#9: Here's Life Inner City
I talked a little about my move to Chicago a few posts ago, but here's the expanded story.
I was in Colorado and had applied to intern with Cru for a year or two, hopefully overseas. We get 3 choices as to where we want to be placed so I put Argentina for #1, India for #2, and was stuck with my 3rd option. I was browsing through the list and saw "Inner City Atlanta" on it and thought "Hey, that might be fun. I've been doing urban ministry for awhile and I've always wanted to meet Ludacris". I didn't think I would ever do it, but you had to give a 3rd choice. What's even more interesting is that my friend was going to Senegal to STINT and gave me a really convincing speech about why I should serve there instead. I had a day before the deadline to decide and was totally up in the air. I ended up calling my friends who had stinted in Argentina and had asked how they came to their decision. Basically the wisdom I heard was to use my skills and passions---which was clearly, to me, doing urban ministry.
So at the very last minute I called Cru and told them I wanted to do stateside ministry with Here's Life Inner City (cru's inner city ministry). Once I was accepted for HLIC, I had to interview with 4 cities to see what would be the best fit. I interviewed with Atlanta, Denver, Jacksonville, but New York never called. Out of the 3, I actually liked Denver the best because Atlanta was very small and mostly administrative. But my intern coordinator could tell that I wasn't thrilled with any of them so she had Chicago call me last minute. After talking with Linda from the Chicago team, I still put Denver as my first choice. But obviously I didn't move to Denver. The intern coordinator just felt that I needed to go to Chicago and would really enjoy it, so trusting her wisdom I agreed to go. At first I thought I was going to be downtown in the city and was really excited, but when I found out I was going to be on the south side, like 30 minutes from the city, I was really let down. I wanted the city life, the sky scrapers, taking the L to work. But at that point I was already raising support so there was nothing I could do so I was just praying for God to give me a joyful heart and trust in His sovereignty.
You all know the story of how I got my furniture, but God also provided me a great roommate (Sarah) and an affordable apartment we found my 2nd day there. Sarah had just spent a year in our neighborhood, Roseland, with Mission Year and was now a teacher at By The Hand Club for Kids. So we were both doing urban ministry in Roseland, which was great. We had fun exploring our neighborhood (1 of 77 in Chicago) and the city itself. We would make the drive downtown and explore the city- going to broadway shows, eat at great restaurants, go to concerts, and do all the touristy things. There were a few other young girls on staff so we hung out a lot, too.
As I think about what I learned most that year, I'm not sure I can pinpoint one specific thing. Obviously "Jehovah Jireh" was a key lesson as God provided my entire salary, roommate, apartment, furniture, and even a church family. But also I learned what church really meant. For the first time in my life I was able to sit alone at church without feeling alone. It was so great being part of an organic movement that took ownership of being the church- and it had nothing to do with being inside any certain building. I miss that community so dearly and am so thankful that God provided them to show me what He really wanted the Church to be.
But I think the greatest lesson I learned was about race. Roseland was 99% African-American; the 1% being our staff team. It was the first time in my life where I was the minority, the odd one out. I was conscious of the color of my skin at every moment and it wasn't comfortable. People stared when I went grocery shopping, CVS didn't carry make-up in my skin color, and I was a spectacle at the gym with my pineapple ponytail and bright red skin from working out. But that's how most people of color feel everyday. I have taken for granted that the color of my skin allows me certain privileges. It was so eye-opening and allowed me to experience God differently and love the kids I was working with better. We talked a lot racial reconciliation within the church and I long for the day where churches will be as racially and culturally diverse as Heaven will be. If you're interested in reading more about race relations, I would highly suggest the following books:
While my time with HLIC was not what I expected, I'm glad I was still able to grow and learn from my experiences there. I will always hold Chicago in a special place in my heart. I know God loves that city more than I do and has great plans for the people there.
I was in Colorado and had applied to intern with Cru for a year or two, hopefully overseas. We get 3 choices as to where we want to be placed so I put Argentina for #1, India for #2, and was stuck with my 3rd option. I was browsing through the list and saw "Inner City Atlanta" on it and thought "Hey, that might be fun. I've been doing urban ministry for awhile and I've always wanted to meet Ludacris". I didn't think I would ever do it, but you had to give a 3rd choice. What's even more interesting is that my friend was going to Senegal to STINT and gave me a really convincing speech about why I should serve there instead. I had a day before the deadline to decide and was totally up in the air. I ended up calling my friends who had stinted in Argentina and had asked how they came to their decision. Basically the wisdom I heard was to use my skills and passions---which was clearly, to me, doing urban ministry.
So at the very last minute I called Cru and told them I wanted to do stateside ministry with Here's Life Inner City (cru's inner city ministry). Once I was accepted for HLIC, I had to interview with 4 cities to see what would be the best fit. I interviewed with Atlanta, Denver, Jacksonville, but New York never called. Out of the 3, I actually liked Denver the best because Atlanta was very small and mostly administrative. But my intern coordinator could tell that I wasn't thrilled with any of them so she had Chicago call me last minute. After talking with Linda from the Chicago team, I still put Denver as my first choice. But obviously I didn't move to Denver. The intern coordinator just felt that I needed to go to Chicago and would really enjoy it, so trusting her wisdom I agreed to go. At first I thought I was going to be downtown in the city and was really excited, but when I found out I was going to be on the south side, like 30 minutes from the city, I was really let down. I wanted the city life, the sky scrapers, taking the L to work. But at that point I was already raising support so there was nothing I could do so I was just praying for God to give me a joyful heart and trust in His sovereignty.
You all know the story of how I got my furniture, but God also provided me a great roommate (Sarah) and an affordable apartment we found my 2nd day there. Sarah had just spent a year in our neighborhood, Roseland, with Mission Year and was now a teacher at By The Hand Club for Kids. So we were both doing urban ministry in Roseland, which was great. We had fun exploring our neighborhood (1 of 77 in Chicago) and the city itself. We would make the drive downtown and explore the city- going to broadway shows, eat at great restaurants, go to concerts, and do all the touristy things. There were a few other young girls on staff so we hung out a lot, too.
As I think about what I learned most that year, I'm not sure I can pinpoint one specific thing. Obviously "Jehovah Jireh" was a key lesson as God provided my entire salary, roommate, apartment, furniture, and even a church family. But also I learned what church really meant. For the first time in my life I was able to sit alone at church without feeling alone. It was so great being part of an organic movement that took ownership of being the church- and it had nothing to do with being inside any certain building. I miss that community so dearly and am so thankful that God provided them to show me what He really wanted the Church to be.
But I think the greatest lesson I learned was about race. Roseland was 99% African-American; the 1% being our staff team. It was the first time in my life where I was the minority, the odd one out. I was conscious of the color of my skin at every moment and it wasn't comfortable. People stared when I went grocery shopping, CVS didn't carry make-up in my skin color, and I was a spectacle at the gym with my pineapple ponytail and bright red skin from working out. But that's how most people of color feel everyday. I have taken for granted that the color of my skin allows me certain privileges. It was so eye-opening and allowed me to experience God differently and love the kids I was working with better. We talked a lot racial reconciliation within the church and I long for the day where churches will be as racially and culturally diverse as Heaven will be. If you're interested in reading more about race relations, I would highly suggest the following books:
Bloodlines by John Piper
Everyday Missions by Leroy Barber
Real Hope in Chicago by Wayne Gordon
Who is My Neighbor? by Wayne Gordon
Restoring At-Risk Communities
Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh
There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz
When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett, Brian Fikkert, David Platt
Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton
Ministries of Mercy by Tim KellerWhile my time with HLIC was not what I expected, I'm glad I was still able to grow and learn from my experiences there. I will always hold Chicago in a special place in my heart. I know God loves that city more than I do and has great plans for the people there.
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