Today is our last day of self-quarantine. We have spent the past week inside the house, and I feel like the week was an unexpected blessing. I thought that by this point, I might be going a bit crazy from staying inside for so long, but honestly, there are parts of our quarantine life that I think I will miss once our lives become busier.
A large aspect of this week has been telling our stories. Each day, one of us shared our life story with the group. These storytelling times definitely felt intense, as we exposed both the beauty and brokenness of our lives. Despite how different each of our backgrounds is, I was continually reminded of the solidarity between us. Shared struggles that we have experienced. Shared joys. I feel honored to have my life intersect with each of my five team members this year. There is so much more to unpack as we enter into relationship with one another, but sharing our stories this week was a powerful way to begin to let ourselves be known.
Another task for this week was creating a map of the neighborhood around us. We spent several days working on this, beginning with researching to find places and organizations that might be good to mark on our map. This exercise was helpful in becoming more intimate with our surroundings. While our map still feels somewhat bare, I look forward to it filling up more as we start to encounter our neighborhood this week and engage with people and places that we want to add to our map.
I also appreciate the conversations that we have continued this week to frame our year together, both formal and informal conversations. We have begun to dialogue about the connection between faith and justice, the oppression that plagues the world around us, and what it looks like to embody the love and justice of Jesus this year, particularly in the context of a pandemic and increasing awareness around racial injustice. These conversations have challenged me and have also urged me to reflect on my own story, values, and beliefs.
An additional blessing of this week has been having the space to rest and reflect. Coming from the chaos of working at camp this summer, I have greatly appreciated the relaxed pace of this week. It has been good to breathe, enjoy slow mornings, and have a break from the craziness of the world right now.
We have spent much of the spaces in between these elements enjoying one another's presence and getting to know each other better. I have valued eating meals together, playing games, and having fun even in the confined space of our home. We have bonded a lot over the past two weeks, and I am thankful that we had the opportunity to do so before we begin working at our service sites next week.
Tomorrow, our life beyond our home begins. We will each start working at our service sites. I will be working virtually and am still very unsure what my role will be. However, The Simple Way office is just a few blocks away from our house, so I intend to work from there whenever possible. I hope this provides the opportunity to connect with people there and become involved with the various ministries of The Simple Way.
Please pray for clarity regarding my role at KIPP (my service site), connection with people in the neighborhood, and opportunities to see how God is moving in Kensington and in me.
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