Community

Head up look right look left, why is it that I’m fearful to walk down my street on the south side of Chicago. Yes its dangerous, yes there are problems, but there are problems everywhere. Every neighborhood, every city, every country has its problems. I’ve slept in the slums of Manila, stayed in a remote village in Zambia yet I find myself reciting scripture as I walk,  “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4) The people here are no different then anywhere else I’ve been. We are all creations of God beautiful yet corrupted by sin.

Looking back at my journal over the past two weeks, I saw that paragraph staring up from the pages. My fearful attitude from that first day got torn down before my eyes and was replaced with passions and love for my new neighborhood. God’s opened my eyes to the beautiful community that exists here in Woodlawn. Everyday I walk to Sunshine Gospel Ministries where I’m interning, I love my daily walks. Getting to talk to the elderly men in the community has become one of the main reasons I prefer to walk. Just today on my way back from the suburbs I came across one of my neighbors who I say hi to every morning. This time I sat and talked with him for a while he first complimented my hair cut and then went on to learn about why I choose to move here, he went on to encourage me in my ministry. We shared the next few minutes talking about the impact one conversation can have on the youth… haha ironically he was having an impact on me. It amazes me that on my walks I come across men and women who ask me how my day is and talk with me about their lives.

Community, here is strong. Hopefully this summer God will reveal to me more about how community can develop and grow. Robert Brault, a freelance writer wrote in one of his blog posts, “I nod to a passing stranger, and the stranger nods back, and two human beings go off, feeling a little less anonymous.”  The nod was always fun in high school sort of acknowledging one another. Yet here instead of nod, a simple “how ya doin?” sparks so many conversations and relationships. How many conversations do I miss a day because I am too busy to say how are you to someone. Today on the CTA L, I met a woman who told me how she has tried to kill herself 8 times from crack to overdosing on prescription drugs yet somehow she hasn’t died. I asked her why do you think that your still alive after all that. She responded, by simply saying God seems to have a purpose for my life, I just don’t know what that is. What if I never talked to her, and never got to hear her. Never got to reveal God in her life.

So I hope I can leave a little encouragement on seeking community. One passage from the Bible which is awesome when it comes to community is Acts 2:42-47. Here’s some great books that I’d encourage for our own growth as well as a larger desire for community Crazy Love, Irresistible Revolution, Radical. For those that you that believe in the power of prayer I would love some prayer for this week we are taking all of our kids to Michigan, for summer camp! Many kids are not Christians, most have very rough lives, and all come from the South Side of Chicago.