confession

•May 24, 2009 • 2 Comments

 - i’m afraid that i’m not confident enough to be the person i need to be to do what im about to do over the next five months -

my heart beats fast. i’m excited and scared. excited to go. scared to leave. i brace for the challenge and the adventure ahead without many presumptions about what is on the other side. this is the part where i get introspective and start wondering how it could be me…

no matter how many times i pull at my clothes, brush my hair out of my face, reposition my feet and check my non-existent text messages, i can’t seem to find a place to set my gaze and focus without wondering how the the person in this little awkward body has what it takes to take this big step after so many hard ones. i’m weak and worn after the hardest year of my life. my body is tired. my head is foggy. my heart is drained. and my soul is beat. 

yet somehow i have been carried through to this point. carried through by a hidden, quiet and unexplainable strength. and i am here now about to take that step because…

i’ve never walked alone…even through the deepest of waters.

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“Play…is the exultation of the possible” -Martin Buber

•December 22, 2008 • 2 Comments

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She is…nomatter where she is…

•December 18, 2008 • Leave a Comment

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That which brings us together…

•August 20, 2008 • 2 Comments

Laughter. The universal language of JOY. 

“Laughing in a language I don’t understand, but I love them”

•July 25, 2008 • 1 Comment

We just met, but it was as though we had met before. Her warm glow filled the room. We cooked, we ate and we laughed. She told stories about her sons and their school, and her husband and his work. We related on so much even though we were from two different worlds. She has days when she struggles to eat; yet every day, I never doubt whether or not I will have food on my plate. She stays inside most of the time, and if she goes out, her beautiful face is hidden. I go out every day. She didn’t go to school past 5th grade. I sometimes wonder when I’ll be done. There is no bathroom in her home. I have two. 

And yet, with the differences between us, and the language that separates us, we laughed together….

 

 

…To be continued.

Her smile…

•June 18, 2008 • Leave a Comment

She opened the door slowly and smiled shyly back at us. Her eyes sparkled. Her beauty glowed like a light in the dark of that humbled city. Breathtaking. We ducked our heads to step inside a long narrow pathway still open to the outside. The dusk sky peered down from above. We reached her room and left our shoes outside.

 

The door hit the hard wooden bed as we walked into that tiny room. The bed left a foot or two on two sides of the bed for walking. She invited us to sit down. Conversation began…

To be continued…

 

Her Door…

•June 17, 2008 • 1 Comment

The cloudy dusty air glows in the dusk sunlight as I glance down the crowded, bussling dirt road. Beautiful and intricately hand carved furniture lines the street. A painting of the past. The artisans and sellers watch upon our arrival as we get out of the crowded jeep. I feel their rich dark stares upon me, and catch someone’s eye. I quickly look away with my head low. There are no other women in sight. My heart beats fast as we are guided down a winding path of narrow alleyways of beat up doors, paint peeling off the stone walls, pollution wreaking in the gullies and flies buzzing by my head; all the while, peering away from the staring eyes, the pointing and the laughing under their breath. Ducking under electrical wires decorating the unlit alley way, we stay close together, holding on to eachother’s scarves. Then we reach her door….

(http://flickr.com/photos/elangs/554317)

 

To Be Continued…

Inspirational Father

•June 14, 2008 • Leave a Comment

A real blog is in the making. In the mean time, enjoy this inspirational story about a young man and his father…

Need a lift?

•June 7, 2008 • 1 Comment

 

Wow.

 

Casa Central – Hope for the Community

•June 6, 2008 • 3 Comments

Last semester I had the chance to take a class with one of the most delightful professors I’ve ever met, Rev. Daniel Alvarez. He’s quite an older fellow and has a truly adventurous story. (Needless to say, his story and personality were more interesting than the topic of the class, which is why I kept going.) Born and raised in Cuba, he later began working for Fidel Castro, but because he disagreed with his politics, he left the country and headed for Puerto Rico and later, Chicago. After arriving, he founded an organization called Casa Central (He’s not been to Cuba since).

Field trip!

My class went to visit a few months ago and see what it was all about. What a great place! Among many of their programs, there was one program that we visited that stood out to me among the rest. It is called “La Posada”, which means “The Inn” in spanish. It is different from the traditional homeless shelter in that they not only offer a place to live for whole families, but they offer training in different areas for the potential of becoming independent. In this way, people find hope and dignity. This excert about La Posada is taken from their website:

“Opening its doors to the underserved homeless – monolingual Spanish speaking individuals and families of all sizes, La Posada Interim Housing Program has been offering housing and support to homeless families since 1989.

La Posada seeks to place families in their own independent and permanent housing within 120 days. The program strives to assist families in moving from homelessness to permanent housing.

La Posada is made unique by the comprehensive network of supportive services it offers, a factor which ensures maximum participation and a high success rate. The program provides childcare, transportation, food, clothing and emergency cash. Supportive services include life skills education, family literacy, counseling, nutrition education, and financial management to help families regain and sustain self-sufficiency.

Participants at La Posada also have access to the following services: counseling, referral to alcohol/drug rehabilitation, nutrition education, domestic violence intervention, financial management, food, clothing, transportation, relocation assistance, and public assistance advocacy. Medical services are coordinated through nearby community health centers and hospitals. In addition, monthly workshops help families deal with a variety of other concerns ranging from financial planning to the use of public transportation.”

It’s awesome to see an organization be so effective in the community, especially in the area of giving people the chance to have dignity and independence where they otherwise would be on the street and struggling day to day. Seeing life change like this gives me chills! 

Check out more about the organization here: www.casacentral.org 

I also hear they are always looking for volunteers!