Where did the time go? let’s catch up
Last time checked, I was heading home back to Michigan after
completing my first year of service in Atlanta with Mercy Community Church and Wilderness
Works. Both internship experiences changed my life like nothing else has before;
I’ll come back to those in future blogs (I promise). I got back in Atlanta about two weeks ago to
find that my community of one had expanded to a community of 6. Our mission house in the neighborhood of Grant
Park in Atlanta is set up for seven YAV’s, but there were only 2 of us last
year. As you can imagine it was a little overwhelming when we were all in the
kitchen at once for the first time, things were moved and out of place and I felt
like a new comer. However I have come really appreciate the presence of my
housemates and their new approach to doing things in “our” home.
Sometimes it’s the simple
things, like sitting on the porch and having dinner together. Last year I walked
past that porch on a daily bases, only stopping to get the mail. We had our
first community dinner on our porch, dishes were passed along with stories of
our day and where we saw God a little differently that day. I don’t know if you
can tell, but I’m excited for this New Year and the new challenges and opportunities
that come with living in community. Last year, I would somewhat rail against
community to be honest. I would say things like “I came to help people, not to
sin in a meeting for two hours to talk about whether or not we can recycle
pizza boxes”, knowing that community is a big part of our program. I’m learning
that community can be beautiful, yes we have had long convos about paper towel;
but that didn’t kill me. This is going to be a journey as we continue to endeavor
in writing out our covenant which is our intentional agreement on how we want to
live and engage with one another as a community. I am happy to have you along
with me on this journey. I welcome you to ask questions and comment, we are in
this together and you are part of my community also.
Grace and peace,
Justin Chambers
