Becoming > Doing

This past week our City Director challenged our team to shift from doing to becoming. What does that mean? Think of the many people who made the 2015 new years resolution to lose weight. Doing versus becoming is the difference between doing what's necessary to lose a few pounds versus adopting the proper lifestyle to become a healthier person. As you may have witnessed, people who fall under the category of the latter are more likely to keep the weight off...just saying.

A part of what drew me to Mission Year was my heart for social justice and the programs' commitment to social justice. I've come to realize that there's a difference between doing social justice and becoming an advocate for social justice. This season of my life has invited me to become a sincere advocate for social justice. What's the difference? Remember Michael Brown? To do advocacy is to attend the protests, write a blog, and discuss it while it's a hot topic. To become is doing all of that while it's not the hot topic on everyone's Facebook news feed and continuing the conversation in my circle of influence that asks the question, what can I do to prevent a case like Ferguson from happening again? 

In light of a new year, what is this season of your life inviting you to become?

Sitting on the stoop...

When I was younger I would watch all kinds of movies where I saw people sitting outside on the front porch in a yard char, on the steps, and even in a rocking chair by the window...just sitting. I always wondered, what are they looking at? Are they watching cars pass by? Waiting on the pizza man? A package delivery? Are they thinking? Are they bored?

It never made much sense to me until a few weeks ago. Saturdays are our neighborhood days, which means we spend intentional and valuable time in our neighborhood whether we're picking up trash or just kickin it with a neighbor. I had nothing planned, so I decided to sit out on the steps of my apartment and surprisingly I discovered a lot!

#1: Kids play outside! I can't tell you how many times I've heard the older generation say that the young generation doesn't' play outside anymore. All we do is sit in front of a computer screen all day. Granted, a lot of youth may fulfill that stereotype, but the kids on my block take walks, throw footballs, play basketball, make up creative games, and even sit on the steps with neighbors and talk.

#2: Everyone speaks to everyone! Out of the dozens of people who passed by me on the steps that day, only a couple of people didn't acknowledge my presence with a "hey, how are you?" Even strangers passing by in their car exchanged a friendly smile and wave.

#3: With open eyes, there is more to see! An outside walking down my block will probably notice that the streets are filled with litter, there's an abandoned building across the street from my place, a handful of houses are given little to no maintenance, and small children can be found walking up and down the block without any supervision. Stick around for a little bit and you begin to see the beauty beyond what your eyes can see. Even though there's litter covering the streets, just a couple of weeks earlier the community rallied together and spent their Saturday cleaning it up. Although the building across the street has been abandoned for a number of years, the boards put up by the city were decorated by members of the community with different passages of scripture. Some of these house may not be kept up in the best shape, but the same people living in them are the greatest assets to the neighborhood, bring the neighborhood together through sports and music. Stick around just a little while longer and you'll see how the older kids on the block are always looking out for the younger kids.

The beauty in just "sitting on the stoop" is that my world paused for just a moment and suddenly saw my block through new lenses. Societal pressure tells us that we are always supposed to be doing something; keeping ourselves busy and entertained, but in doing so what are we missing?

I encourage you to take a moment to "sit on the stoop" and see what you discover! Sitting on the stoop doesn't have to mean literally sitting on the stoop but taking time away from time and stopping to smell the roses.

Learning Grace....

Coming into Mission Year I thought I had grace all figured out; grace was undeserved and freely given...just like the "GRACE period" that all of my loans gave me for the first 6 months post-graduation. During the last couple of weeks I have learned a new meaning of grace, and surprisingly I had no idea what it actually meant until I lived in an apartment with 6 other women.

The picture above is a "grace wall" that my housemates and I made. Each of us took a card and wrote down 6 "statements of grace," which said "I need grace when..." and "I'll extend grace when..." Writing out specific ways in which we need, and will extend, grace to one another. Prior to making our grace wall we talked about what grace meant to us and our working definition is this.

Grace is receiving what we don't deserve

If we think about grace from a Christian perspective, we can agree that Christ was the ultimate example of what grace is and what grace looks like. God, in all of His sovereignty, incarnated Himself to take on the sins of mankind by dying on the cross for our sins. Not only did he become a ransom for us, but He promised those who believe in Him eternal life with Him! Now, if you've got a better example of grace, please write a book and share it with the world.

So what does grace look like on a day to day basis? Grace in our home is washing our housemates dishes when she is running late for work in the morning without grumbling or complaining. Grace is not complaining that someone didn't do their chores right, but showing them how it can be done better next time. Grace is coming home from a long day at work not wanting to talk about your day, and your housemates are okay with that.

The ways in which we extend and need grace on a daily basis from one another is a never ending list. Believe it or not, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life! I am where I am today because of grace. I believe that when we come to fully understand the value of grace we have no choice but to give grace to our friend, family member, co-worker, neighbor, etc.

Try writing out your own grace statements. Where in your life do you NEED grace? Where in your life do you need to EXTEND grace?

Arlicia to Chicago

Money! Money! Moneyyyy!

I've been getting a lot of questions regarding financial support for Mission Year. Hopefully you'll find all of your questions answered here, but if not feel free to ask!

How much money are you raising? 

I'm encouraged to raise a total of $12,000. 

Where does the money go?

All funds donated to me go towards my personal Mission Year account and offsets the cost of housing, utilities, groceries, health insurance, a monthly stipend, and transportation costs within the city. 

When do you have to have all the money? 

By the end of my term of service, July 2015.

What happens if you don't raise $12,000?

Mission Year will walk alongside me both before and during my year of service to assist with fundraisers and raising support through donors.

I can't donate right now, are there other ways I can support you? 

If you follow my donation site(https://missionyear.thankyou4caring.org/arliciaetienne) you can set up a payment for a future date. Of course your prayers are always a great way to support :) If you'd like to send me a care package, I can provide you with my address. 

Are you getting paid? 

I will be getting a monthly stipend of $70. Yes, I said seventy dollars a month! These funds are for hygiene products and anything else I want to buy. 

Please understand that this stipend DOES NOT reflect the value of work that I am doing. I am not being underpaid or undervalued, there is a method behind the madness. 

The Decision...

The decision to commit a year of my life to Mission Year ranks as one of the hardest decisions of my life! I knew that if I decided to do Mission Year I would be moving away from my family, friends, and church community to live simply in a city that I had never been before with people I had never met before. I spent nearly every day for a month in prayer and in conversation with friends, advisors, and mentors to try and work through my decision.

My final decision to commit the next year of my life to Mission Year came about when I realized that the benefits of Mission Year would outlive my uncertainties and fears. Mission Year would allow me to bring to life all that I've learned in the classroom about social injustices in poor communities. Not only that, but through serving I will have the opportunity to redefine for myself what living like Christ truly means by living amongst the poor, building relationships and loving my neighbor as myself.

I was reminded of the covenant that God made to Abraham when he followed God's call to leave his country, his land, and his father's house to a land that He would show him. God's promise to Abraham was that He would make him into a great nation, bless him, make his name great, allow him to be a blessing, bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him. Abraham obeyed God's call and thousands of years later his story lives on from Sunday School lessons to pulpit sermons.

Often times God calls us to do crazy, unpopular, questionable things but the beauty in it is that we are not alone. He continues to walk alongside us and when there are footprints in the sand He is carrying us along the way. I have found comfort and reassurance in this.

"For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer. 29:11