The City

Warning: The content of this post is slightly disturbing and sad, but not meant for a shock, so read to the end.

Last Tuesday a young man was shot in the park across from my house. It was 4pm, warmest day so far, and the park was full of people. He was playing basketball, and a gang-hired hit-man shot him 4 times in the head. Many of my students play basketball on that court. One of them was on his way to the court at the time.

The next day, another of my students (who lives in arguably the worst area of the city) was robbed at gunpoint. They took his silver wallet chain (looked expensive, wasn't really, thankfully). This same student lost a friend to gang-related violence last week, too.

There has been a significant increase of violence in the neighborhood around the school. Recently targeting the elderly.

I assure you, there's a point to this post.

You see, I work at a school whose mission is to impact the kids of our city. Not in theory, but in reality. I also attend a church that wants to be in the city to impact the city (although I'm not sure to which city demographic it is truly reaching).

We are called to be "in the world" (one of the most frequently used quotations from the Bible, I think). Every time something like this happens, it becomes more apparent to me that my job, my ministry, is necessary. My students need love SO badly, so incredibly badly. I am called here to love my students through whatever is in their lives, and a lot of them live in places in which violence is a harsh reality.

Yet, when we love them, patiently and repeatedly even when it is not what we want to do, we see them grow. Today I was able to show one of my 9th grade boys his grade - his grade that he has raised from a fairly low F in the last quarter (and low Ds the previous semester) to an 86%. 86%! As I showed him, and he beamed literally from ear to ear, tears formed in my eyes because, after all of the many frustrating conversations with and about this young man, I was finally able to show him that he is succeeding!

God uses His children to bring about His mission of Justice, Redemption, and Grace in the world.

Sorry for the Silence

I know it has been a while since I have posted anything of moderately interesting substance on this. Last week was spirit week at school and was also the week before a week of vacation, making it a very busy week in which very little was accomplished. I boarded a plane for Indiana on Friday utterly exhausted and with a 3 inch thick stack of grading to somehow get done over vacation.

All that to say, I am currently at Taylor University, spending some quality time with people I love and watching some softball. I'll head to North Muskegon tomorrow and return to Taylor on Wednesday. If you are in either the North Muskegon area or the Upland area and would like to see me, give me a call or send me an e-mail (amyerichardson@gmail.com).

I wish I had something thought-provoking to write. I've been thinking a lot about the degree of community God requires of his people, and also the nature of faith, but both are large topics to delve into in this medium at this time.

Hopefully I'll get around to posting some pictures from spirit week and from vacation!

Dress like a teacher/student day

Today was "dress like a teacher day" for the students and "dress like a student day" for the teachers. I went as one of my 10th grade girls, and she and another of my girls went as me. This is the picture. I'm dressed like the girl on the left. All day people thought I was a student. If only you could see how good my imitation of her is... haha.

Just Keep Working

Next week I have a week off of school. It's been quite a stretch without a break, and I'm really feeling that wear on me. My patience is shorter, I'm less forgiving, less loving sometimes. I find myself justifying my selfish actions, as if there could ever be a good reason for treating my students in that way.

This morning I was reading in Luke and I came across this:

7"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "

Sometimes I feel entitled to reward for my work. I want to be noticed when I do something that I think is "above and beyond" what is required of me. I want people to be impressed by how much I put into my teaching and my students. Yet, what I need to say is, "I am an unworthy servant; I have only done my duty."

Saturdays are for tea and coffee

I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop that's RIGHT by my house (and yet I just discovered it), sipping tea and working on schoolwork.

It's a pretty great way to spend a Saturday.

For all the things that haven't been working in my favor recently, I really have a lot that I have been blessed with. Sometimes I just need a friendly reminder of how blessed I really am... and sometimes that comes through chai tea and wifi.