We're off!

Tomorrow morning I'm off to Maine! Pray for the house mates and Emily and Matt and the extended Stevens House Family as we travel. I think we are all a little on the weary side and ready for a vacation.

PEACE
katie

For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her

Duluth/Massachusets-
In 2003, just before graduating/student teaching. I decided to move to St. Louis for the summer. I would work with French speaking refugees and would get to experience some good Christian Community. I started emailing back and forth with the other french speaker I would be living with. Secretly, I was totally excited that I was going to be meeting someone from Conneticut, mostly because of my unending love of the Babysitter's Club.

St. Louis
A few weeks later, I was in St. Louis when Emily arrived. For the next 7 weeks we worked out of Emily's Saturn (our ministry office). We visited one very needy un-airconditioned daycare of children suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, we ate a lot of good mexican and cuban food, we took kids to the zoo, led bible clubs, and translated presbyterian doctrine into french (far more challenging than you would expect). We shared a love of starbucks, and Jesus, people and diversity. It was a challenging summer of learning to be, but it forever shaped the women that Emily and I are 5 years later.

2301 Minnehaha Avenue South
Emily and I lived together in 2 bedroom apartment for a year. We had some culinary adventures (stuffed pumpkin, french fries). We learned a little spanish from Misael, Felipe, and Angela upstairs. Emily wrote poems, applied to grad school and met a man. At the May Day Festival that year, Emily met Matt Krusack, it didn't take long for it to turn into dating and Matt became a regular feature of our apartment.

The Stevens House
After a year on Minnehaha, Emily and I moved to the Stevens House. Together with Wanda, Noel, Maria, Ledor, and Bethany, Emily has been family for the past 3 years at the house. Emily and I spent many mornings before I went into work, and she went onto campus together. Reading or working on our lap tops side by side. "Do you want to go for a walk?" "Would you like some lunch?" "I'm going to do YogaBootyBallet/ TaeBo, would you like to do it with me?" Emily introduced me to the most delicious coffee beverage ever the cafe miel.

Pancho Villa
Emily and the rest of us, have spent a number of hours at Pancho Villa, a Mexican Restaurant close to our house(home of the $40 meat pot). Birthdays, last days of work, long days are all reason to celebrate at the Stevens House and probably each eaten 30 pounds of their ridiculously tasty chips and salsa. Last night, Matt, Emily and the rest of the house went for one last round of treats at PV. Here's a picture of a Em and Matt at an earlier PV party.

Conneticut
Emily flew out this morning, she's off to be with her family one last time before she's married. We miss her already. She's no longer my roommate, but she will always be my friend and my sister. I'm happy for her.

Maine
Next week, ALL of us, Noel, Theresa, Bethany, Maria, Wanda, Kassie, and I are flying to Maine to see the big nuptuals go down. We are PUMPED. We'll keep you posted about our trip.

HERE'S to EMILY, Wherever we may find her. (thanks Paul Simon)

Oh what are the stores in your neighborhood?

There are some places I LOVE in our neighborhood: Quang's, Rainbow, Pancho Villa, Source Ministries, The Bad Waitress, Iglesia Adventista del setima dia, Shuang Hur and Marissas are a few.

There are some places I wish weren't in our neighborhood: Maestros Espirituales always freaks me out a little bit, and the fairly odd Adult Video/Used clothes store (currently offering a Father's Day discount on films - yuck)is pretty disgusting.

There are some places that I can't quite say I love, and I certainly don't hate, they just make me go -- huh?

Tessa, Noel, Bethany and I went for a walk two nights ago and noticed this gem.

I think this is where Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione's children will go to get their cosmetology licenses.

fire 3

Donations for the family affected by the family can be sent to Green Central School. Specify that the donation is for the family affected by the fire.

http://green.mpls.k12.mn.us/

Obama-rama: let's barack n' roll OR the blessing of Noel Ricardo Collier Nix

I'm going to link to Noel's blog today, because he has something good to say about what we experienced tuesday night. Living with Noel is a mini bachelor's degree in US Government, History, and Business. He's also VERY (almost annoyingly) good about asking me hard questions about everything, dating, friendships and work.

This week the Stevens House went to hear history at the Excel Energy Center. Emily and Bethany got in at different times, but due to some very cool connections Noel and I ended up on the floor of the arena, about 40 feet from the podium.

My alleigance is to Jesus and not to any political party, politician or government, but it is amazing to think that there is a good chance that we will have an African American president for the first time in history. I felt so honored to be able to experience this night with Noel, Aaron and Wilt, three African American brothers in Christ. I also ran into my cousin Reier a biracial man in his mid twenties. I wish that I had words to explain how cool it was to see these men reacting to Obama, a strong presidential candidate who is biracial: european and african american. Wilt's facebook album from Tuesday night is called "The Proudest Moment of My Adult Life". That's important for me to understand. It's important for me to experience. I need Noel and Wilt and Aaron and Reier. I need those experiences.

Yesterday I got a strange text message from a friend and I said to Noel, "Man, my life is so surreal."

"Uhhh, yeah!" was his reply, "You live in a house with 4 white women and a black man. You haven't noticed that our life is surreal?"

I think that I've lost sight of how "different" our house is. Not everyone gets to see life from another cultural perspective, another gender perspective, not everyone gets to eat with friends every day, or pray with their housemates. Our life is a delightful kind of surreal. I like it a lot.

Community

It's June, Emily and Matt will be married June 28 on th coast of Maine. Emily has been my roommate longer than anyone besides my family. Soon after we moved into the Stevens house she wrote this poem. So Emily is our first guest blogger. It's in her book "Glances Back" which can be purchased through PayPal on her blog.

Community
by Emily K. Bright

It is nearly midnight and I'm
scrubbing at the grout.
The dishes, washed,
are put away. This is how I love
the people in my house,
with baking soda and a sponge.
We build our community
from the kitchen out,
knowing eggs or cornbread
stretch a meal to feed
the neighbor boys, who come
when we sit down to supper.
They always join us
when we offer, always ask
to use the phone to talk to girls
They claw through adolescence
and such obstacles I never had to face:
gangs and constant relocations,
Michael's father half way through
his fifteen years for selling. I learn,
I learn from them. Outside, sirens
flash their blue and red again.
I sweep footprints in a pile,
fill the bucket and mop.
So much is beyond my circle of control.
But this house, this place of gathering,
it shines, if only for a few to see,
if only through the morning.

After the Storm

Wanda, Bethany and our friend Amanda cooked a great bbq for the Park Avenue Summer Staff yesterday. Wanda is going to give Noel a run for his money with her bbq grilling skills. The staff really appreciated the hospitality, and our new friend Jamil, from Atlanta, said that it was the best meal he's had since arriving in MN on thursday.

We cut the bbq short as severe weather sirens started howling. We all survived an enormous amount of hail and rain.

Here's some of Wanda's beautiful-post storm pictures.