Community

I think one thing that we truly experienced while we were in Kensington was the aspect of community.
For the majority of the trip, there were 11 people living in one house, with one bathroom. By the time we left Kensington, there were a total of 16 people in that house. There were literally sleeping bags everywhere on the floors in the rooms. While we were definitely crowded in, there were a few key things that brought the whole experience together; go with the flow and live life together.

Go with the flow:
Everyday was unstructured and an adventure. We typically split the day up into two "shifts," one before lunch and one after lunch. Everyday we could expect that for one of those time slots we would be working on the aquaponics farm, however the other slot was usually used to help out another branch or area that the Simple Way pours into. Everyday we were "playing it by ear" or just seeing how things were going in order to choose our destination and the team had to be very flexible and able to flow with things.

Live life together:
Whenever Abe Park, the Edge college pastor, mentioned BWAM (Break With A Mission), he would say how during that one week, we are a true community. Now having experienced it, I believe it. Everyday we would be working on the same project together and not with just our BWAM team, but with people from various churches in California (such as Rock Harbor, the Garden, and Eastside Church) that came to work on the aquaponic as well and members of the community in Kensington (both Simple Way affiliated and not). Even though everyday was manual labor, at the end of the day, we would always cook, eat, talk, and laugh together. Everything was together, in the community and it was awesome. That time of sharing a meal, talking, and laughing was so therapeutic and it would rejuvenate me for the next day.

Both of these lifestyles beg the question; what about life back here in Irvine? back in our busy, individual schedules how can we apply some fraction of the lifestyle we had in philly?

Hopefully I can blog some more about this later, as for now, my class is starting xD


More quotes :)
Ray - a guys gotta dump when a guys gotta dump
Steph - Jenn has poo(h)!!!
Jenn - its like a blessing from God to see that you're abnormal Thomas
Steph - wah wah baby chow
Ben - turns to a dryer, "SHUSH!"
Ben - I'm playing with Shirley's poo(h)!!

Back in Irvine!

While our time on BWAM 2012 in Kensington, Philadelphia, PA is over, (we landed safe at JohnWayne last night) the learning experience definitely is not. We as a team would have definitely liked to have blogged more, but the main house we stayed in didn't have Internet access to upload stuff and the only way we could use the Internet is if we went over to Shane Claiborne's house or where some of the other Simple Way members were living.

Hopefully over we can blog about the past week and share with all of you how it was for us and in doing so, give time for ourselves to reflect upon it a bit. It is my hope that God would continue to reveal things that we picked up while we were there, things He wanted us to learn.

Getting a bit sleepy now, but I hope to start blogging a bit more about my experience tomorrow.
To any of my fellow teammates that read this, I will end with a few funny quotes that we amassed over the trip to just laugh over funny times :)


Quotes of the day:
Jenn - "Shirley can you give us one!!!"
Ray - during last minute target run a few hours before take off - "Why is it called denim and not jeans?"
Steph - while boarding her first flight ever - "I like how they have this tunnel thing"
Jenn - "You guys dont put goldfish in your salad? I thought that was normal???''

Is moving dirt missions?

Today, we went to Camden, New Jersey to a church where some members fo the Simple Way are involved with. The church is very run dow, so the small service they have is held in the basement. We got to check out the main sanctuary which was very run down, but so beautiful at the same time. The room was filled with amazing stained glass windows that made me visualize how the church would have looked like back in the day when it was up and running.

We were sent here to clean up the around the church. Our plans were to sweep, mop, and paint some of the columns in the basement. There was a lot of dust, which made some of the members not feel so good  because a lot of them have dust allergies. I wasn't feeling so good either because of the shoulder pain I had been experiencing. On top of that, there was a gas leak in the kitchen... so that wasn't so safe. For me, I knew my heart was in a condition where it would be hard for me to work and have a good attitude at the same time. At that moment, I had thought about a previous mission's trip I took where we were moving dirt, derooting tree trunks, and cutting away foliage so it didn't clog the drainage system for a facility that housed battered women and children. During our debrief, my youth pastor asked us, "Is moving dirt missions?" Wow. It totally hit me because these trips aren't the typical mission's trips with a VBS or anything like that. So was our work still of substance? If what we do with our hands can better the lives of others and allow them to experience God more in some shape or form then yes, moving dirt is missions. As a team, we prayed for God to protect our bodies, change our attitudes, and shift our hearts. Almost instantly when we got to work, I felt so much better. Physical pain was still there but my heart was in a MUCH better place that it was previously before we prayed.  

love, steph chow

Just a quick update!

Shane Claiborne visited the house we are staying at and he spent about an hour just talking to us about what he's been doing here in Philly. Here's what stuck out to me:

What's the difference between a stick in the mud and a flute in the mud? A stick is full of itself and a flute is empty and makes good music. How do we empty ourselves?
Society teaches us to move away from poverty and violence.

The things Shane said definitely stuck out to me a lot and started to make me think about how I can apply the things I've learned when I go back to Irvine (or at least do my best to try to!)

Love,

Shirley

Alive and More than Well!

First plane ride---success! Just to let you all know, it was my first place ride ever! I know right...crazy that I've never been on a plane before! But now, it's down in the history books. There will be a video posted up soon! 

Yesterday, we were picked up at the airport by two guys names Brett and Aaron, who are a part of Simple Way. Brett gave each of us a letter with one of those mini encouragement cards. The verse on my card was Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." I actually went the day without reading the card. At the end of the day, I took out the letter before our team debrief. I was kind of in awe when I had read this because this verse has resonated with my walk with Christ throughout my life. Coincidence? Not a doubt it my mind that this was the verse that was meant for me to hear.  I was scared with the weeks leading up to BWAM because I knew finals week would be a draining one for me. I constantly asked myself what the condition of my heart was and knew I needed to prepare my heart for this trip. Coming from a draining week of finals, I really needed this as a reminder that God has everything planned out for me during this trip. PTL, seriously. 

Tonight, we met with Shane Claiborne before he headed to DC for the rest of the week. He was sharing with us about the Simple, how it started, and their part in the community. The land that Simple Way wants to buy and the land that we are building the farm on (both are on the same street) was land that was burnt down a few years back. Shane was sharing about how the work that is being put into the aquaponics farm is an "act of resurrection." Since there was death to the land caused by the fire, we have a chance to bring life back into the ground and essentially, back into the community where the neighborhood can play, get nutrition from this farm, and gather as one. Just as our plan is to resurrect life into these grounds, God has brought breath into our lives through His son for us on the cross. Good food for thought, since Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday is drawing close. 

More to come soon!

Steph Chow:)

Dang! God is SOOOO GOOD!

When we first got to Philly, we were welcomed by Brett and Aaron who picked us up from the airport. We headed directly to Simple Way's Hospitality House. Brett gave each of us a letter upon our arrival along with a card that had a bible verse on it. It was crazy because the verse on my card was Proverbs 3:5-6.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

This was the verse that I had written in my support letter because it has been what God has been telling me throughout my years in college and something that I have been learning to do as well. A week or so before this mission's trip, I started having doubts about why I was coming on this trip and if I was even suppose to come on this trip. After having read the letter and the card that Brett gave us, it was a confirmation for me that there was a reason why I'm in Philly, whether it is something that I am suppose to do or learn during my time here.

During our debrief last night, I found out that each of us had a different verse on our card. (When I first read it, I just assumed that we all had the same verse.) God is SOOOO GOOD! There have been several times where I'm constantly doubting myself or just struggling with the challenges of life and Proverbs 3:5-6 has been what has brought me through. A friend always reminds me of this verse whether it's through email or text, and this time, it was someone that I just met which still shocks me.


More updates to come soon hopefully!!
Love,
Shirley

We are now at John Wayne Airport about to get on our plane!! :)
It's going to be Steph Chow's first airplane ride EVER!!!! (We'll try to either record a video or take pictures of her to document this moment and upload it for you all to see!)

Love,
Philly Phamilly