Since it's been quite awhile since Mindy and I have updated our blog, I thought I would take some intiative (and take a break while studying for finals) to update you all about what's new living in Frogtown!:)
Since we moved in to our house we've kept hearing that there was going to be a family moving in to the other half of our house SOON. So, we thought it would be maybe one or two months before we had new neighbors. Well, we learned rather quickly that "soon" is a very relative term. This past Februrary "soon" finally arrived and new neighbors moved into the other duplex half of the house. We learned that the family that would be moving in was not only new to this neighborhood, but new to this country (aka they just stepped off a plane from Thailand) as well. We learned that they were Karen (pronounced "Ka-Ren") refugees, an ethnic minority group from Burma who have been heavily persecuted. They had been living in refugee camps for over a decade now in Thailand.
I will probably never forget the first time we met this wonderful family. Mindy and I decided we didn't want to overwhelm them too much their first night in the U.S., so we waited a few days before we decided to go over and visit them. After a few days, the anticipation to meet this family was growing so we decided to make some chocolate chip banana bread as a house-warming gift. We weren't sure if the family knew any English, so we excitedly looked up how to say a few words in Karen to introduce ourselves. Suprisingly, the translations we found online for "hi, how are you?" "my name is ____" and "what is your name" were correct and we were able to have a very basic convo with the family!
However, we weren't quite as lucky with the house-warming gift we made. The word we had found online for bread "goh", apparently did not seem like a word they had heard before. So, needless to see there were a few blank stares from them when we tried to explain what we brought over for them as a gift. We later found out that there is that the family had never had bread before, so they thought it was a cake!
The following months we got to know the family members really well, especially the daughter named Poem who is the same age as Mindy and I. Even though she only had a year of English in school in Thailand, she is very fluent. It has been incredible building a relationship with Poem because similar to Mindy and I she really has a heart for justice and learning about social justice struggles throughout the world. Poem's determination blows both of us away. She is such an inspiration to both Mindy and I and I can't wait to see what God has in store for her!
The family members living with Poem included her two younger brothers who are both in high school, her grandma, mother, father and her little brother (who is 3 or 4 I believe). Her little brother is such a character! Every time we would go visit the family in their duplex he would get a ton of energy and pretend to be a boxer, flailing his arms and throwing punches in the air. He would always be wearing a "Rooney" soccer jersey, so they called him "Ronnie" after the renowned soccer player. He would run up to his family members (and even Mindy and I sometimes!) throwing playful punches at the person and then say "yah-eh-nah" (which means "I love you") in Karen and make the sign-language sign for "I love you" simultaneously. Countless times the family served us meals when we came over to visit them. Their generosity continues to astound me.
I could probably go on and on (and I'm sure Mindy could too!) about how incredibly blessed we have been by this family, but since it is finals week next week I just wanted to give a little overview:) Sadly, the family decided to move after 2 months of living here, but fortunately for both of us they are still living relatively close by, only a 15 minute drive to the other side of St. Paul.
Two days after Poem's family moved out we received another email from Urban Homeworks that a different Karen family who had just arrived to the U.S. would be moving in the NEXT day!! It was great getting to give this family a house-warming gift of a traditional Karen desssert (plus we didn't have to try to explain what it was!). We have just started to get to know the new family that moved in a little better (they moved in in April).
The other day was absolutely beautiful outside and the kids from the new Karen family were playing outside. Mindy, Kori (one of our other roommates) and I joined them for an intense game of backyard soccer and "keep away". Another neighbor kid came and joined us as well. Even though it is difficult for us to communicate with one another (because we don't know that much Karen and they know a little bit of English) it continues to amaze me how much God uses simple actions, such as laughter or a smile, to speak more than any amount of words ever could. The youngest daughter, who we think is 5 years old, couldn't stop laughing. Every time we would throw her the ball she would erupt into a fit of giggles, accompanied by one of the most genuine smiles I've seen in my life.
That day, playing outside on a hot, May day with neighbors from various ethnic backgrounds, ages and places in life was truly heavenly.
Reflecting on that day and all of my experiences living here in Frogtown over the past few months, I cannot help but smiling when thinking about the relationships that Mindy and I have built with these two amazingly, genuine and loving families. I cannot wait to see what life-changing relationships Mindy and I will make with even more people on our street this summer! As always, we welcome guests with arms wide open and would love for you to come experience a slice of our life livin' on Blair Ave.
Peace & Love,
Sarah:)
Sunday, May 20
Sunday, December 25
"Someday AND Today at Christmas!"
Singing Christmas songs around the Christmas tree before we head off to bed has long been a tradition at the Northrup household. I remember ever since I was a little girl how excited I would get singing “Children go where I send thee” or “Sleigh ride”at the top of my lungs with my family. I’m pretty sure my voice alone could have broken some glass with the high octaves I was hitting with my singing... or screaming! :) After singing some songs this Christmas Eve around the tree with my family, I was reminded of a song that I just could not get out of my head no matter how hard I tried. It was Stevie Wonder’s song “Someday at Christmas”. I had heard it before this year, but for some reason this year the lyrics hit me a little harder and left me thinking a little longer than they had before. For those of you unfamiliar with this song it starts of like this:
“Someday at Christmas men won't be boys
Playing with bombs like kids play with toys
One warm December our hearts will see
A world where men are free…”
The song continues to repeat the phrase “someday at Christmas…” replacing the lyrics above with other hopes and dreams of an end to world hunger, violence and poverty. It is a beautiful song that cries out to see justice done in the name of oppression, freedom proclaimed for the captives and most of all for love to transform our hearts and our minds. I think this song struck me so much this Christmas because of two reasons. The first reason being that in this song we can see a glimpse of God’s redemptive dream for the world as well. We can see the deepest desires of men and women colliding with the desires that lie at the very heart of who God is. God wants to see the earth and everyone in it restored in a right relationship with him and others. However, he tells us there will be troubles on this earth until Christ returns, but part of helping that “someday at Christmas…” dreams become a reality is waiting in patient expectation. Just as Mary waited patiently in faith and hope for the savior of the world to be born, part of this calling to help bring forth a new world is waiting in faith and expectancy for a God who can do immeasurably more than we can hope or imagine. These verses from Romans 8: 22-25 in The Message translation reminded me of this idea of “waiting in hopeful expectation”,
“All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.”
The second reason this song struck a chord with me was because of the great paradoxical dilemma I saw that was not addressed in it. While we are called as believers of Christ to wait in hopeful expectation, we are also called to work to change the current situations of despair into situations of hope and redemption. Of course this work can only be done through the power of God’s holy spirit, but the beauty of it is that he uses us to be HIS HANDS AND FEET!!
As Shane Claiborne says, “When we pray to God asking, ‘why don’t you do something?’ we hear a gentle whisper respond, “I did do something. I made you.” In the midst of injustice, pain and sorrow in our world it is good to know that God has a plan admist all of the broken messes we may see and this plan involves us actively being a part of it!
I would love to ask Stevie Wonder about the song he wrote: “is it really only ‘someday’ that we may see people freed from captivity, extreme poverty coming to an end and wars ceasing or could that ‘someday’ be ‘today’ too?” As followers of Christ we must struggle with this paradox of being a part of a Kingdom that is already coming down and present on earth, while at the same time waiting in hopeful expectation for a full redemption of God’s kingdom where there is no more war, violence or poverty. According to Jesus in Luke 17:20-21, determining when God’s kingdom will come is not the important part, but rather knowing that through Jesus we can have a hand in creating that kingdom and actually being a part of that is what is important.
“Once,having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The kingdom of God does NOT come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is WITHIN YOU!” (NIV, Luke 17:20-21)
So, why am I sharing this on Christmas Eve you may ask? Well, I know my timing is a little bit late for getting gifts for others that can bring down God’s kingdom here on earth, but I want to encourage for the future to consider giving or actively being a part of these organizations I list below. I chose to write about particular organizations because I have either seen or been a part of that organizations redemptive work.
So, what might this look like?
Giving to organizations that are working to bring God’s kingdom down to earth. Organizations such as Urban Homeworks http://urbanhomeworks.com/ (the organization which Mindy and I are living through) which work to bring hope and healing to families looking for affordable housing and restoring broken relationships through healthy partnerships and a network of “good neighbors”. Other organizations such as Peace and Hope International/Paz y Esperanza http://www.peaceandhopeinternational.org/ do work both in the twin cities providing free legal counseling services for migrant workers who have been victims of human trafficking and/or need legal advice as well as provide rehabilitation, counseling and training seminars in various locations in South America to indigenous communities that have been marginalized. IJM (International Justice Mission) http://www.ijm.org/ is a Christian human rights agency that works to release people from the bondage of human trafficking by working with local officials (locations range from malaysia to latin america) to perform rescue missions from brothels and provide extensive rehabilitation programs after the people are rescued. Their core mission is to (Isaiah 1:17): Seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Lastly, an organization that is close to my heart called Student’s International http://siguatemala.com/ was the organization I spent a lot of my time with during my semester last spring in Guatemala. The mission of their organization is to help meet the holistic needs of different communities by bringing indigenous leaders and North American students together to work side by side in creating sustainable change in their communities that leaves all parties transformed by the work of Christ.
Donating to any of these organizations would be a step towards bringing part of God’s redemptive kingdom. But, we must move past a state of only contributing monetarily to organizations that are furthering God’s kingdom and we must learn how to join in the suffering of those in our own communities and abroad by living, listening and loving alongside those who are marginalized. This looks different for each person because God gives each of us different gifts and different ways in which he wants us to use those gifts. So, be prayerful!
I pray that even if though it is too late to donate in someone’s honor to any of these wonderful organizations as a Christmas gift,that you would still consider giving to these organizations or those that you know of working to bring God’s kingdom down to earth throughout the year. Too often I feel we get stuck in the “only give during Christmas time” mode.
Rest in the struggle of knowing that we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ in a way that comes alongside those who are marginalized in our own communities and abroad, while keeping in mind that we are also called to wait in hopeful expectation of the One who can bring FULL deliverance, peace and joy when he returns!
May we rest in the peace of knowing God’s kingdom exists both “someday” AND “today” !
So, Stevie Wonder to you I say, “someday at Christmas…” may be sooner than you think because we have a God is doing INCREDIBLE things TODAY on this joyous day of Christmas! After all, who knew a small, baby born in a lowly, smelly stable would become the Savior of the world! How cool is that?!?
Peace, Love & Joy to you as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!!!
~Sarah
“Someday at Christmas men won't be boys
Playing with bombs like kids play with toys
One warm December our hearts will see
A world where men are free…”
The song continues to repeat the phrase “someday at Christmas…” replacing the lyrics above with other hopes and dreams of an end to world hunger, violence and poverty. It is a beautiful song that cries out to see justice done in the name of oppression, freedom proclaimed for the captives and most of all for love to transform our hearts and our minds. I think this song struck me so much this Christmas because of two reasons. The first reason being that in this song we can see a glimpse of God’s redemptive dream for the world as well. We can see the deepest desires of men and women colliding with the desires that lie at the very heart of who God is. God wants to see the earth and everyone in it restored in a right relationship with him and others. However, he tells us there will be troubles on this earth until Christ returns, but part of helping that “someday at Christmas…” dreams become a reality is waiting in patient expectation. Just as Mary waited patiently in faith and hope for the savior of the world to be born, part of this calling to help bring forth a new world is waiting in faith and expectancy for a God who can do immeasurably more than we can hope or imagine. These verses from Romans 8: 22-25 in The Message translation reminded me of this idea of “waiting in hopeful expectation”,
“All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.”
The second reason this song struck a chord with me was because of the great paradoxical dilemma I saw that was not addressed in it. While we are called as believers of Christ to wait in hopeful expectation, we are also called to work to change the current situations of despair into situations of hope and redemption. Of course this work can only be done through the power of God’s holy spirit, but the beauty of it is that he uses us to be HIS HANDS AND FEET!!
As Shane Claiborne says, “When we pray to God asking, ‘why don’t you do something?’ we hear a gentle whisper respond, “I did do something. I made you.” In the midst of injustice, pain and sorrow in our world it is good to know that God has a plan admist all of the broken messes we may see and this plan involves us actively being a part of it!
I would love to ask Stevie Wonder about the song he wrote: “is it really only ‘someday’ that we may see people freed from captivity, extreme poverty coming to an end and wars ceasing or could that ‘someday’ be ‘today’ too?” As followers of Christ we must struggle with this paradox of being a part of a Kingdom that is already coming down and present on earth, while at the same time waiting in hopeful expectation for a full redemption of God’s kingdom where there is no more war, violence or poverty. According to Jesus in Luke 17:20-21, determining when God’s kingdom will come is not the important part, but rather knowing that through Jesus we can have a hand in creating that kingdom and actually being a part of that is what is important.
“Once,having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The kingdom of God does NOT come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is WITHIN YOU!” (NIV, Luke 17:20-21)
So, why am I sharing this on Christmas Eve you may ask? Well, I know my timing is a little bit late for getting gifts for others that can bring down God’s kingdom here on earth, but I want to encourage for the future to consider giving or actively being a part of these organizations I list below. I chose to write about particular organizations because I have either seen or been a part of that organizations redemptive work.
So, what might this look like?
Giving to organizations that are working to bring God’s kingdom down to earth. Organizations such as Urban Homeworks http://urbanhomeworks.com/ (the organization which Mindy and I are living through) which work to bring hope and healing to families looking for affordable housing and restoring broken relationships through healthy partnerships and a network of “good neighbors”. Other organizations such as Peace and Hope International/Paz y Esperanza http://www.peaceandhopeinternational.org/ do work both in the twin cities providing free legal counseling services for migrant workers who have been victims of human trafficking and/or need legal advice as well as provide rehabilitation, counseling and training seminars in various locations in South America to indigenous communities that have been marginalized. IJM (International Justice Mission) http://www.ijm.org/ is a Christian human rights agency that works to release people from the bondage of human trafficking by working with local officials (locations range from malaysia to latin america) to perform rescue missions from brothels and provide extensive rehabilitation programs after the people are rescued. Their core mission is to (Isaiah 1:17): Seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Lastly, an organization that is close to my heart called Student’s International http://siguatemala.com/ was the organization I spent a lot of my time with during my semester last spring in Guatemala. The mission of their organization is to help meet the holistic needs of different communities by bringing indigenous leaders and North American students together to work side by side in creating sustainable change in their communities that leaves all parties transformed by the work of Christ.
Donating to any of these organizations would be a step towards bringing part of God’s redemptive kingdom. But, we must move past a state of only contributing monetarily to organizations that are furthering God’s kingdom and we must learn how to join in the suffering of those in our own communities and abroad by living, listening and loving alongside those who are marginalized. This looks different for each person because God gives each of us different gifts and different ways in which he wants us to use those gifts. So, be prayerful!
I pray that even if though it is too late to donate in someone’s honor to any of these wonderful organizations as a Christmas gift,that you would still consider giving to these organizations or those that you know of working to bring God’s kingdom down to earth throughout the year. Too often I feel we get stuck in the “only give during Christmas time” mode.
Rest in the struggle of knowing that we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ in a way that comes alongside those who are marginalized in our own communities and abroad, while keeping in mind that we are also called to wait in hopeful expectation of the One who can bring FULL deliverance, peace and joy when he returns!
May we rest in the peace of knowing God’s kingdom exists both “someday” AND “today” !
So, Stevie Wonder to you I say, “someday at Christmas…” may be sooner than you think because we have a God is doing INCREDIBLE things TODAY on this joyous day of Christmas! After all, who knew a small, baby born in a lowly, smelly stable would become the Savior of the world! How cool is that?!?
Peace, Love & Joy to you as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!!!
~Sarah
Saturday, December 10
Community
I just want to take a moment to praise the Lord for all He's done in our house. Hallelujah! God is good! I have come to realize that the five of us women who are living together are a church. We are a body of Christians, living life together, loving one another, praying for one another on a regular basis, and holding one another accountable. It is absolutely unbelievable. I never thought I would be able to be in a place where no one feels excluded and everyone is loved and valued. Also, the accounability is so extremely crucial in my development as I strive be more like Christ, more loving, more giving. I've never had steady accountability like this before. There is an Irish proverb that says "A friend's eye is a good mirror." It is true, and biblical- we need our brothers and sisters to help us see the things we cannot see, and help us follow through with what we say. I love our community, and now I realize, this is how we as humans are created to be! To be in close relationship with one another, learning, loving, growing, serving, crying, suffering, rejoicing all together as we live life with one another. It's messy, it's time-consuming, it's difficult in our individualistic culture, and it's beautiful. Praise God that He provides what we need when we need it. Thank you Lord!!!
Friday, November 4
Experiences on the Bus
I love taking the bus. Originally, I was scared to take the bus because I thought that I would make a scene because I didn't know how to pay for the ride, or would miss my stop or get lost. But it really is simple, and not a problem to ask the bus driver if you are unsure of anything. It was one of those irrational fears that Satan puts in your heart so that you put up barriers and cling to what you know instead of stepping out of your comfort zone as Jesus often calls us to. So now I've grown to love taking the bus. I've had some really awesome conversations with people during the ride and while waiting for the bus to come. One of my favorite conversations was with a young Somali woman who is 24 and is studying to be a surgeon at a school in the Twin Cities. We eventually got into a deep conversation about how the main faith traditions alive today have all oppressed people in the past even though the hearts of those faith traditions are the exact opposite of oppression and injustice. I haven't had the opportunity of talking with many people around my age who live in the neighborhood, so it was great to hear another young person's opinions and life experiences.
Another time, as I was waiting at Rosedale Mall, I had a great conversation with this African American guy who looked to be about my age, but later I found out he had a daughter a couple years younger than me (I'm realizing now that I'm terrible at guessing people's ages haha). As he lit up his cigarette, he told me how someone once asked him what he was living for. It completely caught him off guard and at the time as he thought about it he didn't know. Now he knows what he's living for and asks everyone he knows that question. If they aren't living for what he deems good things, then he gradually separates himself from that person. I asked him what he lives for now and he told me he lives for his kids, to give them a better future and to be a good role model to them. He really values integrity. He told me that he never promised anything to his kids, instead he would just do things for them without telling them beforehand because his own father always told him he would do things but never followed through. Let me correct myself, he doesn't value integrity. He is passionate about integrity. It was really beautiful to hear how he was so intentional about having integrity, especially for his kids. I was not expecting this young-looking man, dressed in a leather jacket, flat bill hat, with earbuds in, lighting up a smoke to voluntarily chat with me about how people should know what they are living for and have integrity. I am continually being humbled and shown that as much as I'd like to think that I don't judge people based on appearances, I really do. We truly cannot know who a person is and what they are about by simply looking at them and need to remind ourselves of this.
Here's one last story for now. Today's bus ride home really opened my eyes to see things in a new light. For those of you who have never ridden a metro transit bus, the front has seats on the sides that face to the middle. After this, there are rows of seats that face the front. The first row of seats that face the front of the bus fold up and someone in a wheelchair is able to fit in that space and get strapped in to secure them in place. There are two spaces for this, the front row on the left side, and the on the right side. As I got on the bus, I sat in the second row. There were two people in wheelchairs in front of me, but at that time I didn't think anything of it. People in wheelchairs and scooters frequently take the route I take, so it seemed normal. What I didn't realize until we made a stop by Har Mar is that the bus only has room for two wheelchairs. Outside, an elderly man manuevered himself to the bus doors waiting for the driver to put the ramp down, but the bus driver had to tell him we were full. With a gentle look of disappointment on his face he turned as everyone else at the stop walked up the stairs to board the bus. I sat there, watching him from the window as he checked his wristwatch and pulled his sleeves back down his arms as far as they could go. If you haven't noticed, it's starting to get cold. Not chilly, I mean cold. This morning as I walked a block to the bus stop, the wind whipped around me and the sting of the air made my hands ache (it's definitely time to break out the mittens! And for us to remember to give the countless pairs of mittens sitting in our houses untouched to those who have none and need them). This man had already waited, and possibly planned his day around catching that bus, but now he had to wait another half an hour in the cold for the next one to come, hoping that bus isn't full too. Why aren't buses designed to fit more than 2 people in wheelchairs? Especially when they can't drive and metro transit may be there main method of transportation? The story doesn't end here. We kept going along our route, and down the road, a woman in a wheelchair I've seen frequently on the bus with a long dark-grey braid and a graceful smile was going to get off. Some people sitting in the very front in the seats which face the center of the bus went in the back so that the woman would be able to get off. One white-haired lady who was sitting in the very front did this. She had lots of really big bags from the mall, and she rested them on the seat next to me, still holding on to them as she she stood in the aisle. The woman with the graceful smile unhooked one side of her wheelchair but couldn't reach the other side and said so aloud asking for assistance. The bus driver usually helps them get unstrapped but the driver was doing something else he needed to do at the time. I wanted to get up and help, but the woman next to me was blocking me both with her bags and her body. I looked up at her and she said in a defensive, almost justifying tone "I can't help her, I've got these" and motioned with her eyes to her shopping bags. "You go." she muttered quietly. I looked at her dumbfounded wondering how she thought I was going to get through her blockade since she showed she had no intention whatsoever of moving to let me through. Thankfully right then the driver came back, unhooked the woman, and she got off the bus. The lady with the bags standing next to me moved back up front without another word. For some reason, I was and still am so struck by her. She would not leave her shopping bags for ten seconds to help unhook the woman, as though I could somehow steal and hide her enormous shopping bags somewhere! She could have even put her bags up at the front no where near anyone and helped the woman. Whether she counsciously thought of what she was doing or not, her actions revealed that at that moment, the things she had bought were more important to her than a person. She was unwilling to let go of her possessions for ten seconds to show love and respect to another human being. And at the same time, blocked everyone excpet for the driver from doing something. How many of us are clutching on to our possessions or wealth and thus choose not to really love people? I know I'm like that. I have more than one coat. More than one pair of mittens, more than one winter scarf, way too many pairs of shoes. How can we serve when our hands are full of our stuff we are unwilling to set aside? Let's really honestly reflect on this and act upon our convictions.
And [John the Baptist] went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins [...] He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance [...] Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
(Luke 3:3-4,7-14 ESV)
Love and Grace to you as we learn and grow together,
Mindy
Another time, as I was waiting at Rosedale Mall, I had a great conversation with this African American guy who looked to be about my age, but later I found out he had a daughter a couple years younger than me (I'm realizing now that I'm terrible at guessing people's ages haha). As he lit up his cigarette, he told me how someone once asked him what he was living for. It completely caught him off guard and at the time as he thought about it he didn't know. Now he knows what he's living for and asks everyone he knows that question. If they aren't living for what he deems good things, then he gradually separates himself from that person. I asked him what he lives for now and he told me he lives for his kids, to give them a better future and to be a good role model to them. He really values integrity. He told me that he never promised anything to his kids, instead he would just do things for them without telling them beforehand because his own father always told him he would do things but never followed through. Let me correct myself, he doesn't value integrity. He is passionate about integrity. It was really beautiful to hear how he was so intentional about having integrity, especially for his kids. I was not expecting this young-looking man, dressed in a leather jacket, flat bill hat, with earbuds in, lighting up a smoke to voluntarily chat with me about how people should know what they are living for and have integrity. I am continually being humbled and shown that as much as I'd like to think that I don't judge people based on appearances, I really do. We truly cannot know who a person is and what they are about by simply looking at them and need to remind ourselves of this.
Here's one last story for now. Today's bus ride home really opened my eyes to see things in a new light. For those of you who have never ridden a metro transit bus, the front has seats on the sides that face to the middle. After this, there are rows of seats that face the front. The first row of seats that face the front of the bus fold up and someone in a wheelchair is able to fit in that space and get strapped in to secure them in place. There are two spaces for this, the front row on the left side, and the on the right side. As I got on the bus, I sat in the second row. There were two people in wheelchairs in front of me, but at that time I didn't think anything of it. People in wheelchairs and scooters frequently take the route I take, so it seemed normal. What I didn't realize until we made a stop by Har Mar is that the bus only has room for two wheelchairs. Outside, an elderly man manuevered himself to the bus doors waiting for the driver to put the ramp down, but the bus driver had to tell him we were full. With a gentle look of disappointment on his face he turned as everyone else at the stop walked up the stairs to board the bus. I sat there, watching him from the window as he checked his wristwatch and pulled his sleeves back down his arms as far as they could go. If you haven't noticed, it's starting to get cold. Not chilly, I mean cold. This morning as I walked a block to the bus stop, the wind whipped around me and the sting of the air made my hands ache (it's definitely time to break out the mittens! And for us to remember to give the countless pairs of mittens sitting in our houses untouched to those who have none and need them). This man had already waited, and possibly planned his day around catching that bus, but now he had to wait another half an hour in the cold for the next one to come, hoping that bus isn't full too. Why aren't buses designed to fit more than 2 people in wheelchairs? Especially when they can't drive and metro transit may be there main method of transportation? The story doesn't end here. We kept going along our route, and down the road, a woman in a wheelchair I've seen frequently on the bus with a long dark-grey braid and a graceful smile was going to get off. Some people sitting in the very front in the seats which face the center of the bus went in the back so that the woman would be able to get off. One white-haired lady who was sitting in the very front did this. She had lots of really big bags from the mall, and she rested them on the seat next to me, still holding on to them as she she stood in the aisle. The woman with the graceful smile unhooked one side of her wheelchair but couldn't reach the other side and said so aloud asking for assistance. The bus driver usually helps them get unstrapped but the driver was doing something else he needed to do at the time. I wanted to get up and help, but the woman next to me was blocking me both with her bags and her body. I looked up at her and she said in a defensive, almost justifying tone "I can't help her, I've got these" and motioned with her eyes to her shopping bags. "You go." she muttered quietly. I looked at her dumbfounded wondering how she thought I was going to get through her blockade since she showed she had no intention whatsoever of moving to let me through. Thankfully right then the driver came back, unhooked the woman, and she got off the bus. The lady with the bags standing next to me moved back up front without another word. For some reason, I was and still am so struck by her. She would not leave her shopping bags for ten seconds to help unhook the woman, as though I could somehow steal and hide her enormous shopping bags somewhere! She could have even put her bags up at the front no where near anyone and helped the woman. Whether she counsciously thought of what she was doing or not, her actions revealed that at that moment, the things she had bought were more important to her than a person. She was unwilling to let go of her possessions for ten seconds to show love and respect to another human being. And at the same time, blocked everyone excpet for the driver from doing something. How many of us are clutching on to our possessions or wealth and thus choose not to really love people? I know I'm like that. I have more than one coat. More than one pair of mittens, more than one winter scarf, way too many pairs of shoes. How can we serve when our hands are full of our stuff we are unwilling to set aside? Let's really honestly reflect on this and act upon our convictions.
And [John the Baptist] went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins [...] He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance [...] Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
(Luke 3:3-4,7-14 ESV)
Love and Grace to you as we learn and grow together,
Mindy
Thursday, October 13
So, what exactly is an "Urban Neighbor"??
Hey everyone,
I just wanted to throw out this quick post to those of you who are following our blog and are still wondering, so what exactly is an "Urban Neighor"? How is it different than just moving to the city and living there on your own? Well, don't feel too bad if you are still scratching your head trying to understand what exactly we are doing because sometimes I find myself asking the same question! ha. By that I mean, this program which we call "Urban Neighbors" is much less a noun, or something we can describe but rather it is much more a verb, or something you live out. It is much more something we are learning to do... to be an active part of our community, to learn about injustices and how they affect the neighbors living among us, to live out our faith, in a real and intentional way.
Okay, so for those of you who would like some more concrete information specifically about the "Urban Neighbors" program here it is. "Urban Neighbors" is one part of a larger organization known as Urban Homeworks. According to the Urban Homeworks website, "The mission of Urban Homeworks is to perpetuate the hope of Jesus Christ through innovative community development that produces dignified housing for low-income families, a strategic network of good neighbors and the redemptive development of real estate." Bascially, as "Urban Neighbors" we are called to live life intentionally with others. Urban Homeoworks places "Urban Neighbors" strategically in different urban neighborhoods throughout the Twin Cities and we have been so blessed to have been placed in Frogtown, St.Paul.
As followers of Christ we are called to live alongside those and be in community with those who come from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds than ourselves. Come along for the ride as you follow us on our blog, and we hope that you too will join us in this journey as we continue to learn what it means to truly be an "Urban Neighbor", and live out our faith in a real and intentional way! Check out the video below for a more detailed explanation of how Urban Homeworks "works":)
Sarah
Tuesday, October 11
God is Faithful!!!!
Hey everyone,
As Sarah mentioned before, the two of us haven't done the greatest job sharing what life has been like for us the past few months. Before we moved into Frogtown, we both talked with lots of family and friends about what we were about to do, many of whom expressed interest in hearing how it went. Thus, the creation of our blog :) We are excited to have all of you along with us for the journey as God is teaching us and moving in our lives.
Here is a recent story of God's faithfulness in my life.
Our house in Frogtown is 10 miles from Bethel University where we both go to school. Right now, I have a car (our old Durango) and feel so blessed to have had it this past summer so that I was able to get around and see my parents when I needed to (thank you mom and dad). However, the car is getting old and doesn't start in the winter time. Sarah has a car, but certain days our schedules are very different from one another. My parents and I discussed the option of selling the Durango and getting a used car for me this year. Actually, regardless the Durango is going because it is so old. However, there is no way I would be able to pay for gas, insurance, repairs, and the rest of the bills that come with having a car for a whole year. I was beginning to worry about it a little bit because I need some way of getting to school, to a grocery store, and wherever I am going to volunteer; one of the commitments I made as an Urban Neighbor is to volunteer somewhere regularly.
As some of you know, God has put a passion in my heart to be with people going through homelessness. I wanted to get more connected with a ministry, transitional housing organization, or housing program of some sort and volunteer there this year. One night this past summer, I was surfing the web, looking at some sweet ministries and I came across a place in downtown St. Paul called The Listening House (http://listeninghouse.org/admin/). As I searched the website, I immediately fell in love with it, because not only does it meet needs but it emphasizes the dignity and personhood of those going through homelessness as well as the importance of building relationships and community with them. There was also another ministry I was interested in called Free Arts (http://www.freeartsminnesota.org/) where I would be doing art with formerly homeless kids to build healthy relationships with them and allow them to heal from tramatic experiences, but the Lord closed the door on that one. I also was able to talk with another Urban Neighbor who has spent time at the Listening House, and after some prayer, I knew that was where I am supposed to be this year.
So, I needed a way to get to school in Arden Hills, back home to Frogtown, downtown St. Paul to The Listening House, and places like a grocery store. I had a Durango that wouldn't last too much longer, a bank account that couldn't pay the expenses of a car, and a God who is much bigger than all of that! Thankfully the latter came through! Sarah and I had been taking the bus that stops at the end of our street to the Rosedale Mall, and then Bethel's free shuttle from the mall to Bethel as a way of getting to school. But I didn't know if I would be able to get everywhere else I needed to by bus all the time. Especially because most people I talked to were very critical of the bus system and didn't seem to think it was a reliable method of transportation. As I was praying one morning, I went to the metro transit website, and looked up a bus route that would go from my house to The Listening House. This is where God completely blew me away. The same bus route that takes me from my street to the Rosedale Mall so I can go to Bethel, also has a stop one block from The Listening House!! It runs from 7:20 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every half hour every day. It also has a stop right by a Cub Foods located between Bethel and my house. This one bus route can take me to school, my house, where I volunteer, and a grocery store almost whenever I need to! I am able to get by without a car, so I can still have money to pay for rent and groceries! God is SO faithful!!! He will provide when we seek to do His will!!
To add to the amazing faithfulness of Jesus, this past weekend Sarah and I got an email from Bethel's Student Life Office to commuters announcing that for the first time, Bethel is offering through metro transit a college metro pass of unlimited rides for a whole semester for only $140. To give you an idea, I spend about $80 or so a month on bus fares. This will save me roughly $500 this school year!!! I just got mine today and will use it tomorrow morning :) I am so blown away by how God has blessed Sarah and I throughout this whole thing starting from us meeting in the laundry room at Bethel where she told me about Urban Neighbors to now. It's pretty incredible.
For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
-Psalm 33:4
May you experience His faithfulness too as you trust Him with everything in life!!
Shalom,
Mindy
As Sarah mentioned before, the two of us haven't done the greatest job sharing what life has been like for us the past few months. Before we moved into Frogtown, we both talked with lots of family and friends about what we were about to do, many of whom expressed interest in hearing how it went. Thus, the creation of our blog :) We are excited to have all of you along with us for the journey as God is teaching us and moving in our lives.
Here is a recent story of God's faithfulness in my life.
Our house in Frogtown is 10 miles from Bethel University where we both go to school. Right now, I have a car (our old Durango) and feel so blessed to have had it this past summer so that I was able to get around and see my parents when I needed to (thank you mom and dad). However, the car is getting old and doesn't start in the winter time. Sarah has a car, but certain days our schedules are very different from one another. My parents and I discussed the option of selling the Durango and getting a used car for me this year. Actually, regardless the Durango is going because it is so old. However, there is no way I would be able to pay for gas, insurance, repairs, and the rest of the bills that come with having a car for a whole year. I was beginning to worry about it a little bit because I need some way of getting to school, to a grocery store, and wherever I am going to volunteer; one of the commitments I made as an Urban Neighbor is to volunteer somewhere regularly.
As some of you know, God has put a passion in my heart to be with people going through homelessness. I wanted to get more connected with a ministry, transitional housing organization, or housing program of some sort and volunteer there this year. One night this past summer, I was surfing the web, looking at some sweet ministries and I came across a place in downtown St. Paul called The Listening House (http://listeninghouse.org/admin/). As I searched the website, I immediately fell in love with it, because not only does it meet needs but it emphasizes the dignity and personhood of those going through homelessness as well as the importance of building relationships and community with them. There was also another ministry I was interested in called Free Arts (http://www.freeartsminnesota.org/) where I would be doing art with formerly homeless kids to build healthy relationships with them and allow them to heal from tramatic experiences, but the Lord closed the door on that one. I also was able to talk with another Urban Neighbor who has spent time at the Listening House, and after some prayer, I knew that was where I am supposed to be this year.
So, I needed a way to get to school in Arden Hills, back home to Frogtown, downtown St. Paul to The Listening House, and places like a grocery store. I had a Durango that wouldn't last too much longer, a bank account that couldn't pay the expenses of a car, and a God who is much bigger than all of that! Thankfully the latter came through! Sarah and I had been taking the bus that stops at the end of our street to the Rosedale Mall, and then Bethel's free shuttle from the mall to Bethel as a way of getting to school. But I didn't know if I would be able to get everywhere else I needed to by bus all the time. Especially because most people I talked to were very critical of the bus system and didn't seem to think it was a reliable method of transportation. As I was praying one morning, I went to the metro transit website, and looked up a bus route that would go from my house to The Listening House. This is where God completely blew me away. The same bus route that takes me from my street to the Rosedale Mall so I can go to Bethel, also has a stop one block from The Listening House!! It runs from 7:20 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every half hour every day. It also has a stop right by a Cub Foods located between Bethel and my house. This one bus route can take me to school, my house, where I volunteer, and a grocery store almost whenever I need to! I am able to get by without a car, so I can still have money to pay for rent and groceries! God is SO faithful!!! He will provide when we seek to do His will!!
To add to the amazing faithfulness of Jesus, this past weekend Sarah and I got an email from Bethel's Student Life Office to commuters announcing that for the first time, Bethel is offering through metro transit a college metro pass of unlimited rides for a whole semester for only $140. To give you an idea, I spend about $80 or so a month on bus fares. This will save me roughly $500 this school year!!! I just got mine today and will use it tomorrow morning :) I am so blown away by how God has blessed Sarah and I throughout this whole thing starting from us meeting in the laundry room at Bethel where she told me about Urban Neighbors to now. It's pretty incredible.
For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
-Psalm 33:4
May you experience His faithfulness too as you trust Him with everything in life!!
Shalom,
Mindy
Sunday, October 9
Cooking Delights
You can find more of our cooking creations on facebook!
Sunday, October 2
Some Food for Thought
Hello everyone!! We are so sorry we have done a horrible job at keeping you all updated on everything that we have been experiencing through our first official month with our new roommates living in Frogtown as "Urban Neighbors." This past month of September has been a crazy one filled with lots of moving, transitions and changes. So, needless to say we feel very thankful we are done with the move-in process!
In addition to moving in, this month has been filled with numerous cooking experiments. Mindy found a bunch of recipes she wanted to try out after we all moved in, so this past month the term “master chef” has become something other than a “reality TV show”… it has become OUR reality! Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating just a tad, but we can dream can’t we? J Some of our first cooking “experiments”, which I thought would most likely go horribily wrong (especially with me cooking haha), actually turned out to be some of the best recipes we’ve made so far. We made “Pisto Manchego” for our first attempt. It turned out amazingly well despite my skepticism at first. We cut up a bunch of different vegetables including green peppers, onions, tomatoes and added seasonings and then we cooked it in a frying pan. We then made holes in the veggie mixture and cracked eggs into the holes. Its sounds kind of strange, but if was actually really good! One dish that definitely did not turn out like we had hoped it would, was our “radish pesto” spaghetti dish. Mindy and I thought we were being so resourceful by using the leaves of our radishes we bought to make a pesto. Unfortunately, the dish ended up tasting more like a mixture of spaghetti and dandilions and looked like we had left it in the back of the fridge too long and had gone green with mold! We definitely were still hungry after dinner that night. Another dish we made that was a success is something a little more mainstream…aka “chicken nuggets”. Mindy wasn’t super into the idea of having to cut up a dead chicken, so I had to take the reins on that one! I actually got the hang of it, and cut one that I claimed was the “perfect” chicken nugget shape…you can judge for yourself whether you agree with me or not on that! And, man did those chicken nuggets taste delicious! (especially since the “chicken died happy” as I would say, because it was raised on a free-range organic farm!)
Mindy and I are trying to be more “food industry conscience”, meaning we want to be more intentional about where we buy our food products from and how the animals and workers are treated by those corporations. Mindy and I recently watched a movie called “Food, Inc.” which exposes many of the injustices within the U.S. food industry. According to the “Food Inc.” movie website www.foodincmovie.com , approximately 10 billion animals (chickens, cattle, hogs, ducks, turkeys, lambs and sheep) are raised and killed in the US annually. Besides the fact that this is a massive consumption of meat, the way the majority of the animals are treated at these “factory farms” is an outrageous injustice. Even worse, is the way that many of the workers at these “factory farms” are exploited and abused. Because the corporations that own the majority of these “factory farms” are huge multi-billion dollar industries the injustices and exploitation become justified in the name of “quality meat”. As this documentary (Food, Inc.) shows, often times these injustices are nearly invisible to the general public, because we have no connection to the land and those who are processing our food. By trying to spend money more locally, and actually meeting the people who are growing your food, we can take one large step towards a more humane food system. When Mindy and I are able to we have been trying to buy fresh produce from the St. Paul Farmer’s Market. I have found this to be a wonderful way to meet those who are doing the hard labor of harvesting our food. Despite my initial assumptions about farmer’s markets, it has been a pleasant surprise to find out that the produce we buy locally there is probably at least ½ the price, if not less, than the produce I would typically buy at Cub or another chain supermarket. Unfortunately, I still have found organic food in general at supermarkets to be a bit more expensive most of the times.
While it may sound like we have this whole eating “local and organic foods” thing all figured out, we are by no means anywhere close. I feel like I have so much to learn about the food industry, how to buy “intentionally”, and of course the actual cooking part of the foodJ However, like all things in life we are on a journey. We may never buy “all organic” or “all locally grown”, but what’s truly important is where our motives lie in doing this. God cares more about where our motives lie, then what so called “good acts” we may be doing. If we are trying to buy more local or organic but are only doing it to look “righteous” we must be reminded that we are no better than those we are supposedly so against. God calls us to be good stewards of his land and work towards restoring to justice who have been denied their rights. In Leviticus 25, Moses speaks about a year declared by the Lord every seven years called the “Year of the Jubliee”. This was meant to be a time when debts were forgiven, land was redistributed to those of whom it had been taken away, and mercy was shown to those who were foreigners working in a strange land. Imagine what this could like look in our world today. Families being foreclosed from their home finding out their land was bought and given back to them by a neighbor, or migrant day laborers actually receiving a livable pay and humane treatment by their bosses. I wait in hope for the day when these “Jubliee” acts will not seem so outrageous and will be an ordinary part of the ETERNAL “Year of the Jubliee”! Until then, I’ll keep looking heavenward. Much like our failed cooking “experiments”, I’ll keep living my life by seeing the beauty in the complete messes and finding joy in the small triumphs, like making a recipe without burning our house down! May God fill you with peace, wisdom and a maybe even a hunger to try out some new “food experiments” of your own in the kitchen. J
His peace, love & justice,
Sarah
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