Faith Dickens
My Plans for Next Year
Hi! My name is Faith Dickens and I am currently a senior at Wingate University. I will be graduating in May, after student teaching, with a degree in Music Education. I have decided to do Mission Year next year and I’m really excited about it. I have felt a call into ministry for several years but I wasn’t sure what that call was going to look like, but a few months ago I heard Tony Campolo speak at my school and when he mentioned Mission Year I felt God pulling on my heart and I knew that I was supposed to apply. God is currently preparing my heart for service in the inner city and while I still don’t know exactly what that will look like, I am so excited about the ways in which he will allow me to be used next year as I love God and love people because nothing else matters!
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…
Faith Dickens's Blog
If I hung out with Jesus, I'd write about Him too... / May 11, 12:10 PM
Nestor is our next door neighbor. He is a wonderful neighbor who is constantly offering us food, cooking for us, and checking to see if we are okay any time we make a loud noise in the house. One night while having a discussion with Nestor, he started asking us about the apostles and what it must have been like for them to hang out with Jesus and why they decided to write things down about Him. Often, in conversations like this, Nestor will ask a deep question. I would like to say I am able to answer all of his questions by pulling out my Bible or quoting Scripture or just using all of the knowledge I’ve gotten from years of Sunday School class, but the truth is, I usually don’t have anything close to an answer and fortunately Nestor isn’t usually expecting one. In this particular conversation about the apostles, Nestor went on to say, “well I guess if I hung out with Jesus I’d write about him too.” That phrase has stuck with me for the past month. For quite some time, Nestor has told us that he feels so distant from God and feels like God can’t forgive him until he can learn to forgive some members of his family. However, many times after talking with Nestor, as broken as he feels his faith is, I feel like I’ve just hung out with Jesus. In fact, I think I hang out with Jesus each and every day here in Camden. Often I miss him because I’m too busy thinking about my schedule or the next thing I need to give my attention to, but every now and then I see Jesus and sometimes I’m even fortunate enough to hang out with him. So like Nestor said, maybe I should write about Him.
The Jesus that I feel like I have hung out with doesn’t look exactly like I expect Jesus to look. Sometimes he has been a homeless man, a drug dealer, a bus driver, an alcoholic, a single mother, a middle school student, a two year old, or a beginning college student. Last week on my Sabbath, I met Alicia walking through the tunnel on my way home to North Camden. Alicia and I both recently turned 23 but sadly that was about all we had in common. She told me about her addiction to drugs, how she was recently raped and lives under a bridge, how her three children were taken away from her, how nobody in her family will speak to her anymore except her brother who is a police officer and finds ways to bring her food and in the winter would arrest her so she didn’t have to sleep on the streets. Of course when she told me her story, I was thinking of some way I could help her, the best I could do was offer her a sandwich. She thanked me but didn’t want me to give her anything, just someone to listen was enough for her. As we parted ways, the last thing Alicia said to me was “I’ll be praying for you Faith, that you will stay safe out here.” It took five minutes for me to walk through the tunnel and towards my house with Alicia, but as she said, God put us in the tunnel together. Alicia was obviously hurt and broken, but I saw Jesus in her. I’m so glad that for once I was able to slow down long enough to hang out with Him.
One evening one of my teammates and I were waiting at the bus stop to head home after a long day volunteering with the After School Program at Urban Promise. We were anticipating dinner and rest once we got home for the night. Soon we were joined at the bus stop by a man named Billy. He has lived in Camden for 35 years and shared with us what the city used to be like and a little about his life growing up here. When we got on the bus, Billy sat right beside us. The conversation continued, and before long he asked us about a verse in Matthew he said he was wondering about. When the demon-possessed man addressed Jesus as Son of the Most High God, he wondered what he meant by that? We offered our opinions for a few minutes and then realized that many of the passengers on the bus were listening to the conversation. A woman a few rows back jumped in to say that Jesus is so much more important that “religion” and how Jesus wants to have a real relationship with each of us. There were a few nods, and an Amen came from a few rows back. One man proceeded to tell us that he was learning to accept God’s will right now because he had just lost his wife two months ago. The others on the bus offered supportive words to the man, and before long even those who weren’t engaged in the conversation were clearly affected by it. Billy, sitting beside me nudged me and whispered, “see how God can bring all of us together, think how we ended up on this bus together and that man was dealing with pain and loss yet God showed up in the middle of it, isn’t God amazing.” As everyone started getting off the bus there were hugs and promises to keep each other in prayer. It was amazing to watch as our bus turned into a family and a church. We told Billy goodbye and headed home, and though he told us he lived right across from Urban Promise we have yet to see him again. I never expected Jesus to be riding the New Jersey Transit bus with me, but I’m so glad He did.
Other times I have seen Jesus in simpler ways, it may have been a hug from a child, the look in someone’s eyes, a picture drawn by one of my kids at Urban Promise, or one of my teammates listening to me for hours. We have been reading John as a team and discussing it these past few weeks and one of the verses in Chapter 8 really hit me. The crowd was questioning Jesus about who he was and in verse 19 Jesus responded with, “You’re looking right and me and you don’t see me.” How many times have I been guilty of that? For all the times I have seen Jesus here, there are probably more times that I have missed him because I was too tired, grumpy, busy or preoccupied with myself to see Him. In John I also love the verse that says, He must become greater, I must become less. That is my prayer for the rest of the time here in Camden, and for the rest of my life. I hope that I can become less and therefore see Jesus. When Jesus appears, I hope like Nestor said, that I can hang out with him for a little while and maybe even write about Him.
Comment [4]
Random thoughts... / Feb 2, 11:38 AM
Today is my sabbath. I have found rest today with two of my teammates as we took the train and explored a new city a little way up from Camden. It has been relaxing and calming to spend some time away from the city, sitting in a coffee shop, walking down beautiful historic streets, but this makes me think of my neighbors and friends who would love to escape from Camden if only just for a day, yet they don’t have that option. As hard as I try this year to live in the community and live simply, can I ever truly understand?
I wish I were better with blogging. I thought I would write a lot while being in Camden. But sometimes it’s so hard to process what I’m thinking and feeling much less to put it into words.
Today I’m just thinking about the people in Camden that I am growing to love and consider family. Life in the city has become ordinary. I get up each day, have a quiet hour and devotion with my team, go to my service site, eat lunch, take a bus across town for Urban Promise after school program, take the bus home, eat dinner, hang out with my team/read curriculum books, on the weekends I spend some time with neighbors and friends, go to church, go grocery shopping, do some laundry. I’m settling into life here and it feels normal. But this is a year of my life. In August I will pack up and leave. I don’t know where I will go from here yet but unlike so many people in my neighborhood, I have options. I have people telling me that I can do or be anything I want. I have a college degree, a family that loves me and will help me in any way they can. Life has come so easily for me. Yet I still complain and worry about what comes next in my life.
I have 6 months left in Camden. I can already feel that it’s going to be hard to say goodbye. While I am realizing that I will never fully understand life here I am praying that I will learn to cherish it whether it’s the ordinary moments or the extraordinary ones.
Jesus, teach me to love and fully live each day.
Reflection on being "homeless" / Nov 18, 12:10 PM
This past weekend our mission year area cities (Philly, Camden and Wilmington) came together to participate in an urban solitude experience to learn about homelessness and try it out for a day. This is the reflection I wrote Saturday night after my day on the streets of Philadelphia…
Wow. What a day. I am exhausted and my heart is so full of joy. Who knew I would feel this way after a day of being homeless? I didn’t know what to expect with this whole thing. I was nervous about how I would find food, how I would start conversations, but God sure amazes me. After some instructions and activities on Friday night we spent the night in a church building with no lights or heat. We were woken up at 6 am on Saturday and after we were given a map we were dropped off in various spots around Philadelphia with no phone, money or food.
Linda, Rebekah and I decided we would take some time to sit alone and think and pray about the day. I sat in front of the fountain and looked up to see the huge gold cross on the top of the Cathedral across the street. I prayed that God would teach me something today, that he would show me where to go and who to talk with. It wasn’t five minutes before I looked over and saw someone wave at me. I walked over and sat on the next bench and met Jeffrey. He asked me what I was doing thinking so hard. I explained what I was doing for the day and he was instantly worried that I wouldn’t have food to eat. He showed me where a big group of homeless people were waiting in line and said some food was coming. Jeffrey walked me over and got in line with me. I could tell he was homeless but he didn’t say much about it. We got in line together and got our first meal of the day, turkey and dressing. I sat and ate with Jeffrey and he told me a little about his life. I soon met John sitting next to me. He told me about how he had worked the polls for the election on Tuesday and after working for 12 hours, didn’t get paid. A few minutes later a van pulled up with some people bringing coffee, donuts, and bag lunches. The guys called them the regulars because they were people that faithfully showed up with food every Saturday, no matter what. They were really generous and gave us tons of food. I got several bags to take with me. Jeffrey soon said goodbye and headed to a bookstore for the day. I sat with John for a while as he told me about his family, his life and what it was like to be homeless. Soon we wandered over to the benches nearby to wait for the next food drop off.
Rebekah, Linda and I got back together and met Fred, who had lived out there for 21 years. Fred has received housing now, one room on the other side of town but he doesn’t have any money so he comes down to the park each day to try to eat and spend time with people. He knew all about the area, whether it was the people or the city itself. He told us that the people out here living in the park were his family and he had grown up out there. Fred, John and their friends soon welcomed us into their group like we were family. It started getting cold outside and soon began raining. One of the guys who had just found an umbrella came over and gave it to us. When a group came to drop off blankets and coats, the men made sure that we were wrapped up in blankets so we wouldn’t get cold and wet. We sat in the park for hours as we watched the parade of people dropping off food. I was worried that I wouldn’t eat today and by the end of the day I had been given eight different meals. Each time a new car would pull up to drop off food, the homeless people would form a line, and each time, they made sure we were at the front of the line.
Throughout the day as we sat and enjoyed meal after meal with Fred, Kenny, Angel and a big group of homeless men I started to realize that all of my life I’ve had the mindset that I could give things to people in need. I could give them food or shelter or money and care for their needs. However, during this day I didn’t give these guys anything, I simply sat and shared meals with them. I didn’t even say much I just sat and listened to their amazing stories. What made the day so great was that we weren’t interrupted by ringing cell phones or constantly looking at our watches because we had somewhere to be. We were simply able to be together with no time limitations.
At the end of the day, these guys were friends, not projects. Fred took it upon himself to tell us everything he knows about being homeless. We were really honest about what it was we were doing out there for the day and the guys really appreciated it. They enjoyed the chance to be our teachers for the day and I can’t believe how much I learned. Fred wants to continue to show us things about the city and we are going to try to meet up with him again this week.
A typical week in Camden / Oct 14, 12:57 PM
Hello everyone. Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated my blog. Life in Mission Year has finally started to settle into a routine, which I didn’t realize was so important to me until I lived without a schedule for a while. I am still looking for a place to volunteer on Monday mornings but everything else is scheduled.
On Monday through Thursday afternoons from about 1:30-6 we work with the Urban Promise after school program. There are 6 different camps throughout Camden so my team is split up working at different camps. My camp is in East Camden and is for grades 5-8. Each afternoon we have homework time, snack, a short devotion, option classes (photography, sports, dance, etc.), and a closing program. I’m really enjoying getting to know the kids. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings I’m working at a place called Hopeworks that’s only a block away from our house. Hopeworks is primarily a computer training center for people age 18-26. It teaches them how to design websites and obtain skills to get them good jobs. There is also a literacy center upstairs where each student is required to spend an hour of each day going through the GED program. Camden has a high school dropout rate of over 70% so Hopeworks helps inspire the students to get their GED and go on to college by providing an atmosphere that is a lot more welcoming and comfortable than a typical school. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings I spend time tutoring students individually and helping them get through their lessons. They are awesome people and I really enjoy working at Hopeworks as well.
Friday is our Sabbath which is a much needed day of rest for us. I enjoy sleeping in on these days and then I generally explore some of the areas around Camden. Saturday is neighborhood outreach day. We usually spend these days trying to get to know our community and neighbors even better. Sunday morning we go to New Beginnings Methodist Church. I really enjoy the church and getting to know the congregation. It’s a very small church but they have been incredibly welcoming to us.
Sorry to bore you with all the logistical details, just wanted to give you an idea of what a typical week looks like for me and my team! We stay pretty busy but we’re learning and growing a lot. I will write again soon about more of the people we are meeting and relationships we are forming. Hope everyone is doing great!
Comment [4]
Giving up myself / Sep 18, 01:18 PM
The year is just beginning and I can’t believe how much I am already learning. I’m learning things about myself, my teammates, my community, my faith, and most importantly God. I am learning to give up myself. I came to Mission Year with expectations of what I thought would happen, and what this year was going to look like, however last week in Atlanta at training I realized that my “expectations” are putting limits on what God can do this year through me and my team. I feel incredibly blessed to be here and I am so amazed that God can use me to minister here in Camden even though I often feel so inadequate. My team got here safely and we are off to a great start learning to share life together in community and ministry.
Our week in Atlanta was wonderful, getting away from our cities and joining with others from around the country who are doing Mission Year. There were awesome speakers who really challenged us. I came to the realization that I have come to Mission Year with my perception of God and the world fitting in a nice and tidy little box. However, after hearing the speakers last week I know that my box is about to be turned over which is wonderful, and scary and challenging all at the same time. There was a lot of information to take in during the training in Atlanta and I hope I can retain as much as possible to help me this year.
Our team got home on Friday morning and spent the weekend in Camden. We expected a nice restful weekend where we could do some grocery shopping, laundry and curriculum reading and spend some more time getting to know each other… God had other plans. While sitting on the porch over the weekend we met lots and lots of people. I don’t have time to write about each of them but we learned so much through some homeless visitors, tons of neighborhood children, a former police officer who we bought lunch for and ended up spending the whole day with as he organized our trip to the laundromat, three guys hanging out on the corner of our street who don’t understand all that “religious stuff” but wanted to hear about our faith and want to talk with us more, some people on a bus who helped us out when we looked extremely lost and confused, and some folks who have lived in the neighborhood for years and have hope that things will get better.
I was selfish this weekend. I was hoping for rest, but that’s not why I’m here. God has used our team and I am amazed at the people he has brought into our lives already. While giving up myself is harder than I expected, I am ready to keep giving this year, even when I’m tired and feel as though I can’t go on because I know God will fill me up. I have seen the face of God first hand this weekend in my teammates and neighbors. I have no doubt that God is right here in Camden, New Jersey and I am so blessed to be a part of it!!!
Comment [3]
