...back again. Well now that you have the good ol' Slim Shady stuck in your head, let's begin.
Let's be honest, I can't stay away from this city. It's as simple as that. Well I guess it's a little more complex than that, but you get where I'm going.
So I went back and forth in my head trying to decide whether or not to keep updating this since my semester has ended and I decided that since I reactivated my facebook, but never go on there (waste of my life) then I'll keep going on here to inform you social media savvy people what's going on. Or you know, you could text me, that usually works to.
My new point of reference: 3728 Cesar Chavez Street San Francisco, CA 94110
I'm doing an internship with City Crossroads (the after school, recreational youth ministry that is associated with The Outpost Church, where I've been going this past semester and volunteering on Tuesday nights).
So I'm staying at the original church's property (before they moved the service to 6th street), in the Mission/Noe Valley district. Awesome location. I can walk to Ritual, Four Barrel, Phil'z, Tartine, Dolores Park, El Farolito's, Chloe's, Bernal Hill and I'm close to Valencia Street (hipster central) and Mission of course.
I'm living on the top floor with Mandi (she leads the groups for SFMO- San Francisco Missions Outpost, another ministry going on here that Pastor Mike started...this is what Westmont's SBIC comes up on) and our other housemate just got in yesterday from Indiana, his name's Justin, he goes to Anderson University and is going to be the other intern here until the beginning of August. Pastor Mike and Miss Ann live on the second floor and their daughter and son in law live on the bottom floor.
For this internship I'll be mainly focusing on City Crossroads, that is working with the youth that come Mon-Friday afternoons/evenings. The younger kids (K-5) come Tues and Thurs while the older kids (6-college) come Mon, Wed and Fridays. Each night looks different, as some nights are more relaxed and we just focus on hanging out with the youth, establishing relationships with them, while other nights are more structured and we do lessons or bible studies.
I flew back up here May 18th and stayed with my friend Sunny who goes to State for a couple days and celebrated her bday with her. We went and saw the Avengers, ate at the food trucks, got together with her aunt and cousin, ate some amazing fish tacos and just hung out. I moved in here last Sunday after church, amidst the bay to breakers chaos going on (google it if you don't know) and hung out with Mandi, Raymond and Robbie for the majority of the afternoon and evening.
This week has been filled with trips to the food bank, a kindergarten graduation, 5th grade graduation and a high school graduation, then opening for crossroads at night. It's been busy and it's finally sinking in that I'm back here.
It's been so nice being able to focus solely on this ministry rather than work, classes, and the other communities that I had formed. I do miss all of it, but I'm enjoying being able to deepen my relationships with everyone here at Crossroads.
My prayers are that the time I spend here will not be wasted, that I will be stretched in new ways, be a blessing to this ministry in any way that I can, truly practicing the discipline of setting aside time for prayer and just being in God's presence every day, preparing my heart for the semester to come and asking God if this ministry is where I am being called.
I hope you're doing well and that you wake up every morning ready to pursue God.
Just as you continue to breathe and your blood continues to flow, may you pray just as unceasingly.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Jessica Leaves the City (for Now)
I came to San Francisco with my only point of reference being the corner of 6th and Mission. The rest of this city was a blur of buses and turns down nameless streets. However with only a few days into this semester, my mental map began to grow. It grew with each new exploration, each new district, each new bus route, each new walk home, each new step. I know the bus stops of the 21 and the 43 by heart, I recognize the faces and the voices that sit across from me every Monday morning, it’s all become so familiar, so routine. I know that when I wake up David will be in the kitchen grinding coffee or looking out of the window in the parlor. I know that Rachel will soon walk down the stairs 5 minutes before class starts in her sweats and I’ll embrace her with a hug. I know that Katie will have a story for me or suggest a new adventure for the afternoon. I know that I’ll walk into work and Natasha will instantly make me start laughing by the song she’s blaring and her dance moves soon to accompany. I know that I’ll walk through the front door and see Maddie peeking behind her computer, there to greet my arrival. I know that Vroselyn will be sitting in the parlor watching youtube videos, fixing her hair and as I hand her a piece of cake she will loudly proclaim, ‘I am blessed in the city and in the field.’ I know that Kristyn will be around the corner, ready for a hug after her workday. I know that Carter will go to bed at 10:30 and yell at me for giving her a hard time about it. I know that around that time Sheldon will begin to cook up some wild and crazy good concoction. I know that Tia will catapult onto her bed and say ‘good night’. It’s familiar, it’s routine.
It took me a while to recognize the feeling that I became overwhelmed with in this city. The feeling that awakened me, that revived me, that took a hold of me. I couldn’t quite grasp why I felt more at home walking down 6th street, with the strong stench of urine being masked by bleach filling my nose at the turn of the corner, with the profanity being yelled from one corner to the next, with men calling out at me, with graffiti lining buildings and drugs being thrown down out of windows. I feel more at home on this street, than I do at the house I lived in for 20 years. Why do I feel at home in an area strewn with drug addicts and poverty, in an area where I’ve found needles next to playgrounds, where families of six cram into 10x10 rooms? While it may not be clear to many, this street is where I feel God moving. I see Him in DeMarcus, a 6 year old boy who gets on his knees every Sunday and prays for his mom to come to church, I see Him in Tony, a 6 foot 2 black man, that cries his heart out during worship with tears streaming down his face, I see Him in Cameron who moved his family into Section 8 housing to be near the youth in this area, amidst the gun shots outside, I see Him in Gwen who has been clean for 8 days and rejoices in each hour that passes, I see Him in this church filled with folding chairs, muddy shoes and baggy t-shirts more so than I’ve ever seen Him in the church I was raised in, filled with pews and straight ironed clothes.
This city has grasped my heart so tightly I do not believe that it will ever let go. However I don’t have to say goodbye quite yet, just until we meet again, on the corner of 6th and Mission.
It took me a while to recognize the feeling that I became overwhelmed with in this city. The feeling that awakened me, that revived me, that took a hold of me. I couldn’t quite grasp why I felt more at home walking down 6th street, with the strong stench of urine being masked by bleach filling my nose at the turn of the corner, with the profanity being yelled from one corner to the next, with men calling out at me, with graffiti lining buildings and drugs being thrown down out of windows. I feel more at home on this street, than I do at the house I lived in for 20 years. Why do I feel at home in an area strewn with drug addicts and poverty, in an area where I’ve found needles next to playgrounds, where families of six cram into 10x10 rooms? While it may not be clear to many, this street is where I feel God moving. I see Him in DeMarcus, a 6 year old boy who gets on his knees every Sunday and prays for his mom to come to church, I see Him in Tony, a 6 foot 2 black man, that cries his heart out during worship with tears streaming down his face, I see Him in Cameron who moved his family into Section 8 housing to be near the youth in this area, amidst the gun shots outside, I see Him in Gwen who has been clean for 8 days and rejoices in each hour that passes, I see Him in this church filled with folding chairs, muddy shoes and baggy t-shirts more so than I’ve ever seen Him in the church I was raised in, filled with pews and straight ironed clothes.
This city has grasped my heart so tightly I do not believe that it will ever let go. However I don’t have to say goodbye quite yet, just until we meet again, on the corner of 6th and Mission.
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