understanding of what someone on the street might need and our conversations have been detailed, substantial, and rewarding. We also agreed that we wanted the kids to be directly involved in whatever we do. Then about a week ago Brad asked Sascha if he could have one wish, what would it be? Without hesitation Sascha said he wished we were rich so we could help the homeless and the hungry and no one would be hungry again. After being stunned about what amazing kids we have, we realized we wanted the kids to understand that we don't have to be rich to make a difference in someone's life.

On Saturday night at church, Jim Herrington asked us what was stopping us from living a missional life. My answer (in my head) was that I had too much stuff going on with my family. As soon as I said it out loud, however, I realized that that was not standing in my way-- in fact, it was a motivator. Brad and I, again, talked about what we wanted to do on the way home and decided to talk to the kids to see if they were interested in acquiring and delivering some of the additional supplies that might be useful for people living on the street. They did want to and were so excited about it. They even had many of their own ideas (Mikhel kept getting out of bed to give us another idea again and again).

Some of the basic supplies we could deliver that we came up with are:

-Backpacks (Brad says this one is a big deal)

-Blankets and jackets (blankets, but not comforters--comforters are too bulky to be carried around)

-Toothbrushes and toothpaste

-Bus tokens (so they can get to doctors appointments and shelters if they need to) (although a call to Metro told me that they aren't using tokens anymore. Instead they are using Metro Money (Metro cards with money on them).

We decided we would work three avenues to help us acquire supplies. The first one is our Facebook friends (and their kids). The second place is Brad's work. And, finally, we thought that we might be able to send some e-mails or a letter to some of the kid’s classmates.

Yesterday morning the kids and I went to see their principal to see what the rules are about sending out e-mails to classmates or handing out a letter to their class. As it turns out, she wants to make our idea a school project. She called the vice principal into our meeting and they asked us to write a proposal so the "Leadership Group" (several 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders that the vice principal works with) could make it their service project for the semester. They will help us organize it, send out letters, and then collect what comes in. We (the Sollennes) will then pick the donations up and begin taking them out with us to deliver to people who need them. This was, of course, beyond any of our expectations!

We are going to wait to see what happens with the "Herod Donation Drive" and leave Facebook (not sure about Brad's work yet-this is all so new) for the next phase. We may use Facebook to ask for additional supplies or even to see if anyone wants to come out with us to deliver them to people on the street. Some of you have voiced interest in going out with us and we would love that too.

We wanted you guys to know what we were up to. It is important to us to live up to the life that you guys are trying to live up to as well. We are proud to call you our friends and we just want to do our part of trying to live extraordinary lives.

So Jim, I think the answer to your question is that nothing is standing in our way. We have put one foot in front of the other and are now off to a good start. Thank you for pushing us to see that.”

Brad and Natasha

So, what do you think? Does this stir something in you? Let us know: we’d be delighted to hear from you!