I’ll be honest with you, at about 5:30 yesterday I had a sinking feeling that nobody was going to come to the block party. I had this vision of Donna and I sitting alone at a picnic table on our driveway while our neighbors closed their blinds and pretended they weren’t home. Then the doorbell rang. It was a man in a tuxedo. Wow, I guess we should have mentioned something about dress code on the flyer. Turns out he is a high school orchestra teacher on his way to a concert. He came by to apologize for missing the fun, but he hoped he could make it back by and catch the tail end of things. Okay, maybe this will be party.
By 6:30, we were rocking along. College students, police officers, housewives, school teachers, orchestra teachers (they made it back), a lawyer, a speech pathologist, and the Breakaway staff gathered around a little campfire and a little crock-pot of queso out in the front yard. We told stories. We talked about funny things in the neighborhood. We talked about sports. We introduced our dogs to one another and demonstrated their abilities. We played ping-pong, ate fajitas and lingered. Some of us had deep conversations, others just kept it light and fun. Everyone left saying it was fun though. Several mentioned their desire to do this again. Numbers were exchanged, as were invitations to sports leagues and poker games. It was a great start to what I believe will be legitimate friendships. We’re positioned to be help in times of need. We’re friendly faces when those might be needed. The neighborhood doesn’t feel as isolated. It was a cold night, but I think our neighborhood feels a whole lot warmer.
I hope you had a great experience as well. We’d love to hear about them! Please send us your comments.
If you missed out on the block party experience, no worries, there’s no expiration date. Throw a back-to-school party. Be the person on your block, your hall, your apartment complex that people know as a friend. Or find another way if a block party doesn’t work. But love can’t stay still. It never does. It moves. Sometimes it has to push through some social anxiety (my personal experience). But it’s wonderful when it does. May we be constantly reaching out for the glory of God and the good of all those whom He has created!
Peace,
Ben
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Block Party
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6 comments:
ok so you might hear this story several times, but it is a good one. i live in krueger hall and a ubnch of us after breakaway decided to throw a block party in krueger. we were able to get the party funded and supported by the hall. so we got to post flyers and started a facebook event. the part was supposed to last from 9-11, but we stayed out dancing till about 11:40. we had hot dogs and s'mores. with guitar hero and great dancing. there were about 10-15 people who knew that the idea was from here, but about 100 people who showed up. so we thought that it was almost the same as one person thwoing a praty for 10. but i think that the idea was great and we were able to meet many new people and maybe open some doors to ministry? so yeah i just wanted to let you know about the great party that God blessed in krueger last night.
As soon as my roommates and I heard about the idea of a block party, we were in. We had already met a couple of our neighbors and become close friends, so we couldn't wait for more. We made flyers and christmas cookies and took them to all of the neighbors, hit up the HEB for some food, raised the garage doors, put on some music, and waited for the arrival of our guests. I'm not going to lie, i was pretty nervous. I wasn't sure if people would actually show up, but by 7:30 there was definitely a party going on. Over the course of the night, i would say there was about 30 people (9 houses were represented) at the party. We ate burgers, got to know each other, laughed, played ping-pong, laughed some more. A couple of times i just had to step back and say wow... this is awesome.
Eventually we moved the party to the backyard around the fire pit and roasted some mallows. By this time there was about 12 of us left and everyone didn't end up leaving until midnight.
The night ended with all of us welcoming each other to our houses at anytime and agreeing that we were going to have to do this again.
I am so glad we had this party. I think everyone had a blast, i know i definitely did. But more importantly relationships were formed. So im really excited to see what God is going to do in this next year.
My roommates and I prayed over that night and the Lord answered. He kept us safe. We were a little worried about the alcohol issue, b/c we are minors and if people brought alcohol that probably would not be a good thing. But the Lord came through. He was really working last night. Praise Him!
Breakaway!! So I have never been to Breakaway as I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but heard Ben speak at The Village Church in Dallas when I was visiting my sister. I am a college minister and have been really enjoying what Breakaway is about and listening to Ben. I love this block party idea and we here are planning to do something like this as well!! I just wanted to encourage what you all are doing that it is not just affecting College Station or A&M but your vision of living life with those around you (Neighborhoods, Dorms, Frat Houses, Apartments) is spreading and hope that it changes Albuquerque and UNM Lobo Country as well!!
Los
Well i didnt get to do the whole block party due to work but i didnt pass up the chance to save 3 lives. I donated some blood and passed some love that way. But i hope everyone has a safe and good christmas.** merry christmas**
I'm a college student at UK in Lexington, KY --- but I feel like I'm a part of Breakaway b/c I watch the podcast all the time... Many of the ideas (like the block party) I hope to use here on campus too... As an RA the responsibility is great and opportunities abound for the Kingdom.
Hey AGGIES - keep serving and setting an example for Christ to other universities around the nation...
Some friends of mine made our block party a s'mores party at some grills on campus. We had a bunch of friends come out, who also brought friends. We had a blast and people seemed to really enjoy themselves. S'more were eaten, another friend played guitar and sang covers of songs he often does at kareoke. We played some ultimate and football. I've been asked numerous times if it will happen again by those who couldn't attend, so I would say it was a success. We didn't specifically tell people that it was a breakaway block party but somehow people realized. It was definitely a fun time for building relationships and it sparked the curiosity of some about breakaway.
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