Lauren Kewley
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…
Lauren Kewley's Blog
The Wood between the Worlds / Jul 19, 05:09 PM
Have you read Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew? Do you remember the place where Uncle Andrew’s yellow rings sent Polly and Digory? The Wood between the Worlds…
“He was standing by the edge of a small pool – not more than ten feet from side to side in a wood. The trees grew close together and were so leafy that he could get no glimpse of the sky. All the light was green light that came through the leaves; but there must have been a very strong sun overhead, for this green daylight was bright and warm. It was the quietest wood you could possibly imagine. There were no birds, no insects, no animals, and no wind. You could almost feel the trees growing. The pool he had just got out of was not the only pool. There were dozens of others – a pool every few yards as far as his eyes could reach. You could almost feel the trees drinking the water up with their roots. This wood was very much alive. When he tried to describe it afterwards Digory always said, “It was a rich place; as rich as plumcake.”
I’ve found myself in this strange place, a sort of in-between place. I feel not houseless, but homeless. I am here in Oregon, yet working instead of going to school. It doesn’t feel like home; it doesn’t feel permanent. I love San Diego, but my home is no longer in that place either. For a couple months, I tried to wrap my head around the idea of moving to Camden, New Jersey. I no longer am going there, but a sliver of my heart still lies there and aches for the people who live in that place. And now I am moving to Atlanta, Georgia, a place which I only vaguely remember visiting and hardly know anything about. I’m in this wood, feeling homeless, my heart stretched between all these places, yet centered nowhere in particular.
I feel as if I am in Lewis’s Wood between the Worlds, which is strange because I’ve found myself in the woods a lot lately, whether hiking, camping, picnicking, reading, or what have you, and it has come to be a place where I see God most clearly. In the woods, I see Him as creator, life giver, sustainer. This time of feeling homeless, nomadic, in-between is difficult and, at times straining, but I welcome it with gladness, for it is where I see God and know that He has filled my life with so many unimaginable possibilities. For this wood, while quiet and still, is freckled with tiny pools – pools that hold the potential of a thousand different worlds, if only I have the courage to just jump in!
“I think we can get out of this place into jolly well anywhere!
We don’t need to jump back into the same pool we came up by.
Or not just yet.”
“The Wood between the Worlds,” said Polly dreamily. “It sounds rather nice.”
“Come on,” said Digory. “Which pool shall we try?”
So I will jump. In less than three weeks, I will pack up my apartment in Oregon and drive back down to San Diego to spend a few weeks with family and friends. I will then eagerly venture across the United States to make my new home in Atlanta!
“Now for the adventure.
Any pool will do.
Come on.
Let’s try that one.”
Comment [1]
Come and See / Apr 16, 09:09 AM
When I first found out that I will be moving to Camden, New Jersey, I did not know what to think or feel. So, naturally, I looked it up on Wikipedia. This is what I learned…
Fun Facts… – Motion picture technology was invented in New Jersey by Thomas Edison. – Camden hosted the world’s first drive-in movie in 1933. – It is home to the Campbell Soup Company headquarters. – Walt Whitman spent the end of his life in Camden and is now buried there. – Things that were invented in New Jersey include the FM radio, the light bulb, cranberry sauce, the postcard, ice cream cones, the zipper, and the phonograph. – There are more diners in New Jersey than in any other place in the world. – New Jersey is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse states in the country. – The population is 53% African American, 39% Hispanic, and 7% White. – New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the US.
Not-So-Fun Facts… – Camden has been ranked the most dangerous city in the United States. – 44% of Camden’s residents live in poverty. – Camden’s unemployment rate is 19%. – There are 14,312 single-parent households, 12,538 of which are headed by women. – Camden, NJ has one of the most extreme issues of environmental racism in the United States, which can be seen through high levels of air pollution and water contamination. – Camden has the highest percentage of children growing up in poverty in New Jersey (45%). – 80% of births in Camden are to unmarried mothers, compared with 29% statewide.
So you are probably wondering why in the world I would move to Camden. I have tried countless times to find the words to explain why. I can’t quite verbalize my feelings, but I’d like to try. When I think of Camden, my heart feels heavy. I was recently discussing some of these statistics with one of my closest friends, and she asked me, “aren’t you scared to go to Camden?” But the truth is, as I continue to learn about it, my heart breaks more and more for the residents of Camden. I want to help them, but I have no clue how to do that. I have lived a life of comfort and privilege, disconnected from the oppressed and the orphaned. I want to help the impoverished, but I need to know what that means. I need to understand this and I know that it will take a radical change in my lifestyle. I need to know first-hand what it is like to live in a neighborhood where poverty is a real issue. And if I don’t reach out to the people of Camden, who will? So I look to Christ for what to do. Christ’s sacrifice lies at the heart of the gospel. Perhaps sacrifice is the root of love. So in order to follow God’s calling in my life, I know I must sacrifice my privilege and my wealth, my safety and my comfort.
When asked about her work in Calcutta, Mother Teresa would simply respond, “Come and see.” So it is only fitting that I will be moving to New Jersey, whose state slogan is “Come see for yourself.”
These words have reached deep into my life
as I am being called to come
and to see.
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