Building a Bike, by Dweller Tara

New Dweller Tara is well into her blogging.  We welcomed her, Brent, Freddie, Laura, Chantel, and John a few weeks ago.  It's been a wonderful whirlwind to say the least.  You can keep up with Tara and all her housemates by clicking here: www.facebook.com/DOORHollywoodDwell.  Peace to you: Matthew & Marvin

Week 3 has come to a close. I’ve officially started my job at PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) and our community hours have begun. I also found a bike to get me around the city! Let’s start with that because it’s probably what I’m most excited about. Here it is:

Brent and I went to The Bicycle Kitchen and “made bikes”…well, sort of. It’s basically a bike junkyard and you find parts that you like and you build your own bike. It’s a much cheaper way of doing things, and you don’t HAVE to pay any certain amount. The “cooks” give you an estimate based on the parts you’ll need and the amount of work you’ll need to put into it, but if you can’t pay that, then they’ll take whatever you can pay. It’s more like a donation than anything else. They have some bikes that come pretty much complete, which is how this one came. It just needed some adjustments and some TLC, and it was good to go! It took more time than just buying one, but doing it this way has made me appreciate my bike so much more. I’m like a proud bike mom. Plus it will be a cheaper, healthier, and more sustainable way of getting to work (and anywhere else in the city).

I started at PATH this past Tuesday and really like it already! Laura works there with me and they bring us along on pretty much everything: meetings, street outreach, transporting clients, etc. so we’ve already had a lot of cool experiences. Going out on the streets and checking in with “clients” has been great. We offer them water and food, see how they’re doing, listen to them and get to know them, and usually ask if they’ve thought anymore about coming into the shelter. There have already been many moments where I’ve seen the Gospel really being lived out…particularly Matthew 25:37-40:

“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

DOOR’s motto is “See the face of God in the city” and it could not be more spot on. In just this one week, I’ve been so humbled and inspired to do God’s work, no matter how messy, complicated, sad, or frustrating it might be. Now that’s not to say I won’t take care of myself – don’t worry, mom and dad! They’ve drilled self-care into us so much, and PATH even has scheduled self-care days where we go do something fun to take our minds off the crazy work we do......Tara