Officer Bert

Hey friends,

Thought I'd share a quick story from last week. I was sitting at the bus stop waiting to go to work at Spender. The bus seemed to be running slow and I was going to be late.

A police vehicle pulls up and stops next to the bus stop for a red light. The officer rolled down his passenger window and looks at me quizzically and says "Are you okay?". I said I was fine, just waiting for the bus. "But why are you here?" he wanted to know.

Hahaha. Another person thinking I'm crazy or asking for trouble by being in my neighborhood.

I kind of told him the gist of what I'm doing, and then he offered me a ride! Pshyeah!

So at this point I feel pretty cool because since arriving in Chi-town a little over 3 months ago, I've now ridden in a fire truck AND a police car!

Anyway, Bert had a real hard time understanding why I wanted to live in East Garfield Park. I explained that our host church is next door and that they own our house, and that we "live where we work". Bert was still mortified.

Over the course of our five minute conversation, he told me multiple times to be careful. "there's a lot of bad stuff that does on around here". I assured him that I knew there was bad stuff happening on my block, and that I had some street smarts. 

Bert's been in Chicago for over 20 years. So when you think about it, he's used to the whole neighborhood segregation thing, and he's probably not really used to people attempting to break down those walls. As a police officer, he probably only sees the bad things that go on in my part of town. So, it kind of makes sense that he would be hesitant about the idea of a little white girl hanging out on the west side.

I don't know if my living in East Garfield Park is really breaking down any walls or if it's really meaningful to anyone else, but I can say that I'm happy to live here. I'm not just another white person on the north side. I'm trying to live in this community to see half of what it's like for the kids that grow up here and the people who have no choice but to live here. It's more about me learning than anything else. This whole program is about opening yourself up to new things and humbling yourself to a new way of life. If I lived on the north side, I don't really think I would get that to near the extent that I would by living here. As hard as it is for people to see that and respect that, it's where I'm at.

***DISCLAIMER: I don't have anything against nice neighborhoods. In fact, if I did decide to stay in Chicago after YAV, I don't think I would stay in East Garfield Park.  Everyone has a right to choose where they live- where they feel safe, where they can refuel after long days at work. I'm just trying to say that at this point in my life, I'm right where I need to be. In the hood.

Thankful- Part 2

The week of Thanksgiving was pretty wonderful.
Tuesday night I went downtown for the lighting of the big Christmas tree downtown at the Daley Center. My friend Braden from K-State Wesley was in town with his fiancee Lyz and their friends since Lyz was visiting Garrett (seminary in Evanston). So I met up with them and we had lots of fun that night. It was soooo good to see him again and to meet his fiancee. We ended the night at Howl at the Moon, a piano/live music bar. It was tons of fun and I can't wait to go back.

Wednesday rolled around and Linda was going to come up so we could do administrative work for Grace Seeds. However, Linda called that morning and wasn't able to make it due to a flat tire that needed to get fixed ASAP. So, I had the day to myself! (I still had to work of course). I went to the fitness center, cooked lunch, and then went to a cafe to work. Then I went over to a friend's house to check on his chickens while he's gone and I worked some more and did a watercolor! So, I had an introvert day and it was completely wonderful. An unexpected blessing :)

Thursday- Thanksgiving! I went up to cousin Hannah's to have Thanksgiving with her, Aunt Patty, Uncle Steve, Zach & Ashley. Hannah's manager Alaina and her mom also came-it was nice to have guests! Basically I spent the whole weekend with my family and it was sooo fabulous. I felt so very blessed to have a wonderful family that wanted me to hang out with them in Chicago all weekend. Here's some pics:

Grand master turkey carver.

My contribution to the feast!

Patty & Steve brought Corky! She's the cutest.

 

At the Christkindle market.

Lounging at Macy's

CTA has a Christmas train! We didn't get to ride it since we needed the Brown line but it was exciting to see it! Hopefully I'll ride it at some point!

They do lots of fun Christmas lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo!

On Sunday,  I met up with my friend Chelsea near Wrigley Field. We had lunch at a pub reminiscent of our time in Scotland- fish & chips, shepherd's pie and Strongbow! Then we went to a cute old bookstore and a fun clothing store. Megan met up with us and then we went to a Sound of Music Sing Along at Music Box Theatre! They had a costume contest at the beginning and then played the movie and had lots of audience participation. We sat in the front row because we're hardcore. It was so fun!

I almost bought this book just because the title was so....me!

I will give someone a big high five if they can guess what the brown lump is!

This weekend was so refreshing, a much needed breather before holiday busyness! Check back again soon for some cool stories from this week! Until then, thanks for all of your encouragement and prayers!

Thankful- Part 1

Tis the season of gratitude and this girl is finding it very easy to count her blessings. Last weekend, my parents came to town! Friday night they stocked us up on groceries (so very thankful for the extra flexibility in the food budget now!) and we got some amazing tacos at the Bullhead Cantina (if you’re in Chicago, you HAVE to get tacos there. Seriously.) 

The BUILD Office- where I hang out Monday nights

Saturday, we took a driving tour of the neighborhood and I showed them everywhere I go regularly- Spencer, the BUILD office, the library, Aldi, the fitness center, Melody (outreach school)….  And a pleasant surprise while we were out driving---a phone call from brother Aaron who just came back from Afghanistan! 

Then we popped into Garfield Park’s claim to fame- the conservatory. It’s pretty awesome. I think the parental enjoyed that and thought it was neat that our “rough” neighborhood offered something like that to open people’s eyes and maybe even provide some hope for the community.

Allan & Deanna outside the conservatory!

So much beauty. I literally have hundreds of flower pics from the conservatory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we ventured up to Lincoln Square and had lunch with cousin Hannah at Giordanno's!
The only thing that would have made this better would have been a Wildcat victory!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, we came back and dropped the car off, picked up Billy, and headed downtown via the El (elevated train). So mom and pop got the full Chicago experience, lovin that CTA! Anyway, we went up to the 96th floor of the Hancock building and enjoyed some beverages along with the stellar view! 

Funny story- this was all happening the night of the Christmas parade on Michigan Ave. We had dinner plans at 6 pm on Wabash (West of Michigan) and were currently in the Hancock building (on the East side of Michigan). At one point I looked out the window and saw that the street was blocked off for the parade. Problem? Yes. We couldn't get across Michigan without going 3 blocks out of the way to go around the start of the parade route. This made Rissy a little annoyed- the stinkin parade was still at least 30 minutes from starting but we couldn't walk across the empty street. We had to walk 3/4 mile total out of the way. If we were in McPherson for the All Schools Day parade, we could have walked across with no problem- even if the parade were in progress!

So, I was a little grouchy and annoyed that I hadn't planned that out better. We were running late and walking in the 20 degree weather. You may or may not have caught this- but we had to walk around the beginning of the parade route as it was getting ready to start. This means that we got to see all of the awesome parade characters before it started! Here's some photos- be jealous.

I was RIDICULOUSLY excited to see these guys and say hi and take a picture! Mascots make the world a much happier place, in my own (biased) opinion.

 Needless to say my perspective changed pretty quickly. All it took for me to change from grouchy to glowing in a matter of minutes was to see how the Lord turned something I was perceiving as negative into a positive thing (in the form of wonderful Disney friends). Billy, mom, dad and I made it to dinner a few minutes late but it was well worth it. It was now 6:10 pm and we walked into the restauruant to sit down with Linda (my supervisor at Grace Seeds), Rose and Dale (both friends and supporters of Grace Seeds) for dinner. It was really fun to introduce everyone and have conversations about various things. Sadly, I failed to get a picture of us at dinner. Anyway, it was really nice and we're hoping to all get together again if and when the rents come up in 2014!

After that, we had to stop by and see the famous bean!

We did not partake, but had fun watching the ice skaters at Millenium Park!

I really don't get homesick very often. However, in the days leading up to the visit, I realized that I was really looking forward to seeing my parents. It's been interesting to have this big life change without my normal support system right there with me. Even going to college wasn't a huge deal since I was a lot closer to home and had friends going through the same thing. However, the YAV experience has been different. It was so nice to have them here and show them what I've been doing. While they may not be wild about me living in a relatively shady neighborhood, they respect what I'm doing and know that it's all part of the experience. Not only did they merely ask what I've been doing, but they wanted to see everything and learn more about what I've been faced with. It's so nice to know that they care that much.

 

 

 

Because no quality time with my dad would be complete without ice cream :)

Sunday rolled around and we went to Soul City Church at 9 and then next door to First Church of the Brethren at 11. Two very different services, but both are equally important to my life in Chicago. I showed them the garden next door and we picked up some trash- not even making a real dent in the trash after filling up a plastic bag. We played games, went to Target, and then had dinner with Krista and her family. Then we said farewell. Twas such a lovely, blessed visit.

This is only part one of my Thanksgiving season- stay tuned in the next few days to read about what I did on the holiday and more!

All the time

I read something this week that sort of renewed my spirits in dealing with crazy children at Spencer. 

1 Peter 5--- “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them- not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” (v. 2-4).

So God’s flock is under my care. That’s a little intimidating. However, this passage is also comforting to me. I’m doing this year of service out of my own free will “because I am willing, as God wants me to be” so I guess that’s good! Eager to serve, being an example to the flock. I don’t have to be the perfect educator that will lead them to enlightenment. I just have to be an example, a light. That, I can handle. 

However, sometimes even being a light is difficult. Being surrounded by evil and brokenness is sad and frustrating. Many of the kids at Spencer don’t even seem to know the definitions of respect or kindness, let alone how to act those things out. I find myself wondering “How does this happen?” quite often. How could people say these things to each other? Why do 6^th graders know so much about sex and talk about it openly? Whatever caused someone to take another’s life? I have so many questions about how this world came to be so awful. 

Anyway, I got an email forward a few days ago from Carolyn Herren, who is a sweet lady from my home church in Mac. The email was to women from women, encouraging each other and praying for each other. Part of it read “Help her to shine in the darkest places where it is impossible to love. Protect her at all times, lift her up when she needs You the most, and let her know when she walks with You, she will always be safe.”

The piece here that really spoke to me was “shine in the darkest places where it is impossible to love”.  Sometimes, it’s hard to love the people I encounter. The same goes for you and for everyone. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have the strength to get through one more hour of dealing with first grade problems (She took my pencil! He won’t stop messin with me! She keeps lookin at me! He’s talkin about my mama! He won’t share the markers! And on and on and on….) yet somehow, by the grace of God, I always manage to make it through without losing control.

Thursday, my small group and I served a meal at Breakthrough Urban Ministries. It was a pretty fun time preparing the meal with other members from our church, serving the men, and then chatting it up with some of them. The guys there were really cool and I’m looking forward to serving another meal there next month. Two of the three men I talked to had jobs (One had two jobs) but still didn’t have enough to make ends meet. Anyway, they were really cool and we had some good conversations about life and loving people.

Megan and I got a ride home from some of the other volunteers that worked with us and they were mortified that we live in Garfield Park. It was kind of funny actually. The guy, knowing we were fairly new to Chicago, said “let your ignorance be bliss” in reference to our neighborhood. HAHA. I chuckled to myself and Megan said “Oh, we know.” Not that we are Chicago natives or anything, but we do know what goes on in our neighborhood. We know it’s not exactly a “destination” part of Chicago, but it’s a very real part of the city nonetheless. It’s an example of why the world needs more Jesus.

So yesterday the roomies and I went to a morning workshop at Melody, the school we’ve been doing outreach at. We listened to JD talk to some parents about educational rights of homeless students, which was great. Then Megan and I stuck around to hear a guy from UIC talk about nutrition. It was verrryyyyy interesting to see these parents act out some of the same behaviors that I see at Spencer. They were having side conversations, talking back at the presenter, had lots of attitude- you get the idea. To be honest, I guess I should have expected that these kids would only act that way because of their parents, but it was kind of surprising and funny for me to see. It’s also so sad to hear firsthand at how these parents give their kids crappy processed foods all the time. It’s not impossible to eat healthy on a budget, but it seems that there are so many other barriers to a healthy diet here. I haven’t even really identified many of them yet I’m sure.

This morning, I went on an adventure to try out a yoga class in the hood. Long story short, it was in a pretty sketchy part of town (similar to my neighborhood but it seemed extra sketchy due to the cloudy weather and the fact that I hadn’t been to that part of the Austin community before) and I’m not sure if I’ll go back. The class itself was awesome, but I had a couple of encounters walking there and back that could have potentially been dangerous. One thug was trying to scare me, but fortunately I didn’t let him get under my skin and didn’t express any fear so he was like “ah, I just messin wit you”. Although, I’m still sad and don’t want that to dictate the way I live my life. I want to support this yoga class because they’re trying to be a presence in the community and stuff, but don’t want to cause myself any harm in the process. Arg.

Anyway, the Wildcats took on TCU today (the other, less cool purple team in the Big 12) so Billy and I went to Murphy’s again to watch the game. But this time, my lovely bestie Chelsea came down from Evanston to watch it with us! So fun to catch up with her and hang out with other K-Stater’s for a few hours. The game was really good and the atmosphere was even better than last week. It was a really close game and when Cantele kicked a field goal for the win with only seconds left on the clock- WE WENT NUTS. It was awesome. 

My apologies for the random assortment of stories, but those are some highlights from this week. Overall, life is pretty good. I still really need prayers. I still really need encouragement. Life is full of ups and downs here just like always. But hey, God is good all the time. All the time, God is good. (Shoutout to my friends at Highlands! Camp love!)

Hello November!

Guys, it's November. That's crazy. I feel like lately I've been getting into the groove of things in Chicago so that's exciting. A few things have happened lately...

Last Saturday was Grace Seeds' Share the Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration. I put in some extra hours preparing for the event, which went off really well. I even brushed up on my sign language and led the group in a sign language litany. It was really fun to practice ASL again and a nice reminder of embracing other cultures. It's just a beautiful language. Anyway, the event went very well. It was nice to meet more of the Grace Seeds community face to face!

Last week was Halloween (in case you didn't know) so Ms. D and I had a little fun dressing up.

In Art that day some of the younger kids made little Halloween collages by cutting construction paper into pumpkins and ghosts and such. One little cutie named Markell gave his picture to Ms D at the end of the day, while all the other kids took theirs home. (His picture is actually on the board behind me in the picture) I ran out into the hall after class thinking that Markell had forgotten his artwork, but Ms D told me he was giving it to her. After school that day, Ms D said that he always gives her his work because it doesn't get appreciated at home. :( It broke my heart to think of how excited I was as a kid to see my family gush over my creations, while poor little Markell doesn't get any appreciation for his artwork whatsoever. Soooo sad.

Then Tuesday, Markell was so sweet to me and gave me like three hugs. One of which was very much needed after dealing with a bratty child. But that's another story.

Back to Halloween. I didn't really do anything super exciting for Halloween. People watched at a bar to see some fun costumes. But Halloween night I had my small group through Soul City Church so that was fun. Our group is small but going very well. I'm so glad for the fellowship and accountability that it provides me.

Yesterday was a fun day, I was finally able to watch a full K-State football game at an alumni bar in Chicago. Billy went with me since he loves me (not really) and loves football (really) so it was fun to have company. And the Wildcats kicked some Red Raider tail, so that was also great! It was really fun to watch the game with some fellow K-Staters, sing the fight song, and all that. I'm excited to go back again next week hopefully!

After Billy and I walked around for a little bit, I went up to see my cousin Hannah in Lincoln Square again. We got ice cream (it had been far too long since I'd had my favorite treat) and then went shopping for a friend's birthday dinner. We went over to her friend's house which was very fun although I felt a little bit out of place. They were all so classy with their sweaters and boots, wine and cheese, and other fancy appetizers. I was wearing a K-State t-shirt and tennies. It's just very interesting to live where I live (in a very impoverished, "sketchy" part of town) and then to go and hang out with people from middle class society that never have to worry about where their next meal is coming from or whether they'll get offered drugs every time they step outside of their homes. That's an interesting part of life for me as I go through this year and balance what feels like my two different lives.

The bar was right by Wrigley Field, here is a statue
of the famous announcer Harry Caray.

Anywho, today was a fun day so far. Megan had friends in town this weekend which was exciting so we all went to church together this morning. After coming back, I went to the church next door at the end of service to say hi to some people. I got to listen to Duane give a mini piano lesson to some little kids. It was precious. Then I watched part of the bears/lions game (we lost, so sad) and napped at the same time. Yes, I am a middle-aged man, thank you very much. Now it's off to downtown to get some art supplies and do other fun things! Adios my friends, take care!

My Cup Runneth Over

Friends, life is good today. Well it's good all the time but today just feels extra great.

So, I was at Spencer today and actually had a really awesome day. Definitely the best one yet.

First, we had our split 6th grade class. most of the kids are pretty good, but I've been pairing up with Antoine the last few times since he needs a little more attention. Today we were finishing up poems made up words clipped out of magazines. Little Antoine has a very short attention span and got distracted several times throughout class, but he did make a nice little poem called "America Speaks". So that may have been a magazine headline, but it's still cool. He made an interesting little poem about our nation and wealth. I'm frustrated that I can't remember more of it now, but I was really proud of him. He could have made much more progress, but we're all about baby steps.

The next class was a full-size class of crazy little adorable first graders. As the kiddos started walking into class, several of them came up to me and hugged me. Ah, so precious. And one girl even said "You look pretty, Miss Clarissa!" Either she's learned to suck up from an early age or she's just precious. I'm thinking the latter. Anyway, poor little Montrell was having a rough time (crying under the table). So I asked what was wrong and he was just so upset that he couldn't draw a star. I coaxed him out from his hiding place and taught him how to draw a 5 pointed star just like my mommy taught me (thanks Mom!). He was soooo excited. Then little Montavius next to him wanted to be cool too (draw a star) so I taught him too. He was really good at it and just smiled so big when he got it. And he gave me two high-fives. It was so adorable, melted my heart.

The third grade class was a little rough, but ok. Nothing real notable to say about them today. Then the 4th graders came in to paper meche their masks. I guess last week I must have miraculously made an impression on this kid Demeon (dee-me-on) because he came in all grouchy and then got really excited when he saw me. WHAT. It was pretty cool. And he even made me something special (my first little handmade token from a student).  I have no idea what he was trying to do, he probably just glued some scraps together and called it awesome. But hey, it made me happy!

Lastly, I came home to the most wonderful care package from my parentals (warm clothes, yay!) and the lovely Linda Heidebrecht. It's just so great to have ya'll as cheerleaders. Even when I felt like a good day at Spencer was never going to happen, you still reassured me that I am making a difference. It's still hard to believe sometimes, but today was such great evidence that these kids actually do give a rip.

Thanks for all your love, support and prayers! May you all have little glimmers of hope today as I did!

Fall Fun

I’d say it’s high time for another fun post. If you’re friends with me on Facebook, you may have already seen some of these things but I’m going to tell more here!

So Last Friday (1 ½ weeks ago) our morning service appointment for community day cancelled at the last minute so we had nothing to do until outreach at the school that afternoon. So we went to the apple orchard! So many kinds of apples! So much fun.

    

Later that day, we did outreach at Melody like we do every week. At the end of the day, I walked back to meet the others. I walked by some firemen and started talking with them. They were super cool and nice and awesome. They offered for us to come by the station any time we wanted. Then they offered to give us a ride home. Hmm, we’ll have to think about that. Um, YES. Here’s photographic evidence of Billy climbing in and me being ridiculously, embarrassingly excited. 

That night, Billy and I ventured up to Lincoln Square to see Ms. D’s art pieces in a show and to also see cousin Hannah (Ms. D is the art teacher I assist at Spencer). Here’s some photos from that fun night.

Hannah said she would help me carve this and then I ended up doing nearly all of it. And I didn't feel like giving him another ear so here it is.

   

Now came the weekend of the Chicago Marathon. Many of you know Jackie Bohnenblust, who has been a long time friend and member of my home church in McPherson. She was also my teacher for 3 years! Jackie came into town with her daughter, Kristin, who was running in the marathon. After getting slightly lost getting off the train, I found her and we went on a boat tour highlighting Chicago’s architecture. It was super awesome.  

   

   

On my way back to the train, I stopped to take some pictures of the Flamingo Sculpture. I walk by it all the time but this time I got to really experience it.

  

Saturday night we had roomie bonding. We made pancakes for dinner and played 3 games. Megan won all 3 of them :(

Then came Sunday, marathon day! Megan and I went down to the UIC area to get a taste of the event and hopefully see either Hannah or Kristin.

   

I think there was something like 45,000 people that ran in the marathon. I had no idea 45,000 people in the world even wanted to run in a marathon. Let alone just the 2013 Chicago Marathon. As you can kind of tell in the pictures, it’s pretty intense and crowded. I was scanning faces like nobody’s business hoping to find Hannah or Kristin. Kristin had already passed, but I was determined to spot Hannah. I was scanning away, and at last, I spotted her! The adrenaline hit me and I probably looked like an idiot running after her yelling “Hannah! Hannah!”. I was super excited. Here she is at the 17 mile mark- doesn’t she look amazing for having run that far already?! So proud of her!

That’s all for now, amigos! Take care!