Smushed in a Minibus

In the U.S., I have always lived in a stand-alone house with my family. I have always had a front and a back yard. I have a college degree and am working on another, but I never moved into a dorm, choosing instead to stay with my family and use the saved money for traveling to do ministry. When I moved to Lavender Hill, I left the spread-out, individualistic life behind, trading it for close packed community. At home, I spend hours of my week driving alone in my car to work and to school and to church. Here, I go in to prison to volunteer two or three times a week by minibus and it's almost always jam packed. Last Friday, on the way into work, I messaged my friend to tell them that my bus had a sign all in caps at the front "CERTIFIED TO CARRY 11 SEATED PASSENGERS - 0 STANDING..." We blasted into the station, music blaring and people chatting...all fifteen seated passengers, and our standing conductor.

The mob of kids waiting for the food to be served.

There are some things that are uncomfortable about living so close together. I have never been inside my downstairs neighbor's flat, but I know they smoke in it because I can smell it through the floorboards in the front rooms. But this same neighbor knocked on the door last night to check if I was alright and to say hello because they had not seen me out and about in a few days. I am learning that many times, in order to really love someone, you have to be too close for comfort. You have to be willing to smell their dirt and sweat and get their snot and tears on your shirt as they cry on your shoulder, and when you do, you will wind up feeling just a little closer to Jesus, who said, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matt 25:40) But maybe not until you have had a nice hot shower and changed into some clean pajamas 😉

  

This little girl is my next door neighbor. Her front door is mere feet from mine. She always wants to be involved, whether it is peeling carrots for soup, or taking photos with me. She is a talented, budding photographer and took the two following photos. She also helps give me the inside scoop on my neighborhood, telling me the names and relationships of those around us, and occasionally the secret truth of who likes who.

Auntie Charmaine and me, after feeding over two hundred.

With the height difference, my photographic student needs help to make us level

Also, I have started a fundraiser for Lavender Hill. I was moved to do this after Auntie Charmaine told me that she was planning to cut back from feeding the kids three times a week to just once because her money is running out. You can contribute here if you want to join in the work.

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for funding, whether through the fundraiser or other sources, praise that over $600 has already come in!
• Pray for Auntie Charmaine to have wisdom in how to use the funds. There are so many needs around us it is a challenge to prioritize.
• Pray for rest from the overstimulation. Being around foreign languages and barking dogs and shouting people and loud music all the time gets tiring. I am learning to take more breaks in nature. 
• Pray for me to be useful. I am mostly learning here, but I also want to be a help and encouragement.