The Gift of Community

Even though mi uva is in Colombia, I am surprisingly content. It's true that I miss him a lot, but not as much as I thought I would. The first couple days were a bit lonely, but quickly it changed as I began to hang out with other friends. It's times like these when I am so thankful to God for the gift of community. And for the laughter and fun and joy that comes with being with those you love. Whether it's a text message from Lizzybear, a phone call from Moose Nugget or an evening of randomness with Caracol, Magdalon, Meow and Life Stories, God's design for human relationships is truly amazing. He doesn't want us to be loners, he doesn't even want us to be mere couples. He wants us all to be strangely and beautifully connected to a network and community of so many others. It's genius, really.

The Dreaded GRE

So after a good month of inconsistent yet fervent studying, the beast is finally over. I just hope these scores will be sufficient. I have a feeling they will be, though, since I'm pretty sure Jesus hacked into the computer I was on and, just before I chose not to cancel my scores, gave me decent ones instead. Honestly, the whole time I was taking the test I was acutely aware of my complete incompetence (like not finishing a single section w/o guessing the last 5 questions... or getting retard verbal section two...lol), and no amount of preparedness could change that. It was all Him :)

Women Speak... in Church?!

It's about time Underground. And no, just having Stacy chime in once or twice a year doesn't cut it :-p

Well, here is an answered prayer. Thank you Jesus, for including women in the participation of your mission AND the preaching of your message. What an encouragement and joy to see.

Words and Journeys

Kris Lackey thought he had hurricane-proofed his manuscripts. An English professor at the University of New Orleans, he had saved his fiction and papers—including the novel he had half-finished—via hard drive, flash drive, diskette, and hard copy. But as the murky waters continued to rise and he was forced to evacuate his home, he left his papers and computer equipment behind. Even so, he left them in high places—tables and bookshelves well out of harm’s way. He was, by no means, expecting the 11 feet of water that completely besieged his house. Returning more than a month later, Lackey found pages floating in mud, completely indecipherable, as well as what was left of his flash and hard drives. Nothing was retrievable. Nothing.

The frustration of lost words is a silence palpable to many. When long emails go missing or documents are destroyed in a crash of technology, the task of reconstruction is deeply aggravating at best—at times, it is painful. Sadly, Mr. Lackey's loss of story and word in New Orleans is not the only report like it. Poems, novels, and memoirs were lost in the same wind and water, all devastating their authors. To lose a book, to lose an entire lifetime of words, is a sting I shudder to imagine.
Yet, in a very real sense, any story lost is a loss of our own. The sting of loss reaches far beyond the author. Losing words is painful because our words are not haphazard. Losing books is devastating because books play an irreplaceable role in the life of the reader. The stories that reach us are so much more than words on a page. John Milton writes of the wounds at stake in the death of a story:

"For books are not absolutely dead things...[but] do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them.... As good almost kill a man as kill a good book: who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God’s image; but he who destroys a good book kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were, in the eye."

In the words of this author we cherish, the loss of a good book, the loss of language, is a loss of life. "There is a reason," I heard someone say recently, "that books have been smuggled over borders for centuries." The wealth of life and knowledge in the words and characters that speak to us is well worth the risk.

I was in the fourth grade when I first experienced this kind of hold of a story on my soul. I was reading Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terebithia, which both carefully and abruptly introduced me to my own mortality. I was a year younger than the characters that came bounding out of those pages and into my world. But the thought of death as an unyielding part of life—one that would reach even me—was a thought that had not yet entered my mind. With Jess, I insisted there was some mistake: "Leslie could not die anymore than he himself could die." His subsequent wrestling with death was an initiation of sorts into the realization of my own.

Through others we have learned similarly. The shock of recognition in a character that speaks what we feel—what we feel but do not know—initiates and wakes us to life and story around us. "God made man," said Elie Wiesel "because He loves stories." And so my skewed perspective of God as Father was in part rewritten by his use of my own imagination. I learned to love God through the golden mane of an untamed Aslan. I learn to know God through themes of forgiveness in Dostoevsky, reason in Chesterton, loyalty in Tolkien, and wonder in the fairy story. God is always leading us toward the rooms Christ left us to imagine.

Like the angel of the LORD who appeared to the weary Elijah, God offers us words as strength for the journey: "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you" (1 Kings 19:7). It strikes me in the midst of this great journey of characters that this quality of God, this character who speaks, this Word who became flesh on our behalf, is indeed an extraordinary gift. Without words that startle us awake or stories that inexplicably remain with us, we would grow faint in the silence, longing for a voice to cry out in our wilderness. How remarkable that this is exactly the kind of God who speaks.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Controversy Over Trinity Cafe: The Gentrifiers Don't Want The Homeless, Plain & Simple

Neighborhood says it doesn't want Trinity Cafe to move in

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/hillsborough/neighborhood-says-it-doesn't-want-trinity-cafe-to-move-in-091311

V.M. Ybor residents don't want homeless café

http://www2.tbo.com/news/usf-bulls/2011/sep/13/9/vm-ybor-residents-dont-want-homeless-cafe-ar-257268/

What a sorry excuse for a body of people who claim to care about and work toward the betterment of their community. Go ahead and let them create their little petition. Be the whining child who can't get his way.

I've got other plans. Like exposing their foolishness and double-minded intentions. They claim it's for neighborhood protection and preservation, I call it what it is: gentrification.

Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people ("gentry") acquire property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size decreases in the community. It is commonly believed that this results in the poorer native residents of the neighborhood, being unable to pay increased rents, house prices, and property taxes, being displaced. Often old industrial buildings are converted to residences and shops. In addition, new businesses, catering to a more affluent base of consumers, move in, further increasing the appeal to more affluent migrants and decreasing the accessibility to the poor.

May God's people be served and Satan's helpers be put to shame.

"You [Lord] have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled." - Psalm 25:4-5  

The neighborhood association requested that residents of VM Ybor send letters of opposition to this relocation of Trinity Cafe to the City Administration, namely the Mayor.

Well, I had quite a different letter in mind to write him. Here it is:

Mayor Buckhorn,

As a resident of the VM Ybor neighborhood and community, I would like to voice my SUPPORT for the Trinity Cafe relocation. I, and many others who live only blocks away from the potential relocation site, do not share the strident opposition that has been so clearly voiced by the VM Ybor NA. I have read through their Open Letter concerning this matter and do not share their views and opinions.

For instance, "VM Ybor NA does not feel that the quality of life for over 800 households and 3000 individuals should be further compromised to accommodate a single charity that seems to have skirted zoning
requirements and any public input process." I would question and inquire as to what they mean exactly by "quality of life being further compromised." Does the mere presence and sight of homeless people somehow diminish their quality of life? It would imply so, and I simply do not think that is a valid reason to oppose the Cafe's decision to move.

One of the reasons given for opposition is that "currently the VM Ybor community does not have a high homeless population." Even if that were true, why should it be grounds for opposition? I live in the neighborhood and see PLENTY of homeless individuals. I don't care if it is 1% or 100% by zipcode, the point is that in every corner of Tampa (let alone Ybor) there are homeless people in dire need. And we as concerned and compassionate citizens should not (as members of the NA appear) be cheifly interested in how proposed changes will affect our comfort, personal preferences and private property. That is the real problem here. If the Cafe's current relationship with the Salvation Army is not healthy and functional to their mission of providing meals in a dignified and restaurant-style fashion for the homeless, then I happily invite them to explore other options! Even if it takes them closer to me, my life, my home and my neighborhood. It would do the whole community well to face the reality of homelessness rather than keep outreach sites at a distance. If anything, this could be a superb opportunity for residents to get involved and volunteer. I have in the past and it is a beautiful act of service. The NA picks up trash on the weekends, hosts porch parties and home tours, as well as create community gardens and yard sale events. That's great. But where has their assistance been on the issue of homelessness? It may be lower in this neighborhood than others, but it is there nonetheless. Their silence and now opposition is far too uncomfortable, if not unjust, in my view.

As far as the rationale that "our neighborhood does not currently offer any other social services that these individuals would already be in the area for," this should actually make the NA feel embarrased. Perhaps this relocation could provide a model and example for the rest of the neighborhood that it has been severely lacking in this regard. We've neglected this kind of social service and been too concerned with "beautifying our neighborhood," which of course would be negatively affected by this sudden influx of less than attractive homeless individuals. Again, I question the motives and true intent of VM Ybor NA members. They most definitely do not represent me or my community's perspective on this potential change.

It was also stated that "for our community that means many homeless would be sleeping in a neighborhood, in alleys, in vacant houses, and on public right of ways in front of occupied homes." They do not necessarily know that to be true, and are opposing because of the hypothetical nuisance of sleeping homeless people in our neighborhoods. Seriously, there isn't even the hint of compassion in this letter. Everything relates to the interests of residents and no thought is given to the tremendous benefits that may come to our homeless friends and neighbors. That is another terrible problem with associations like these; they can get too introverted and self-defensive. I challenge the ideal of making a perfect little neighborhood where it is a self-contained unit of utopia. Instead, I live in the reality of a broken world and know that everyone is hurting and in need, most of all, the homeless. Can we please not shut them out repeatedly in Tampa. This trend and hostility is not only harmful to them, but flat out unethical. We have them saying "The impact on many residents at their personal property will be significant." What about the impact on the homeless? Who cares about that? Do you Mr. Mayor? I pray you do.

Here is another reason for their opposition to the Cafe's relocation to 2801 N Nebraska Ave
Two of 3 historic structures on the property would be demolished. The one building to remain and be renovated will be significantly altered in a style that does not reflect the important architectural heritage of Ybor.
Okay, i get it, they want to safeguard the historical integrity of the neighborhood. I am sensitive and aware of the importance of heritage, especially as it relates to the unique history of Ybor. But can I just ask, is the architecture of a neighborhood more important than the lives of individuals living, working, learning, growing and being brought up there? Change happens to citites, especially and most impactfully, in the urban centers. It is a part of the development and growth of a region, to expand and alter what came before for the better. I understand that this area would change, but I believe it would do so for the better. A marginalized and neglected people group would benefit. Isn't this what associations and political agendas should be about? Promoting the betterment of society for ALL its members. Sadly, this has not been the historical case in this neighborhood. Historical objects, homes, buildings and property trump living, breathing, feeling and history-making men and women. Sure, their histories are not told or seen in the public eye, but those of us who care to hear them, see them and know them will not stop supporting them. They are as much residents as we are.

You want to know the LEAST legitimate reason for their opposition, however.
There was a concern voiced many times over that the existing public safety issues (drug dealing,
prostitution, arson, gang activity, sexual offender and predator clustering) would be further exacerbated
with the influx of 200‐300 homeless individuals every day. It was also discussed that this is putting an “at
risk” population of homeless individuals in an environment that is not conducive to self‐help.
I hope you can discern the unstated assumption here. Homeless people are trouble makers. They aren't good to have around; if anything they will just make the existing public safety issues worse. Give me a break! Again, there is a general attitude of suspicion and condescension toward this population group. Again, this is conjecture and hypothetical reasoning at best. This NA gives no alternatives or advice whatsoever regarding the Trinity Cafe's need for relocation. All it is saying is "Nope, not here!" And it is effectively saying with all its supposedly convincing reasons, "Nope, no help for the homeless here." Appalling and baseless rationale. All this letter shows me is the kind of people my own neighborhood is full off. Quite unsettling I must admit.

There is honestly so much more I could delve into from this letter that they posted on the newsletter summing up the September meeting, but this has already gone on too long. My hope is that you will at least read it, read my concerns and know that there is substantial support for the relocation to VM Ybor. The NA may have the loudest voice, but it does not represent all of the neighborhood's constituents. And that is important for you, the City, and whoever else is involved in this decision, to realize and keep in mind. I want to see a city be radically transformed in regard to its treatment of the poor, the outcast, the neglected and the homeless. I want neighborhoods and elected officials to actually care in word and deed, rather than spit out hypocritical and ineffectual rhetoric. Please side with reason and compassion in your analysis of this situation, and give your support to the Trinity Cafe.

Thank you,

J.Rubano

The Butterfly Circus

The Butterfly Circus - HD from The Butterfly Circus on Vimeo.


http://vimeo.com/17150524

Very nicely done short film. Definitely contains enough substance to make a worthwhile, full-length film.

Words of Wisdom

Some advice Jeremy gave Hugo and me a while ago when we first met up with him to discuss relational problems we were having.

• Really hear what the other person needs - combat the fear dance
• Don't test the other person - accept them as they are, including their flaws
• Let the Holy Spirit change the person; don't expect that you can change them

Stuff we may know, but needed reminding of. And I'm glad we were.