Chanting for Change

     Please take a moment to watch Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner bring an entire room of world leaders to their feet. Chosen from 500 applicants, this woman speaks from a perspective I've never heard from before, which just makes it that much more compelling, and the ending... Well, you'll have to see!

     As I'm sure many of you have  noticed, this issue has been steadily rising over the last few weeks. The people are once again taking a stand against climate injustice, and I'm beginning to find that this time, the rest of the world is ready to listen.

     There are a few things about this video that really bring it home for me:

1) Yes, Leonardo Dicaprio beat her to the punch, but this woman is not a "celebrity." She's a mother, much like my own. She cares about her child, like any mother would, and what she's fighting for is "the most important race of all, the race to save humanity." This video shows the difference one person can make, a person just like you and me.

2) This year, I'm living with two second-year YAVs, one of which just spent the last year in the Philippines. Hearing the stories Mallory tells and the pictures from her time there, make this place more real to me. I'll be honest, before I applied to the Young Adult Volunteer Program, I thought very little about this area, but being that it was a location I was interested in spending this year, I learned a lot from Dessa Palm (one of the site coordinators) about its history. "We've seen waves crashing into our homes and our breadfruit trees wither from the salt and drought." Especially after the typhoons that have happened recently, there is no way we can continue ignore this issue.

3) What I might consider the most exciting point on this list is that I am the proud sister of a one who participated in, to quote the man himself (Ben Evans), "the largest climate march in history (400,000 people committed to climate justice!!)" Of course her speech made a difference, and if it simply stood alone, I'm sure it would still cause these world leaders to second guess themselves, but pair that with each protest, speech, and video coming to light in the recent weeks, they have no choice but to notice and take action. "And there are thousands out on the streets, marching hand-in-hand, chanting for change NOW. And they're marching for you, baby. They're marching for us."

"The people united can NEVER be defeated!" - Ben Evans

"Learning to Live Loved"

     As some of you may know, I've been reading The Shack... Gosh, I feel like this book is blowing my mind, and to be honest, really helping me think about and develop my own faith. I've been recommending this book to just about everyone, so if you have not had a chance to read it, you really should take the time. It's not a book where I believe everything to a "T," but I do think the author uses actual conversations with the trinity to explain concepts in a much more tangible way.

     I'm about three-fourths of the way in, and in this time, Mackenzie Phillips has learned a lot about what God's love really means and how we, as children of God, can respond to this love. The more I read, the more I'm realizing what a gift this is, to be unconditionally loved by the God powerful enough to create it all! It wasn't until Saturday while reading that I truly realized what this meant. Mack is struggling to find a way to balance work and bills and a family with his growing relationship with God, Mack asks Jesus:

"So what do I do now?"

"What you're already doing, Mack--learning to live loved."

     Upon reading this, tears filled my eyes. What does it mean to live every day knowing that you are loved unconditionally? What does it mean to to walk this life with God, where the only happiness you seek comes from the Creator? The more I reflected on this, I realized that there would be no need to put down others, or judge them in any sense of the word. You would give your whole self to helping others simply because God calls us to love one another. And the best part is, this love isn't something you have to strive for, it is freely given, and in doing so, it frees us love out loud.


After thought:
     I posted all of this yesterday, but again, I see how God works in mysterious ways... As I'm editing the PowerPoint for this Sunday's service, our Prayer of Confession reads as follows:

Made in your image, we are hard wired for relationships, Lord.  And yet, it seems that relationships are where we struggle most arduously to live out the command to love one another.  Instead of living in communion with the mutual respect and grace we witness in the relationships of the Trinity, we prefer to dominate and subject one another to imposed authority. Forgive us. Teach us. Lead us in a better way.

Amen.

YAVs Do "Tacky Tourist Day"

     Yesterday, all seven residents of 2305 W. Saunders Ave. explored the downtown area of San Antonio, TX, and I'm pleased to report: It was a blast!

     We've been living here for just under two weeks now, so we were definitely due for some time getting to know our city! Since my work at Divine Redeemer is walking distance for the house, I finally had a chance to experience the bus system, which I will admit was a little confusing. Luckily, I had people with me that are very experienced with how to get to and from downtown, but I'm adding "become familiar with the bus system" to my to-do list!

     I wasn't sure I realized how much of a tourist area San Antonio was, but everywhere we went, there were what I would definitely call "tourist attractions:" Texas shirts sold here! Everything about the Alamo! San Antonio Spurs merchandise! It was a little overwhelming, especially when we got swept into a few of the shops, but where else was I going to buy postcards to send all my friends?

     Regardless, through the mess, we did find our way to the Alamo, which I must admit was a little, as Tori put it, "underwhelming" simply because it was so much smaller that we anticipated. I was interesting to read the history though, especially since it had so much to do with how San Antonio came about.

     Eventually, we made our way to the Riverwalk, which is an amazing part of the city. We all agreed we'd have to come back here again for a night out on the town. All in all, the day turned out to be rather wonderful and just another reason I can add to why I'm very glad to be here!

Work Begins

     After a restful Labor Day, the time came for our jobs to start up...

     I will admit that this morning was a bit of a challenge, but not in the way you'd expect. I didn't have to report to Divine Redeemer until 1:30 pm, and once the house was empty, with each member at their own respective sites, I was beginning to feel a little useless. (Luckily, not every day will be like this, but I am hoping to use my longer mornings to do something productive, like work out or study up on my Spanish.)

     Once I got to the church though, it was amazing how fast time flew!

     Hope and Ignacia are the women in charge of Peace Pals (where I'll be helping every Tuesday and Thursday.) When I arrived, they gave me a run-down of the afternoon and the expectations they have for me as well as a bit of advice, which was much appreciated. We walked the four blocks from Crockett Elementary with a train of 16 children. During this time, I tried to get to know a few of them, but it wasn't until I was talking to a second grader named Pablo that I realized not all of these children spoke English and come to find out that about a third of the children only speak Spanish...

     I will admit, this worried me a bit. For as many Spanish classes as I've had in my life, I still wasn't sure it was going to be enough to tutor these kids if I couldn't explain things well. I guess you could say I had my work cut out for me.

     When the first question came, my teacher instincts kicked in. I actually taught fifth graders decimal place value and second graders number lines, while reading directions all in Spanish! I ran a reading circle with a group of first graders, of which only half spoke English, and eventually I found myself speaking in Spanish to everyone, and they understood me, and I was proud!

     It was amazing to see that in the span of four hours, I actually built relationships with these kids to the point where they hugged me goodbye, and I am so glad to have had experience teaching to where I feel like these kids are going home not having the right answers, but knowing how to find them!