Thursday, October 7, 2010

First Fruits

It's been a little over a month now (4 if you count the summer) since I've been here in Memphis and it's been an excellent experience so far.  NEVER would i have thought that I'd be living in the inner-city farming and doing construction.  That just goes to show that God is in control and not me, and that this is all his doing.  I'm still trying to get my head around everything I've been taking in and hopefully even this blog can help with that.  There are just so many aspects I don't don't even really know where to start.

I guess the most visible part of my internship is my jobs.  It seems as though I've been going pretty much nonstop since I got here.  My typical week so far has been working at the farm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday morning, and Friday then I go to SOS Wednesday afternoon and Thursday as well as Saturday and Sunday for Fall Work Weekend camps.  I don't tell you all of this to feel sorry for me because I've actually quite enjoyed it despite being pretty physically exhausted.  I already feel like I've gotten a lot of stuff done.  I built a chicken tractor (photos to come soon hopefully) shelving, raised flower beds, fences for our fainting goats, and filters for the fish tank at the farm.  I'm in the process of building a deck for our office space and have two more hoop house green houses on my to-do list.  I've also gotten to do a lot of projects with SOS my favorite of which was building a 24' wheelchair ramp for Ms. Betty whose house we worked on this summer as well. 

And while these are good things and are helping the community visible ways, the most exciting part of what I've gotten to do is just being a part of this neighborhood.  These people are the whole reason we're here. They have to be. If we're doing what we're doing to make ourselves look good or to make ourselves feel better we're missing something. God doesn't get the glory for that. Now I'm not saying that I don't feel good about what I get to do but the focus has to remain outward, God and other people.  This is one of the most significant lessons of the Bible.  When asked what the greatest commandment is Jesus replied love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind.  He followed that up by saying the second most important is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mat. 22:36-40) He wasn't asked what the most important two commandments were, but they are so connected together that he wouldn't separate them.  That's what I'm here to learn and do. James 1:22 says "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."  So, how do we love our neighbors as ourselves?  The Bible gives the example of the good Samaritan, a guy who sees someone in need and goes way out of his way to help.  Maybe a good question to ask is how do we love ourselves?  I don't think it means that we have gushy feelings for ourselves or think that we're just so great. I think it's as simple as getting ourselves food when we feel hungry and water (or Starbucks) when we're thirsty. It's as easy as buying a new pair of jeans when we rip a hole in the seat our old broken in pair.  It's putting on a jacket when it's cold so we don't get sick. It's stuff we don't even think twice about.  So I ask again. How do we love our neighbors as ourselves? We go out of our way to give to those who don't have the little things that we wouldn't even consider not doing for ourselves.  Now you and I both know that that sounds a lot easier than it really is, at least at first, but it's something to strive for.

Sorry, went on a little rant there, but that's why we're really here doing the work that we're doing.  The beautiful thing is that you don't have to live in a Binghampton or work for  an SOS to do it.  Don't get me wrong, people are needed here but they're also needed there (wherever "there" is). And it's not just the physical needs. It's the spiritual need that's probably even more important (although they're often hand in hand in the Bible). I read in a book that we've read through in the Academy called Restoring At Risk Communities that the inner city is often not seen as a legitimate missions field, at least not in the same way that foreign missions are.  I'm in no way trying to diminish the importance of reaching the nations and would actually argue that that is of the highest priority among people doing urban Christian Community Development.  In our cities lie pockets of different cultures; Indian, Chinese, Hispanic, African, etc.  Not only can we GO to the nations, but the nations are coming to us as well, and in some cases these people would have a greater chance of meeting a missionary had they stared in their native country than they will living in an American city.  Even in Binghampton there is a large 1st generation Hispanic American population and hundreds of African refugees who will potentially return to their countries later taking with them the message of Jesus Christ.  Now how much more effective will that be than a bunch of whities going over there not fully understanding the culture and pressures of that nation.

Well this is getting lengthy so I'll start to wrap up.  This month plus some change has been exciting, tiring, challenging, even confusing at times.  I came looking for answers and have gotten mostly more questions. I've felt pressed for splitting time between the Academy group, my house, SOS, the BDC and other relationships that I've began to build.  I've even struggled to make time for God and reading my Bible often times putting my laziness and personal desires before seeking after God.  I could use some prayer for that.  Support raising continues to be on my mind.  While God has been faithful so far in providing for me I've been able to raise about half of my goal and will have to continue that process again soon.  Nevertheless, I'm still very encouraged and thankful for the blessings and opportunities that God is continuing to give me.  Thanks for reading, your prayers and your support. Please seek me out and let me in on what you're up to and how you're doing. I really want to be praying specifically for all of you. I just bought a little prayer notebook and I need to fill it up.

Support Letter

I'm including my support letter that I sent out this summer. It contains information on what I'm doing this year through my internship. I will be adding Monthly updates very soon.
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For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Cor. 5:14-15

I hope that this letter finds you doing well and I am excited to share what’s been going on in my life lately. Since graduating from college a year ago I’ve been on an interesting road that’s consisted of interviews, big life questions, various jobs, and confusion about the direction of my life. This was mixed periods of depression and struggling to find purpose while feeling very distant from God. At the beginning of May, while still wrestling with these things, a door was opened to me to move down to Memphis for the summer and serve as a construction manager for an urban home repair ministry called Service Over Self (SOS). Over the past few months God has used my job and the people around me to begin a redemptive work in my life and recently opened an opportunity beyond the summer. Being in Memphis, I’ve witnessed God using people of all sorts (of all races and socioeconomic levels) to advance his name in the Binghampton neighborhood in which we’ve been working. I’ve fallen in love with the community and the strategic efforts being done here to spread the word of God and redeem this blighted part of the city, and I am very excited that I’ll be getting a chance to continue living here and contribute my own gifts and passions.

At the end of August I will begin a program through SOS called The Academy, which takes recent college grads and places them with ministries in the community that fit our unique interests and abilities for a one-year internship. Also, we will be living in Binghampton, participating in book studies, as well as going on a mission trip to East Asia. Attached is a letter from the SOS director Philip Walkley further explaining The Academy. My internship will be split between two ministries, the Binghampton Development Corporation (BDC) and SOS. The BDC seeks to revitalize the community mainly through housing and economic development. One part of that is creating job training and employment opportunities. One of the BDC’s latest projects, and one that I will personally be working on very closely is the Urban Farm. The purpose of the farm is to remain economically sustainable while providing work, training, and most importantly nutritious and affordable food to people who don’t currently have access to that. I’ll also continue working with SOS and serving during their college camps this fall and next spring.

What might be most interesting to me is seeing how I uniquely fit into these two very needed roles. God has gone before me and is using seemingly random experiences in my past such as working at an inner city youth camp 5 years ago and my semester abroad in Costa Rica studying sustainable agriculture to prepare me for what I’ll be doing. But along with all of this excitement comes the challenge of raising my own salary for the year. This task frightens me, but I am trusting God to provide for me in this. I have, however, come to realize some good things about raising support. For one, it forces me to rely on God as raising this money is very much out of my control. Support raising will cause me to put extra prayer and purpose behind the work I’ll be doing. It reminds me of my need for others who can love and encourage me. It gives me the opportunity to share with people like you what God is doing, thus expanding into areas outside of Memphis. I am very excited to see how God draws me closer to him and deepens my faith and trust in him throughout this support raising process as I witness his provision.

So, In order to continue this work I need to partner with people who share my desire to spread God’s word and to improve the lives of those in need. This is why you are important. As I begin raising this $15,000 I’m looking for people who will do more than simply write a check. I need People who will pray for me and Memphis, who will encourage me in the work I’m doing, who will share with me their lives as I share with them mine. I want people who, although they may not be here in Memphis, want to be a part of what God is doing here. I’m writing you this letter because for one reason or another I felt like this might be something that you would want to be a part of. I ask that you would pray about your decision and ask God to see if this is a ministry that he wants you to invest in however you may be able whether financially, prayerfully, or by any other means that you may be led. I would love to get a response from everyone even if you decide not to give financially. Simply fill out the response card and mail it in the preaddressed stamped envelope included. If you do feel that God is moving you to give, there are options of a one-time, quarterly, or monthly gift(s); which can be paid by check, credit card, or even directly deducted from a bank account. I can assure you that your money will be used directly for my internship. (See Philip’s letter for breakdown of how the money will be used.) If 50 people could give only $25 a month ($300 for the year) I would reach my goal, but again, seek God on this and see how much you personally can give.

I am extremely excited for this next year and believe what the verse at the top of this letter says, in that since Christ died for us we must live our lives for him. I pray that through this next year and beyond I will seek to do just that; following wherever I feel him leading and trusting him despite my fears, uncertainties, and weaknesses that he will use me for his glory. I am thankful for this opportunity to glorify God with you. I thank you for taking the time to read this, and since I can only fit so much information into a letter I would encourage you to contact me with any questions or just to talk about this more. I would especially love to talk with you in person if the chance permits, as I will be in Missouri for most of August before starting the Academy.

Sincerely,
Brian Bowe
bwbowe@gmail.com
(573) 578-3609

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Phil 1:3-6