Not Because of What I've Done...

But Because of Who You Are.

On Friday I had the opportunity to spend my morning touring and learning about a community here in Dallas called Jubilee.  Jubilee is unlike anything I have ever seen or experienced before.  It is a neighborhood where community members and state officials alike work together to ensure the prosperity of the community.  They have a head start program for preschoolers, an after-school program for older kids and youth, a community center complete with Zumba (which some of the interns participated in while we were waiting for our tour to start..  so fun!  Haha.  :)  )  and other engaging programs for adults, and a senior citizen program in which the seniors get to go on trips around Dallas and have speakers come to speak to them about senior issues.  The speaker of our tour joked that Jubilee sticks with its residents from the cradle to the grave.  :)

A few of the wonderful people we had the opportunity to meet!

Jubilee has a few staff, but most of its programs are run by volunteers.  It is able to thrive the way that it does because of the commitment of the people in the community to its success.  They want their community to be a place where kids can feel safe crossing the street and get the chance to eat a healthy meal every day.  They want their lives to be enriched by the opportunities of Jubilee.  The community seeks comprehensive success. Not only do they focus on education through programs like head start, but they also seek out healthy living by way of a community garden and nutritious meals for kids after school.  They aim for security by forming a partnership between the residents of the community, the police force who patrols the area, and the county prosecutor who punishes the rule breakers.  They focus on the aesthetic appeal of the neighborhood by allowing architecture students to come in and design new houses for some of the residents.  

Jubilee works because the people involved in the community want it to work.

Outside of the community center.

Community Garden

Resource Center where the police are stationed.

Davids' Place, where the preschool head start program is held.

Congo Street

I want to be part of such a community change.

It's kind of interesting...  Ever since I've begun my schooling as a future social worker, I have felt entirely certain that I would like to do direct practice.

Direct practice means working with families and children, whether it be through counseling, welfare, or etc.

I think this has changed now.  Not merely because of my experience on Friday, but I just think I have a heart for communities and widespread action plans to facilitate comprehensive change.  I want residents to be responsible for the crime decrease and test score increases in their own neighborhoods.  I want to teach people how to best serve their families and communities so that they and their neighbors both feel loved and inspired by the neighborhood in which they live.

Like Jesus himself said, "Love your neighbor as yourself"...

I want this to happen.  

My ideals are changing and my heart is inspired to go in a new direction.  Like I say pretty much every post (or so it feels that way) I don't know what this means for my life.  I can only pray and seek out God's will in my life and my future.  

The funny thing about my experience at Jubilee is that my favorite part was not the wonderful people who welcomed us into the community.
It was not getting sweaty while laughing and doing zumba with the women of the neighborhood.
It was not my changed perspective, or even the delicious mexican food and homemade guacamole that they served us for lunch.

My favorite aspect of Jubilee Park was the houses.

"The houses?  Of everything you got to see, you liked the houses the best?", you may ask...
Well let me explain.

I suppose it wasn't exactly the houses themselves that I loved so much, but more so the image that they represented (at least in my mind..).

Beautiful, architecturally sound houses made of new wood sat next to houses with crumbling paint and litter in the yard.

New next to old.

The neighborhood was not complete.

Even after all the work the residents had put into restoring their area and creating safe places, there were still houses that weren't perfect.

The neighborhood wasn't flawless.  The residents could not brush off their hands and congratulate each other on a great finished product.

There was still work to be done.

To me this is a BEAUTIFUL image that God is still working in Jubilee Park.  Even after all of the amazing things that have been done there, the work is not complete.
God has not brushed His hands off and congratulated Himself on a job well done.
He is still working and He still has people in mind to come to Jubilee and do His work.
I love that even when we see so much good that God has even bigger and better things in mind for us.

This is not only true of Jubilee Park.

God is still at work.
He is still at work in the cities and communities across the world, and He is still at work within us.

What a wonderful God.