It was the 90’s and, “We were young. None of us knew quite what to say, but the feeling moved among us in silence anyway. Slowly we made Quite a change. Somewhere we had crossed a big line. Down on our knees, we had tasted Holy Wine, and no one could sway us in a lifetime.” (Amy Grant 1974).
That was an amazing time and both Brenda and I didn’t really know what to think. It was silence that wouldn’t go away. We just knew it wasn’t a choice but a calling. Something that had to be our whole life…and it was.
So, it’s been 26 years since One Life began. It started with Basecamp, morphed into Stoney Creek Expeditions, and eventually became One Life.
Brenda and I think back to those early days and the work of Jay & Bev Selle, Heather Gale, Charlotte Smith, and Isaias. Not to mention Cynthia, Justin, and Keri. We were young, driven and sometimes reckless. It was a burning desire and filled with Godly things. His calling was in each of our lives. It’s still the same, but today Trish, Manuel, Isaias, Amanda, and the Molinas continue to pave the path forward. It’s a whole new generation. In good hands, but it took everyone and a few decades to get here. I know I am totally missing the Renaes, Paiges, Michelles, Emmas, Jeevins and Erins in all of this. Especially my children, but all of you have changed history. Through this, we have gained Caleb as a son-in-law and Sheldon as a husband to my niece. Heather & Steve Gale adopted children from Haiti. What a crazy and unexpected ripple!
Dallas and Val, Sheldon, Alle, Charlotte, and Naomi you lived in our house. Not to mention a host of others. As the OL office moved back to our house, this month, I was reminded of how these hallways were filled with your voices and laughter.
My point is, it took all of us to get here and especially how it continues to take the young to move this ministry forward. One Life has a deep history and it is not found in Brenda and I but everyone who has contributed to this. The donors who support this work with their hard-earned finances. Those who pray for us continually. Each one who has put a hand to this effort at home and in San Quintin. We serve with a Board of peers and that spreads accountability and work over many people and generations. Sometimes it hits me with a profound humbleness of the way the Lord has weaved all our lives together. Like my wife often says, “a tapestry”.
We serve a Lord that is perfect in all of His ways and that is why we serve. The unexplainable has become normal in a dry and waterless place. Our first world problems don’t exist here and evaporate because necessity is what frames every day. It is all about making each day count and searching out the Holy Spirit that lives within us. It reaches into all of our souls and feeds the hungry, clothes the naked and provides shelter for the homeless. Paraphrasing, it’s a tapestry made up of vertical & horizontal strings that use all of us to be the backbone for others…structure that holds everything…our faith, prayer, and foundational truth. Something we all cling to, knowing any effort is used to make history.
I have missed so many, but you know who you are, and this is us. Thank you for giving all you have as you served with One Life!
With grateful hearts,
Rob & Brenda
