the story.

finding life, a photo by alessa.mary on Flickr.

Someone shared with me recently that they have nothing to share, nothing to offer the world, nothing to hold onto or take pride in.His words spoke louder than what he was saying. What he said was, “I have nothing to share” — but his words revealed that the innermost part of his heart, coupled with the lonely look in his eye, was in reality whispering  “I am nothing”.

But the truth is, everyone has their story to share.

Yours will be radically different from mine, perhaps so dissimilar that it will take a while for me to comprehend, or perhaps I will never comprehend the heights and depths to which your life has brought you.

And your story may also capture in it pieces so akin to mine, so vividly similar, that for brief moments we remain connected in their silent realities.

The beauty of a story, particularly your own, is that it constantly builds and remains undoubtedly intricate — with you as the story-teller highlighting precisely the pieces to leave those to whom you share it with a longing to know more, to understand more completely.

To journey with you a bit further through the gift each one of your words.

Our stories are bigger than we are.

They can travel farther than we can. They can speak louder than us. They bind us to one another while simultaneously breaking the chains that hold us captive.

So tell your story; weave your heart into the hearts of those around you and find freedom from all that has chained you in the overwhelming silence. And when those surrounding you so boldly speak out their own, cherish their story as your own, hold it close, accept it as an irreplaceable and transformative gift, a piece of freedom, a glimpse into beauty.

Letting go

“Dear God,I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?Please help me to gradually open my hands and to discover that I am not what I own, but what you want to give me.”

– Henri Nouwen

One week of Wonders…

 

Wow! What an incredible week it has been. I have experienced some of the most raw and authentic moments of the summer in this place. Here are these amazing moments, in small pieces, which I welcome you to inquire about in more detail if you are intrigued…

– Scott from Scotland randomly walking into our campsite in Monterey, CA. He was going to meet us on Friday, he thought it was Wednesday, it was actually Friday. Amazing.

– 6 Hours in the car with Micah — hearing and telling life stories and realizing the significant of Bacon & Eggs in my life. Hilarious.

– In a brief moment before falling asleep in the open air thinking “rattlesnakes?” then inescapably falling asleep anyways.

– Unplanned but incredible dance-mob during Gogol Bordello. It started with 3 (Alessa, Dave & Sarah) and turned into hundreds, including a young girl with a fake moustache.

– Carnival Rides. Enough Said.

– Cotton Candy on the Ferris Wheel with Dave & Sarah, our excitement for Mumford & Sons building.

– Mumford & Sons. live. in a horse corral. under the stars.

– Dancing until I could hardly move to ‘The Very Best’, in the darkness, with my favorite people.

– Watching Jesse dance his heart out.

– Driving past an owl sitting in the left-lane of the highway, in the middle of the night. He was there and gone in the flash of the headlights.

– Sleeping in the van.

– Invitations to celebrate life.

– Meeting 2 of my new classmates AND roommates Sajira & Shannon!! Oh boy!

– Adopting the nickname of Wanderer…

– Sending off my new friend Lynette to participate in the WorldRace (check out her blog to the right)

– Finding a small gecko on my bed, letting him out the window then waking up to find him perched and watching me in the morning.

– Feeling completely at peace within the moment.

– Having a sleepover at my former house in Pasadena after being away for 2 nights. Brilliant!

– Discovering a cockroach in the kitchen — a small picture of life to come.

Until next time, yours truly – the freckled wanderer.

Harambee

Thursday, Friday and Saturday I volunteered to help cleanup Harambee Preparatory School. Harambee Ministries has extensive programing, including a community garden, pre-school, Prep school, summer camps and internship program.

Along with an array members from 4 community groups from a church called Reality LA, I was able to contribute to the deep-cleaning, carpet replacement, yard clean up and set-up of all the classrooms and spaces, just in time for the beginning of the new school year. Harlen, the school’s new Executive Director talked about how this 3 day clean up has helped in his own transition to Executive Director, and will be a nice welcome for the completely new set of teachers and students who will begin classes shortly.

To give you some history, Harambee Ministries was established over 30 years ago by John Perkins (author of ‘With Justice for All’ – read it) who stepped into the neighbourhood to bring a movement with the aim of raising up young leaders to take ownership in their neighbourhood and bring about radical transformation.

John Perkins bought a house on the corner of, what was then considered, one of the most dangerous streets in the greater LA area, nicknamed ‘blood corner’ because of the frequency of drive-by’s and drug deals gone bad. The house was sandwiched between a crack house and the home of the most notorious drug-dealer in Pasadena. A group of dedicated individuals moved into this house and laid the foundation for the radical changes that have taken place in this 12-block radius.

Through John’s practical application of his theory of Relocation, Reconciliation and Redistribution, the Harambee Prep School was established as a place to grow indigenous (to the neighbourhood) leaders, who in turn will stay in the neighbourhood and bring light and Christ-centered leadership to their peers. What a beautiful picture of a community-based action, which is growing urban leaders to transform their own spaces.

Here is a practical example of the type of movement I will be studying and facilitating in the MATUL program. I am overjoyed to play a part in the legacy of John Perkins, and even more in the reconciling work of Christ in this place.

This is a movement of coming together to push forward, which is precisely what Harambee means in Swahili.

May this movement of transformative urban ministry continue in the depths…