It’s been a busy orientation week for us. Six of us live in this duplex on Gregory Avenue: Alex and I on the girls’ side and Brady, Josh, Kyle, and Robert on the boys’. We have begun crafting our house covenant, a contract we will all sign that outlines how we agree to live together and hold each other accountable as an intentional Christian community. We have spent some time evaluating the unique spiritual gifts each of us brings to the table. We are learning to value and use our individual strengths.
We have all participated in a morning of service together. We volunteered at Project Angel Food, an organization that prepares and delivers 1,600 meals every day, 365 days per year, for people with terminal illnesses.
We’ve had dinners with several of the past “Dwellers,” the people who have lived in this house on Gregory Avenue in the years before us. It’s been interesting to hear their stories and their advice, to see the lasting relationships that formed from their year here.
One of my favorite field trips from the week was Homeboy Industries and Homegirl Café. Homeboy Industries was started by a pastor who saw firsthand how gangs affected the young men and women and their families in his neighborhood—the violence, prison sentences, and deaths. He saw how difficult it was to get out of that lifestyle once a person was tattooed or had a record. So he began to give them an alternative, paying them out of his own pocket to work for him. I loved the tshirt that our former gang member/tour guide was wearing: “Nothing stops a bullet like a job.” Homeboy Industries has become the largest gang intervention program in the country; it includes Homeboy Bakery, Silkscreen, Maintenace, Merchandise, and Homegirl Café. They provide all sorts of classes, and they can even get their gang tattoos removed for free! I got goosebumps hearing about all the success stories that have come from that place—and it all started with just one man.
Yesterday, I practiced my route to work: bike one mile to the bus stop, put my bike on a rack on the front of the bus, ride 20 minutes, then bike the last couple blocks to my agency. I can already tell that I will have a lot of stories from riding public transportation every day.
So this is my life right now, still in the transition to starting our jobs and neighborhood ministry. It is such an encouragement to hear from home, comments on my first blog, emails and Facebook messages, texts. I’ve been busy so I haven’t gotten to respond to everything, but I just wanted you to know that I do appreciate it. Thank you all for that.
I can’t wait to begin working at my agency and in the neighborhood. More updates to come!
~Alayna
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