As Daren, Jackson and I sat in our basement last Saturday night wondering if the tornado would come our way, a flood of questions suddenly gripped me: What about our neighbors? Did they have basements? Did they know they could come to our home? Had I told them that? Here we are, missionaries to this inner-city community, and I felt like I somehow missed a huge witnessing opportunity. Sure, I knew that our closest neighbors and community friends had basements, but what about the others I didn't know as well? I still had a responsibility to reach out to them. That's what it means to live in community with one another.
Daren and I have lived in this neighborhood for almost six years. During that time, we have come to know many individuals and families and our lives have truly been blessed by their friendships. But it's easy for me to become complacent and even lazy. I put off visiting people because I'm too busy, because taking care of a two and a half year old drains my energy, because I'm consumed with other ministry responsibilities...the list goes on. After our tornado scare, I realized I need to do better at connecting with those in my community.
After supper on Monday, we took a stroll around our neighborhood. First, we stopped by Carl's house. Daren has gotten to know Carl over the years and is currently working with him on our community garden. While chatting with him outside his home, we learned that he has served in the national guard and was even a personal body guard for one of Kansas's former governors. Carl also has a love for gardening and for animals. I dub him the "Urban Dr. Dolittle" because he is known to feed ducks that wander into his yard- they even knock on his door with their beaks! Jackson loves to go visit him and he and Carl always share a fist bump before departing. Jackson's life will be made all the fuller for knowing individuals like Carl- just as mine was when I was a missionary kid.
Next, we visited a family we have know for years. The girls have been in my Bible clubs and will stop by and visit me after school sometimes. It had been awhile since they dropped by, so it was good to re-connect with them. This family has a little girl Jackson's age. We have pictures of them both as babies laying side-by-side. The high point of this particular visit was watching them both swing on a colorful hammock in their yard. Later that week, the girls came over to hang out and eat waffles with us for dinner (Yes, when I don't feel like cooking, I make a super healthy meal like waffles and bacon!) My hope is that these two will be able to become friends and enjoy living a block a part. Some of my earliest friendships were with kids from the neighborhoods my parents ministered in. I look forward to Jackson being shaped and molded into a person who comes to love people from all different cultures and backgrounds.
Living in community with one another is sometimes tough. It requires time and effort and sometimes it requires you to sacrifice your to-do lists and even your standards of hygiene (while talking with Carl, Jackson manages to find and play with a cigarette butt as well as dig up other "curious items" in the dirt). But the rewards far outweigh any of the hardships! My life and ministry is fuller and more complete because of these wonderfully unique and diverse people.
