October 2005

October 2005

Reflections from the Front Lines

A few weeks ago a conversation developed among my teammates about how each of us defines poverty. It seemed that one common theme was that poverty is a condition of being without access to opportunity —opportunity to attain resources, opportunity to pursue higher education, opportunity to exit the very cycle that keeps people in an economically depressed state. Through all this, the paradox of my living here is that this poverty has become for us an opportunity—an opportunity to love those who may feel unloved, an opportunity to help those who feel unhelped, an opportunity to be with those who may feel forgotten and remind them that God still cares! I wonder if the people that I know now consider themselves the “poorest of the poor.” I wonder how they see me and the rest of my team.

Our Pastor recently gave a message about taking steps of faith even when God’s whole plan doesn’t seem clear to us. And he shared that it’s probably a good thing that God doesn’t reveal the whole plan to us from the beginning; if we knew all that He had to take us through to get us to the final destination, we would probably resist the journey. It didn’t hit me until a day later that that is exactly what I’ve been going through here. The fact that God wants me to be here is about the only sure thing I know right now. I’ve been facing challenges and going through necessary struggles that I probably would have avoided had I been given advance warning. I’ve been pushed and confronted by my teammates in ways I never had anticipated. I’ve seen new things about myself that I never had the eyes to see before. I’ve been put in situations and faced realities that have been completely foreign. Not everything is pretty and not everything is pleasant—but I’m in this for the long haul. One of the main Mission Year themes is choosing deep and lasting joy over a more temporary fix of fun. And I will have to make that choice day by day, hour by hour, as I go through the stuff that does not always feel good. The work of a transforming heart is often painful! And everything I thought I knew about joy has been replaced with the realization that I had no idea. I am just beginning to understand what it means to pursue deep joy and to taste true freedom through letting go and trusting grace. This is heavy stuff, and that’s why your prayers are so important to me.

As for my schedule, I’m settling into a routine. On Tuesdays, Karrie and I will be staffing the information booth in the ER waiting room at Highland Hospital. This is the main Alameda County medical facility in Oakland and as such, most of the uninsured population passes through Highland at some point or another. On Wednesdays I volunteer in a first-grade classroom and on Thursdays and Fridays in a kindergarten class at Prescott Elementary School. This has been so joyful but so challenging at the same time. I’ve been reminded of my distaste for the task of having to discipline other people’s children but I’ve also gained a newfound admiration for anyone who submits their lives to teaching children. Wow. There is so much need for assistance in both of the classrooms where I’m working and I so long to see each and every student succeed. Many of the students struggle with things that I had taken for granted in the early years so I look forward to getting to know them better and watching them grow.

On several afternoons I head over to World Impact, which is a Christian community development organization that has been in this neighborhood for about seven years and runs several programs for the community. Wednesday is Girls Club for girls in middle and high school. This is a really cool time to just chill and hang out with the girls in the neighborhood. It’s going to take some time for me to earn credibility with them, but my ability to teach them a new skill (knitting!) has helped a lot. Thursdays and Fridays are Homework Club and I get to do more one-on-one tutoring with elementary school kids. On one particularly difficult day at Homework Club I remarked to my teammates how I had observed how readily kids want to give up on tasks that are difficult. And as soon as these words came out of my mouth I realized that this is also true of me—and most people I know, of all ages! Homework is such a beautiful metaphor for the daily struggles that everyone faces—as we learn and grow we have to go through things that aren’t comfortable or easy or things that we are used to but if only we persevere and endure through the difficulties, how much wiser we come out on the other side. What a great gift that life’s struggles and challenges often teach us more about the journey than the destination!

This place has transformed before my eyes. This is no longer the “inner-city.” This is not “the ghetto”…because this is where I live. The inner-city is somewhere else. Somewhere I used to drive through and look suspiciously at all the people just standing around. The ghetto is where those other people lived. Now those people are my neighbors, they are the children that I work with and the adults I see at the corner stores. These are the people who are vibrant and vital in this community. They are the people that make up this neighborhood. Without them, I would not be here. Without them, this place would not be here. And I can see how integrally tied I am to each of these people. And my prayer is that that connection may be made clearer and clearer for you with each anecdote, each story I share.

As I grow this year, I look forward to sharing in joy that growth with you. I hope that the people that I come to know and love here are people you can come to know and love as well. I pray that my stories encourage and challenge you as well. You are no less an important part of this journey than the people who live in my neighborhood. I love you and appreciate all your prayers and support!

In love and joy,

Emily

Praises…

*God’s steadiness and unchanging nature, as the world changes all around us God remains the same*God is speaking through our church and our pastor*Our team is growing together more and more each day*Relationships developing with neighbors, both young and old*

Prayer Requests…

*I want to keep fighting for joy through my trials and celebrations*For our team to continue to grow together*For God’s protection and provision as His hand covers our hearts, minds, and spirit and all the work we do*For God to help me understand what grace and freedom truly mean*For the children in my classes at Prescott, for the girls at World Impact Girls Club*For some neighbors in particular: Mason and Darius, Keisha and Knight, Elgin, Marilyn, Cynthia, Beverly, Cathy & Terry, and Katrina*

P.S. Check out http://www.missionyear.org/ and go to “Our Cities” to see pictures of all the teams in Oakland