People Stories - Blackburns

Cheryl, Mark, Kyle, Vaughn, Joy, Vawny Kay

Vawny Kay & her parents, Vaughn & Joy

Many of the young people at BBC teach English in schools or school-like settings.  One such young lady is Vawny Kay Blackburn. Her parents, Vaughn & Joy, surprised her with a visit here for Christmas. We were able to spend some time with them while they were here. Their first Sunday here we had a bunch of people over to our apartment after lunch.  At that point, Vaughn and Joy were still experiencing jet lag. They were tired.  Later in the week we went with them & Kyle to a Xn foster care home. The Blackburns recently changed career paths, much like us, but in the opposite direction. Vaughn had been a pastor in Minnesota for many years, connected with Bethlehem Baptist Church (John Piper). About 1 ½ years ago, they moved to Michigan to be house parents for orphaned Liberian youth.  God opened a door for them to minister to needy teenagers in a home in St. Louis MI. It’s been a tough life. The Blackburns are living and teaching godly lives to the teens. Things like how to live in a family – they don’t have families. What does a godly marriage looks like – they have never seen a Christian marriage. Things like how to get along with others – they have lived disconnected lives. Funny – I look back over the pictures we have of the Blackburns. By the end of the week, Joy especially looked more relaxed and rested. We talked about so many topics – children, teens, marriage, dating/courtship, homeschooling, public schooling, pastoring, living.  

James 2:14-18 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.