Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Greetings from Normally Beautiful and Sunny Hollywood! by Jenn

Today it is raining and reminding me very much of a November day in North Carolina, albeit quite a bit warmer.  I first want to thank everyone for their greetings last week.  It is such a nice surprise to get both e-mail and “snail” mail out here!  This week will mark 3 months since I left Clemmons for this year long journey and I can’t believe that it is almost ¼ of the way over.  I am still working with P.A.T.H. (People Assisting The Homeless), however, as of October 1st, my job title changed to Navigator Intern instead of Outreach Intern.  This doesn’t sound like a huge difference, but I am now an actual Case Manager for clients that are currently experiencing homelessness and staying in our shelter at PATH Hollywood.  The negative side of this is that I feel like I am woefully underprepared for helping my clients find the resources they need to progress through our program and that is so frustrating.  The positive side is that I am getting to know clients on a much deeper level and learning so much more about homelessness than I would otherwise. 

Last weekend I went camping in Joshua Tree National Park with the young adult group at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood called City Lights.  In my head, this weekend was going to be warm, sunny and relaxing!  Boy was I wrong!  Instead it was cold, rainy, and I didn’t have a tent or sleeping bag that was quite appropriate.  I was lying on cold ground Friday night shivering and really angry at the world.  Then I realized that many of the clients that my roommates and I are encountering on a daily basis would be in those same elements without any tent or any sleeping bag.  Trust me when I say, it didn’t make it warm, but it did serve to remind me why I am here. 

Things have been far from easy since I left Clemmons, but there are times when God’s message is so very clear that it could be written across each of our foreheads.  We are here to help one another, to be in community with one another and to have a relationship with God. There are times that the clients help me more than I help them.  There are times that my roommates comfort me when I don’t even know I need to be comforted.  There have been so many times when I have felt God’s hand on my shoulder, walking with me and God’s power underneath me carrying me that I am mesmerized by this experience and all it has to offer that I haven’t even found yet.

A few Monday’s ago we walked a labyrinth for Community Day in Palos Verdes Estates California…
The few from the labyrinth.
This picture is from a community day a few weeks ago where we spent the day at the old LA Zoo that was abandoned in the 60’s I think…it was a super awesome day also.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

My Thanksgiving


Thankful am I that we have a God who is loving, merciful, generous beyond measure, and forgiving.  And, most thankful am I that we have a God who likes to express that love through humanity, in community, in congregation.

After our daughter was born, the townhouse we had bought in 2007 suddenly became a huge burden.  My wife and I recognized that with both of us working and thus needing daycare, we would be losing several hundreds of dollars each month.  Our home value had dropped almost in half, so we couldn’t rent it, and our choice for my wife to not resume full-time work made everything more urgent.  She spent months applying for loan modifications, getting denied each and every time.  Meanwhile, I was battling some really difficult strongholds.  I felt that God had truly blessed us with this, our “first home”, and that I had somehow fallen short, that I had not been a good steward of this gift.  I was determined to hold on, no matter what.  It was God’s blessing right, how could we let it go?

More slowly than I’d like to admit, I uncovered that my “good stewardship” was really just “deep stubbornness,” and that my biggest fear, even over disappointing God, was looking bad to those around me.  What kind of man was I, that I would let our home slip through our fingers right after the birth of our first child?  

Thankful am I that God started to whisper in that darkness.  I started praying with friends, really opening up to several, opening up my Bible.  I remembered that my real treasures are not made of plaster and stairs and brick and carpet, but in relationship, in heart, in trust.  And, almost immediately after surrendering the fears and self-scorn, we decided we needed to surrender the house, and we felt a groundswelling of hope and relief.  I was blind, but then I saw.

Friends of friends at our church, some we'd never had so much as a conversation together, helped us find a place, helped us to move.  Dwellers bent over backwards to help us pack and pick up the piano, to bind up the materials of our life.  When all our “stuff” was hidden within brown cardboard cubes, I looked up and saw this motley crew of a moving team laughing, singing, talking about work, asking me where this should go.  God’s love showered upon me through friends wielding Sharpie pens, tape rolls, and an occasional break to dance the Macarena.

My greatest fear was judgment, was looking bad to my peers and community.  What we got, instead, was only love.  And this: when you turn your heart on to being thankful, truly thankful, it can spread like a wildfire within, burning out those dead trees, clearing a path for something new, generating new heat and new light.  The world tells me that in 2011, we lost.  Okay, maybe.   But, miraculously, I feel thanksgiving.  Thankful was I for the young married couple that hung in through the long short-sale process, meaning we didn’t have to foreclose in the end.  Thankful was I to be vacuuming that empty house to get it ready for them, which would become their first-ever home.  Thankful was I that we lived there for 4 years with great memories.  The time to live there was over, but we had most definitely not lost.  We entered as 2, now there are 3 of us.  That’s addition, not subtraction.  And when I think of all the folks that came together to help, I realize it’s multiplication.

Thankful am I that we have a God who is loving, merciful, generous beyond measure, and forgiving.  And, most thankful am I that we have a God who likes to express that love through the willing hearts and hands of people broken people like you, like me, like all of us.


Peace through the love of Jesus,
Matthew


Sunday, November 6, 2011

Among the Brave, by Isaiah




















Another day has passed, and I can honestly say  “I belong here.”  It’s been over month since I moved to Hollywood, California [and since I last posted a blog].  Life has been crazy.
I write you from the discomfort of my hot, dusty room and I apologize that it has taken me so long to get you any sign of life from me. I have been extremely exhausted lately and a couple of times I have felt myself on the verge of getting sick. I am emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically stressed but I am slowly getting the hang of it and I know that soon enough it will become… well… “normal.”_______________

Chapter Uno:
I work with an organization called PATH [People Assisting the Homeless] for the Hollywood Navigation Team. As an Outreach Case Manager Intern my job involves 1) Going out through the cities of Hollywood and West Hollywood doing Outreach (handing out lunches, hygiene kits, and building relationships with those experiencing homelessness, etc.), 2) finding shelter for clients who follow the right procedures, 3) manage their case and ultimately navigate them to permanent housing- whether subsidized or unsubsidized.

Early Wednesday morning, my housemate, Jenn and I got picked up by our boss, Rudy, on what we like to call “the PATHmobile!” Our task for the day was to assist the LAPD on their'Clean-up Task Force' in partnership with the Department of Sanitation. The police officers thought it would be appropriate to bring PATH Outreach into this effort so that we could offer services to any homeless people that were encountered. Some of the people I encountered were reluctant to cooperate and were then taken into custody of the LAPD through a warrant. Some were able to avoid us and/or the police officers and remained off the radar. Others were willing to go into shelter and did not refuse services. One of the clients, “Hopeful” I will call him, caught my attention while conversing. He seemed desperate and wanted as much help as he could get. Hopeful is in his late 50’s and he has recently been struggling with depression and alcoholism. “I love you guys,” he said in a soft voice with tears in his eyes “I love you guys for doing this.” “We love you too,” said one of my colleagues, “but you don’t love yourself.” He closed his wrinkly eyes and shook his head no. Hopeful expressed that he was willing to take small steps towards getting his life back on track and that even though he didn’t have much hope, he trusted all of those who were willing to help him. Hopeful stole my heart today so I decided to volunteer to work on his case. When I first saw him he was pushing a stroller around with all of his possessions, and now he is in our shelter at PATH Hollywood.   
I felt very encouraged by all of my co-workers that day. When I got to the office later in the afternoon some of them told me they were hearing stories about me. They said I had been on the field working “some magic” on clients. Everyone was impressed- even my director and I was just amused by people’s reactions to something so small. Here is why: 

Earlier in the day we encountered a client who has always refused services. The 21 year-old has been approached multiple times by different people within PATH and in different agencies in many different occasions. The client was wearing torn clothing and carried himself in a way that made it seem like he had just come out of a building that collapsed. It was obvious that he had mental issues by the way he acted when we approached him and by the things we noticed he did as we watched him from afar. He had crossed the street many times without watching for traffic (which in LA especially is NOT a very god idea.), and he would spit out food and put it back on his mouth from the floor continually. In my mind, he looked like the face of poverty. The only people who were usually able to talk to him was some Officers with the LAPD. Then today… he talked to me. I don’t know what I did… probably nothing. The client might have felt a bit more comfortable to talk to me because I was younger than all the others and maybe I didn’t seem like much of a threat. I was able to communicate a bit with him. He was very polite, but he talked in a whisper and I could tell that my voice was not the only one he wa hearing at the moment. I offered him a lunch and he took it. I sat next to him as he ate the half he wasn’t planning on saving for later. I then noticed that he had no socks on and I happened to be carrying a hygiene kit with socks in it. I offered him the hygiene kit and told him that it had socks in it but that he could also keep the bag (a gym bag) so that he could put all of his belongings in it. He didn’t have much but what he did have he put it in his pants pockets and since those were torn, it kind of looked like a hot air balloon’s sand packs around his waist. I can’t quite explain it. The moment that made me realize I was actually doing something to move his case forward was when he put the bag on his back. Although his eyes remained distant, he exposed his teeth in a huge smile that lasted about 4 seconds. I almost missed it. It was that smile that reminded me that I was at the right place at the right time.
I know that there are many more smiles to come and I am eager to work with more clients and to help them reach their goals. It was very encouraging to me because the past few weeks I have been dreading going to work. I was initially going to be part of the Outreach Team which only involved the outreach part of the navigation process but then it all started changing and that’s when I arrived. I came in as everything was shifting around and nobody was sure on how to train the new interns because they hadn’t quite figured out how to do the job themselves. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I was getting sick of going to work just to sit at a desk or to follow people around. I had started questioning my purpose in this place in time. Things are slowly falling in to place and hopefully in a few weeks I will feel like part of the team as an equal, and not as the kid who is standing in the way of their daily duties. 
Thursday even looked even more like one of my co-worker’s normal days. I did an intake and got a new client and I replied to emails, scheduled appointments, and met with clients. I think it’s going to be ok. ____________________________________________________________

Chapter Dos: 
This part I will explain mostly in pictures. 
We run a community house called "La Casa de la Communidad" which is directly attached to the front of the house we live in. For the first hour the kids from the community can come and do their homework and study and we help them as best we can. We tutor the kids with whatever they need tutoring and if they do not need anything they can usually come and small games, read a book, or use one of the coloring books. La Casa is open on Tuesdays (6-8pm), Thursdays (5-7pm), and on Sundays (3-6pm). The second hour we try to have a planned activity for the children/community such as sports, dance, crafts, arts, cooking, music, etc. 



Looking spiffy before the Young Life Gala
Life has been pretty stressful. I think most of us have had a moment where we either break down crying, when we want to quit, or when we just want to run away. It can very very stressful. We all have different personalities, habits, ideas, quirks, etc. and when you put them all in a box it can be pretty crazy. 

We have had to deal with a lot of conflict resolution but it's normal. 

At the end of the day we all love each other (I think/hope). I personally have been struggling a lot to open up to them about my feelings and what is going on through my mind because it can be very intimidating to open up to such a large/diverse group of people especially when there is so much going on during the week.



Most Mondays we have a community day and during the prayer time we share something we need prayer for and something we are grateful for and.... it can be hard for me to share but I am learning to be more vulnerable- not just for my sake but for the sake of building up our small community. 
At Forest Homes Retreat


_________________________________________________________
conclude by saying- honestly, that I have grown a lot as person in general. I have matured in so many different ways in my spiritual walk and in my general walk in life. I have been broken down and pieced back together so many times that I do not feel like I am the same person I was a month ago. I can see the face of God in the people here and I can see his mighty hand working in so many different ways.  I have seen a whole other side to humanity through the homeless population and it is truly changing my life. 

I belong here. 

 

Friday, October 28, 2011

Radio Silence, by Jenn

At orientation we went through a big hullabaloo about if you write negative things on your blog, they can take on a mind of their own and all of the sudden saying that there is smog in LA turns into there are aliens living at the Hollywood sign and they are taking over the world.  Hmmm…sounds like a new MOVIE idea!!!  But you know what I am saying.  The last few weeks have been super challenging and I think it would be fair for me to say that there have been more reasons to be angry/negative than happy/positive…so that would be the reason for the radio silence.  I was being overly cautious about posting my true feelings and impressions.  


So what happened?  God spoke…well, he spoke with humans at least.  Many of you know that I adore my church at home…shout out to Clemmons Presbyterian Church, but one of the things that has been a wonderful surprise has been the sermons at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood.  (www.fpch.org) FPCH is the sponsoring congregation for the YAV program and had maintained an urban ministry called the Hollywood Urban Project for a long time before the transition. The current pastor, Dan Baumgartner, has been at the church for about a year.  There is no rule that says you must attend a Presbyterian church, but I really enjoy traditional services and the organist is amazing at FPCH so I figured I would start with their 9:30am traditional service.  FPCH puts a single lined sheet in their bulletin that is titled “sermon notes,” and I figured that my first item to do as an “adult” was to take notes on the sermon.  Imagine my surprise when THE FIRST sermon that Pastor Dan preached when we got to Hollywood on September 4th was on Colossians 3:15-17
Let the peace of Christ rule in your heats, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
This sermon was all about the work that we do.  I left a position as an Accountant for Beco Inc. to come to Hollywood this year.  It was an incredibly difficult decision to make, it left them in a bind, but they were all very supportive of this journey in spite of that!  
Pastor Dan posed 3 dead ends in our mission to glorify God with our work.
1.  If we see our work separate from the rest of life.
2.  If we “put up” with work.  ”Sometimes I do what I want, and sometimes I do what I have to do.”
3.  If we look for our work to develop our identity.
I’m not really going to break those down at the moment, but what was truly moving was that MY FIRST worship experience in Hollywood was all about WORK!  Something I was all too familiar with.  Pastor Dan then posed three questions that we should all ask ourselves about our work:
1.  Are we doing good work? (Meaning are we serving others with our labor)
2.  What type of work are you doing?
3.  Who are you working with?
Once again, I’m not really going to break these down except to say that all work, as long as it is to the Glory of God, is worthy work.  Those who are teachers are not “better people” than bankers or accountants just because their work is in direct service to young people.  (Although I am grateful to all of  my teachers, including my friends and family that are currently teachers)  My point is that, ALL work comes from God and it is only through his Glory that we will excel at it.  
This post has in no way shape or form addressed my earlier comments about the struggles I have had since being in Hollywood, but I have been wanting to talk about this sermon for weeks.  I miss my family that is Clemmons Presbyterian Church and there have been a ton of sermons that Rev. Hoyle has preached in the last 4 years that have moved me to action, including one that got me to Hollywood, but I just want to thank God for bringing me FPCH and acknowledge that when I STAY for the 11am contemporary service it is because God is speaking through that church and saying the things I need to hear.
Jennifer

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

I Don't Want to Serve Anymore, by Tyler


“Often we strike the high moral distance that separates ‘us’ from ‘them,’ and yet it is God’s dream come true when we recognize that there exists no daylight between us.  Serving others is good.  It’s a start.  But it’s just the hallway that leads to the Grand Ballroom.  Kinship-not serving the other, but being one with the other.  Jesus was not ‘a man for others’; he was one with them.  There is a world of difference.”  (Gregory Boyle Tattoos on the Heart).  This is a quote from a book written by Father Gregory Boyle who has invested most of his life in being present with gang members, and giving them opportunities through employment.  We have been reading this book, me and my housemates, and it has been making me reconsider some things.

Tyler, foreground, with several housemates

I would say that I came to Hollywood to be present with those who are economically disadvantaged, and those who are struggling with homelessness.  I was very conscious of the fact that I am not here to change people, but I think there was still some aspect of me that would say that I came here to serve.  To serve those who have less than me.  Now, I read this book and I am completely rethinking the whole idea of serving.
Here is why.  The idea of service is hierarchical.  In other words, it implies that someone from a higher or advantaged position is coming down to “serve” the one in the lower ordisadvantaged position.  It does not imply two equals interacting, but two unequal people interacting.  The person on top is the one stooping down and sacrificially serving the person who is below or at a disadvantage.
This is what Jesus did isn’t it?  God sacrificially came down from Heaven in the human form to live and die with us.  God did not have to do this. God chose this.  God came to serve humanity.  This makes sense, because Jesus was God.  Jesus is and was higher than us, Jesus was superior, and we are not equal to Jesus.  So, the term serve in this context fits, it works, and is a good descriptor.  Jesus chose to come down from heaven to be with us, humanity, and we are not equal to God.
Now, here is my issue and what I have been rethinking.  All of humanity is equal, none of us are higher, better, or superior to another.  This is my understanding of God anyways.  So, how can we serve one another if we are all equal?  I guess we could if we view ourselves as equal to begin with, and then serve one another.  This would be placing ourselves below the person we are serving.  However, especially when it comes to serving those who have less money than we do, I do not think we usually think of ourselves as equal to begin with.  We in some way think we are better than them and that is why we must serve them.  This is the problem, and it needs to stop.
The problem with the mindset of service is that walls of separation never get broken down.  We can choose to hop over the wall and serve when we want, but we just jump back over and give ourselves a pat on the back when we are done.  The walls that separate those at the top from those at the bottom still exist and are not questioned.  We never fully identify with those we are serving, we never truly become one with others as Father Boyle suggests.  We get to feel really good about ourselves when we do our various acts of service, while maintaining our mindset of hierarchy.  When this happens, nothing really changes.  Our hearts are not transformed, and Heaven is not brought to earth.  We still view ourselves as the ones at the top serving those at the bottom.  We selfishly get to feel really good about the act of service that we have done, while still enjoying our advantaged position and that’s about it.  I say this is not the heart of Jesus.  This is why I think it is possible for a person to live an entire life of “service” and for true love to have never existed.
This may seem like not a very big deal, a mere play of words.  But I think it is a huge deal, because the way we internally understand what we do outwardly is a big deal.  Love cannot exist where there is hierarchy, whether that is outwardly visible or if it just exists internally.  If I am serving with a hierarchical mindset, I am only fooling myself into thinking that I am doing an act of love.  Society and the church have accepted the hierarchical mindset as normal, unfortunately neither will question the walls of enjoyed privilege that still exist in our own acts of service.
Serving others is good, and it is a start.  However, it is not the goal.  The goal is for us to be one with all humanity, because we are all humans and we are all equal.  When we serve, we still complacently enjoy our advantaged position.  When we are one with others, the situation that others face becomes our own situation.  Others problems become our own, through the power of the Holy Spirit we absorb the pain and struggles of others.  We become one, and when this happens hierarchy is destroyed and love can flourish.  The scary part of all this is that the mindset of oneness means that we will begin to ask questions that may threaten our current way of life.  When we spend time with those who are ignored by society and consciously work against hierarchy in our lives, everything will change. Everything.  We will begin to enter into the lives of others, and this will reveal our own actions and behaviors that foster and encourage the oppression of those whose lives we are now present with and deeply care for.  We will discover that in many ways the things that we enjoy directly or indirectly cause the misery of others.  This is not a fun process, but it is a true reality.  Our entertainment, our jobs, our families, our safety, our dreams, our hopes, our money, our spending habits, and how we spend our free time are all potentially the cause of someone else’s misery.  When we seek to rid our lives of hierarchy and become one with those who are rejected and ignored, we must be ready and prepared to change our relationship with every area of our lives.  Again, this is scary, but it is the Gospel.  God will be with us, and God will give us new joys and passions, don’t worry.
So, I am proposing the term service and the hierarchical baggage that come with it be eliminated from our vocabulary, our hearts, and our minds.  As I have been thinking about this, the question, “Ok, so then what do we do?” comes to mind.  Father Boyle uses the term kinship, I have also heard the word partnership or partnering used.  Both of these words help us enact a vision where we are all equals.  They help us to not view ourselves as higher or better than anybody else.  The idea of just being present with people, simply because that is what Jesus would do.  I would also like to suggest that maybe there is no replacement word for service, because those things are simply the acts that Jesus would do, that’s it.  This would help us to not become prideful or attached to a certain idea that we can use to label and announce our generous and compassionate acts.
I think it is dangerous and easy for our egos to get inflated when we engage in acts of service.  Especially if we are white, middle class Americans serving those who have less money or who may be of a different race.  I think the reason this is easy is because we think of ourselves as better, and we are so proud of ourselves when we at least for a moment give up our “higher” status to serve those with “lower” status.  If we are equals though, it helps us to just act as Jesus wants us to without having some special name for our out of the ordinary generous acts.
This quote from an Australian Aboriginal Group kind of sums up what I am trying to say, “If you have come to help (or serve) me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
We are not to help one another, or serve one another.  We are to work together, partner with each other, and just be together following the Way of Jesus.  We do these things for no other reason than simply because that is what Jesus did, and we seek to be faithful and emulate the life Jesus lived.
I have recently been writing a lot about what goes on in our minds and hearts, as opposed to our actual actions.  The reason I think this is so important is because our heart and mind directly affect our actions.  They are the gateway into truly loving others, and they can also block love from even being possible.  The unfortunate thing is that we can participate in many various acts of “service”, and have love never exist because hierarchy still reigns in our hearts, minds, and lives.
May we seek to live like Christ, and work to break down the walls of hierarchy that separate and blind us from each other.  May we recognize that this must take place in our hearts and minds before it can truly happen in our actions, and may we be honest enough with ourselves to recognize when our own lifestyle and behaviors cause or do nothing to stop the misery of others.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Dear ben adam, What Are You Doing?


Now that I finally finished my series on the bike trip, I think I need to write a brief post on where I am and what I am doing. For years, I said I would never end up in Los Angeles. Now, I live in the lecherous heart of a city defined by people who wear masks for a living. I have been in Hollywood for a month and a half, and already, I see Hollywood’s exported self-image for what it is: a facade. Los Angeles lays claim to the largest population of people living on the streets in the country. Hollywood’s international fame is not immune to the presence of folks without houses. For as many names of dead, living, and fictional celebrities imprinted into stars in the sidewalks, there is an equivalent amount of people living on these same walkways. Furthermore, making the gentrification complete, the average annual income of the people living in my neighborhood is $27,000. They make up the servant class to the opulent movie industry. They clean the studios and homes of those who work in them. Within their poverty, drugs and gangs rose to direct this community. What am I doing here? Right now, not enough.
I live in a Christian intentional community house. The name of the program organizing
From Left to Right: Papo, Jenn, Britney, Nathan, Eva, Tyler, Matthew (the City Director), his daughter, and me
this house is DOOR (Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection). On Monday mornings, my housemates and I awake to clean the whole house. We proceed to the grocery store to buy our food for the week. Mondays are Community Days. We work together to accomplish the tasks necessary for maintaining the well-being of our community. We take time out of our day to connect. Prayer, discussion, book study, and open, honest reflection about our time here come on Mondays when we gather with our City Director Matthew Schmitt. These days mean a lot to me. I love them because I love my housemates, even though I might not tell them enough. Additionally, these days possess the messiness of life in a concentrated way. Community Days hold the greatest potential for Love and conflict. We cannot run from each other on these days. Our vulnerability exposes and opens us; our need for cooperation grinds us against each other. Beautiful.
Tuesday through Friday, I arrive at Social Services of Blessed Sacrament at 6:30 a.m. to work in the drop-in center there. At Blessed Sac, we provide numerous different services. Most days, we serve breakfast and lunch. We provide showers, clothes, a nurse, haircuts, and AA meetings depending on the day. People trying to get into a transitional shelter need sheets of paper called “Homeless Verifications”, and we offer those. Folks come to us to receive reduced-fee vouchers for IDs and bus tokens to get to there appointments. If they miss lunch, they can get a sack lunch. Our ultimate goal is to end homelessness in Hollywood. Consequently, we provide case management in order to help people locate and secure housing. Basically, work at Blessed Sac is the best part of my week. I wake up wanting to go to work. I miss it over the weekend. For some time, I felt called toward social work, toward working with the people shoved off the sidewalks after they have been evicted from their homes. I flirted with pastoral ministry, but every time the opportunity arose, something prevented me from entering ministry. This work showed me why. This is where I belong. As I write, my life feels consumed with Love thanks to working with those who come into the center. Beautiful.
At least one day a week, I help prepare dinner for my whole house. This experience may be one of the greatest reasons for living in intentional community. Preparing food for others shows Love in a powerful way. When I lived on my own, getting motivated to cook healthy, delicious food proved nearly impossible. Of course, when I only have to cook once a week, it enables me to put more effort and thought into that meal. This means every meal comes out tasting great. We eat like kings! Beautiful.
After I come home from work, I help run a community center out of our house two days a week. We essentially live in three houses. The front house functions as a community center while we do all the living in the back two houses. Out of that community center, we open three days a week to provide a safe place for kids in the neighborhood to meet, get help with their homework, play games, learn new skills, build relationships, feel loved, and just have fun. So far, this piece of my life is jumbled. Very little continuity carries over from one year of volunteers to the next. Therefore, we recreate this entire part of our communal life each year. This amazing opportunity grants us the ability to be caring adults in the lives of kids. Whether youth have loving families or not, the approval and encouragement from young adults can mean more than anyone may ever know. I find this part of my life both exciting and fulfilling. Beautiful.
Well, now you know what I am doing. This is my life for now. I hope it continues to grow and evolve as I do. It is proving very fulfilling, to say the least. I hope you call, e-mail, or visit me while I am here. Moreover, I hope you turn to your own community and imagine how you can make your life more intentionally geared toward building relationships with those around you. Look to be in solidarity with the ignored and shoved aside. Love with reckless abandon. Create a world that is beautiful.