Newark Day Two (Inefficiency)

Today was my first full day in Newark. And today was the day I got introduced to the "office." Well I guess you can call it an office. There is a desk, and there is paper. But I have never seen anything so messy in my life! It is mostly just trash and piles of unidentifiable papers. Also I found the following: a wig, a strobe light, a microphone, playdough, and a stuffed cat. IN THE OFFICE. I guess this is where my spiritual gift of throwing things away comes in to play. Does it belong somewhere else? Does it look crappy? Does it light up? Get it out of the office!! I spent most of the morning just throwing things out.

Over lunch we had our first meeting as a staff team. Honestly, it was one of the most in-efficient meetings I had ever been to. The food however was fun; we went to lunch at a Brazillian place down the block where you pay by the weight of your plate! How fun is that? Probably the ONE time that salad is cheaper than pasta. We proceeded to sit around the table and kind of talk about what needed to be done that day. Nothing ever really got finalized, no one was assigned specific tasks, we just talked in general about what maybe could happen that day. Then we sauntered out of the restaurant and walked rather aimlessly back to the church to "get to it." This way of life is SO different than what I'm used to!

So, since nothing was really happening except for more standing around, I snuck off with two of my favorite boys to get coffee and a Portugese pastry. We got back just as the after school program was starting. "Program" here is another word for "organized chaos." The kids are rowdy and un-compliant. As soon as I walked in they wanted to know if I was the same white girl with red hair that came on a missions trip in March. Apparently we all look alike. The girls have names like "Nyeisha" and "Kyasia" and have attitudes more complicated than their names. Still, I am excited to learn how to love them and guide them well.

There is so much more that happened today but it's so very late so I'll just give a few more quick thoughts:

Kimberly is amazing. I really do want to be her. She makes this awesome healthy food for like ten people every night and it all fits within her small budget.

Betsy, Kimberly's sister is also amazing. She's going to be one of two other girls who will be here this summer, and lucky for me she's so great. We connect really well and continue to find similarities. I am thankful for her.

One day I want to read C.S.Lewis' books on Narnia. The movies are incredible and really do show me so much about the character of God. I love Lucy's simple belief and struggle with the same in Prince Caspian.

Last but not least. Tonight we met Fernando. He's from Brazil but has lived here for 25 years. We just met him out on the street as we were picking through the "yard-sale" of trash that Newarkians puts out every Tuesday night. Clean cut, and intelligent, he asked us if we wanted a free TV. He explained he was leaving the country soon and wanted to get rid of it. His house was only five minutes away and we could go get it right then. So, we hopped in his car (I wouldn't recommend trying this at home- mmm or really EVER) and drove to his apartment. Up the sketchy stairs and into his place. I guess if you're going to killed why not do it under the pretense of getting a sweet TV? But, turns out he was legit. There was the monstrous TV. As he unplugged the video games and dvd player he told us of how he lost custody of his daughter after his tragic divorce. We carried the TV back down through the apartment complex (and of course by "we" I mean I watched while they carried) and into his car where it barely fit in the trunk. When we reached my street, Fernando got out of his car and helped us carry the monster up three flights of stairs to my tiny attic apartment. I was so surprised and blessed by his kindness. No one in Northern Virginia would ever consider giving away a television, let alone to a stranger, and forget helping to carry it off! Fernando did warn us that we shouldn't just go off with anyone who says they have a free TV, and that is probably true- not all strangers with candy actually have candy. Still the concept just blows my mind. He was so willing to help with something so trivial. Did I really NEED a TV? Nope. If I wanted one that badly wouldn't I find the money to buy one? Absolutely. But none of those things mattered to Fernando. The only thing that mattered was that he was able to make my life a little easier; that he could welcome me to his city. The whole encounter reminds me of the early church- how they shared everything they had without regard to status or merit. What if we all lived like that? How much could we bless each other and encourage the body of Christ?! One last thought before I close- why was he able to drop everything for those twenty minutes to help us drag a huge TV around Newark? Maybe because he didn't have much of an itinerary. Maybe he's inefficient. What a blessing.