Loren Friend
Here is a little bit about me and how I got involved with Mission Year:
I’m 22 and I just graduated from West Virginia University with a BA in Sociology. I really enjoy working with kids and this played a part in where God has taken my life so far and probably will play a part in where He takes me in the future. As a senior in high school I worked at an after-school program for kids on the West Side of Charleston, WV. This area is known for its drugs and violence. Through working there, God showed me some of the effects of poverty and injustice on the lives of His people. Since then, God has led me towards a better understanding of those effects and their causes and He has been revealing to me His heart for those affected by poverty and injustice.
Last summer I was searching for an urban ministry that I could get involved with and my pastor’s wife mentioned Tony Campolo and said I should google his name on the internet. I did and I eventually ended up on Mission Year’s website. Mission Year looked like a great opportunity to learn more about and participate in what God is doing in places affected by injustice and poverty. I applied and now I’m preparing to join God in what He is doing in Camden, NJ!
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…
Loren Friend's Blog
Best Neighborhood Day So Far! / Dec 11, 02:44 PM
Today was pretty crazy!!! I woke up with my team at 7:30 for morning devotions, which is way too early for a Saturday but it’s okay because Kristen had a pretty sweet team devotion prepared. We started by each reflecting on a verse or quote that reminds us of Camden and writing it down in a creative way. Later, we are going to put all our reflections together to make a collage.
At 10 AM I went to Bright Star for a board meeting. It was a really good time to get a better idea of what Bright Star’s vision is and to meet more people in the neighborhood.
But the real craziness began around 2 PM when Alexandra and I went to try to round up some of the kids from our afterschool to come over and cook. First we went to Malaysia’s house to get her but she wasn’t ready so we told to just to come over whenever she was. Then we walked down to Tita’s house. When we got there, her mom and brother had just pulled up in their car and were getting out. I hadn’t met Tita’s mom before so it was a little awkward but we introduced ourselves and asked if it was okay if she could come over. Her mom said it was fine and her brother ended up coming over too. After picking them up, we went to a third girl’s house, but we didn’t know which apartment she lived in so Tita chose a doorbell and rang it. It turned out to be the right apartment but the girl wasn’t able to come because her mom wasn’t home to ask permission. On our way back to the house, we stopped by Malaysia’s house again but she still wasn’t ready. I did get to meet her mom though! After all that, we went to the corner store to get beans so Tita could teach us to make rice and bean and on the way back we saw two girls that live on our block and we invited them over also.
We had so many people in our house, we had trouble knowing who to give attention to because two of the kids were making rice and beans, one was coloring, one was on her phone, and another wanted to use our computer. Somehow I feel like I was able to give each kid the attention they needed.
I had never made Puerto Rican-style rice and beans before but I had really wanted to try them. I’m so glad Tita was willing to teach us because they were soooooooooo good! But there is one ingredient that I don’t really know how to make. She had brought it from her house and it was a mixture of herbs that her grandmom had made.
At some point during all that, our friend from church, Mr. Floyd, stopped by and brought us decorations for our Christmas tree. So after our feast of rice and beans, Tita and Malaysia decorated our tree!
To finish out the afternoon, we made chocolate chip cookies with a little lesson on fractions thrown in.
It was a very busy, but very well spent day.
Women's Day / Nov 14, 12:40 PM
This past Sunday was Women’s Day at our church. As part of the celebration, there was a women’s choir in which Kristen and I sang. At the final rehearsal we found out that the choir was going to be wearing all white. This posed a problem because we didn’t have white outfits nor did we have the time or money to get them. We let some of the ladies at choir practice know that we wouldn’t be able to participate on Sunday because we didn’t have anything to wear. Upon hearing this, they insisted that they would find something for us so that we could be a part of Women’s Day. Minister Miller took on the job and on Saturday she left us a message that she had found outfits for us! Kristen and I were able to participate in the Women’s Day choir (our choral debut) because of Minister Miller’s generosity. The people at New Mickle are so good to us; they take care of us and make us feel at home.
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You never know what'll happen! / Nov 5, 12:27 PM
I never really know what I’m going to get into when I go to my Tuesday volunteer site at Heart of Camden (the greenhouse). When I met with Andrea, who runs the greenhouse, this past Tuesday, she told me that she had something “terribly awesome” planned for the day. I would have never guessed what we would be doing. As we walked to the Heart of Camden office, she said that they were going to have a protest. If you don’t know, Camden City is a bit of a dumping ground for the county and the state. Within 9 square miles there are trash incinerators, the county’s sewage treatment facility, a state prison, and a county prison (there may be more unwanted facilities that I’m not aware of). Now the South Jersey Port Corporation (SJPC) is considering placing a Methadone clinic in Camden’s Waterfront South neighborhood.
Methadone Clinics aren’t inherently bad but many community members feel that Camden is home to enough of the things that other areas don’t want. Also, it’s not that smart to place an addiction recovery center in a neighborhood where drugs are available on every corner. So they decided to let SJPC know. We walked with our signs maybe about a mile from Sacred Heart Church to where the SJPC board was meeting. The issue of the Methadone clinic wasn’t on the agenda for the day but they will be considering the issue very soon. The Waterfront South community has decided that they’re not giving up without a fight and plan to protest again at the next SJPC meeting. Hopefully their efforts will produce wanted results.
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Volunteer Sites / Oct 10, 04:27 PM
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged so I though I would tell about my volunteer sites.
In the afternoons, from about 2:30 to 6, I work at an Urban Promise afterschool program. My housemate, Alexandra, and I work at Camp Grace which is in North Camden. The kids that go there are junior high aged. Most of our time there is spent helping the youth with homework. We also help lead cell groups (small group Bible studies) once a week. Tonight we are going to Eastern State Penitentary with some of the older youth. Each October, they turn it into a haunted penitentary.
On Monday and Thursday mornings I volunteer at Bright Star, a Christian community development organization. So far I’ve helped them revise a community opinion survey. We are going to survey people in the neighborhood to find out what type of service they would like. Then I’m going to help them as they get a new program started.
On Tuesday I will start working with an organization named “Heart of Camden.” I will be working in their community greenhouse. I don’t have much gardening experience but I’m really excited to start volunteering there!
That’s all for now.
Introduction to Camden / Sep 21, 01:10 PM
Here is a poem that my team wrote about Camden as a part of our training:
We live in downtown Camden in a sweet row house
Every night we try and catch a new mouse
Our bait of choice is gummy bears
We hate to admit that mice give us the scares.
Over on 4th street is our church, New Mickle.
Shelia said she’d help when we’re in a pickle.
The people shout, “Lord, Jesus, forgive us our sins.”
We also met Sharon and Shania, premature twins.
The store on the corner is T&C Foods.
The people that own it are Latino dudes.
On down the road is the neighborhood park.
We promised Floyd not to go after dark.
The nearest Laundromat is a 10 block hike.
To haul our clothes we need a buggy and bike.
Two blocks west is the Camden Waterfront.
We went there to begin Monday’s scavenger hunt.
We go to Walter Rand to catch the bus.
Yesterday our driver made a big fuss.
See, Loren put her bus ticket in the dollar slot.
Turns out it didn’t matter; we got off at the wrong spot.
We were 15 blocks west of Urban Promise.
We walked 7 blocks before it even dawned upon us.
We called Brent to come pick us up.
Then the truancy officer cam and asked, “Wassup?”
He wanted to know why we were skipping school.
Loren told him, “I graduated from college, fool!”
So here’s to wishing for a great year.
In Camden we’ll put in our blood, sweat, and tears.
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