Directly in the Middle of Awful and Beloved

As I have mentioned before, my job consists of the highest highs and the lowest lows with a few boring hours thrown in the mix.

Just for your reference, here is an example of boring:

Interpreting surveys so that a client can get a "free gift" of a t-shirt with a puppy on it...not life altering!

This is another post that will fall right in the middle of awful and beloved. In January I interpreted for a United Methodist, youth conference, in Ocean City. This conference hosts christian artists and has around 6,000 attendees. Needless to say it is kinda' fun to be on stage! (brag brag brag)

I went to this conference my first year in Baltimore and the worship leader was a man named Reggie Dabbs. He brought with him a group called "Masters Commission". Reggie is hilarious and MC preforms live music videos that are inspiring and blunt. I remember thinking as I watched that first year that the skits were motivating but more serious than necessary for a group of youth. I never experienced drug and alcohol abuse as a member of Warren First UMC's youth group.

This year on the other hand I had some experience under my belt. As I interpreted the closing service, Reggie asked all the adults to "hug their babies". Hug your babies! Show love to those youth who need it so desperately in their lives. It could have been the powerful music that moved me or the literally thousands of youth that were standing, saying "I have been hurt by this life!" It could have been both. It could have been the stories that ran through my head as I interpreted, the Deaf boy I know who grew up with no one to communicate with and experienced abuse at home and rape at school. It could have been the Deaf boy I know who held another boy down during a sexual assault. It could have been the girl at church I see every Sunday who has so much potential and a family that has taught her that she needs to hit and punch to get attention. Whatever the reason was, I no longer felt that the message was too harsh. I felt it was just right! I was moved by the message of love for those who need it and forgiveness for those who have done terrible things. I was moved by the youth leaders that got out of their seats and hugged their babies for what could have been a half an hour. I was moved to tears, crying like a baby up in front of 6,000 people.

That evening was beautiful, the experiences were not. This is the world that some youth live in. Some are like me and they play bite the onion with friends on a Friday night, and some have experiences that call us to "hug your babies!" This evening was life altering. Now, go hug some babies! Peace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA

Avoiding the Exploitation of Those I Love

I haven't updated my blog in a long time. The reason is only partly due to the fact that there are ten thousand other things to do in life like... get married, be there for my mom who has cancer, and work. Other than those factors I have mostly stopped updating my missionary blog because I linked it to Facebook. Before I could write entries about my experiences as a Church and Community Worker missionary and I was fairly sure that few would read it. Once I linked my blog to Facebook I not only became aware of the public(ness) of it, but I also began to think about the individuals I write about. I thought about what they would think if they saw their story being told. I struggles with how to tell the stories, the funny, exciting, heartbreaking stories of the Deaf and Deaf-Blind individuals I know, with respect. How would I share their experiences so that others can learn about the struggles and joys that face Deaf individuals while at the same time not exploiting those I love. I came to the conclusion, with the help of my new pastor and friend, that from here on out:

I will not use real names

I will tell true facts but...

I will combine many different stories in order to hide identities.

I will continue to post pictures of individuals who have given me permission but the pictures might not be of those mentioned in the post.



Here's to moving forward! Peace!

Conversations with Strangers

Yesterday I picked up a Deaf man from Damascus, Maryland and drove him into Baltimore City. The hour long drive from the man’s house to our final destination was filled with pleasant conversation about marriage and children, Deaf services and American Sign Language skills. He was not a client of the Deaf Shalom Zone except for the fact that we were asked by his Social Worker to provide transportation so that he could get into the city to pick up his four year old Deaf-Blind son from the hospital. We were told that his son was dying and he needed to be with him. I didn’t know this man and didn’t want to pry into his life so I left him at the front doors to the hospital knowing very little about his son’s illness or even his name. While we chatted in the car he seemed distant at first and then slowly began to ask me questions about my life. “How many children do you have?” “Is your finance Deaf?” “I like your driving.” I would like to say that the easy conversation was helpful for him during such a hard time but he might have just wanted to fill the empty space between the seats of two strangers. His name was James and I might not ever see him again but he and his family will be in my prayers. It is easy to feel at times like all we do at the Zone is transport people around and in this case that is literally all I did, but I hope that is was more James and his son. I hope throughout the rest of my ministry that I get the opportunity to transport more strangers, preferably for cheerier reasons, and share with them pleasant conversation. I also hope that I continue to meet different people from all walks of life in any moment in their life. I want to drive strangers to the hospital, the job interview, and the laundry mat, to their homes and to church and I look forward to the Christ that we will share with one another.