July newsletter

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” ~Isaiah 55:10-11


Greetings! Thank you for staying with me through these long months.

I appreciate all of the support you have shown me this year through financial donations, letters, packages and phone calls. I cannot thank you enough for all the ways you have encouraged and uplifted me during this difficult year.

You know, I wanted to do a good job for all of you who love me and believe in me enough to spend your time and money on a cause I find important. I also wanted to do a great job for God, to come to the inner city and make His presence (and mine as well) known in substantial and tangible ways.

But then a funny thing happened. I found out that God was already here.

One day last month as I was walking down the street in San Francisco, I passed a disheveled woman on the street holding a styrofoam cup that contained a few coins. I stopped for a minute to talk with her and saw that she was holding a small bible and reading out of Isaiah.

When I asked her about it, she said, “Oh, yeah, Isaiah’s my man! That’s my favorite book.”

(Needless to say, I was impressed. I find the prophecies in Isaiah unintelligible, at best.)

You know, I thought I’d be bringing God’s Word with me into the city, but I found that it is already living and breathing right here.

I was also surprised to find our apartment complex so, well, functional. When we had our block party last month, neighbors did everything from bringing food to contribute to lending us a grill and then helping us figure out how to use it. They sporadically bring us interesting dishes from their respective cultures and constantly band together to celebrate events in each others’ lives.

You know, I thought I would be bringing true community into the city, but I found that it already exists here.

And some of you know how trying this year has been for me, how quiet God has remained, how I have struggled to live in the structure of this program. And yet even in the darkest times, God eventually showed up and pulled me through (sometimes waiting until just the last minute). Most of the time He showed up through one of you or in the person of someone here.

I have seen Him most frequently not in other Christians in my circle of support here, but in very unlikely places, namely the homeless men whose feet I cared for and the first-graders I worked with. Some of the homeless men I know like to take time from their days to tell me how good God has been to them, even as they face another night on the street or in the rain or downstairs in our lice-infested shelter. Others of them just take a moment to tell me how much it means that I work on their stinky ol’ feet. My first graders loved on me by throwing their little arms around my waist, following me as I walked across the playground and drawing me all sorts of pictures.

You know, I thought I’d be bringing Jesus into the city, but it looks like He has been here for awhile.

And so I am sorry to report that my ministry here, what I thought would be quantifiable and bring tangible results, has left me with little visible to show for all my hard work. I didn’t baptize anyone or convert any drug dealers. I didn’t teach an illiterate adult to read. I didn’t find permanent shelter for a homeless person, and only about three of the guys in the rehab program at CityTeam who were there in September are still working on their recovery.

No, all I have is hope that the things I did here have shown God’s love and served His purpose and perhaps increased the Shalom in the world. I can tell you, though, that my roommates and I have provided attention for the kids who live in our apartment complex, in particular a four-year-old whose Mom works nights and leaves her daughter alone to run free and curses at her incessantly. I also believe that Mrs. Buljko, the first grade teacher who I assisted twice a week, benefitted from my time in her classroom. Juggling work and two children while taking college classes left her pretty worn out; she always loved to tell me how “Only God had brought me to her.” I believe it’s true. I have also made it my personal crusade to love extravagantly and encourage mercilessly the women with whom I share this small apartment. And I think I’ve done a pretty good job.

So let’s hope that out in Oakland somewhere tonight there is a homeless man with cleaner feet, a child who has seen love and perhaps can read a little better and a tired woman who has been given the special gift of seeing God at work in her life as well as the visible manifestations of God’s word, loving community and the Spirit of Jesus that already exist here.

It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting to accomplish, but I trust that it’s enough.

On August 2 that I will be moving back in with my parents while I look for a job (if you know of any openings at nonprofits in Texas, let me know). My email will remain the same.

Love to you all