the bartending nanny

last tuesday, i spent my first time in the south bronx. actually, that’s not true. i was blessed with a birthday gift trip to new yankee stadium last season with my friend, jason, to see my red sox win with a walk-off home run. i sat in a stadium that cost 1.3 billion dollars to build and cheered on a bunch of grown men as they tried to hit a little ball with a wooden stick. little did i know that only three short subway stops and an even shorter walk away was beekman avenue.

i didn’t know the rich, deep history of this specific block nor the current history that was being built and documented by a small group of brave and godly women.

that all changed a week ago. i left sara’s apartment in mott haven with, as she called them, “gifts” consisting of a stack of e-mails that sara has sent to her prayer supporters and had printed out for me, as well as a book by jonathan kozol entitled “amazing grace” that documents jonathan’s experiences and relationships from this specific block in the south bronx. the e-mails were gifted in order to teach me the history of sara’s time spent here; the book is to teach me about beekman avenue. these are gifts, indeed.

i’ve spent as much time as possible at sara’s over the past week. tonight, her roommate joked, “you’ve spent more time in this apartment in the last week than i have.” true or not, when i get off the 6 train at the cypress avenue stop, i am overcome with peace and belonging as i reach street level at the top of the subway steps. i am still praying through this stirring within me, but no matter the outcome, i know i will find myself spending as much time as i can find in this neighborhood, loving these children and their families. i’ll either find myself ministering specifically in this area or, at the very least, building relationships with the people here over what i hope to be many years to come. what an honor.

my momma once told me that the reason she is an elementary schoolteacher is because she wakes up in the morning thinking and dreaming about it. i’ve found this to be true about myself over the past week in regards to serving in the south bronx. i have dreams for them, for us, that i hope to see come to fruition there.

there is much more to tell, and i will, eventually, but for now, please continue to pray that i will be still, listen and obey the master’s calling. pray that i would not seek my own glory in this. that is very important and something i often find myself tempted to do. pray for the south bronx, mott haven and beekman avenue by name, that these people would know they are loved.

tonight, as i approached sara’s apartment, i noticed that it was the only unit in her section of buildings with any visible light glowing. it was the same when i left. sara lives in the house with the lights on, and that’s true in every sense.

“the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”

thanks for reading.

here’s a link to some excerpts from jonathan kozol’s book, “amazing grace”: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_n10_v59/ai_17598379/