Matthew TwoSix:ThreeNine

This past week it became clear to me that one of the unspoken core values of Anchor House is family. Last Monday was President's Day in the United States. That meant no school for the kids.  Anchor House was filled with grandkids and kids who chose to serve on their day off of school.  There was cooking, baking, ship visiting, envelope stuffing and sealing, kitchen work, and cash registering (not sure that's a word) all being done by kids with servants' hearts. On Presidents day, Anchor House looked a bit different than most other days.  Later in the week I had the chance to see old pictures of the Anchor House.  It was in the early days when a trailer was used and the current space was being built out. As I looked at the photos, I couldn't help but notice the kids. Some were posing for a photo and others were caught in action as they were playing foosball with seafarers.  Nonetheless, their presence indicates something special about Anchor House....

Week three is a wrap. The Anchor House center was rocking as many ships were in port. That means a plethora of workers in the port and seafarers who need to run to the store to get supplies. This week we had a few ships on which the seafarers were not permitted to leave the ship. In most cases, this seems to be a reflection of individual shipping company policies and occasionally it occurs because the seafarers don't have visas.  After a long week, we closed the Anchor House center Friday evening. Everyone else was gone, but I was still there packing up to go home. I heard a knock at the window. We were closed, so I ignored it. They’ll go away, right? They knocked again. I tried to ignore it again. But decided, I’d go to the door and let them know we were closed. Of course, I’d do so politely. After all, the sign said we were closed and the electric open light was not illuminated. When I opened the door, I could tell that the people standing outside were seafa...

The second week at Anchor House concluded with my return to State College of Florida for a very special event. I had the great honor of overseeing the celebration of life services for Robert C Wynn.  Coach Wynn was the first baseball coach and athletic director at then Manatee Junior College. Under his leadership, they won championships, expanded the athletic department by adding other new sports, and were pioneers and champions for women in sport. He was a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, coach, teacher, mentor, and friend. The fact is, he built a legacy. However, that legacy wasn’t just what occurred on the baseball field, athletic department, or within his family. It was about people's forever.  Coach Wynn was one of the most passionate soldiers for Jesus I have ever known.  He was more concerned about people's salvation in Jesus than anything else. It was the focal point of all of his relationships and decisions. His unashamed passion for s...