Photo of the Week- We're a Community! (But not singers)

This week's photo of the week really has a lot more of a story to it than I can tell here, but this an awesome picture of our dinner party where Brian made some ribs and we made sides, dessert and invited people over! There were a few families in attendance and yes as you can see there was singing (mostly Motown music) and laughs all over the place! It was awesome to see some of our neighborhood get together under on roof and get to know one another better, I'm so thankful for that night and excited to just share my joy at street breaking bread together!

Time with the Family

One of the awesome things that occurred in the midst of my hiatus from blogging was I was able to sit and be with family, but there is so much to that.

I have experienced the awesome excitement of the day before traveling home after not being home for several months and the somewhat giddy childlike feeling of getting to go home to family and friends. I was so very excited to see friends after becoming engaged, catch people up in my life and learn about their's. I was excited to see my family whom some I hadn't seen for almost a year. To put it simply I was excited. As I should be right?!

I come back to a loving community that has certainly missed those that left and I am left with an odd understanding of what family can mean.

In my absence the NOAH Project closed for the holiday as there is an influx of other service agencies for the holiday season and the church we are housed in shuts down also, we take the much needed break to regroup and ready ourselves for the madness that awaits in January and February as grants are coming due. 

However, upon returning and talking with many of my friends who work, volunteer and just come to NOAH, there is something that other service agencies can't bring, something that is very dependent on the presence of those who are a part of NOAH. This is the aspect of family that becomes absent at a time that for many need it the most. 

This holiday season has taught me some beautiful things about homecoming and staying connected to home. However, I also have seen first hand the horribly painful feelings that can be associated with the holidays. I write this not to make anyone feel guilty about their holiday enjoyment (myself included), but to just make ourselves aware of the pains that are all around us, even in our most joyous times. I pray we have compassion and dont blind ourselves with our own personal drive for the "perfect holiday." In this time I am seeing more so what it means to spend time with family, both in North Carolina and in Detroit, Michigan. Family is all over and I am thankful for that.

And we're back! Photos and a brief catch up!

Wheeeeew what a break!

Well I am making a comeback! It has been quite sometime since my last post and I thank yall so much for still checking in to see whats going on up here in Detroit! I took a brief break from blogging over the holiday as a way just to step back from the incessant desire to constantly write about everything that is happening in my life. But that is over and I feel like I have a whole lot to mention and talk about so I hope you continue to read and write me back as you have been! So thanks!!

So we'll start 2013 off with several pictures from the holiday away! I was able to go home for about a week which was an awesome surprise for the holiday! Then Celeste and I flew to Chicago to meet up REACH friends and App friends! We then took the ever cheap, ever sketchy Megabus to Detroit to make it in time for work on January 2nd. Sine then Celeste has been able to stay up here in Detroit and I am getting back in the groove of volunteering, working and continuing to build community in whatever way is possible! Here is just a small collage of those that I got to see over the time out of Detroit and the adventures during the last few weeks!

While in Charlotte a group of friends got together to catch up and say hello, Hannah is just one of those in that group getting together!

While in Chicago we were able to dress fancy and sneak to te top of the Hancock building!

Chicago!

Personally one of my favorite experiences in the past weeks, Joni took Celeste and I to a Detroit Roller Derby! This will surely be something that happens again!

Not really sure why I felt the urge to put this one in, but hey it was an awesome French dessert for only 85 cents!

The Reach Reunion descended upon Chicago at the Bean to take nearly a million pictures!

Well there ya have it folks a brief catch up via random pictures, I cannot wait to post about some of the conversations and thoughts I have had while not in Detroit and upon returning to Detroit. Stay tuned!

Photo of the Week! Super Late! Woops!

This past weekend fellow US-2, Mistead Sai and I were able to meet up in Chicago and go to church and catch up! I was really excited to meet up and see where Mistead is living and working and get a window into his missionary experience! In addition to Mistead I was able to visit with some great friends Ann Watson and Elizabeth Atkinson in Chicago!

Photos of the Week!

This week's photos of the week is of another awesome fundraiser that was put on and helped NOAH. The fundraiser was called Warm Hearts, Warm Bodies where a local choir sang and served a meal to those that wanted  a coat for the winter and those that were able to donate a coat. It was a beautiful night of caroling and just Christmas cheer, not to mention some great food provided by one of the Unions.

A Pretty packed house to see the Deep River Choir!

The Practice Run- A Testament to My Morning Confusion

Alright so I have a pretty funny story for you to happen to me on Tuesday earlier this week. So I woke up at 7:20 AM freaking out because our Forgotten Harvest the donation, that brings food for some of our volunteers, comes at 7:35 and I have to be at the building with carts ready to pick it up and bring it in the church. So I pop out of bed, throw some clothes on and jump my car and drive as fast as I possibly can to get the church by 7:35. I sprinted upstairs grab the carts brought them downstairs in the elevator and waited. As 7:45 rolled around the thought that I missed the donation and that everyone was going to be frustrated with me a they get no food for the week. I waited and waited until I looked again at the time on my phone to realize that it was infact Tuesday…our Forgotten Harvest donation comes on Wednesday…

Needless to say I was a little frustrated...I just walk out the building, leaving the carts and everything ready for me to deal with when I get back to work. So I went home got ready and biked back to work, with every intention of telling no one of my eventful morning. As expected it got out after I mentioned it to a coworker and the maintenance man questions my early arrival... I have to admit I think some people really enjoyed this story because they were able to give me a hard time especially Joni and a lot of the people at work joked about me trying to get to work so early but the way I see it is, it was all just practice for Wednesday right?

Photos of the Week- It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Here are just a few pictures from the past weeks! I know it is a few more pictures than last week, but I just have a lot that I want to show ya! All these pictures are from "Christmasyish" events all going on around the city of Detroit! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

These first two are just of Noel Night! Noel Night is pretty much just a street festival that is devoted entirely to celebrating Christmas! The museums open up and have all kinds of different shows from brass bands to banjo picking blue grass, to big choirs. In the first you see some of the vendors and street crowds and on the second one there you can see the ice sculpture contest that went on! Sadly it was an unseasonable 40 degrees out that night so a lot of the ice was melting pretty fast!

These last two pictures are just from the city of Detroit. There was a big tree lighting ceremony in November where people came from all over the suburbs to enjoy the countdown and the Christmas festivities, but I thought it more fitting to share these photos after Thanksgiving!