Eason
Welcome
Hi! We are the Easons and we are excited you are checking out our blog. As most of you probably already know, Chad and I will be off on August 29th to begin an adventure in the inner-city of Chicago. We are both eager and nervous to embark on this new chapter in our lives, but we have full confidence this is where God is leading us. We believe this year will be a challenging experience, but in the end, a very good one where we will come away stronger, more faithful servants of God.
This past year in Tulsa, our friends would gather together once a week for dinner, fellowship, games, etc in an effort to create/resemble community. Most people in the group started reading “Irresistible Revolution” by Shane Claiborne and began asking the question “are we really doing what Jesus challenged us to do in the Bible?” Most of the time, the answer to this question was no, so when our friend Jason Price applied for MY, we thought we would follow in his steps in serving others while living in a community.
On a not so serious note, we are excited about Chicago because we love pizza! (or at least Chad does!)
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…
Eason's Blog
Chicago Commons / Jul 2, 09:44 AM
Every Wednesday I taught/participated in “No Jerks” or “Within My Reach” with Ed at Chicago Commons. Commons is a non-profit that provides GED programs, computer classes and ESL classes to the community. We would teach classes one hour for eight weeks at Commons. My experiences at Commons is probably the highlight of my time at ABLE.
Commons had such an impact on me because of the people. The people there came from all walks of life, but all had one thing in common that they were trying to get on a new path. The other great thing about some of these people is that they understood that where they came from was not helping them get to where they wanted to go. This idea made for lively conversation filled with comments and observations about healthy and unhealthy patterns of life. However the beauty of the people at commons is that Ed or sometimes myself just posed questions. We rarely had to give answers and many times I felt like the people gave me more answers than I gave them. It was in these discussions where I saw some amazing epiphanies. Epiphanies filled with insight and determination and positive change. Every week I was excited and encouraged to go back and experience in the growth that was taking place in them and in me. Watching and listening to the people at Commons not only helped strengthen parts of my life, but it gave me a healthier view of different parts of my own life that I had never really thought out before. Their change changed me and because of that I will always be grateful and seek out how I can reenter a similar dialogue with my family, friends and others I meet along the way.
Friends / Jul 2, 09:44 AM
Life has vamped up lately to ludicrous speed from Spaceballs. The pace has been keeping us/me from posting blogs. However I want to give a shout out to some of our friends who drove up and spent a weekend doing what we normally do in our neighborhood. Our friends, Ayschia, Danny, Katie and Sara showed up around 1 and some neighborhood kids showed up at 1:05. They did not get much of an introduction to swimming. Instead we just threw them into the deep end of the pool after they finished a Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. On that particular day, we were cleaning up our alley, which we had recently discovered needed to be maintained by us. So some of the neighborhood kids said they would help out while we cleaned it up.
As we were cleaning up the alley, a man in his late twenties approached the group. He was obviously drunk and working on staying that way. Like most people he was shocked to see all of the white people in the area. Due to his state of mind, he was willing to stick around and discuss it with everyone and say mean and vulgar things to the kids that were helping us. To make a long story short he ended up hurting himself and leaving. Another one of our neighbors called an ambulance for him, but he disappeared only to reappear later in the same hurt condition.
This was an interesting scenario on our block for two reasons.
1. I told our friends that this was an atypical day for us. Intoxicated individuals never stuck around that long or were that apprehensive about us being around.
2. Once we finished using all of the borrowed gardening tools, we returned them to our neighbor, Mrs. Wright. She is a very kind woman and a pillar of the community. Allison and I debriefed with her and towards the end of the convo she grabbed my hand and Al’s hand and told us to circle up. I have not had many opportunities to pray with my neighbors, but the times I have had have been so honest, genuine and moving.
Since that time, I have continued to follow suit and pray for that man. I don’t know why he was drinking or how he hurt himself, but I pray that God gives him the courage to turn away from the bottle that too often plagues many people in my neighborhood (around the world for that matter). Without Mrs. Wright’s guidance I am not sure I would have continued or even started to pray for that man.
Trees, Bus Drivers and Haircuts / May 25, 08:41 PM
It’s been a while since we have posted anything. We have been quite busy and still have lots to do. Plus the clock is ticking and we are running out of time with only a little over two months left. I will begin with most recent activities.
This week I heard the sound of a jack hammer in our neighborhood. I was surprised because no one in my neighborhood uses a jack hammer nor have I seen any construction on roads or houses in my area. Once I walked outside, I looked down the street and saw the jack hammer buzzing to work in front of the charter school. I was confused at first and then got really excited as I saw the big trees next to the guy on the jack hammer. They were planting 4 NEW BIG TREES in my concrete jungle. It made my day.
Next I met the nicest bus driver. Her name is Geraldine. She got on our bus and greeted everyone. Then she began her job by stopping in between real stops and asking a lady if she wanted the bus. She then picked up another person later also not at a real bus stop. As I sat and rode her bus she gave intricate details to one of the ladies getting off the bus on how to remove her cart from the bus full of groceries without spilling it. She also stalled driving through a green light to tell that same lady her comb was about to fall out of her back pocket. Geraldine made my Sunday. She was the kindest, most concerned bus driver I have ever ridden with. And on top of that she was kind and considerate in my neighborhood where I normally see people closed off and walls up.
I was also recently blessed with a haircut. One of our neighbors and church friends, Nadling offered to help us out. She did a tremendous job and she did it pro bono, which is really what made it possible. I guess looking at my week there are so many instances of people extending kindness and generosity out towards me and I am grateful for the blessings God has given me. It makes me want to stop and ponder about how great God has been to me not only this week, but this year and every day.
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Apologetic / Apr 14, 02:03 PM
A while back, I took the Madison bus home. I am typically very observant on the buses. On this day, I was sad that I was paying attention. I overheard and saw three different men hit on the same woman who I apparently sat right in front of, but never took notice of her. The men all took turns trying to effectively hit on and then pick up the young woman. If I remember correctly, she was around 21, but looked “like a 15 year old” according to some of the riders. For the 10 minutes I rode the bus with this woman, I heard the men give a break down of her body and how attractive it was. Once she got off the bus, the men continued to express their sentiments about her body as she walked out of the bus and down the street. I felt subhuman on that bus just because I witnessed this and because I was a man.
I continued to reflect on the discourse of events on the bus that day and many times since then. I have realized that what I observed is not foreign to other parts of the country. In small towns, bustling suburbs or roaring metropolitans situations like this unfortunately transpire. I began to realize how hard it is to be a female and to constantly be undressed or harassed or belittled or treated as sex objects. Honestly, I do not think I could ever fully comprehend all the difficulties this world gives women and that they consistently overcome. When God created women and gave them the blessing of childbirth, I don’t think he intended to curse them through the constant break down of their beauty and companionship by men into simple lustful objects…
So where does this leave me as a male in a society where sex sells and (where many would argue) women are still seen as second class? As a son, brother, husband, uncle and future father, it leads me to apologize for my ignorance and therefore participation in the status quo. I might not have partaken in the degradation of other females or been as outspoken, but I was also not as outspoken in stopping it either, leaving me going with the status quo. I’ll end with a poem that was spoken after man in all his loneliness through naming the species of the world depicted the love, respect, admiration, companionship and wonder of how women should be viewed. Observe for yourself if this is what you see on a regular basis in your own city and if not try to find a way to change it or no longer be satisfied.
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
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