September 2005

September 2005

Dear friends and family,

After three weeks of living in inner-city Oakland, I can say that this experience so far has been everything I had hoped for and nothing I could have imagined. I’ve seen things I never thought I would see and witnessed God’s grace in new and exciting ways.

This neighborhood seems very different and at first almost foreign. A pit bull lives next door and drugs and violence are a way of life on my block. But real people live here, get married here, and die here. People here have birthday parties, give hugs, eat breakfast. I have more in common with my neighbors than I’d often like to believe, but I hope this year makes those similarities clearer.

This month has been different from any other month I’ll have here because we’ve spent it mostly in training and orientation. At first I was frustrated with all the lecturing and preparation and I kept wondering if “regular” people moving into our neighborhood would get this intensive of an orientation. I wanted to believe that we could just slide in like anyone else but then it occurred to me that what we are doing here is inherently different than just someone moving in to have a “normal” life. I realized that we are not just “normal” people moving into the neighborhood to go on with our “regular” lives. We are here to live intentionally different lives of radical love and service to our neighbors. All this safety and preparation information is essential so that we can be wise and sensible about the choices we make and respectful about a neighborhood that is starkly different from everything we are accustomed to.

That being said, I feel like my past experiences have given me a good foundation for this year. I am glad that this is not my first experience living in a city and I’m glad that I have previously spent time working with issues of poverty, racism, and homelessness. However, I still have a lot to learn. I have seen real problems in this community, but also real hope. This is far from the comfortable and safe settings in which I’ve lived before, but God is definitely at work in this place and I know that living here will teach me things I could never have learned elsewhere. Already one of my main intentions for choosing to do Mission Year has been fulfilled—being enabled to live in the same community as the people with whom I’m working. There is a ministry called World Impact located about two blocks from our house and they have a community breakfast every Saturday morning. This past Saturday we served over 200 residents of the community in one hour! It has been so nice to be able to serve these residents and then see them later in the day while we are out getting to know the neighborhood. I think it gains us some credibility when the neighbors see us in a position of serving so they know that our intentions for being here are firmly rooted in love.

It has been quite an adventure to re-familiarize myself to living in community, especially community in such tight quarters. Our two-bedroom apartment is approximately 600 square feet, yet somehow our shower schedule always seems to work out. My roommates all bring something very unique and special to the team and it has been exciting so far to grow together and slowly begin to see what each of our gifts are. This is the first time that Karrie has lived away from home and the first time she has lived with anyone other than her family. I have enjoyed seeing Karrie’s strength and have loved being reminded that I have plenty to learn, even from someone who is five years younger than me. Chelsea has a very strong presence and confident voice. Having Chelsea as a teammate has already challenged me to grow beyond myself and what I am used to. Jessica has a gentle presence and she is a really great leader for our team. I can really relate to Jessica in a lot of ways and I look forward to seeing how this relationship grows. Heather is silly and can make all of us laugh at the most ridiculous things. Her passion for the Timberwolves and the state of Minnesota are astounding. And she really hates broccoli.

Apart from spending time in training and orientation, we have also spent several days canvassing the community to find a service site where each of us wants to volunteer. At first glance, I really did not think that this search would prove fruitful in the immediate neighborhood because it just did not look like there were many options. Much to my pleasant surprise, we have found several really promising opportunities and we have been welcomed at each site. Right now I’ve applied to volunteer at the local elementary school and I’m also hoping to help out with the World Impact after-school clubs. I’m really hoping to get some one-on-one time with a few students in order to develop substantive relationships.

My team is partnered with Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church and this experience has also been really great. We have received such an enthusiastic welcome from the congregation. The pastor is so intelligent and passionate and challenging; my whole team cannot wait for each new Sunday to come. Jessica, Karrie and I have already joined the choir and have loved the experience so far. It is such an amazing opportunity to be able to participate in the ministry of the church so early in our time here and witness how God is already moving.

Mission Year time moves very quickly and it’s hard to believe that by the time you receive this letter we will have already been here for almost three weeks. I am nearly 1/6^th of the way towards my support goal of $12,000 and I appreciate all the prayers and support that have come in on my behalf. If you would like to make a donation, you can send your tax-deductible contributions, made payable to Mission Year, in the enclosed envelope. Please be sure to designate your donation towards my support by writing my Account Fund ID# (05-0059) on the memo line of the check. Mission Year will send a receipt for each gift given. Do not write my name anywhere on the check, as this may negate the tax deductibility of your donation. I will be sending update newsletters each month and will try to send along smaller e-blurbs in the interim. I would love to hear from you, especially in a letter or phone call. Keep me posted on your adventures and let me know how I can be praying for you!

In Him,

Emily

Praises…

*God has already opened the doors and hearts of many neighbors for us to meet and begin to form really positive relationships*The way God has placed this specific team in this specific location at this specific time*

Prayer requests…

*Safety and protection in our neighborhood*Team unity as we develop a community culture in our house*For grace and love to abound on our team as we deepen our understanding of each other*For wisdom and discernment in figuring out which service site to partner with*For God’s love to be evident to our neighbors*For more neighbors to open their doors to a potential relationship with us*For the city of Oakland*