A glimpse of what we've been enjoying here...

We're Back!

We finished our trip about 2 weeks ago but we hit the ground running. We moved into the house of the Metro director here in Minneapolis. He and his wife are in Arizona for some medical treatments and Christin and I are house/dog sitting!! The dog (Molly) had a rough transition that first week we got back but is doing fine now.

A brief overview of our trip:

Sept 22-24 Lansing, IA for the Upper Midwest regional Collegiate staff meetings

Sept 24-27 Lansing, MI seeing friends and attending a counseling seminar

Sept 27-30 Ann Arbor/Detroit

Sept 3-Oct 2 Mackinac Island, MI

Oct 3-6 Chicago Oct 10-12 Lansing, IA Upper Midwest Regional Collegiate Fall

Conference It was a great trip but obviously, we can't capture everything on the blog. If you'd like to hear more details about something, please let us know. Thank you for your prayers and for continuing to invest in the ministry here.

Travel Changes Everything

I recently read this on the cover of a travel magazine and it seemed to sum up our trip perfectly. It reminded me of a Mark Twain quote, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness." Sometimes we have prejudices or stereotypes that we don't even realize until they are proven wrong. This is how we felt about several aspects of our trip, but especially Detroit. We just read an article in the newspaper called, "A Wish for Detroit." The first sentence of the article said, "Detroit has been called the most miserable city in the country, we beg to differ." I had a preconceived notion of Detroit that included words like dangerous, ghetto, concrete block, and basically the last place I'd ever want to live. After our visit, my list of adjectives are drastically different.

We arrived in Ann Arbor, MI on Sept 27, just in time to catch the last quarter of the Michigan-Wisconsin football game! This adorable little college town was a flurry of blue and gold, despite the fact that Michigan was woefully behind. Our friends and hosts for the weekend, Bob and Ronda Adgate, were able to wrangle one ticket for the game and Bob convinced the ticket master to let us catch the final 10 minutes or so of the game. We had just walked through the gate when an interception turned the game around resulting in the greatest comeback Michigan has ever had at "The Big House." This exciting game kicked off our weekend and earned us the label of "football angels."


After the exhilarating game, the Adgates gave us a tour of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan campus. The Adgates proved to be some of the most fun and gracious hosts we have ever been around. We instantly formed deep friendships with them that we know will continue for years to come.


Our time in Ann Arbor included lots of food, laughter, touring, late night talks and even a little tailgating after the Michigan game (we even met a Canadian man who insisted we come to all the Michigan games, eh!) From rooftop Italian dining to a feast of Middle Eastern food, the Adgates thoroughly spoiled us.





The next evening, we headed into Detroit for our first exposure to the inner-city. We went to a Middle Eastern neighborhood and I was surprised to learn that Detroit has over 300,000 inhabitants from the Middle East. All the restaurants and signs were in Arabic. We were there during Ramadan and once the sun went down, the town was a flurry of activity. The Adgates took us to a wonderful bakery where we had fresh baklava. I didn't even know there were that many different varieties!








As we drove farther into the heart of the city, I was shocked at how much the atmosphere changed. The Middle Eastern community was full of life and activity, but there was little life to be seen elsewhere. We drove about four blocks before I saw anyone on the sidewalk. The restaurants we drove by had a small handful of people in them. I felt like I had culture shock every time we went into or left Detroit.


Bob told us at one point Detroit had a population of over 2 million and today it's around 900,000. Political and economical challenges have driven people out of the city and into the suburbs and poor education systems and high property taxes in Detroit keep them there. When the middle and upper classes left the city, so did the banks, grocery stores and the majority of churches.




My list of adjectives for Detroit now included hopeless, lifeless, devastated and destitute.

Pioneering a Presence

Is there hope for Detroit? When we got home that night, Christin was praying for Detroit and the Lord took her to Isaiah 32:14-20.

14 The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
15 till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.
16 Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field.
17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.
19 Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely,
20 how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.

(Will you join us in praying this passage for Detroit?) The exciting news is that there are people who are sowing their seed in Detroit. Bob calls it "pioneering a presence."

We had the chance to spend the afternoon with a guy we met at the b2g conference in Seattle, Nate, who has chosen to move into inner-city Detroit. He lives with a young couple and another girl who is working in the education system. Their home is literally a light in the darkness. They are surrounded by abandoned, burned homes.

Nate is involved in many things where he is meeting and forming friendships with people. Because there are no grocery stores in the city, most people have to do their grocery shopping at convienence stores. This obviously is unhealthy and expensive. Community gardens have sprung up all over the city to provide a place where people can come be a part of something as well as reap the benefits of their time. Nate is involved with a garden that also has a beehive. I asked Nate how you would go about buying or leasing the land for the garden. He said you just go plant a garden on a vacant lot! Nate also told us that other countries have done case studies on Detroit because it is in such bad shape. Other countries, unbelievable...

Nate took us to a part of Detroit called the Heidelberg Projects. In the mid 80s, a man named Tyree Guyton began cleaning up vacant lots throughout the city and used the refuse they collected to begin public art projects. From the website: "Guyton not only transformed vacant houses and lots, he integrated the street, sidewalks, and trees into his mammoth installation and called his work, "The Heidelberg Project", after it's location on Heidelberg Street. Despite numerous awards, the city demolished parts of the Heidelberg Project installation in 1991 and again in 1999. Still, the Heidelberg Project continues to exist, evolve, and grow - providing hope and inspiration to the local community and the community of the world." (http://www.heidelberg.org/)

As a result of budget cuts, all art programs were removed from the public school systems. Guyton's projects provide a place where community members of all ages can come and express themselves through art.

Later that night, we met more people who are living in the city as nurses, tutors, students, etc. We spent the evening hearing them share about their communities and their heart and passion. I was so struck by one of the guys' prayers, "Lord, everyone has given up on Detroit, but we will NOT." How exciting! Detroit has a long way to go before it becomes a fertile field again but the Lord is working there.

A Day Off!

After our time in Detroit, we drove to northern Michigan. The drive was incredible. Fall was full-fledged and indescribable for words. We stayed a night on Lake Huron in Mackinaw City and that evening drove across to the Upper Peninsula and then decided to go on to Canada! We didn't have our passports but Canada enthusiastically welcomed us! I was a little nervous about the US letting us back in but after several minutes of questions, they let us re-enter. This was Christin's first trip to Canada and we went to Sault Ste Marie. I think we were more excited about being in this city because it is a destination on our favorite game, Ticket To Ride, than being in Canada! After driving the wrong way on several one-ways and eating dinner at a sketcy pizza joint, I insisted we come back to America.

The next morning, we took the ferry over to Mackinac Island. No cars are allowed on the island and it proved to be the perfect, yet freezing, place for a day off. We stayed at a bed and breakfast (my first time) that night and ate lots of fudge! The next day, we took a carriage ride around the island and then took the ferry back. We stayed the next night with some staff friends of Bob's who live on a lake outside of Traverse City.

The next day, we drove down to Grand Rapids and spent a couple hours with a friend of mine. It was so great to see her! From Grand Rapids, we headed to Chicago...