Ashley Pharis
Keepin' it REAL with Mission Year
My name is Ashley Pharis, I’m 23 years old from Goshen, Indiana. After graduating from college with a degree in Speech Pathology, I decided that I wanted to take some time out to volunteer my time and services to underprviliged communities before going onto grad school. After a year of working and applying to various organizations (mainly African orphanages) I randomly find myself headed to Chicago to serve in the inner city (not my original intentions/desire/area AT ALL). But when a random acquaintence (now friend) told me about his year volunteering with Mission Year, I thought I’d check it out because it seemed to align very closely with my ideals and how I want to live out my faith and love for others. And now, here I am, two weeks away from moving to “the Windy City” with a complete peace about starting this new adventure in understanding poverty/social injustices/etc. I am so excited to get started and get my hands and feet dirty in the messy business of loving and serving people exactly where they are at.
About Mission Year
Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of young people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. Learn more about our first year program…
Ashley Pharis's Blog
Change is a GREAT thing!! Ashley's LONG Overdue Update! / Dec 14, 12:09 AM
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” ~Seneca, Roman philosopherHello dear Family and Friends,
I again have failed to keep you all up to date with my life and ministry….as SO MUCH has happened since I last wrote! Some changes have been in the works for a while now, some just very recent and unexpected!! All very exciting! I will share the changes in chronological order :)
——-CONTINUING WITH MISSION YEAR—————————————————————————
As many of you know, when I initially started with Mission Year on staff as a recruiter, I only committed to working for a year in this role. I was looking forward to using this year to transition out of my time as a volunteer, gain experience professionally, but also to discern my future as I considered possible Graduate School and vocation options.
But as I got into the thick of this job, traveling and making significant connections all over the country, I realized it may be beneficial to Mission Year to continue with the work I’ve begun. As I prayed about it, I really felt like I wanted to honor this organization by continuing on with them and really put my full efforts into another year with the groundwork I’ve laid out as a recruiter. So I am committed to one more year as a recruiter, to reaching out to young people who are looking for a way to live out their faith in a radical way as Jesus called us to do. Thanks for your support in all of this, it is greatly appreciated! Please check my webpage for updates, how you can give financially as I am still fund-raising for Mission Year (and we are in MUCH need these days!)
http://missionyear.org/blog/ashleypharis/
FYI: ALL DONATIONS GIVEN IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER WILL BE MATCHED BY A GRANT WE RECENTLY RECEIVED!! So if you feel lead to give, your money will be doubled and invested into the lives our in-need communities, neighbors and team-members who are struggling to raise funds in this economy!! Good news!
——-I MOVED TO ATLANTA!————————————————————————————————
This past January my boss randomly asked me if I’d be willing to move to Atlanta. I remember that day very clearly because it was the coldest day in Chicago in 10 years so I immediately said “Yes!” As I thought about it more, I realized how much I had grown to really LOVE Chicago, it had become my home. But after many months of prayer and reflection, I realized I was ready for a change. Even though I wanted to stay in Chicago, God had prepared my heart for change so I was willing.
Now, here I am, 5 months into living in Atlanta…and so far so good! It’s warmer, people move slower, and the tea is sweeter. How can I complain about that? I am really enjoying working in the Mission Year headquarter office with my new boss Sarah Quezada and Mission Year President Leroy Barber. Until recently (November 28th to be specifc, wink) in Historic Washington Park Neighborhood, right across the street from the high school were Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gladys Knight attended! And thought I miss Chicago, I am seeing signs of poverty in Atlanta like I have never seen before, but there is Hope in the midst and that is exciting!
——-I GOT ENGAGED + MARRIED!!!!———————————————————————————
Well this is probably the biggest news and I’m hoping that most of you have already heard :) But if not, take a look at our website to get the whole story!! http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/AshleyPharis&MikeNienaber
It’s been a pretty amazing ride, and the whole way I’ve been amazed at God’s faithfulness and great love like I’ve never experienced it before. And I have to recognize Mission Year in this, because if it wasn’t for Mission Year, I might not have met my husband who did Mission Year in Chicago 5 years ago! His name is Mike Nienaber (pronounced knee-neighbor), he is originally from Seattle and he is the most friendly, upbeat, adventurous, servant-hearted and sweet man after God’s own heart that I’ve ever met!! We got married 2 weeks ago in Indiana, and are now living in South Atlanta in a little fixer-upper home that God placed in our path, and we are so excited about learning how to continue living out our faith intentionally now as partners and best friends! And we’d love to have visitors so please let us know if you’re in the area or need a vacation to HOTlanta!
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So there’s the update. I pray a peaceful, restful holiday season for all of you as you continue to press into the meaning of Christmas, Jesus, to find rest for your soul in this busy time. Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
God’s love and peace, Ashley “Pharis” Nienaber
God of the Pimps and Prostitutes / Oct 5, 10:05 PM
Last night was a dreary night, one that forces you to sit on the couch for hours (no complaints here!) flipping through the channels looking for any decent movie you can find. I settled on Hustle and Flow.
The movie itself is raw and graphic at times, following the story of a pimp, his business and his hopes to become a rapper. Not one you’d sit down on Sunday night to watch with Grandma. But there was a scene in particular that stood out to me.
D-Jay is the main character of the movie, a pimp. He is doing his rounds with Nola who he calls his “main investment” because she is the most in-demand girl with all his customers. In the scene, Nola gets out of D-Jay’s car as another car pulls up. She gets into the other car. There are flashes of Nola in the back of the car with a man, then quickly she gets back into the car with D-Jay.
It is clear she is rattled by the experience, even as an experienced prostitute. D-Jay can tell something is wrong, so he prods a little. After a moment, with the surprising innocence one would see in a kindergartner, she explains she wished she had something she was good at. She wishes there was more to her than sleeping with men. D-Jay immediately responds by feeding her these lines, convincing her she has the power in this industry, she is talented and in control. All the men want her. That they are a team and he wouldn’t be anything without her.
Manipulation. Lines that offer false comfort, power, encouragement. Lies. No one to tell her Truth, to tell her there is more to her than just being pretty and good in bed. That she is beautiful inside and out and that there is a better plan for her than she could EVER imagine. More than D-Jay could even offer himself.
A friend of mine doesn’t like movies like Hustle and Flow, because, if you’ve seen it you might agree with me that by the end of the movie, you may have sympathy for D-Jay. You might identify with D-Jay’s story of overcoming obstacles to make his dream come true. D-Jay, a pimp. D-Jay a guy who makes a living by exploiting women, by convincing them to sell their bodies to men they don’t know, and then give him some of the money they got paid to have sex.
The crazy thing is, we serve a God who loves the D-Jays in this world. Who gave His life for D-Jay. For Nola. For you. For me.
I’m working on figuring out what can I do to show this pure form of God’s love to the D-Jays and Nolas in our world, our city, our neighborhood. Those who need to hear Truth and Hope from someone because they don’t hear it from anyone else anymore.
Let’s find the D-Jays and the Nolas, ask them their name and go from there.
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The waters have grown... / Oct 16, 03:15 PM
Come gather round people wherever you roam, And admit that the waters around you have grown, And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone, If your time to you is worth saving, And you better stop swimming or you’ll sink like a stone, Oh the times they are a-changing
~Bob Dylan
I had the amazing gift of spending the whole month of August relaxing, resting, and visiting long-missed friends and family. And in the few and far spaces between, I attempted to piece back together my life in ‘the real world’ with this big, wonderful, dirty mess of the last year of my life staring me in the face. And when I looked back at it, I realized how profoundly my perspective—the way I think, act, respond, judge— has changed (or is in the process of changing) in just one year. My world, the water in which I swim, has grown larger and choppier than I feel I can handle at times. I have come to see so much hurt and unfairness that I don’t really know what to do with it. I wonder often, has there always been this much hurt in the world or have times really changed that much? Jesus did say it himself, “The poor will always be among us.” I’ve found myself wondering, is it really worth it to try to change anything? Can we really bring about POSITIVE change? When I get into these moods, when I see the world as a glass that is barely half empty, I tend to see everything extremely large and looming. SOCIAL INJUSTICE. RACISM. CLASSISM. POVERTY. HUNGER. VIOLENCE. CORRUPTION. HATRED. INDIFFERENCE. How on Earth can we begin to create Heaven on Earth as Jesus taught us to pray for in the Lord’s Prayer when we are up against these giants?
A week or so ago I got caught up in one of these moments and just broke down. I began crying, thinking of it all. Where is God? Where is this Good God that I want to hold fast to in all this? As I settled down a bit, I took a moment and spoke to God, telling him that I would give Him the next five minutes. I would meditate on Him and in that time I asked that He give me some sort of reprieve, some sort of sign that everything is OK, He is there and is working it out to make the world a better place like He’s supposed to (I don’t know how doctrinally or theologically sound this is, but hey, I gotta be real with Him). I was so serious I even set a timer. Within the first 30 seconds, I was balling. It escalated and utterly uncontrollable sobs racked my body for the next 5 minutes. Then DING, the timer went off. “What? That’s it?” I thought. No God, no Good God would leave me hanging like that! I felt frustrated, abandoned. And then it hit me. That is how God feels. He is crying out there, balling, heart-broken and wrecked at the thought of us down here suffering, hurting, dying, hating. I know it. In that moment I realized the very act of crying out for the woes of this world was just a glimpse, a small moment of divine intimacy with God above. He was revealing to me His heart for the hurting.
I am realizing, yes, as long as I continue to follow the path Jesus has called us to, these waters of injustice will continue to be large and the waves will keep coming, but I want to stay in this place of struggle as long as I need to, to continue to know God’s heart. I will try not to fight it, try not to swim against it and retreat to the comfortable place away from the pain, but I hope that along the way He will give me the strength and guidance to work towards change. And that, while I am drenched to the bone in this struggle, Hope will come. Let us all pray that Hope will come.
We Made the NEWS!! / Jul 18, 02:27 PM
Earlier this spring I wrote about a series of Prayer Marches in North Lawndale I helped my supervisor Stanley Ratliff organize with local churches in response to the increase in gun violence this year. Well they have been in full swing, although the turn-outs have waxed and waned each time. We’d been working to get more police involvement in order to help bridge the emotional divide between residents and police officers in our neighborhood (there is much resentment towards the police in North Lawndale, a lot of perceived corruption on the cops’ end especially after a young African American male was shot in the back and killed by a police officer last August).
Well, when we showed up to the March at the sponsoring church (St. Agatha’s) this past Saturday, I was surprised to see several fully-dressed police officers. I approached them and thanked them profusely for their participation in the Peace Prayer March. Then I started noticing cameras and news crews. I was getting excited…our moment of glory had come!! Well….not really. Come to find out, a priest connected with St. Agatha’s had some connections and was trying to get the Mayor of Chicago to come out for the event. Well, he never showed, but the Chicago Police Department got wind of the event, and given the timing and the heat that the new Superintendent Jody Weiss has gotten for rising gun violence this summer, they saw this as the perfect opportunity for a publicity stunt to boost morale.
After realizing this, I was so angry, seeing how the police were merely using us to win favor in the public eye rather than actually WANTING to participate and show their support for the marches after we’d been on them for MONTHS to come out. And the way the news reported the event made it sound like Jody Weiss was a knight in shining armor riding in to save the day (never once did they mention St. Agatha’s, any of the organizers or any of the other marches that have been going on—-in fact the story quoted that Weiss “lead the march”!! see video clip here http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6261143).
But when it came down to it, we had a very strong showing of police officers on foot, bike, cars and segue ways, including several district commanders of the Police Department, at least 25, who marched the whole route with us. So the residents saw them. And that’s what we wanted from the beginning. Even if their intentions weren’t pure. So I’m realizing, as an activist, I have to get used to the politics. Like my Dad advised me recently, “Ashley, you have to learn to play the ‘game’.” I know what he’s saying, but I’m just not sure how much or if I’m willing to compromise my morals for the rules of this ‘game’.
I will let you know if the Superintendent or any other police show up at the next march. But don’t hold your breath.
