"Miss Cara, will you tie my shoes??"

This is Devin, one of my pre-K kiddos. Every day, without fail, she comes into the Forge with both shoes untied and falling off her feet. She's usually not the only one. Many of my students have learned to tie their shoes this year, but some are still working on it, and others are just too preoccupied with other things to take the time to  tie their shoes.

Yesterday I realized how much time I spend tying shoes for my 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old kiddos. For some strange reason, it is one of my favorite things to do. The kids come pouring into the classroom after a long day at school, and many of their shoes are untied. Many of the kids are still so small that their feet don't touch the floor when they sit in their chair, so their little feet are swinging wildly under their chair. Every day, I watch any number of their shoes fall off their feet under the table because they are untied. One by one, I either go to their seat or call them over to me so I can tie their shoes. Some of them are in the process of learning to tie them on their own, so we make a deal and each tie one. I've discovered that this small interaction at the beginning of the day is such a blessing to me because I get some precious one-on-one time with a kid; I am down on their level, asking how their day was. Sometimes this process takes longer than others. Sometimes there are knots in the shoestrings, other times the strings need to be restrung. But I have really come to appreciate these little moments of loving my kids in such a simple and practical way.




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Sit and Listen

Hannah and I just returned from visiting our dear friend, Ms. Justina. I've written about her before, if you've been following my blog. We try to visit her once a week, but sometimes things get busy and it is harder to make it over to see her. It had been a couple weeks since I had been, so I wanted to make a point of visiting this week. I'm always so glad after I sit and talk with her for even a few moments.

Ms. Justina is 80 years old, and she has several medical issues that she is fighting against. However, her mind is quite sharp and she has an excellent memory. She always remembers that I am the one who is getting married (as she reminds me by asking about my husband-to-be!). Today she shared with us several stories from her childhood, stories that reminded me of the reality of racism that people living today have experienced. She said to us a few times, "You see, I caught the end of slavery."

She told us about working with her mother on a few different plantations. One of the white women they worked for was very kind and would give them food and clothing and would let them eat at her table with her (but only when her husband and sons were not around). Ms. Justina and her mother would clean the woman's home and wash all of the clothes, and they would get paid fifty cents for the whole day's work. This was in the 1930's. When I just did some research, I found that in 1938 a mandatory federal minimum wage was established at 25 cents an hour. Clearly Ms. Justina and her family were not included in that "mandatory" pay rate. Still, as she told us these stories, she showed great peace and optimism, explaining the things that could be bought with fifty cents in those days.

Ms. Justina also told us some terrible stories. One man whose plantation they lived on attempted to convince her mother to essentially sell her (she was thirteen at the time) to him in exchange for a nicer house and free things from his store whenever they wanted. Fortunately, Ms. Justina's mother refused and they moved away soon after that. The man reminded her mother that if it were in an earlier time, he could have taken her daughter anyway, even if she refused. He also reminded them that in an earlier time, they wouldn't have been allowed to move off of his plantation.

The worst story that Ms. Justina could remember from her childhood, she shared with us. She told us about a little black boy who went into a store to buy something. The white woman who was taking his money flew into an outrage when he accidentally touched her hand as he gave her the money. White people proceeded to hang him from a tree and beat him to death.




There are some things that just don't feel real until you hear them from someone who experienced them firsthand. Hannah and I sat in horror and amazement as we listened to these stories. Hannah asked, "Do you ever feel angry about these things that happened?" And Ms. Justina replied, "Oh no, I've let it all go. I've given it all up to God. If I didn't, I would be so bitter."

We can learn so much from sitting and listening to the stories of those who have gone before us. I learn this more and more every time I sit and talk with Ms. Justina. Please join me in praying for her, as she continues to struggle with many health issues. But thank God also for her beautiful heart and her incredible faith.

"God is good all the time. He really is."

Simple Acts of Love

Every week, Mission Year teams are given a night to spend with each other, fondly referred to as Team Night. It's a night with an extended curfew (11:00 instead of 9:00), when team members can go out and do something fun together, or stay in and have a relaxing evening without the normal hustle and bustle of Mission Year life. My team was a little slow on taking advantage of Team Nights at the beginning of the year, but we have all made a bigger effort lately to plan and execute some great evenings. We've gone to open mic nights at local tea and coffee houses, stayed home and played games, gone out to eat, and taken games with us to play at our local McDonald's. But last night was by far my favorite Team Night so far.

Yesterday morning, at 6:36 AM, our 19-year-old neighbor gave birth to her third child, a baby boy named Ky'Ree. We knew in advance that the baby would either be born on Tuesday or Wednesday this week, and we knew that our Team Night was going to be on Wednesday. We were hoping that the mother and baby would still be in the hospital on Wednesday night so we could go visit; it turns out that it worked out perfectly for us to do that!

Our house is really close to the Texas Medical Center, and our neighbor had her baby at one of the hospitals in the Med Center. Therefore we were able to take a short (30 minute) bus ride to the hospital after we got home from work and had a quick dinner. We took the elevator to the 6th floor, and then we realized we didn't know our neighbor's last name. Fortunately our other friend who lives with her answered her phone and told us so the nurses would let us in :) We quickly found the room where the mother and baby were resting, and there we were greeted by the baby's father and his grandparents. Everyone seemed so surprised to see us! We had told them we wanted to visit, but I don't think they expected us to actually show up!

All six of us crowded into the room and surrounded the bassinet to see this precious little boy who had just entered the world. I had never seen a newborn baby in person before; it blew my mind to realize that this tiny little person had only been in the world for about 14 hours. We each took turns holding him, amazed at how soft he was, how tiny he was, and entertained by all of his funny facial expressions. We spent time talking and joking with the proud mom and dad, and it was a really sweet bonding experience with them. We haven't been as close to them as with some of our other neighbors, mostly because the mother has been working so much before Ky'Ree came. But last night I feel like we established a new level of friendship with both of them.

When visiting hours were almost over and we had taken a ton of pictures, we asked if we could pray for the three of them before we left. So we circled around and held hands, with the baby nestled between his sweet parents, and we prayed for this beautiful new baby and his mom and dad. We gave hugs and were about to leave, and then the father said to us with a smile, "Wow, y'all really kept your word. You said you were going to come, and you actually came! Y'all are good people."

As we rode the bus back home from the hospital, I thought a lot about what I had just experienced. It was such a life-giving and joy-filled experience, yet it was such a simple gesture. It reminded me of the importance of simple things in loving people. I think we often feel the need to do some extravagant thing to show love to others, when it can sometimes be the simplest things that show the most love.

Today is the last day to make a donation to support my Mission Year experience and receive a sweet t-shirt in return. Please consider giving a gift of $50, $65, or $100 today. 

www.missionyear.org/love

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Neighbor: A Verb

The word "neighbor" is probably most often thought of as a noun: someone who lives near you. Some people might even make a reference to Luke 10 and the familiar story of the good Samaritan, saying a neighbor is one who shows mercy and love to others.

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:36-37)

One of the neatest things that has come out of my experience in Mission Year so far is the experience of neighbor as a verb rather than a noun. Every Saturday, my housemates and I engage in neighboring. We reflect often on how we can individually and collectively be good neighbors. Neighboring is something that Mission Year is passionate about, because it is something that we feel Jesus was passionate about.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40)

Not only in word, but especially in action, Jesus lived His life on this earth as an excellent neighbor. Jesus taught people how to boldly, honestly, and radically neighbor others.

It is exciting for me to reflect on the past five months of my life and to see how I have grown in my understanding and experience of what it means to be a neighbor. When I first arrived in Houston and began this journey of my Mission Year, I didn't think much about neighboring. I knew that being a good neighbor was an important value of Mission Year, but I don't think I realized just what kind of impact that would have on me. Over the past several months I have seen and felt the weight and beauty of being a neighbor. The first several weeks and months consisted of awkward Saturdays when we would often just wander up and down streets, hoping to meet people who were hanging out outside. This worked sometimes, but there were a lot of weeks when we would wonder, "What good is this actually doing?" We baked cookies and cupcakes, played with kids, made music outside, but we got a lot of stares and questions in return.

Over time, we met people. Some relationships began forming more quickly than others. As more time passed, these relationships turned into friendships. Perhaps this is what I didn't expect, didn't hope for. I imagined coming to Houston, to the Greater Third Ward, and I expected serving and loving people and then leaving. I knew I would be changed, but I couldn't have known exactly how. I don't think it ever really crossed my mind that my neighbors would become my friends. I don't think I realized the depth that I would care for my neighbors. And I certainly didn't expect the depth that they would care for me in return. I have discovered that neighboring means caring deeply for people and treating people the way you wish other people treated you. I am realizing that some of my neighbors are actually teaching me more about neighboring through the way they love and offer tremendous hospitality and generosity.

I started writing all of this so that I could tell you about this past Saturday, which was one of the funnest nights I have had here so far. We recently found out about a weekly jam session that is hosted at a local coffee shop. We had heard that musicians, poets, and others joined together every Saturday night at 6:30 to create together in an open environment. One of our neighbor friends is an incredibly talented poet, and several of my housemates are talented musicians, so we were eager to spend an evening there. Saturday afternoon, Patricia (said poet/neighbor/friend) came over to make some banana bread and banana chips with Abigail and Carole. Shortly after that, our other neighbor Drejoin came over and brought some fun board games. While several people were in the kitchen, the rest of us played games in the living room. We invited Patricia and Drejoin to stay for dinner, and while we were preparing that, Drejoin's friend Anna came over and started helping as well. We had never met Anna before, but she fit right in with our group. After only being in our house for a while she said, "There's a really cool vibe here."

After finishing dinner and dishes, we headed for the bus stop so we could get to the coffee shop on time. Due to our curfew, we weren't able to stay at the jam session as long as we would have liked, but we had so much fun while we were there and even while we were in transit. We were taking pictures, sharing songs and poetry, and laughing up a storm. We even broke out in song and dance to the Cupid Shuffle while waiting for our bus at the end of the night. It was a goofy, creative, carefree evening, and I wish I could experience that every week. It felt like we had all been friends for much more than a few months (or a few hours). When we got back to our neighborhood, we all hugged and expressed how much fun we had together. We were sad to part ways, and we looked forward to having more nights like that in the near future.

Neighboring. Loving others deeply. Experiencing life with one another. Aspiring to be more like Jesus.

Please consider supporting me in my neighboring this year. This month you can donate $50 to receive this sweet shirt that encourages loving your neighbor. For $65 you can receive the <3 God <3 People shirt. Or for $100 you can receive both!

Click here to donate!

Story Telling & Meal Sharing

These four words seem to nearly summarize all of my ministry as of late. It seems that love and truth and grace are so easily expressed through the sharing of stories and meals, through the sharing of life.

Tuesday nights are when my team gathers after dinner to discuss various books that we read throughout the course of Mission Year. While the questions and discussions are focused around specific sections of books, much of the discussion is usually about general topics that anyone could have something to say about. Last Tuesday one of our dear neighbors and friends texted one of my teammates and asked what we were making for dinner. We told her, and we invited her to come over for dinner and to stick around for our curriculum discussion. We have had some really great conversations with this particular neighbor before, and she is very intelligent and seeks to grow and learn in ways that are unique from many of her peers. So she came over and hung out with us for several hours, as we all discussed a book she had not read. She listened pretty intently to the discussion that we all had, and she joined in from time to time. I remember specifically listening to this friend talk about how our society tends to perpetuate materialism and how that has negatively affected her family, particularly by her single mother feeling pressured to provide joy and contentment for her children by providing material things to them. The evening felt fruitful and significant, and our neighbor said she wished she had more friends who would sit around and talk about things that matter.

Last night, another Tuesday evening for curriculum discussion, another neighbor and dear friend of ours stopped by our house before dinner. She is a caretaker for one of our elderly neighbors, and she lives with her father and other male relatives, so she is always glad to spend time with some other young women! She came by just to say hi and to bring us banana chips, her favorite snack. We invited her to stay for dinner as well as our curriculum discussion, and she was glad to stay. We enjoyed a good meal with lively discussion, and then our friend hopped up and offered to help with dishes! In our Mission Year experience we strive and challenge one another to serve and offer hospitality graciously, but often we find that our neighbors outdo us! After dinner was all cleaned up, we sat down again around our dining room table and began a discussion of Howard Thurman's Jesus and the Disinherited. This was a discussion about fear, deception, the oppressed, and how the relationship of Jesus fits in and around all of that. Again, although our neighbor had not read the book we were discussing, she was actively engaged in our conversation about all of these topics that are relevant to each of us.

At the end of the night as our friend was hugging each of us and preparing to head home, she said to us, "I really like you guys. No. I actually love you guys. Y'all are more than just neighbors or acquaintances. Y'all are my friends."

Over the past few weeks of being back in Houston, I have come to see our home and our table as a place for stories to be shared, meals to be enjoyed, and friendships to come alive. It is increasingly becoming a place of honesty and loyalty, of openness and grace. Around that table and within our home we are seeking the face of Jesus, and in doing so we are seeking to love one another better than ever. It is exciting to see this pouring out into our neighbors and the way they are opening up and sharing bits of their hearts with us as well.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."                                                                               -Matthew 6:19-21

Pray Continually

It's been a while since I've posted anything on here, and there is far too much for me to say to possibly catch up on everything that has happened over the past two months. So I'll just cut to the chase and talk about what's happening today and what's been on my mind this week.

Prayer.

One of the board members of The Forge came in to talk to the staff about the significance and power of prayer for two weeks in a row. These meetings reminded me of the simple truth that I have been aware of for the past several years, although it is a truth I too often forget: prayer matters, and prayer works.

So often I get caught up in the busyness of day to day life and I fool myself into thinking that I don't have time for true prayer. I fool myself into thinking that I need to sit down and commit big chunks of time to communing with God in order to pray at all. How am I able to forget so often what 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says? In fact, there is so much truth in the entire chapter of 1 Thessalonians 5 that I will share most of it here:

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not put out the Spirit's fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject whatever is harmful.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.                                                       [1 Thessalonians 5:8-24]

So with this on my heart and mind recently, I have been working toward praying continually. How sweet it is to be in communion with God, and why would I not desire to experience this constantly?

Please join with me in this journey of praying with greater frequency and with greater fervor and boldness. I am praying for growth in my faith, and so I am praying for bigger and bolder things, and I am working on trusting God fully to answer these prayers when they are prayed in accordance with His will.

Join with me in praying for those who do not have the voice or the will to pray for themselves.

Experiencing the Kingdom of God

My worksite, The Forge for Families, has recently begun trying to get the staff to go out into the community on a regular basis to truly live out Jesus' command to love our neighbors as ourselves. We've been going out in small groups of people to local schools, neighborhoods, businesses, and apartment complexes to try to meet the needs of people who are literally right next door to us. We've only started this effort over the past three weeks, so we are still in the early stages and things are a bit uncomfortable and unorganized at times.

Well, yesterday my roommate Jaimie went out with our coworker, Glenn, to hand out some flyers about The Forge's fall festival this weekend. She came back and told me about this elderly woman they met who invited them into her apartment and asked them to pray for her. Jaimie and Glenn decided to go back to visit this woman today and to bring her a warm meal. They invited me to come along with them.

I just returned from visiting Ms. Justina. She lives in a small apartment with her 14-year-old nephew. She has several medical issues and just went to the hospital last night because her nose was bleeding so much and she was scared about how much blood she was losing. We found out that most of her furniture used to be in storage, but it was in storage too long and it was eventually gotten rid of. Now her apartment is barren, and she only has one hard mattress for herself to sleep on, but no place for her nephew to sleep. They also are in need of other furniture items, such as dressers or chairs or a couch. Her phone was recently cut off because she couldn't pay the bill. Fortunately, she has a niece who takes care of her each day, but she is unsatisfied with her care and would really like someone else to help her out. Her kitchen was also painfully bare, and she tends to eat frozen meals whenever her niece will warm one up for her.

Today we brought her some hamburgers and salad for her to eat today and tomorrow. We sat and talked with her for nearly an hour, and we spent some time really trying to figure out practical ways we could help meet some of her immediate needs. She was so grateful to have us come into her life, and she kept saying that she knew God brought us to her. She has such a beautiful faith in Jesus, even in her present state. She asked us to pray for her again today before we left, and Jaimie, Justina, and I held hands and prayed together for her needs. I couldn't help but cry as we sat there and prayed together, as I witnessed this most beautiful picture of the Kingdom of God coming here, to the Third Ward of Houston, Texas. As we were gathered in this small, barren apartment, I felt so hopeful and certain of the love and goodness of God.

As Jaimie and I left and walked back to work (just a couple blocks), I turned to her, still with tears in my eyes, and said, "This is the Kingdom of God."

This is why I'm here this year. To serve and love and be transformed by people like Ms. Justina, and to bring the love of God to people who are so desperately in need.

My team and I are still doing fundraising to continue our work here. Please consider giving to this cause. We are each trying to raise $2000 more by Thanksgiving, two weeks from today, and every little bit helps.

www.missionyear.org/donate