This week Dan Johnson is sharing his unique perspective as a member of the ministry team here at Barberry Village while also being the father of a young family:

"I grew up in the suburbs and became accustomed to an isolated life with almost no contact with my neighbors growing up. I am now married and have a 2 year old son, and a newborn baby girl. We live in a poor part of town with crime rates that make most people from the suburbs a bit uncomfortable. For God so loved the world that he sent his only son... to a world that rejected him......

This week Kurt, a fellow laborer in the Kingdom, shared some reflections on how he had been impacted through involvement at Barberry Village. He helps lead a small group at Clear Creek Community Church, which is one of the handful of churches in the area that has been seeking to embrace our apartment complex with loving arms.

I'll let him tell you the rest:

"I have had the privilege of serving along side the team at Barberry Village for a couple of years now and the impact to my soul has been huge. Until just a couple of years ago, when I first heard of the "mission to the village", I had never given much thought to the community beyond the Compassion Rockwood event held annually at PLS and that was just one day a year. The only thoughts if any that would come to my mind, was “it’s not my backyard” or “this” is a rough community. I would continue to drive through the area, sometimes daily, without much thought about the individual lives that reside there. My world was 4 miles away in a “different” community.

A passionate women from one of the local churches has committed to investing in youth outreach weekly throughout the summer. We are all excited by the energy, creative, and dedication that she brings to bless the Barberry Village community. We'll be posting more about this, including stories and pictures, but for now I wanted to share her prayer for the summer

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Father for my children I pray that you guide me every day. Every step of the way. I have no hidden agenda except that they see you face to face....read more

We as a community at Barberry Village have been doing a study called "Story of God". As you might guess, it is an overview of Genesis to Revelations. We just hit the beginning of the new Testament; the virgin birth of Jesus.

One of our neighbors we have been building a relationship with is a middle aged devout Roman Catholic women. One of the other neighbors is a recovering drug and alcohol addict who has been totally burned by Christianity and the "church", is skeptical at every turn, and has more questions then answers.

Those two lightening rods were almost enough to bring the building down within the first 10 minutes. I thought for sure one, or both, were never going to come back again.

When we first moved into Barberry in 2008, we naturally made a connection with our neighbors who lived right underneath us. An inter-generational family of grandma, mom, and young daughter who were very open and excited to meet friendly neighbors who they could trust and spend time with. The young daughter would come to the children's events, participate in many crafts and activities with much eagerness to learn. She was nearing 5 years old when the family ended up moving. We were sad to see them move, especially since the relationship was leading towards more discussions of faith, life, and purpose, but unfortunately moving is in deed a fact of life. We said our goodbyes, not expecting to ever see each other again.

It's been awhile since our last post, and as you can imagine a lot has happened - and changed.

The past two seasons have proved to show how many people there are in the Rockwood community who care about it and are doing great works on behalf of their love for this area. We have had the opportunity to attend a Rockwood Neighborhood Association meeting in November and meet many people who have roots here and are engaging in making a positive difference.

The meeting was held at Rockwood's new Salvation Army Youth Center, home of this winter's Good Shepherd Christmas party, which many families from Barberry attended. It is so great to partner with passionate believers to serve God's kingdom! The event was filled with much joy and laughter. It was especially encouraging seeing youth (and we're talking young kids in elementary and middle school) participate in leading activities!

Community of love and care

The shell speaks don't you dare
But underneath the intimidation
Is a beautiful creation.

Underneath the hurt and struggle
There is a small bubble
Of hope that's been plagued with rejection
Even filled with infection
Is there someone who can heal?
Who can peel
The layer of destruction
And fill it with God's love and grace?