“You ask too many questions, you start too many fights, you dream of resurrection but you’re too scared to die.” This is a lyric from a song called “Birds” by The Collection, one of my favorite bands. From the first time I heard this line of the song, I felt moved and somewhat convicted. I felt Read More
There’s a house on the corner of our block that always has a calico cat sitting on the porch. I first noticed it one fateful night when I had sprinted barefoot out of our door after my housemate, Luke, who was taking our recently captured house mouse to be released into the wild. I had my reservations Read More
As we have begun to sink into our monthly schedule and are finally able to catch our breath, my housemates and I have been able to get acclimated within our neighborhood and service sites. While we have been meeting and establishing more relationships with those around us, we are starting to find that the things Read More
During our first week in Houston, TX we received local orientation which involved hearing lectures from nonprofit managers and community activists. One such lecture was about the work that Black Lives Matter Houston is doing and how we can get involved in it. Because Hurricane Harvey had devastated the city just two weeks prior to Read More
I have taken up residency in the Windy City and Mission Year has finally materialized. Before I dive into what it’s like being here, y’all need context. So let’s get some of the logistics out of the way first. 1. I live in Southside Chicago (West Englewood) in an apartment with nine people…And I love Read More
The beginning of this past June marked by my fourth and final “Come & See” weekend as a team member of Mission Year. These weekends create space for the family and friends we have from home to come join in on a weekend here in the city and share in the lives we have created Read More
These last two weeks have been some of the longest in my life – but not in a bad way. Upon arriving in Chicago for national orientation, I quickly realized I was surrounded by people who, like me, are passionate about following Jesus’ example of loving others in the inner city. While I met many Read More
I have thought about why I’m doing Mission Year nearly everyday since I committed to the program several months ago. On my application I wrote about me wanting to get out of my comfort zone and grow from God using me to do good works. And that is still true. Like most people, it took Read More
The recent events in Charlottesville tell us that we have a lot of work to do in our nation and churches if we are going to get real about racism and racial injustice in our country. Racial justice is central to our work at Mission Year and resisting evil, racial hatred, and violence is core Read More
I am doing Mission Year because I feel called to it. I have a strong desire to serve first God, then people. Mission Year is all about both. Growing up in a small town, I am both nervous to live in the inner-city neighborhoods of Houston, but also excited to see God at work within Read More
When God calls us into action, we are told to go: go to make more disciples, go to love, go to represent Him who dwells in us every second of every day. But how often do we follow through with that? I know for myself, the answer so far in my life has been not Read More