Joe Manafo

epilogue

what a wirldwind. tying up details and loose ends in cow town; cross country road trip and now we’ve slammed into the reality that we’re back for good. as i type, our ‘new’ home sits quietly with all our earthly possessions stacked neatly in boxes all over the house. but the slience won’t last for long as the next few weeks we’ll attempt a full internal metamorphosis of the residence. but it isn’t the first time this has happened to the house. as we pull down walls and peel back flooring, it’s as if we’re travelling through time and discovering the stylings of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s each layered one on top of another. today, the task seems daunting especially as it’s compounded by the dozen other things that require immediate attention. what have we gotten oursleves into…

my neighbours are cool. to the left, frank and judy: well into their retirement, they’ve already recounted stories of previous happenings and owners of our home. they’ve been in their current place since 1973 (2 years before my birth!). frank lent me a wheel barrow, offered me tools and was very interested as to what’s happening inside the walls of 586 highbury park. to the right, agnes and ? (i’ve forgotten his name since we only briefly met this week): he drives a 2005 passat wagon tdi, so already we had something to talk about. plus he’s building a boat in his garage - no joke - and it’s huge and sticks out halfway into his driveway. maybe one day when it’s all done he’ll take me for a ride.

yet amidst the craziness of moving and re-establishing ourselves as citizens of ontario (which by the way in terms of paperwork is the most un-organized system i have encountered in a long time) i’m beginning to fret about the church. not so much in terms of ‘oh my gosh, can i do this?’ but more like
‘now i’ll have to prove myself all over again’. and shame on me for thinking this way. i talked to jayne (our pastoral care staffer at un’ed.i.ted) about this over coffee before i left and she looked me straight in the eye across the fake marble starbucks table and said something to the effect of: “what are you talking about? that’s the last thing you should do. center this new work on Jesus, joe.” ouch. timely words from a good friend. while i’m tempted to hop into this with guns blazing, i won’t. we’re doing this slow. we’re doing this by team. we’re not out to prove anything or to render other churches obsolete. Jesus help me to lean on you and not be overwhelmed by the task at hand nor be impressed or dependent by my own abilities.

so the big trip is over, but really it’s just beginning. a big shout out to the boys who showed up on my moving day to haul boxes and take crowbars to walls: darryl silvestri; dave hoyt-walterhouse; nathan colquhoun and ron smith…thanks guys. the help was great, but re-engaging our face to face friendships was even better. and to the red bull girls who showed up in their decked out cooper mini and free samples of red bull: thanks for nothing. if i wanted to drink chilled cough syrop i’d go with buckleys. seriously, who in their right mind drinks that stuff?

and finally, a few last pix from the trip and a video i didn’t get the chance to post. enjoy…

5 o’clock shadow