laundry & liberation.

“Who indeed knows the secret of the earthly pigrimage? Who indeed knows why there can be comfort in a world of desolation? Now God be thanked that there is a beloved one who can lift up the heart in suffering, that one can play with a child in the face of such misery. Now God be thanked that the name of a hill is such music, that the name of a river can heal. Aye, even the name of a river that runs no more.
Who indeed knows the secret of the earthly pilgrimage? Who knows what keeps us living and struggling, while all things break about us? Who knows why the warm flesh of a child is such a comfort, when one’s own child is lost and cannot be recovered? Wise men write books, in words too hard to understand. But this, the purpose of our lives, the end of all our struggle, is beyond all human wisdom. Oh God, my God, do not Thou forsake me. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, if Thou art with me….– Alan Paton (Cry, The Beloved Country)

I was in the basement doing laundry the other day. My 17 year old neighbor came down to the basement to check if I was done using the washing machine. We ended up talking for quite awhile. She is 32 weeks pregnant, expecting her second child. shared with me how she woud have never imagined her life ending up like this. She told me she hopes her brother who is a freshmen in High School doesn't make the same choices she has. This young woman still has dreams, and she wants to go to college. She puts her 1 1/2 year old daughter to bed each night, stays up to do her homework in a 3 bedroom apartment among 7 other family members.

I've heard countless stories all unique... It is hard to wrap my head around so many of them. Often, I cannot.. I can't take the pain away, I cannot fix the lives of those around me. I can only pray, and acknowledge that my liberation is bround up with theirs...

Prayer for election day.

Jim Wallis of Sojourners wrote this... Powerful stuff...

On the eve of this historic election, let us pause for a moment of thanks. We should thank God for the men and women who committed themselves to establish a new nation, in which voting was possible. We should thank God for the courage of the women of the Suffrage movement who pioneered the path to the 19th Amendment and ensured women the right to vote. We should thank God for those who risked and sacrificed their lives to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to allow all our citizens, regardless of the color of their skin, to vote.
We also pray for forgiveness because there are still some in our country whose votes are not allowed to be cast or counted, even in recent elections. We pray for protection of all the voters and the votes of this election.
We pray for the candidates, their family and their staff—who have worked tirelessly to offer the country the vision of the future

they deeply believe in. Give them rest and a sense of peace, no matter what the outcome of the election. We pray for all the citizen volunteers who have made democracy better by their work on this election campaign.
We pray most of all against a spirit of fear. The scriptures say that “God has not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of love, a spirit of power and a strong mind.” Help us to remember the words of our Lord Jesus, who reminds us that love casts out fear and to be not afraid. If the Scriptures say, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil,” certainly we can make it through election day. No matter how we vote, let us vote more for the visions, ideas, and candidates that best represent our best values rather than voting against candidates simply because of the negative and often manipulative things that others have said about them.
As a people of faith, we do not find in our scripture, we can not locate in any sacred text, a mandate to support a particular candidate for president or vote for a particular political party during this election. While the scriptures may not say what box we should check on election day, we must strive to be clear about the priorities of the kingdom of God and how we can best impact the common good. Voting is one part of the prophet’s instruction to “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
Today we also pray for those who will vote differently than we do, for their own reasons also deeply rooted in faith. And we pray, despite the outcome of the election tomorrow, that we will find the ways to build bridges and work together for the common good of the country we all dwell in. And may our votes tomorrow be guided less by a fear of our neighbor and more by a hope for the future.
God has blessed all the nations of the world, not just America. But we pray tomorrow for God’s special blessing on our nation, and that the opportunities to fulfill our country’s greatest possibilities might be greatly enlarged.

14

I am doing homework across the table from a 14 year old. She is a freshmen in high school. The school she attends doesn't have the best reputation in South Minneapolis. A few of us at the Oakland house have known her since she was in 4th grade. She is making a powerpoint for her Geography class. She had to write about the 5 best places in her neighborhood. One of the places she chose to write about was our house! A few of her cousins were over last week and they said " being at your house is like a retreat from our lives..." It broke my heart to hear them say that.. Yet, I hope as these girls continue to grow up they will know our house is a safe place to eat, laugh, and talk to each other in. They are prayed for in this home.. As inadequate as we may feel at times, I pray that they will know that they are not defined by their surroundings, and instead they will recognize how beautiful and talented they are.

M-I-A-M-I

In one month I am heading to Miami, FL for the Christian Community Development conference (CCDA). Oct. 22-26

The theme this year is "seeking the peace of the city."
I have wanted to attend this conference for quite a few years. I finally get to go!!!!!!
Some of the people I repsect the most in community development will be speaking: Brian McLaren, John Perkins, Phil Jackson, Arloa Sutter, and many more prominent individuals that work for issues of justice...

Who is CCDA: CCDA is an ethnically diverse, national network of thousands of Christians who work together to mobilize spiritual and physical resources in and for their neighborhoods through the church in a community-determined way that is redemptive.

I am really, really looking forward to this!

A holy mix.....

Life is filled with a spectrum of joy & brokeness.
Our house got together with our next door neighbors tonight and had some AMAZING converstation .... They live in a house with 8 guys living intentionally together.

They told us they have been praying for the family that lives in our duplex. Crazy thing is of all days, this family is in need of serious prayer today. If you think of it say a prayer for Sherry (Mom), Alfredo (Dad), Bucky(21) Chongo(14), Luisa(16), Tanna(25), Savannah(1 1/2), Amelia-Luisa's daughter (1) & Delone(4)...

Aaron turns 4!

Ever since I began tutoring Lacy her family has embraced me as "one of them." Tonight I went over to their house to celebrate Aaron's 4th birthday. It was so entertaining to watch him open his presents... He is such a loving kid.
He is currently the youngest of 8 kids in their family. Soon, they will have 9 kids, and he will be a big brother!

I mentor Aaron's oldest sister Kelsey, and I am continually impacted by the insight she has as a 19 year old young woman. I was going through her

blog

and two years ago she posted this about Aaron:

Will he be familiar enough with the traditions and people of Ethiopia that he does not feel like a stranger within his culture?

Will he be equipped to handle the grief of losing his birth family?

Will he be at peace with his past?

Will he ever feel like a piece of him is missing?

Will he seek to reconnect with Ethiopia, or will it simply be the place he tells people he was born?

I know that adoption was the best option for Aaron. God couldn’t have made it more clear that he was meant to be with us. The circumstances bringing him from the brink of starvation to a thriving, joyful, and cherished member of our family are miraculous. We needed him and he needed us. However, it doesn’t negate the losses he experienced early in life. It breaks my heart that he will have some serious issues to navigate as he grows up. I just pray that we can equip him to the best of our ability, and be there to support and love him through everything.
( written by Kelsey in October 2006)

i.robot.

Two of my housemates helped our four year old neighbor, Delone make a robot outfit out of the recyclables... What a good way to reuse, reduce, recycle! The video is hilarious.




Also, this past weekend we had a neighborhood girls "back to school sleepover." The girls did hair, nails, and watched "How She Move." Some of us in our house have known these girls since they were 7, and now many of them are 12 or 13!