Welcome to Chicagoland!

Me, Megan and Billy on the front steps of our new home!

Dear friends, I’ve been in Chicago for a week now and it’s been great! I apologize in advance for the fact that this blog post may be extra long- but an epic week deserves an epic post, right? I’ll break it down for you:

Rest of orientation: Awesome. The later part of the week was much more relaxing (still busy but we had a little more down time). I was able to dip my feet in the Hudson River, walk through a prayer labyrinth, and visit the pigs at Stony Point Center! Sunday morning we were split into small groups for commissioning at area congregations. I went with Spencer (Peru) and Alex (New Orleans) to a small church along the river, and it was AWESOME. There were about 26 people there but they were so kind and generous, and we had a great time.

People I will be referring to: Megan & Billy- my 2 housemates! Megan is 24 from Hugo, Oklahoma and Billy is 25 from Atlanta.  Krista- my site coordinator. MVSer’s: Mennonite Voluntary Service volunteers: there are 4 young adults volunteering in Chicago for the year that are from the MVS program- we did some orientation with them.

Monday: Megan and I had to leave Stony Point at 2:30 am for our 6:10 flight from Newark to Chicago. I decided to not even go to bed. We were pretty busy through later in the evening, and a lot of people were hanging out, playing music, and talking so I decided to mingle since I wouldn’t see these people for another year! Anyway, we arrived at our new home by 8 am local time, chose our rooms, and I took a 2 ½ hour nap. We relaxed that day and then went to Lou Malnati’s (a famous local pizza place) for dinner. Billy arrived that evening after a miserable 7 hour layover in Detroit.

A view of the First Church of the Brethren from our front steps.

Tuesday: Chicago 101. The MVSer’s and YAVs got together and Krista led us through a map exercise of navigating the city. We had a giant street map and a slightly smaller map with all of the transportation routes of the L (trains) and buses. Then we were paired off and sent on a scavenger hunt around the city. I was paired up with Nathan, an MVS from Pennsylvania. We went downtown to the historic water tower (really cool!), to the Mexican Cultural Art Center in Pilsen, and a couple of other places. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures since I didn’t have my camera that day.

Wednesday: We began by touring the Garfield Park neighborhood where we reside. It’s very interesting to learn about. Here are some observations: People really like to sit out on their front porches, which I love. There are lots of drugs here. Poverty is very real. Trash is everywhere. I am definitely in the minority here (being white). Those are just a few… Anyway, after the tour, we drove down to a suburb to meet with one of my site placements- Grace Seeds! Linda, my supervisor, was bringing vegetables to a small food pantry in a local church and we were able to help her out a bit. We all sat down and talked about the mission of Grace Seeds, what they do, and why it’s relevant. Then we helped pick some vegetables! Then Linda took me out to lunch and we visited some about what I can do in the first couple of weeks to get my feet wet while she is moving her parents here to Chicago! I'm really excited to begin working for them and learning about community gardens in the city!

Then us YAVs met with Rev Ladonna, who is the pastor at First Brethren Church, next door to us. We talked more about the neighborhood and the congregation and what the church does. Finally, us YAVs sat down with Krista and went over a covenant, expectations, etc about living in an intentional community. I think it will be a great year! If you want to learn more about this community, let me know!

Thursday the 3 of us YAVs went to the United Church of Rogers Park and helped Selena from the Ibeji organization. They teach sewing and cooking classes to women and strive to help them become more self-sufficient. Megan and I took an inventory of pillows they had made and wrote descriptions for each one so they can sell them online. Billy helped Selena with computer stuff. Then we ventured down to Pilsen and hung out with MVSer’s a bit. Andrea came and talked with us about street smarts. Then we had supper with the MVS’ers and their alumni. Interestingly enough, a lot of those alums are still in Chicago! And a lot are from Kansas too! One was even a K-Stater :)

Friday! The 3 YAVs and Krista went over to Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy which is right by our house! We arrived at 8 and helped supervise students outside before they could come into the building. This school has grades K-8 and I saw one white student the entire morning. I was walking around watching the students interact with each other, and I talked to a few of them. I can’t really describe it, but I just felt so inadequate. These kids are tough, man. Then I went inside to a kindergarten classroom and was amazed that only one kid cried for the 2 ½ hours that I was there. The teacher was mean! No wonder the older kids were so intimidating to me- they have to be tough to put up with these teachers! Anyway, those little kindergarteners were absolutely precious. If you ever want to have a higher self-esteem, just go hang out with little kids. They just love and love. It makes me happy. I was alarmed to find that this classroom had TWENTY SEVEN KINDERGARTNERS!!! In case you didn’t hear, Chicago closed 50 public schools this year. The result? Very crowded classrooms, very stressed teachers, kids that have to cross gang territories to get to school. Those are just a few of the results that I’ve seen- and they’re just on the surface.

In the midst of feeling sad and inadequate, however, I got some encouragement from my devo! Here’s a snapshot of it: “Anticipate coming face to face with impossibilities: situations totally beyond your ability to handle. This awareness of your inadequacy is not something you should try to evade. It is precisely where I want you- the best place to encounter Me in My Glory and Power.” What an interesting shift in perspective- I kept thinking I had to be this noble, awesome volunteer who could jump in and immediately influence someone’s life. Nope! Being aware of my weaknesses and fears is a sign of humility- and we all know how the Lord loves humility! There’s also a really nice chapter about this in Love Does but I’ll spare you another example.

A picture of the Mac Arthur's buffett (I stole this from Google shh)

More Friday- We met up with MVSer’s at Mac Arthur’s, a famous local soul food restaurant. Lots of famous people have eaten there- including Kanye West, Shaq, and President Obama! I had catfish, corn and sweet potatoes- mmm!

After being stuffed, we went on a van tour of Chicago’s west and south side neighborhoods. It was really interesting to look at the people and stores in the various neighborhoods. The tour guide brought up an interesting point as we drove through one of the low-income neighborhoods. Many of the stores there aren’t things we usually see in middle class Kansas. There aren’t any department stores or Wal-Marts. Some places don’t even have thrift stores. Whatever clothing shops you do see have skimpy or casual clothes that aren’t appropriate to wear at a professional job. What does one do if they don’t have transportation, a resume, or even clothes to wear to a job interview? Do you think they’ll get that job? Thus, the cycle continues.

After the tour, we met with JD from Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. He gave us an introductory presentation on homelessness and what the coalition is doing to fight it. We’re going to be working with him in future weeks talking to people in our neighborhood and learning more about the issues that specific people are facing. It’s a little intimidating to think about striking up a conversation with a random person, asking them personal questions, but we’ll get more help with that when the time comes.

I think that’s all I will cover for this post- but check back again soon for updates on what I’ve been doing for fun in this new place!

P.S. Interesting fact- there are lots of murals around Chicago! This one is painted on the side of our house. Comment with a guess as to what it means!