Surprising

The title of this post is the word that I used in our one-word prayer on Thursday night before the foot-washing ceremony. Our group went around and all said a word in prayer that described our experiences for the week. It was amazing to hear all of the different responses. The word that came to mind for me almost instantly, was "surprising." Surprised is exactly what I have been countless times in the past month. (I can't believe that I have been gone for a month already!!!) First, I was surprised, shocked even, that before coming on this trip, I had no desire whatsoever to be in a city working as Urban Staff for YouthWorks. In my interview, I asked to be placed on a reservation working with kids. Oh how wrong I was. I now can't imagine being anywhere else than where I am, doing what I'm doing, with the people that I am with. It is more than obvious to me that I was meant to be here. Not only to I love being Urban staff, but I am getting good at it. I enjoy working with the marginalized and being able to see tons of different awesome ministries in action. Another surprising thing is how much I enjoy being able to interact with the youth. I was really worried at the beginning of the summer because of how much I hated high school and that I would not have anything in common with or be able to connect with the youth. But this first week was awesome! And although I am enjoying the day and a half of quietness that I have before the next group comes, I miss them. I loved seeing their eyes opened to the issues of San Francisco and seeing the change that came over them throughout the week. I loved seeing God working in them and through them. It brought back so many memories and feelings of when I was a youth on a YouthWorks trip a few years back. It is cool to be able to know exactly what they are feeling and going through. This is not to say that I wasn't challenged by one or two of them, but I took that as more of a challenge to love on them despite that. They were great and I am so glad that I will be getting the chance to walk on this part of their journey with them. I'm also so surprised at how much I have a heart for urban ministry. I haven't been to any of the touristy areas except for the Golden Gate bridge and the beach. I've spent the majority of my time in the poorest district of San Francisco. It's called the Tenderloin. The poverty is immense and intense. The cost of living in San Fran is insanely high. A 2 bedroom apartment is over $1,800 a month. A person working at minimum wage would have to work about 190 hours a week in order to afford an apartment. It is so hard to support yourself here, much less have sustainable hope for change. I have been able to see the reality of the poverty here and it has really affected me. There are five main groups of people in the Tenderloin: mentally ill, addictively ill (drugs and alcohol), veterans, women fleeing abuse, and the working poor. Other groups are immigrants, people with HIV/AIDs, the elderly, and more. Even though i have only been here for a few weeks, I have already seen some pretty intense things. I have gotten to become more comfortable walking the streets in the Tenderloin. I hate that I feel so unsafe walking downtown by myself, because most of the people I pass on the street are harmless and wonderful. But I still have that fear when I'm alone that someone tripping out on something will not take no for an answer. But I am getting to a point where I know the district and the streets well enough to avoid certain corners or to tell when something is going down or when someone is strung out. It's still pretty intense and I could not imagine being able to survive on the streets and I feel so much for the people who have no other option and so lucky that I do. That's not to say that I haven't met some incredible people down there. I have had the chance to talk with and serve and eat with some amazing people with incredible stories and I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. I am blessed to be able to be a part of this community for the next couple of months. It is so diverse and beautiful. I was also surprised at how much I needed this summer to heal and to forgive. I came off of this year completely burnt out and broken. The RA job wrecked me and hurt me in so many ways. I came here not knowing what to expect from working on another team and not being able to trust my staff. I was so hurt from that job and I was terrified that this experience would be a repeat of that. But I have been so wrong. My staff, even though I have only known them for about a month, is like my family. They support me and encourage me and always have my back no matter what they have going on. They are committed to each other and they love each other, faults included. They are inspirations to me in their faith, their actions, their service, and their words. I can't tell you how thankful I am to have them and to learn from them this summer. They are so fantastic. I need this summer to forgive people as well and not only the RA people, but others as well. I have such trouble letting go and being able to open myself up again after I have been hurt. I need to not forget, but accept people's faults and be willing to trust again. It is a process where I know not a starting point, but that I am committed to. The last major thing that I have been surprised by is how much God has been present in this experience. He has sent me here and I went even though I have been terrified at moments about my ability to be able to do the job and survive the summer and be the best example of love and servant-hood to these youth that I can be. And He has never left or deserted me. I have felt his continuous presence the whole time no matter how much I have wanted to give up. As my staff likes to say, I'm getting "messed up" in the best way possible and I am loving every second of it. I am truly learning the meaning of "faith"-to be able to take the next step when you can't see where you are going to land. But you take it because you trust that you are being led in the right direction, and down the right path. I believe. And I trust. That's all for now, I'm headed to Haight St. (Hippie Hill!) and to the beach for the afternoon! Last thing, here's my address: Martha Kaempffer YouthWorks! 3355 19th Ave. San Francisco, CA 94132 I love letters, and my staff and I all love homemade cookies!!! :) Here's a link to pictures so far... http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=500087188&share_id=110799701196&ref=nf#/album.php?aid=2720939&id=13961283 Enjoy!

San. Fran. Cisco!!!

It's absolutely crazy that I've already been in San Francisco for like 3 days! It already seems like forever since we rolled in from Denver. Let me fill you in: training week was nuts! We went all day everyday-there was always something going on. I met my team and I loved them instantly-they truly are great and were put in my life for a purpose this summer I can tell. All of the other people were wonderful too and I fell in love with them as well. I was totally beat when the week was done, but it was fun and well worth it-I learned a lot. Then we got into cars early Saturday morning and drove across Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and finally into Nevada where we stayed the night. Then we woke up and drove some more across the rest of Nevada and then all the way across California! I was so exhausted after that... Then we were finally in SF and it is incredible! It is the second densest city in the U.S. and you can definitely tell-things are packed so closely together, I can't even believe it. The hills are HUGE! Tonight we were going up on at honestly like a 45 degree angle. Crazy. You can be in one neighborhood and then go another block and be in a completely different kind of neighborhood and then go two more blocks and be in yet another one. The diversity is amazing-a lot of immigrants come here so there are lots of Latinos, Chinese, and African Americans, etc. I love it. So many different people. It's a beautiful city with so many special places, I can't wait to keep exploring it throughout the summer! We are staying in an old Baptist church that is pretty big and really nice. Sleeping on an air mattress is already making me ache, but we do have shelves in our rooms for clothes and stuff which was unexpected and super nice to have. I really like the building and our kitchen rocks! We also have a courtyard which is beautiful and has flowers and plants and a fountain. It's perfect if it's sunny, which it has been for the last two days! Work started right away on Monday morning when I began calling our ministry partners and setting up appointments. We work with a bunch of different organizations, all of which I am really excited about! The first is the Salvation Army Warehouse where we'll process clothes and put hygiene kits together and sort through toys. I've also met with the local YMCA Senior Annex where two weeks out of the summer, we'll be helping senior citizens from the area so a couple of craft projects. Today, I met with Project Open Hand which delivers hot meals to home-bound people with HIV/AIDS and also has a grocery center for other people with needs. My favorite thus far was St. Anthony's which serves meals to the homeless in the Tenderloin District, one of the poorest in SF. They have such a heart for the poor and marginalized and they truly believe in solidarity and also put it into practice. They believe in "Preaching the Gospel, and when necessary using words." It is a truly beautiful organization. There are more parts to it as well like a bag lunches program and also counseling and health services and other like things. Today they served over 1,900 meals! Most of the people that go there are either Veterans, in AA or NA, have a mental illness, HIV/AIDS, and other like problems. They have a beautiful ministry and idea and I get to go back next week with my staff and prepare lunch for the people and serve it to them and then eat with them. I cannot wait. I ask that all of you keep these beautiful, yet marginalized people in your hearts and prayers. That's about all for now. It's late and I'm exhausted and the rest of my staff has already headed to bed. More when I can for sure. I miss everyone very much and also Minnesota because it's so cold here! :P