Home, Sweet Home

It’s official! After 3 trips to the DMV, and 3 hours waiting in lines, we’re licensed to drive as residents of Virginia. We had heard horror stories of how they cut up your Texas driver’s license while you watch, but that didn’t happen.

I think I’d like to work for the government; I want to be the most efficient government employee who ever lived. The playing field is level at the DMV, everyone is treated poorly. Most of you know that I struggle a bit with lack of patience. Needless to say, Mimi had her hands full keeping me from taking over the DMV and restructuring it completely. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen government bureaucracy at its worse. (Why would we want government to be any bigger?)

Braddock Station, Alexandria, VA

Now that we’re official residents, we thought it would be good to show you where we live, and where Mimi works. Braddock Road is our Metro Station; it’s only about 3 blocks from our condo. Did we tell you we don’t have a car? It’s really a nice little ride into DC–Reagan National Airport, Crystal City, Pentagon City, Pentagon, crossing the Potomac, L’Enfant Plaza, Archives/Navy Memorial and Gallery Place/Chinatown. After a quick switch to the red line, it’s on to Judiciary Square and Union Station, and Mimi is within 5 blocks from her office. On cold days, she’ll hop on the D6 bus that drops her at the Corner of 8th NE and D, then it’s just a quick sprint across the street and she’s there. Clad in flip flops, with pumps in tow, Mimi makes this trip flawlessly, now. In the early days, she made a few wrong turns, and ended up going the wrong way on the Metro. I’m impatient; Mimi’s directionally challenged. We all have our growth areas.

CCCU Executive/Admin Offices

Mimi works at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, 321 8th St. NE, just a stones throw from the US Capitol, if you have a good arm. The executive/administrative offices of the Council are in one building; the student programs–American Studies and Washington Journalism Center, as well as student housing, are next door.

CCCU Washington Student Programs

The Council is a consortium of 180+ evangelical Christian colleges and universities, both nationally and internationally. Mimi serves as Vice President for Professional Development and Research, providing leadership for the programs of the CCCU intended to challenge, inform, encourage, and inspire faculty and staff at member institutions, including conferences and workshops, networking grants, assessment, research, institutional surveys and helpful resources. This position is ideal for Mimi, and she loves it.

1111 Oronoco, Alexandria, VA

After work, Mimi returns to our condo in Alexandria. This was a great find; we love the Alexandria community, especially King St. and Old Town, which are only a couple of blocks away. We’ve enjoyed walking among our nation’s history, exploring the quaint, cobblestone streets, and eating in the very best restaurants. We’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to live year-round where so many people enjoy vacationing. Well, now we know, and it’s great.

Our Own Starbucks

Of course, my favorite part is that we have our very own neighborhood Starbucks, right here in our building. Can you imagine, it’s right here in my backyard. Talk about a dream come true. It doesn’t get better than this.

You now have an idea of our new home, or should I say, Mimi’s home. I’m leaving in the morning for Beijing. It was tough saying goodbye to Mimi when I walked her to the Metro this morning. She leaves this afternoon for an overnight retreat, so I’ll be gone when she gets home. We’re completely confident in our decision for me to spend this year in China, but it doesn’t make leaving any easier. That said, we’re pretty strong people, so I know we’ll be okay. Your thoughts and prayers have been a tremendous support. We love and appreciate all of you. Keep us in your prayers, and don’t forget Katie and Colin in Abilene.

Is That a Tattoo?

Faith, Hope, and Love

For my 50th birthday, I got a tattoo. This wasn’t a “spur-of-the-moment” decision for me. I’d given it a great deal of thought. Some people have been honestly surprised, even shocked. Others have offered their approval, maybe because they, too, have a tattoo, or they really want one, but someone won’t let them go for it. Whatever the response, I’m still happy with my choice.

Church as it was intended.

Getting a tattoo is just the first decision. You then have to confront the what, where, and who of the “tat” decision, choices that were not too tough for me. I first considered the word, Shalom, in Hebrew, engraved across my left wrist, and easily hidden by my watch if need be. But, I wasn’t sure how that might fly with my Islamic friends. Given my love of China, my passion for learning Mandarin, and my strong affection for the Beijing International Christian Fellowship (the most amazing church I worship with in Beijing), I decided to go with the Chinese characters for Faith, Hope, and Love (also used in the BICF logo). And, it looked best on my leg, just above my right ankle. I guess I could hide this tattoo if I needed to, but why get a tattoo if you’re just going to cover it up. Besides, while I approve of tattoos, I certainly do not approve of wearing crew socks with shorts. I may be 50 years old, but I sure don’t want to look like it. The who of the decision was really easy. There just aren’t that many options in Abilene, Texas.

Welcome Tent

You’d be surprised how my “street cred” has improved, at least with the people whose opinions I really care about. These folks never ask why I got a tattoo. They ask what it means, which begs the question I really hope they’ll ask, “Why faith, hope, and love?” Talk about opening doors to meaningful conversation.

I had a ton of those conversations yesterday at Convoy of Hope DC (http://convoydc.org). My new DC friends could care less about me having a tattoo. They’re more concerned about putting food on the table, medical care, and opportunity for their kids. You know, the stuff of life most of us take for granted because it’s always there. Funny, isn’t, how twisted up we get about tattoos when the rest of life is so easy. Anyway, I had a really great day, not just talking about my tattoo, but actually living what it means. It’s not easy living life without faith, and faith is all about hope. Love? Well, it’s the best (and the greatest, according to Scripture).

Convoy of Hope DC

Beyond all the other stuff you’d expect from a day of serving others, my favorite part was looking women and men in the eyes, shaking their hands, and saying hello. Such an easy thing to do, and packed with incredible blessing. Human worth and dignity is so easily communicated when we let go of petty notions about so many things that just don’t matter, and we focus on people who do matter. I guess that’s what being like Jesus is all about.

Greg and Hainey Staley and Wayne

Let the Children Come!

Job Fair/Resume Writing Tent

Prayer Tent

Haircut Tent

Hot Dogs and Hamburgers

Kid Zone

Family Portrait Tent

Health Services Tent

10,000+ Served

Faith, Hope, and Love

Talk to the Hand!

Talk to the Hand

If you’re Mimi’s children or husband, you understand how she loves to take pictures, even when you don’t want her to. Anyway, after 26 years of marriage, I’ve pretty well learned to live with this, but sometimes it just gets to me. Call me Princess Diana (on second thought, don’t call me Princess anything), but often holding one’s hand in front of the papparazzi is all you can do. (Papparazzi–” photographers who take candid photographs of celebrities, usually by relentlessly shadowing them in their public and private activities.) Granted, I’m not a celebrity, even in my own family.

How Cute

Sometimes when you least expect it, probably because you’re asleep, the papparazzi will snap that “priceless” shot, one that only a mother would buy. Here I was, minding my own business, taking a quick nap on our cruise down the Potomac from Old Town Alexandria to Mount Vernon, and Mimi pulls out her trusty iPhone and catches the moment. Regardless, there’s nothing like sleeping on a boat–back and forth, back and forth–just like rocking a baby.

View from the Potomac

As long as I’m on the topic of Mt. Vernon, here’s a couple of shots from our day. This is such a great tour. Besides all of the presidential stuff that you would imagine, George was quite the farmer, an early pioneer of crop rotation, etc. Quite a remarkable man, skilled in so many areas. If you’re ever in this area, don’t forget to take a glimpse of this amazing man with a tour to Mt. Vernon.

Martha Washington

View from the Front

Worship: Searching High and Low

Ebenzers, Across From Union Station

It really hasn’t been difficult at all finding opportunities for meaningful worship. Last Saturday evening, we gathered in the basement of Ebenezers Coffee Shop in DC, one of several locations where the National Community Church meets throughout the week. You can see from the picture, that this is what some people call “low church.” Mark Batterson is the lead pastor, and what I really like about this fellowship is the focus on relevancy and missional living. The church meets in theaters/cinemas at various Metro stops, which is why their web address is www.theaterchurch.com. The Ebenezers location is the only facility the church actually owns. Not investing in buildings allows for a more intentional investment in people. In fact, this weekend I’ll be serving with other Christians from NCC (including Greg and Hainey Price Staley) in “Convoy of Hope,” a huge outreach to 100,000+ people in the DC area. We’re taking over RFK Stadium and serving people in very meaningful ways. See the website for more about that.

Worship at Ebenezers

Christ Episcopal Church

On Sunday morning, Mimi and I walked a few blocks into Old Town Alexandria to Christ Episcopal Church, the “high church” side of the spectrum. Kim Seidman, Chris’ sister and one of our former ACU students, is a priest there. She was ordained in June, and now she is serving a 2-year residency with this historic church. Kim and her husband, Raj, live just down the street from us; we’re going out to dinner with them next week before I leave for China. You’ll see Kim in the picture, sitting with me in George Washington’s pew at Christ Church. He and his family worshipped here, as did Robert E. Lee and his family. This is a great community of Christians, very involved in ministry and spiritual development to people in Alexandria.

Kim and Wayne

We’ve also worshiped at Fairfax Church of Christ, where we enjoy many ACU connections, especially our faithful chauffeur, Rachel Klick, our former student who was my partner in ministry to Katrina evacuees a few years ago. Rachel lives here in Alexandria and works for the Salvation Army. Fairfax Church is quite a drive, especially when you don’t have a car, so Rachel has been great to give us a ride. We’ve enjoyed reconnecting with Travis and Kelly Speck, as well as meeting Laurie Lott’s (from Higland in Abilene) sister and brother-in-law.

Love This Logo

The point of this post is to offer a reminder of the blessing we have to be connected with Christians from various traditions. My spiritual life has always been blessed by the diversity of thought, practice, and experience within our Christian faith. May God bless people around the world who claim Jesus as Lord, and who live daily as expressions of His grace and mercy in the world.

The Cart, Neither Before Nor After the Horse

Wayne Pushing the Cart

It’s been great being here in Alexandria/Washington, DC with Mimi. After the pressures of packing the house, moving our belongings to storage, parceling them out to friends, and moving what we need for Alexandria, I spent time in Abilene with Katie and Colin, moving them into their house and residence hall, respectively, and otherwise getting them ready for Welcome Week and school.

Katie is on the Welcome Steering Committee, so she’s been busy with the Spiritual Life activities and her task of filming, editing, and showing the daily videos in Moody Morning (the gathering of all freshmen each day of Welcome Week). Colin is loving his official freshman year experience. He and his roommate, JP, have just auditioned their song, Nature Kills (which Colin wrote), and they’re hopeful to be in the talent show on Friday night.

Now, what’s with the title of this post? Last week, before I arrived, Mimi attempted a trip to Target in Crystal City, just North of Alexandria, on foot. She got a little turned around and ended up on quite the “wild goose chase.” Well, last night she talked me into going to Target again, on foot. Luckily, I knew how to get there. But, I didn’t count on pushing a shopping cart with an ironing board to return. The picture shows me pushing the cart back home, this time with groceries and no ironing board. I guess there’s enough Oxfordian in us that we’re all about walking 30 minutes one-way to the store. Mimi reminded me on the way back that we are minimizing our carbon footprint. Of course, that made me feel all the better about this trek.

Life in Alexandria and Washington, DC is pretty amazing. Tonight we’re going to theatre under the stars in Alexandria to see the musical, 1776. This weekend we’ve rented a car so we can drive to other sites, and next weekend we’ll attend the first birthday party of Bennett Speck, the son of our former students, Travis and Kelly Speck. Bennett is a miracle baby, having pulled through some really tough days after his birth. We’re excited to be part of the celebration.

Sunday we’re attending Christ Church in Alexandria. This is the historic Episcopal church where George Washington and Robert E. Lee attended, and our former student, Kim Seidman, is a priest. It’ll be great to see her, and to meet her husband, Raj.

As I’ve said before, your prayers and support mean so much to us as a family.

Mimi Waiting for the Metro

Mimi Waiting For The Metro

I thought our blog needed a bit of humor, so here’s a picture of Mimi waiting for the Metro. Our apartment is just a block away from the Braddock station in Alexandria. Mimi rides to the Chinatown station and catches the line to Union Station.  From there, she walks about 4 or 5 blocks to her office. Notice the flip flops? These are her Metro shoes; the heels are in her bag.

I’m doing Passport (ACU Orientation) today with Colin, then tomorrow I fly to DC to be with Mimi for 2 or 3 weeks before leaving for Beijing on September 5. We’re looking forward to our time together in Alexandria. We live only 3 blocks from King Street in Old Town, and the shops, restaurants, and sidewalk coffee shops are calling our names.

We’re thankful for everyone’s thoughts and prayers. God’s plans are being fulfilled daily, and we’re merely moving forward in His grace. Pray for our children; leaving them is hard on both sides. They’re doing really well, but we’ll all miss being together at ACU.

A Tale of Two Cities

The Chinese Arch that spans H Street in downtown Washington, DC, is more than the gateway to Chinatown; it represents the relationship between two capitol cities–Washington, DC and Beijing, international sister cities. Built in 1986 as a joint innovation between these two great cities, the Friendship Arch, as it is also known, signifies an intentional connection by which economic and cultural relationships can be strengthened and enhanced.

These two important cities are now connected by the unique calling of two people, Wayne and Mimi Barnard, a couple called by God to two separate continents, countries, cultures, and cities. Mimi has accepted the position as Vice President of Professional Development and Research for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in Washington, DC. Much of her work will involve traveling, and we plan to meet in Hawaii at least once this year. You can view a description of her new work at www.cccu.org.

Wayne has been invited to Beijing, China, for a one-year appointment, teaching at the International Academy of Beijing (www.iabchina.net), and also serving as Acting Director of Harmony Outreach, a ministry to special needs orphans founded and led by John and Lisa Bentley (www.harmonyoutreach.org). Wayne has enjoyed serving on the board of this ministry, and now he’s excited to be working in a more hands-on way.

Katie will be completing her senior year as a history major at ACU.  She’s now living off campus with three friends, and she’s looking forward to applying this year to graduate schools to study museum sciences. Colin is beginning his official freshman year with 40+ hours, so he’ll be classified as a junior by the spring semester. The head start is great for him, as he’s a dual major in political science and history.

This blog will chronicle Wayne’s and Mimi’s experiences as they faithfully answer God’s call while living, working, and ministering half a world apart. Moreover, it will also affirm the strength of God’s grace in a family whose faith is firmly founded upon God’s promise.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. Sisters and brothers, pray for us. I Thessalonians 5: 23-25.

We invite you to join us on our journey by reading this blog, by praying for us as a couple and for our children, Katie and Colin, and by honoring our commitment to travel this unusual path as husband and wife, father and mother, son and daughter, and brother and sister.

Colin, Mimi, Wayne, and Katie Barnard