Life on the River (the Mississippis River if you weren't sure)

It is almost midnight Saturday morning and I am finally able to get away to the office/building to do some work and get caught up with my correspondence. Update from the last week:

Sunday - Had a great crew of friends and neighbors, our brothers and sisters in Christ, show up to help out with the loading of the truck. Got everything packed up and slept on the dining room floor of our empty home, our last night at 512 E. Main St. in Caledonia. We spent 8 years in that home, had 5 children there, and had a ton of life experiences. It was great to reflect with Julie about God's faithfulness during those years.

Monday - Woke up and finally got my Uhaul trailer on the third attempt. Filled the trailer, said good bye to the home and drove an hour south to our friends home near South Haven to stay a couple nights.

Tuesday - Our dear friends Brant and Mary came out with their boys (Dawson, Braydon, and Hutch) and spent the afternoon and evening with us.

Wednesday - Packed up the Uhaul again, said good bye to our friends and began the drive to St. Louis at 9:30 am Central Standard Time. We made decent time with the boys cheering when we crossed from Michigan into Indiana and again when we crossed from Indiana into Illinois. I remember being young and how cool it was to drive from one state to the next. At 6 pm about 30 minutes outside St. Louis, the Mississippi, and the Missouri state line...Caroline "gave back" her sandwich from lunch along with remnants of the huge bowl of BLUE MOON ice cream from the night before. Combine this with the red coloring from the drink she drank some of and well... Luckily we were only 1 mile from a rest stop on I-70 in southern Illinois and pulled in there to clean her and the van before continuing...so there I was in this dungeonesque janitor's closet scrubbing out the colorful stains in Caroline's clothes and her car seat. Finally, we hit the road, grabbed a bite to eat (except for Caroline) and were welcomed by my fellow staff members at Rooftop and their beautiful families. That night we again slept on the floor, this time in our new home, waiting for our stuff to arrive the next day.

Thursday - The trailer is delivered, but the house we are staying in needs to be inspected by the city first and so we have to wait until 3 pm to begin unloading. Rooftoppers begin showing up around 3 (thanks Bonnie and Jason) and more and more show up throughout the evening. Eventually, we have more people than we can give stuff to and the trailer is cleared in no time. Meanwhile, some guys are putting together the crib, some ladies are helping Julie organize the kitchen, and others are helping organize the many items sent to the garage for temporary storage. Julie and I were so blessed by our new church community and friends as we were blessed by our church community and friends which we left in Grand Rapids. The bonds of our faith in Christ are strong and endure whatever location you may find yourself. Thursday night we slept in our own bed and loved it!!!

Friday - Today we returned the small trailer to Uhaul. They came and towed away the large trailer. I had my first official Rooftop meeting over lunch up in Clayton, which is the finance district of St. Louis if you didn't already know that. I spent most the rest of the day helping unpack at home and spending time with Julie and the kids. Then after everyone went to bed I headed off to the church building and my new office to start getting caught on my admin, correspondence, and begin planning the days and weeks to come.

Who would have thought 5 weeks ago that we would sell our home, find a month to month rental, have a baby, move our family, and be ready to go May 1st here at Rooftop Community Church. God's grace has been felt and is deeply appreciated by our family. We look forward to relying more and more on God's grace as we continue building our life here and the relationships which are so vital to our lives and the building of the kingdom of God here in St. Louis. I am so thankful to God for His faithfulness after 2 1/2 years of waiting on him, and trusting that He in His time would lead us exactly where He wanted us to go.

Life in the Village

The Zilkie family is in its final week at our home after almost 8 years of living here in Caledonia, Michigan. Julie and I closed on this home on September 21st, 2001 and drove our Ryder truck here with all of our stuff on Saturday, September 29th. When we moved in we were 9 months married and Julie had just found out she was pregnant with David a week earlier. Evidently babies and moving are the norm for us. This cute little 100 year old home has been very good to us.

We have brought home 5 newborn babies into this home as Julie and I learned how to be parents and adjusted to their presence in our lives and their accumulative needs. We have had many of our friends over to this home many times, being blessed by Julie's hospitality and culinary skills in the dessert genre. Rare will we Zilkies have dessert unless we are having company so of course I love to have people over!

We birthed our primary ministry at Kentwood Community in this house, inviting the attendees over to our home in the early years and, as the ministry grew, we held monthly meetings in our home for the ministry leaders. In addition, we often invited members of our ministry over just to enjoy spending time together, share a meal together, and invite our young children into our social life and world. For a period there in 04 and 05 we played many a game of Settlers of Catan here in our home. Honestly we were quite obsessive, packing up our two kids in the evening and switching host homes among the couples we were playing with.

We have grown in friendship with our neighbors across the street. It has been neat to watch their family grow, as they brought home Sophia from Korea to be their daughter just over two years ago. It has been such a blessing to have neighbors that share our passionate faith for Jesus. Julie and Brenda really connected over the years, and Julie will miss her dearly. She is one of the kindest, most generous women we know. And our boys will have to find new friends, and Sam especially has set the bar high for them in this area! We saw Mr. Fischer sadly and graciously watch his wife go home to be with the Lord. We often sent our kids over to be with Mrs. Stack during the day, giving Julie a welcome break. I have enjoyed our conversations with Dave over the years and it has been incredible to see their miracle son Luke be born at 24 weeks last year and now is a fully healthy 15 month old boy. We watched the Butlers next door celebrate anniversaries 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, and 63 now well into their 80s...and still going. Old Ollie always has a story to tell and it has been a privilege to listen to him and laugh with him as he remembers his younger years. He was a Marine who served on a spy/recon plane in the Pacific in World War II and they are still so proud of the service they gave to our country. Being a Marine myself, it is always a pleasure to hear his stories, no matter how many times I may have heard them before.

Conversely, the house on our other side has seen much more different activity as sweet Mary our elderly neighbor when we moved in, lost her second husband shortly after we arrived. After that the Gunns move in with their young family only to move out in turmoil 2 1/2 years later. Forclosed, the house stood vacant for almost 3 years until a bright young man and wonderful neighbor Cody moved in last summer and has been returning the home to its previous glory.

Several years ago we hosted a neighborhood party and met our wonderful friends the Baezs. We have enjoyed a neat friendship with them these past several years and will miss them and especially Rick's laid back and humorous ways. Julie and Shamra teamed together for the past two years to plant a garden, of which we greatly enjoyed the bountiful harvest they received for their work. I know Julie was so blessed to have someone who would "mentor" her in gardening as it seemed rather daunting to her at first.

And we can't forget our local librarians! Boy, do we have some great history with them. I'm specifically thinking of the time Julie checked out a book titled, "Marriage to a Difficult Man" and then sent me to pick it up. It was truly the autobiography of Jonathan and Elizabeth Edwards, and Julie was reading it upon recommendation and had no idea of the actual title of the book. However, it created quite the stir at the library as you can imagine!! Julie was so blessed by her friendship with the ladies at the library, where they supplied her countless "Tuesday evening chats", knitting tips, fresh farm eggs, and just good conversations. They will be so missed!

Julie and I have taken many, many walks with our growing family around our village neighborhood, contemplating the challenges and opportunities of life. We would talk and pray and discuss whatever was before us and feel unified and at peace once we came to a collective decision. I have fought the war against the moles in my back yard steadfastly, even courageuosly, but to no avail...I lost. I leave humbled, knowing that the ugly, "bat without wings"looking creatures bested me time and again.

Now in our final week in our home, we are thankful for the many years, many blessings, and great friends God has blessed us with during our time here in Caledonia. During my trip to St. Louis last week we found a home to live in temporarily as we move there next week. I pray that our time in that home and the one to follow will be as meaningful and special as the years we have lived here in this home, among these great and wonderful people.

He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive

Back in the fall of 1997 when I had around 4 months left in the Marine Corps, my unit sent me and a couple other guys to the Big Island of Hawaii, to the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) near the Mauna Kea Summit as the forward party for the larger group that would come later. Honestly, we came over with all the gear and pretty much just sat around for 4 weeks until the rest of the unit came. Expecting as much, I packed my acoustic guitar into the storage bin...just in case. Well, I was right and was able to practice guitar for 6-8 hours a day with no TV, no phone, no computer, no radio to use there. I do remember them serving powdered eggs for breakfast and they would turn green after sitting for while in the warmer. Back to the story...

With nothing else to do, I went to the the small chapel building where I kept my guitar and would constantly play various worship songs and hymns. This is how I learned the guitar, self taught through intense repetition...like 6-8 hours a day on the side of a barren mountain on the big island of Hawaii, with nothing else to do... Then one day several Marines from another unit that had just arrived at PTA walked into the chapel, which had been previously vacant except for me the two weeks prior. These gentlemen were a little older, and one rank higher (Staff Sergeant) as I was a Sergeant at the time and 22 years of age. They were also believers and began joining me in the chapel for prayer, worship, and Bible study as their time permitted. Two of the Marines were African-American and were very outspoken about their faith. More than that, their confidence in Jesus was amazing. For those of you who know me, you know I am a pretty confident and outspoken guy. Yet there was something about these two men and their passion and fearlessness for Jesus which challenged me deeply. Now it is expected that as a Marine you will be all of those things, but for many this bravado gets lost in "Marineland" and doesn't translate well into other parts of life...not so with these guys.

One of the Staff Sergeants saw my passion and fervency and that motivated him all the more. He pushed me in my faith, challenged me in my courage for the gospel, and shared his distinctly different worship style with me during those times in that small chapel building. There was one thing especially he did and said that sticks with me today and is most appropriate today of all days...

A couple times when they would arrive at the chapel for our impromptu worship gatherings he would begin right away saying in his loudest of Marine command voices..."He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive...". At first it is always cool to hear a Marine belt out in their command voice. The sound would boom from his mouth and echo off of the walls of the building. As he would continue, it got a little annoying honestly...as it was unnerving in many ways and I wasn't about to ask him to stop. Then, I began to think about what he was saying"He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..." and the way he was saying it, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..." it began to really have an impact on me.

• Jesus indeed rose from the dead and is fully alive today, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."
• Not only did He rise from the dead, but He is on the throne of heaven as we speak, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."
• The fact that He overcame death, means that He conquered it and all of its power in this world, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."
• His being alive means that He is fully engaged in all that you and I face each day, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."
• His being alive means that He is presently offering us all of His power, the same power that brought Him back from the dead, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."
• His being alive means that He is always with me and I am not alone...ever, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."
• Since He is alive, He desires to be worshipped and glorified in our lives and in everything we do and say, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."
• His presence and His power is fully available to us if we will accept it by faith and trust it to be so in our lives, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."
• He will come and judge this world, and we will be held accountable for the lives we lived and what we did with the grace He has lavished on us through His death and resurrection, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."
• I can and should confidently and passionately proclaim that which is truer than anything else you and I will ever know or see, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."
• Nothing and no one is more worthy of my affections, my focus, and my life than my risen Lord Jesus, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."

I would think these thoughts and more as this Marine would continue repeating over and over. Eventually I would join him in declaring this ultimate truth, and in so doing, be transported from that dingy chapel building to a heavenly place, with a throne room, and an army of angels proclaiming the glory of risen and reigning Jesus Christ mentioned in Isaiah 6:1-8. And for several moments, caught up in the reality of what we were saying, we were in the felt presence of our Lord...all because one man with courage was willing to proclaim what is truer than anything else this world has ever known or seen. For several moments, this world truly did fade away and we caught a glimpse of what heaven is and how different things will be. Moreover, Jesus our Lord conquered death and IS ALIVE, so why should we care or worry what others will think about us when we love, and share of His love with others, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive..."

I pray for you, today, that this Easter Sunday would be special once again. And as we join together and say, "He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive," I pray we would also be changed and would dwell in a place of ultimate truth and ultimate reality...a world where Jesus is King, and Lord, and where He is actively ruling and conquering the world in which we live...even if our eyes may not initially see it as so. Be blessed and know that our God is alive today and every day and THAT my friends, should change us...every day.

Africa

This morning a team of people, many of them members of our former ministry "The Calling" left for Zimbabwe on a two week mission trip. Josh White, Emily Buurstra, Tim & DeAnne Nichols, Chris Schmidt, and Andria Ramsey are part of this present team. Josh and Chris were part of the team that Julie and I were on two years ago. In fact, it was two years ago this week Julie and I left on our first mission trip together since getting married in 2000. I had traveled on mission trips previously, but this was our first since getting married. It was a great trip for us in that it opened our eyes up to another world. A world we are still in contact with, supporting in various ways, and praying for as it continues to crumble under the weight of corruption and abuses of power. Zimbabwe is a much different place and a much more difficult place than it was even two years ago.

Zimbabwe Team - April 2007

Just like we did on our trip, this team will host weekend retreats for the youth of the area; they will visit the orphanages and feeding centers Vital Connections continues to sustain and support. The country is so bad that no one uses its currency any more. Rather they trade in Dollars or the neighboring countries currency. Our friends there are suffering and yet I get emails stating that they are pressing on in the midst of all the injustice and difficulty they face each day. Another former member of The Calling wrote a blog of his own about how important our trips are to our dear friends in Zimbabwe even if we don't feel like we are able to so all that much. Know that each of these trips is a cup of cold water to a country dying of thirst...and that my friends is worth whatever price...

Julie's Small Group at Youth Retreat - April 2007

In America we like to fix things, plan and then watch our plans work out, expect effeciency and results, and yet in Africa it is a whole different world. Schedules rarely work, plans always have to be adjusted...it is enough to drive a Westerner crazy. And yet, God loves Africa and the people of Africa. It truly is a different world with a different set of values then ours...some better, some not so. Most importantly though, on this trip there are hundreds of fellow followers of Jesus Christ who will be encouraged, prayed for, built up in their faith, and strengthened in their endurance of life they presently live and have no power to change.

As tumultuous a place as it is, Julie and I love Africa and having visited twice now, I can see that God loves and has richly blessed Africa as a land and people. Maybe this is why they find themselves always in the cross hairs of evil and so much turmoil. If you have a moment or two, pray for this present team, pray for Zimbabwe, and please pray for Africa.

20 Days...

Thank you to everyone who has followed along with Selah's birth and the last couple days. We Zilkies are doing well. Everyone is back home and we are adjusting to life with five wonderful kiddos. Julie has to take it easy and can't use the stairs like normal, but all in all things are going well. The oldest three enjoyed their three days with Grandma Jan and we are all back home as a big ole' family of 7.

It is roughly 20 days until we move with much to do in that time. We will keep you posted and are grateful for your interest, support, and prayers. Some of our dear friends here in Grand Rapids want to have a "Good-Bye Shindig" and are planning it for the afternoon of Saturday, April 25th from 3-5 p.m. in the Byron Lakes Community Center (click on the red link for directions). We would love for any of you available to stop in and see the family, our beautiful new addition (Selah) and give us a chance to say goodbye before leaving. More details will be forthcoming...

Saying Goodbye

This past weekend our family visited some friends in Detroit that we had not seen in a long time, over a year and a half. It was great to catch up, see our kids playing so well with their kids, sharing some great food, and reflecting on how much life changes with each passing year. It is amazing to see how our shared bond in Jesus Christ sustains and brings continual life to our friendship with them. We had some other friends from years past stop in on Saturday night and once again, enjoyed seeing all that God does and recognizing how quickly that times passes when you are not looking.



Then on Sunday afternoon we were able to get an impromptu family gathering together with my two sisters, my mom and my grandparents which will probably be our final time seeing them before the move. This also was a very enjoyable time. My sister Katie and brother-in-law Kent are expecting their first child this June and it is wonderful to see them awaiting the little arrival. They are going to be great parents as they have proven themselves caring for their "horse of a dog" Neo, these past years. We are going to miss not being as involved in their child/children as they have been involved in our kids lives these past 7 years. They prayed for us and blessed us with their excitement, sadness, and open-handedness for God's leading in our lives.



My other sister Heather and her family also joined us and have been going through some hard times these past several years. Bob has had some unexpected health problems, combined with the downturn in the economy has had a direct impact on their family's financial well being. In the midst of it all however, Heather and Bob have grown close to God and learned to trust in Him all the more. They are still in serious financial difficulty, but Julie and I are both proud of them and admire the way in which they have handled the struggles they have faced.



My grandparents were/are great, praying for each of our family units before the evening ended. Grandpa is so faithful to pray for and with his children and grand-children and great grand-children. Julie and I are always touched by their prayers for and faith in God's best for our lives. We love them dearly and thank God for such a strong spiritual heritage and diligent prayers on our behalf.



Finally my Mom...who will be giving up her son again 16 years after giving me up the first time when I left for the Marines. We are only traveling to St. Louis, but with her health and traveling limitations, it will be a while before she sees us or her grand-children again. It was so sweet and sad to see her tears as I brought little Ezekiel over for a good bye kiss. My mom and I are so different that it is hard for me to know how she thinks and feels about things, though I know she is sad about our leaving further away than we currently are. Yet our kids will call, write, send pictures, be on the blog...utilize all the technology there is today to keep in touch over long distances.



Julie and I have said "good bye" before and we may have to say it again, who knows? What we are so thankful for is the grace of God by which we may have had a positive and encouraging impact on friends and family's lives during our time together. I have had a lot of "good byes" in my life and each time I remind myself that for those who have chosen to follow Jesus as we have, the wonderful time we have shared here on this earth will just be a down payment for what we shall have for all of eternity once this life is over. This is one of the greatest hopes for a follower of Jesus Christ, that the investment into people will never be lost in a recession or economic downturn. But rather it will grow with compound interest as we pray for, encourage, challenge when necessary, and hold onto the hope of the life to come with all the wonderful "image (of God) bearers" (Gen 1:27-30)whom we have had the privilege to journey this path alongside.

To all of you who read this and are part of this blessed community of brothers and sisters...thank you so much for your involvement in our lives. We do look forward to that day when we will celebrate joyously together without the worry of an evening or setting sun bringing our time to an end.