That is why I love America!

You probably heard it in the news, Michelle Obama was in Merced! But that is not the reason why I love America, I love it because ANYTHING is possible in this country.

A brand new university in the middle of the central valley has a few hundred students who still believe in the notion that they can accomplish anything if they put their mind to it and so they started a campaign to invite Michelle Obama to be their commencement speaker ... and after e-mails, letters and videos, they did see it happen!

Merced, a town of 80,000 people in the central valley, in between the big political decision makers of Los Angeles and San Francisco, received a lot of publicity these last few days and it reminded me that so many things can be accomplished if we believe in our dreams, use the gifts and passions of individuals and work together.

When we work in communities, we get to see the same power at work. When we look at the gifts and passions and dreams that people in neighborhoods have and encourage them to act on it, we all get to enjoy the fruit of the labor.

Last month, we learned that an older gentleman did not have any glass in his windows and we decided to act. We contacted a local business man who donated the glass, spoke with a couple of out of work handymen who donated their time, and within a couple of weeks were able to assist this gentleman. The results:the gentleman has glass in his windows and started volunteering in another area, the handymen got to use their gifts and provide a service, and received some food from us to provide for their families, the community was encouraged and we all saw the power of community at work.

Maybe we don't get to see Michelle Obama again, but community change happens all the time in small towns like Winton and Delhi, in communities and neigbhorhoods.

Everyone no matter how rich has a need. Everyone no matter how poor has a gift. That is why we build community.

Congratulations to the students of UC Merced for having learned of the power of working together so early in life, may you use the rest of your lives and may you use it wisely!

I love America because anything is possible when we put our minds to it and dream big enough!

Dual personalities

Last week I met someone with 2 personalities and my heart broke over the pain and anguish that caused this person to split into two parts so that she could function as an adult. Part of her was a small child still looking for a parent to protect her, knowing that there will be betrayal again, the other part a brilliant, funny, articulate person who struggled to stay sane.

I thought much about this over the Easter weekend, and I think it is only by the grace of God that all of us don't have split personalities to make it through the everyday hurts of life.

How does a child survive abuse? How does a spouse overcome everyday brutalities? How do we survive the onslaught of bad news every day?

No wonder so many turn to drugs, alcohol, television and other forms of 'numbing' agents!

What does it mean that we celebrate Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?

I wonder if it does not, in part mean that we do not have to have split personalities, but that he takes the part of our lives that is pained and broken and puts His loving arms around it, healing some of the scars and helping us to live with the others.

I wondered, why she split and I didn't.

I celebrate Easter because of that! Because of a God who cares enough to send His Son to take the blame for the abuse, the hurt, the despair, and not only that of the abuser but also the abused.

I celebrate Easter because there is hope! At times my soul picture is a black hole with very little light and only a few cracks of dim light coming through but more and more often there is more light shining through and a little tiny plant growing in it, struggling for life, but surviving and some day maybe even blooming!

Until then, my heart breaks for the people who don't know this Healer, who don't know that there is hope.

"The Bus Boutique" - and job opportunities

CNN is running in the background as I am sitting in the hotel lobby. As everybody else, they were discussing the enconomy and how this even is reflected on Craiglist. They showed the add for a woman looking for professional clothing for a job interview.

That is really what "The Bus Boutique" is all about, giving people the resources they need to go look for a job, feeling good about themselves; attend college and not having to worry what others will think about their outfits; being warm enough in elementary school because school color clothing was provided.

When people have good clothing, they feel better about themselves and are more likely go out and fulfill their dreams.

Kind of sleepless in Merced

It is 2:00am and I am unable to sleep. Last night we found out that a person was upset with us...a person who has different coping skills than we do, a person who could cause harm to us. After my husband and I spoke with God about the situation, we went to bed ... but restful sleep did not want to come. Every sound in the street, every bark of the neighborhood dogs, every stir of our own dogs made me aware of my vulnerability. While my faith in God tells me that we are safe, my body responses with adrenaline and keeps me awake. As I was pondering this, I realize that this is only a one-time event for me. By tomorrow I will have settled down, the 'crisis' will have passed and I will feel 'safe' again in this little world of mine..... while thousands of others will again go to bed with the fear that their husband or wife will come home drunk to lash out at them; their family member will sneak in the bedroom at night to do unimaginable things, their friends terrorizing them, the homeless man or woman fearing that their few possessions will disappear, or that they might have to leave their temporary home. To live under that kind of stress seems so unimaginable to me. One night for me is tiring, nerve racking and exhausting.... how do they live with it day in and day out? No wonder the children cannot concentrate in school, the adults are overly tired, lash out, and can't focus on their work or their daily living. Reading my Bible a few moments ago I came across Proverbs 31 in verse 8 and 9 were we are called to "Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers.Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!" Wouldn't it be great to live in a community where people care for each other, where I can count on my neighbor to be there for me, a place where I know I don't have to handle the struggle myself. Where someone will speak up for the voiceless, where justice is being served, where the poor and the destitute have an advocate. I want to be the one that stands up for the people without the voice, but I also need people around me who will stand up for me, who will have my back when the time comes. My prayer is always that God's Kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven, and I know that only with God's help do I have the strength or the desire to stand up to help others along the way, to live in community and care enough to act.

Living and Dying

So here is my first blog page, written from a hospital room where my good friend Debbie is in a coma and her body is shutting down. This is a time when we decide about the value of life and journey of death. We have gentle music going in the background, we talk to her about our memories of our short life together and of our hope for a future. As I sit here and deal with my own emotions of letting go, I wonder how many people today will die alone. How many lack friends who can sit by their site when the time comes? How many will be missed?Earlier in the cafeteria I met an older gentleman. He told me that he buried his second wife last week, after several months of hospital and nursing home stays. Today he is going to loose one of his friends. He was alone and so we talked for awhile, shared a meal together. Strangers brought together by the common pain of loosing someone they care for. Will I be the only person he gets to talk with today? Does he have other friends who walk this road with him, to hear his memories of his wife, to laugh and cry with him? That is really what Community Development is all about.... to come together in times of crisis, in times of death, in times of joy. To have friends that care, so that we do not have to walk the road alone.