Valley Hope-

I do not know how many of you will see this. Like you, I have mostly not had any service. I feel cut off and clueless. Once I came into Swannanoa, I was overwhelmed. How does all of this begin to be untangled? I don't know.

My daughter, with tears in her eyes, asked me the question just at the service of almost every heart and mind: Why? And my answer to her is the same that I have for myself and anyone else. I do not know. What I told her is that while I do not know why such a thing might happen here or anywhere, I do trust, I know that God cares. I have seen the cross and empty tomb of Jesus and I know he refuses to leave the world this way. He has opened a door to a time when everything will be made right. I know it because of his cross. And now all we can do is wait with tears in our eyes.

And we can work. I do believe that the resurrection of our Lord means that every bit of this place matters. So we can work to make and remake this world, confident not that we can fix it all, but that he can. And he will. And he will not waste even a little bit of our labor.

So right now, my advice to you is to pray and to seek out the voice of the risen Lord Jesus. Lean in for all the peace and comfort only His Spirit can offer. Throw him all your tear and questions, which he can handle. And we can work together. Take care of one another if you can. Care for your neighbors.

I have chuckled at the irony of me telling you all why I feel that God has called us to this Swannanoa Valley. I thought we were fragmented and under-resourced before. But look at us! Our roads are chopped and changed. We can't communicate with one another. And we need so much help.

But Friday night, head spinning, all I kept coming back to was this: God called us here on purpose. We are here for this very reason, for this very time. Together, let's cultivate communities that live out the life changing hope of Jesus. This is our work.

Right now, it seems unwise to try to get lots of people to drive to the church building. The church building itself is largely just fine. A little water inside, but it's like an island in the middle of our neighborhood. The neighborhood is a real mess of destruction. It's probably best not to descend on it from all over tomorrow morning. I will walk to the building if I can and be there in case anyone happens to show up, especially from our neighborhood. But we want to not make anyone's job more difficult who is sorting out this mess. We will communicate with you further when things look a little clearer.

I love you all and I miss you already. You all are in my prayers and, more importantly, safely in the hand of the Bridegroom who will not leave his Bride.

Peace be with you. I'll see you soon.

-Anthony