Week 1: Motown Mission – Detroit, MI
My trip to Detroit started off as quite the trip—literally. I’m not going to lie, the airport experience was kind of miserable. The Indy airport wasn’t bad. I got to see goodbye to Benny boy, get a ton of jelly beans, go to Starbucks, then found a fair trade café & got coffee there too… had internet access which allowed me to blog and update my facebook pictures… saw a ton of cute babies and even some dogs (as was the trend in Indy…). The Chicago airport, however, was freezing cold, did not have free wifi, and I was there for like three hours. Normally that would be fine, but I had been awake since like 8 or 9 am Friday morning. The flight from Chicago to Detroit was pretty brief and my luggage was as the very beginning of the carousel. The day was looking up. The mission trip wasn’t going to start til Sunday night so a family from the area would be hosting me that night. They have two daughters—Alex is two years older than me, in seminary, serving as the intern for her church, and will be working with Motown Mission. Lauren is a year younger than me and about to leave for study abroad in Denmark. Alex is the one I’ve pretty much attached to since I’ve been here which is great because she’s totally cool and we’ll get to hang out again at General Assembly, what what!
Remember how I said it’s literally been a trip? Well, right when I met Alex and we were about to load my suitcases in her car, I kind of tripped over the smaller one and that knocked the bigger one over… and by knocked it over, I mean it knocked me down and I felt right over and did this lovely graceful roll on the ground which resulted in my first skinned knee in about 10 years. It was so embarrassing but also incredibly hilarious. I really wish someone had caught it on video. In fact, if a youtube video shows up entitled “Girl at Detroit Airport gets knocked over by suitcase” there’s a good chance it’s me. Alex’s family was so great—we had dinner with them and their neighbors and it was awesome. I’ve been so touched by the hospitality we’ve received and I know so much more of it is on the way as the adventures continue through the summer.
Detroit is a lot different than I expected. I didn’t know that there were so many economic struggles here and that so much of the town’s culture had been lost after ‘The Riots’ in the 1960s. There are so many abandoned buildings and struggling communities—it’s pretty heartbreaking. The only exposure I had really had to Detroit was in ‘Home Improvement’ and ‘Eight Simple Rules.’ TV shows aren’t very accurate. I’m excited to see the work we’ll be doing and to get to know the communities we’ll be serving. I want to hear their stories. I want to know what gives them hope.
(Written at 4:30 pm, the afternoon following our first day of work with Motown Mission)
Today we went into the neighborhood where Northwest Christian Church is located and is currently in the process of being renovated. We did a neighborhood trash clean up and met several of the members of the community. Many of them have lived in Detroit their whole lives and were so grateful and so touched to see youth spending a part of their summer in service. One of the things that stood out to me was the architecture and the style of the houses. So many of them were 1920 bungalow style and each had their own unique style and personality. Some of the houses looked as though they had been kept up with fairly well but others were completely condemned, abandoned, or should be considered unlivable-- yet people still call them home. I thought about all of the Christmases, all of the birthdays, all of the life that has happened in each of these houses. To us they were houses in a low income neighborhood. To the neighborhood, they were homes and we need to be sure and give them that recognition. I thought about all of the life that has happened in each home and how each home must have a wellspring of stories from years past... and hopefully will have the opportunity to create more stories. Seeing this neighborhood, these homes, this city... so much of it us empty and just waiting for renewal and revitalization. My hope is that we are able to bring life back to the places we visit-- whether it be in the form of a smile, picking up a piece of trash that is masking the natural beauty of the area, or in having a conversation with a community member. We are here to plant the seeds of hope and compassion. We are here to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ in whatever way we can. Each of these homes has a story to tell... stories that still need to be created... but most importantly, there needs to be people who are ready to listen. We need to reach out to our neighbors and create that bond of peace and reconciliation. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
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