worthless fear

I have a good chuckle pretty regularly at the irony of these situations. My post man doesn't like to leave packages outside "in this area" and many outside people seem stunned at the fact that one would choose to live where I have due to it having more risk than maybe, Upland. They "don't want to hear gun shots at night" or "are you safe!?" are things I have heard unsurprisingly.
But when I'm not talking to people who aren't familiar with the area, I'm usually in my home or at MICO enjoying decorating the MICO house with my neighbors, chatting with a friend I made from across the street, seeing the kids throw snowballs at my car laughing, and having a man who happens to live at the "marked drug corner" hollar over that he already shoveled my walk for me. Community. I love it here.

How can we approach the stereotype that areas like this get, and then be sure we correctly and respectfully approach all who happen to have an address in that location that we may want to get to know?

I confess, While more eventful things may happen on my block periodically than that do in a small, quiet town - I still assure, there is no validation for any form of fear.

So many more thoughts... but none that are able to form and match what I really feel.

Dig into Scripture always. God is so good and powerful.

Community event

MICO.
What a riot.
I just hold on for the ride. God's got such a plan! Even though there are bumps along the road.
Tonight's community event included an electrical fire towards that attic.
Let's just be thankful about some things dealing with this, while I mention we're gonna need an electrician, some wall builders, and insulation recoverers. (as well as a loving owner for the family of kittens who made their way to our basement).

THANKFUL
-Brian was in the house and caught it almost RIGHT after it started!
-Marion Fire Department made it there in 2.5 minutes flat. 2 crews attending, three fire trucks.
-They inspected and double checked EVERYTHING. Even swept out the nasty stuff from the attic so we could clean it easier tomorrow.
-Nothing but drywall, some wires, and a few balloons were damaged.
-We've always wanted to redo the attic.. maybe now's the time.
-SO many of our neighbors came out to make sure everything was Okay! A couple knew it was their time to help with the repairs soon!
-The wall it hit can be shut off and tutoring still function fine for the next few days.

We're getting there!

A few new things on the horizons that make me very excited are.
1) Another worship service at the detention center has been approved. 2 times a month, praise and worship will be brought in the doors to the detainees! God is going to work through this in incredible ways.
2) A firetruck and crew just came to MICO last week to help us fix up the outside of the house. I saw this in a dream three weeks before, and God sent them to help. Incredible testimony, inredible helpers, and a very fun day for the neighborhood! :)
3) God is tempering me. Teaching me. And disciplining me. While it's hard, it's oh so good.
4) A networking lunch between many after school child service providors is going to happen on October 13th. I have been dreaming of a networking group like this for about a year. God is positioning leaders who love Him exactly where He needs them to make things work.
5) Tutoring is now open 4 days a week and continues to add volunteers
6) I recieved two opportunities at different places. God truly provides and positions. We must learn to wait and be patient and not push things for ourselves.
He knows how to make them come straight To US!

welcome back

For anyone who likes to read my crazy thoughts, we are back. Two months have passed, some significant things have happened during them, and we are back. Back to pushing for the Kingdom of God to show up in Center City, Marion. We never really stopped pushing, and expecting, but we went through a different sort of season that was necessary and rare and may not happen again for a long time. God is so faithful in every step of the journey.

Back to welcoming IWU students over and being so inspired and encouraged by their service. Back to a September of painting the house... still. (Some DAY we will get this done.) Back to spending time with kids at tutoring, etc. etc.
Just good, exciting stuff!

What a burden though driving home next door to MICO and seeing a homeless man sleeping on its porch. The mission won't take people who have a sexual offenses in the criminal background. What else are they to do? What are we to do? This is the moment when it's hard to carry the power of a loving, awesome God in me, yet still feel unable to relate it to the world as a single white female at midnight finally noticing some peoples' reality. The good thing is that God is sovereign, and I am not God, and I trust my daddy will take care of Him tonight. I have peace in our Father, but if anyone else has ways that they reconcile things like this in their mind, do tell.

Harold

This shouldn't be such a surprise to me - but it continually is! I used to go out looking for people to minister to, and now they show up at my door - literally. The doorbell rings, we talk, we chill, we minister to each other, I get an insight into their needs and I get to pray for them!
God said he would bring people to me, and one day a girl prayed for me and called out to God to bring me the crazies, druggies, those with disabilities, etc. While I laughed at that and braced myself a little nervously, I knew inside that's really what I wanted.

So today, I met Harold. He showed up on my second porch (The MICO house), just waiting on a chair as I rolled up to do some work. Mental disability, colon cancer, no family, needed laundry done, and badly wanted a cup of coffee. While the man was hard to understand and jumped from one thing to the next, we finally got around to the plan that he'd return to men's group and I'd find a way to get him coffee and take care of his laundry that evening.

I think I might've wished that he didn't show up to men's group. I know I did. But, no way, he showed up alright and early. As I left during the start of what should've been their men's group, I wondered if maybe someone else would help him after group and they wouldn't be there when I got back. But, nope, I pull up, and he's still on the porch- alone. While things may have fallen through there, they sure didn't with our plan. But first, I had to unload TONS of wood to the house. 1st blessing (and this ALWAYS happens), was that I thought i was going to be unloading 40 2x6's into the house by myself, but no - Harold himself and another guy from around show up out of nowhere and get the job done.
Following that, my friend Daryl and I took Harold to get some detergent and to the laundromat. This was a long trip to the laundromat, but I count my blessings like crazy and smile at the cleverness of God. That trip brought a visit with a new girl in town with a heart of gold who was such an encouragement to me. It brought seeing a couple other people I don't get to talk to normally. And it brought a joy that I don't find in my busyness. I started to think that I hadn't spent any time with jesus today so i really should get back and get to praying! Let me get all spiritual on you- but honestly, I felt like God hit me with the fact that I couldn't get any more close to spending time with Jesus than by being with those like Harold, who know one wants to help. Why would I leave him to 'go spend time with Jesus' when Jesus was so there?!
So as I settled down about what time it was, and as we talked more, I realized that there is something so sweet about this man. Furthermore, though it's extremely difficult to understand him, the more time spent, the sooner one begins to see him in a new light, how God does - so endearing- just as He is to God.

Dear Christian, do you know how much power you have?

The world needs you to be you. We need you to be exactly who God created you to be. Do not try to be someone else. That roll is taken and then we miss out on what we need out of a "you".
The world doesn't really need your programs. The people in it may enjoy the services you offer, but what many desperately need is for you to be the atmosphere changer that you were designed to be. We need you to walk the streets, speak out against injustice, speak life, release destiny, and carry the presence of God into every dark corner of the earth.
We need you to be bold and show us what it means to live an eternal life that starts right now. We desperately need to hear the voice of God and we're hoping that you, Christian, can show us how to do that.
You, Christian, have the answer.
You, Christian, carry the key to deliverance from any life issue, frustration, fear, or worry. Please do not allow yourself to rationalize fear, call it wisdom, then stay far away from the exact places that need you the most.
You know how to handle this. You know what to say. You have access to the resources.
We call for a renewing of the mind, an excercise of faith, and a mighty work of God through the lives of His Humbled Ones.

Lately... Inner City Ministry Is:
-Seeing a friend one day by your house, and the next morning hearing his bond price over the phone.
-It's meeting and valuing such a wide variety of people designed beautifully and carrying unique stories.
-It's praying on a corner that life and fruitfulness break forth from what appears to be an abandoned place where a circle of alcoholics now chill.
-It's eating freezy pops on your porch with second graders and just being real.
-It's picking 5th graders apart from fighting one another in the yard of the ministry house and reminding them again of how God sees them! Better than that!
-It's being enlightened into types of "games" that you never played growing up, but those that do continue to into their adult years and it only leads to something faster and higher risk.
-It's trying to undo a "churchy" mentality as you hear for the third time in a day someone striving to convince you that "I still swear sometimes, but I DO believe in God!" If I hear it again, I'm going to start swearing! When did we switch from, "they'll know you are Christians by your love" to "they'll know you're a Christian by how little you swear"??

funny day

Still painting the MICO house. God has brought so many blessings! Starting with a group of High school kids from Paddock View last week to help out. We had a great time. Then a couple friends Wednesday for some blitz painting. God held off the rain that was supposed to last ALL day long! :) Didn't even start to sprinkle till we were completely done with cleaning up.
THEN - I had to return my ladders to my bro, but just after that, scaffolding was offered to us and dropped off!
Now - today was the first day that I didn't have other workers show up, but it was sure fun standing super high on scaffolding and painting all day on 7th and Boots. I got some good comments.
"Is that a lady up there!?"
"You should get more paint on the wall than you do on yourself!"
"Don't fall"
And the best - "I hope you DO fall... right into my arms."

Oh dear... life is just so funny. and very fun.

update MICO e-mail in case you missed it! :)

MICO prayer Partners,
Thank you for your prayer and interest! We have had a GREAT week as IWU students have assisted MICO everyday on their "Mission Trip to Marion"! The timing also fell after a group of 15 Detroit High Schoolers stopped by to put on a carnival for the kids before heading to Taylor's youth conference! The carnival drew about 30 kids and bumped our regular tutoring group to around 20. The Beauty is that MICO is becoming a place known to be for Every kid, not just one click. :) Thank you Hope Church for sending your youth group to break that ice!

As the Lord has blessed us with many willing volunteers through IWU, This week has been full of pastor interviews and community surveys in order to get feedback and input that will be useful for the next steps of MICO and other community outreach efforts. PLEASE pray for the follow through of gathering information.

At this point, We NEED:
People who would like to continue the effort of meeting with local individual pastors during the week and getting essential feedback from them.
People who will meet to PRAY for over this information that we are bringing in and what to do with it. (every other Sunday night - next one is May 10)
TUTORS for the month of May every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:45-5:30 pm.

Please let me know if you are able to help with any of those things and would like to be involved.
Thank you and God bless!
-julie for MICO

Our battle is not against flesh and blood.
Our worship tears down the strongholds.

God is blessing me with courage and I could not be more thrilled. He truly does answer prayers and he truly does get you to the situations he needs you in.
Last Friday blessed me as 15 high schoolers from Hope church in Detroit came to MICO for the afternoon. After cleaning the house up and down, they set up an all out carnvival for our kids in the yard and left all the games and extra food. WHOA. I was extremely blessed! And you don't even KNOW how special our kids have felt and how well they have responded to this attention and activity happening just for them!
THIS event kicked off tutoring winding up with almost 20 kids each day. They now all know the place is for everyone to come and have a good time!
Good, clean FUN and people who LOVE Jesus and just came to be themselves loving Jesus has shown the kids it's not about cliques.

This Week, IWU students have spent each day around Marion blessing ministries with their talents and energy and joy! Those at MICO have willingly met with pastors, prayer walked the neighborhood, started community surveys, and put on an after school program for the kids. It's a Beautiful sight and I'm pumped where God is taking ALL of us as His children and as people who want to serve Him.

4th grade gang wannabes!?

Tutoring: Still growing. Three more new ones today. Three different new ones Tuesday. Fortunately, they’re not ALL coming back on the same day. We still need to prepare more for this growth. But, yes - I have to walk to the bus stop to pick the kids up now and walk back together. Because Tuesday we started our day with some heated boys after the little “G-squad” in town jumped Archie and hit him in the face as he walked to the MICO house. I’m encouraging the boys Not to fight back and Not to get riled up. The only thing I know to do so far is keep them safe. So, I walk to the bus stop and we walk back together.
It’s crazy, our three (now 4) core kids wether it’s at MICO or even outside their bus, when they see me, those three brothers run full speed at me yelling Miss Julie, and give me big hugs. That’s enough to keep you in something like this, I’d say. =P But, happens today, after they greet me, they’re yelling across the street at the G-Squad how they were packing protection! I refused to be a part. It’s interesting too. It Did show me a bit of how God works. How I see it, when we choose to do things on our own, we’ve chosen our reward and our outcome. When we let God handle it and give it to Him and obey Him, He can reward us, and that’s Always better!
When the boys choose to pack weapons (Which one Did, in fact, have an exacto knife in a pocket of his backpack for that reason), I cannot stand up for kids like that. I cannot back their weapons. They’ve chosen to handle it, and I cannot step in for these kids I’m “so proud of” and 'fight' for them, when they’re fighting foolishly.
That’s all for my random thoughts.
Pray for direction in this time of shifting.

Not happy that my friend is in jail, but what a cool experience to be in a ministry in which my dad and I have developed a relationship with an individual and go together during visiting hours and discuss funny stories and God stuff with an inmate for like 45 minutes!
Tutoring today was so funny. We are averaging 6 boys between the grades of 1 and 5. They are so humorous and not short on energy or boldness. Today, I gave a couple of them the best thing I could find in order for them to get creative and do the limbo (which they decided) - a rope. After entering the homework room for some more problems with another kid, I come out to find one at the top of the stairs with rope in hand and one at the bottom JUST about to start tug of war. Oh dear dear! I can't help but laugh everytime I think of it. NOW - this makes our tutoring ministry look off the wall and out of control. And while you may sense that walking in - it totally is not. But let's just say - if we want to serve more kids - we are in bad need of more adults and helpers.
New Update: I am a high school algebra teacher as a full time sub. What an experience. It's the greatest thing though seeing So many High school kids I know though, day in and out. Freshman are very cool. And math can be fun to teach.

and then everything broke...

but with God - it's a good breaking. Don't let me be cheesy, but I'm serious - breaking is the only thing that can describe this. The mindset, the fear, the restlessness, the pride, the solemness instead of joy - today I felt relief from them. Just as I woke up.
Odd thing is - this filling of things that are not me fell on the second day of stopping this discipline I was practicing and was supposed to do for three more days The decision did come with prayer and a peace - BUT clearly- the religion broke with that decision and this filling too. When I think I deserve God to answer my prayers because of ABC and it being about me, I realize, He really shows up when I just learn to be, And listen, and realize - it's not about "figuring out the method to meet Him".
Convictions have fallen in the areas of compassion, fear of man, prayer, and faith. If you want to chat more- just let me know and we'll discuss.
I am blessed to have roommates like I do, neighbors like Adam and Ronda, people in the community I look to for advice and others I just love to have fun with. And in an even larger light in my mind - a church that LONGS for Jesus and His Kingdom and Realizes that this City is the Lord's, not satan's and we already have victory.
I'm blessed with college workers who will come to MICO and clean these 100 yr. old basements holding the most random things in a cloud of dust, and do it smiling the Whole time! Then create the most innovative interchangable sign for events that I could ever hope for! :)