4/2: fast friends & detroit partnership

saturday was Detroit Partnership Day: for a single day, some UMich student organizations partnered with the community of Detroit at various sites for different projects.

prior expectations: i was picturing hard labor -- picking up things, breaking things down, putting things up -- something arduous and taxing.  and i was excited -- strangely enough, i like getting my hands dirty.  when we were down in chile, i loved getting down and dirty.  i loved it.  i loved getting on my hands and knees, playing with the kids, running around, crawling around, all sweaty and grimy.  i destroyed my jeans from bending down on my knees so much, and when people ask me why i still wear them (cuz at this point, its pretty ridiculous), i tell them its b/c im lazy.  but the truth is, the gaping hole on my left knee reminds me of the work i want to do in the future.  in any case, i was excited to practice patience, perseverance, and endurance for DP Day and expected loads of hard labor.

what really went down:

unlike most other life groups, we didn't do a sleepover.  i was so worried that some of the members wouldn't get up in the morning, and i actually spent some time praying the night before in my room about them waking up.  haha.  Hallelujah, Jesus!  all 14 of us woke up on time and ready to go.  no stragglers.  :)  thank You, Lord!

those of us who got there super early went to pick up breakfast at Bruegger's for those farther down the line and convened at the Union to scarf down our bagels.  i tried to remind them to approach the day with a missional mindset, but im not sure if they heard me against the gnawing of bagels.  haha.

lazily walking down to the buses at elbel field...lazily as in we were one of the last groups to get on the buses

i think one of the best parts (at least my favorite part) about DP Day was the fact that we were working side-by-side with 4 other muslim student organizations.  i was so excited for that...i mean, really, what are the odds of that?  i had been telling my members to really seize the opportunity to be a salt and light to these muslim organizations while were working at our site and to try to develop relationships with people who were different from us.

the muslim student organizations were soooo friendly and so fun to be around.  honestly, they were a lot more excited, pumped, outgoing, and friendly than my life group members, which i hope was humbling and challenging for them.  its a sad reality that a lot of times we who call ourselves Christ-followers are less like Christ than those of other faiths.

in any case, i really enjoyed myself with the other muslim students. our bus played movie charades together, which surprisingly worked incredibly well despite the setting.  idk.  i felt so comfortable and relaxed with the muslim students.  i think it was because they were so inviting and warm.  plus im a sucker for people who laugh at my lame jokes, so i was immediately taken by them.  :)  but more so, being able to hang out and enjoy the compnay of people who aren't a part of a culture and community that i spend most of my waking moment with was refreshing.  that bus ride to bennett elementary was prolly one of my fave parts of the trip.  we shared in laughter and good times, and i felt like i could be friends with these guys.

our site was bennett elementary school.  those working inside the school carried books and laminated.  i worked outside with the majority of the students where we raked, shoveled gravel, picked up garbage, and swept up the lots and sidewalks around the school.  there was this muslim graduate student named muna who was sitting across from me on the bus ride, and it was nice cuz we were able to go off by ourselves to a satellite parking lot of the school.  for most of the early afternoon, it was just the two of us collecting garbage and sweeping up the lot, and it was such a nice time.  we really hit it off.  she got my sense of humor, and weirdly enough, we have the same fascination with conspiracy theories, theories we were discussing for almost a full 2 hours, a 2 hours that passed fairly quickly.  the conversation was so comfortable and easy, and i genuinely enjoyed myself.  this wasn't an outreach or an intentional "connect-with-a-pre-Christian."  this was merely two people naturally and organically enjoying one another's company.  muna was a girl with whom i could definitely see myself being friends.

me and muna :)

On the bus ride back home, we sat with one another where our conversation topic shifted over to the future.  she's actually my age and studying public health, so it was nice to talk to a peer who was just as passionate about healthcare.  not that talking to freshmen is intolerable -- its just different talking with someone ur own age.  i felt kinda sad though.  i wish that i could have met her earlier.  i wish i had met her last year.  i want to be able to make an effort to spend time with her, but i only have a month left, and i can't help but wonder what kind of friendship would have developed if i had a full year or two.  sigh.  well, i trust that God is sovereign, and i trust that the times i will spend with her in this month will be fruitful.

on another note, i think the other highlight from DP Day was being able to work side-by-side with the teachers and faculty of bennett elementary.  man...these teachers really believe in the community, and i could see their heart and investment.  they were shoveling the gravel alongside us, stooping down to pick up dead leaves and twigs with bare hands, and sweeping up the sidewalks and even the curbsides.  DP Day wasn't about what we could do or what we were contributing.  DP Day was about seeing and working with the community members, witnessing their passion and heart for their surrounding community.  i think that really humbled me.  they loved the school, and they loved the city where they were teaching.

the principal, as a token of appreciation, gave each of us two free tickets to a detroit pistons game.  i couldn't believe it.  were they serious?  we came here to help out, and they were giving us free pro basketball tickets?!  we didn't even really accomplish that much tangibly.  but the teachers were so grateful for us, and i was so humbled by their heart of thankfulness.  now that i reflect, i think that what they were grateful for though, more than the actual labor itself, was the partnership shared.  i think that was what touched them.  this past saturday, they weren't alone in investing and caring for the city.  on saturday, they were loving this city with a whole buttload of clueless college students.  

my pre-conceived notions of DP Day were a far cry from reality.  i thought DP Day solely encompassed hard labor and community service.  instead, DP Day showed me a group of dedicated community members on their hands and knees pulling old shrubs, picking up garbage, gathering dead leaves and twigs as a love offering to the community that was so dear to their hearts.  more than the poverty, crime, abandoned buildings, and rusting automobile industry that we see and read about on TV or the internet, Detroit is about the people, the people who love the city, the people who are committed to building up the community around them.

another takeaway from DP Day: i think im going to check out whatever muslim student association is offered at my grad school so i can get to know, rub shoulders, and befriend people who are different from me.  i got a taste of that on saturday, and its something that i want to actively pursue in grad school.  who knows?  maybe i'll meet someone like muna.

winding down/debriefing/chilling at the Union