Wednesday, April 01, 2009

After a long absence

I recently flew back east to lead a workshop on living the lifestyle of a missionary in the here and now, and spent a few days in Pittsburgh after the conference. I hung out with my friend Amanda after spending a leisurely morning at a hospitable community called Friendship House. It's located in a small neighborhood named Friendship near the edge of the modest city of Pittsburgh. Right outside of Friendship house, Friendship Ave stretches, connecting a line of houses in a community that has felt the pain of poverty and gentrification, but this beautiful community has been involved for at least a decade. Before spending time with Amanda, I helped serve in their after school program, shooting some hoops with some middle schoolers and listening to John Paul deliver a litergy to the kids in the midst of their raucous noise. After that time, I went with Amanda to a local coffee shop that unfortunately was closing down in a week due to lack of business. There were a number (about six or seven) neighborhood kids hanging out inside the shop, which gave it a homey feel, and they immediately gravitated to Amanda and me, so we started playing chess with them. The lady behind the counter offered them some hot chocolate in tiny little mugs, and it all contributed to a feeling that this little coffee shop felt like a bit of heaven on earth.

2 comments:

Rachel Dawn Kornfield said...

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!! Why didn't you tell me you were going to Pittsburgh???? I INTERNED and LIVED at Friendship house for a summer!! I LOVE the people there. Did you get a chance to go to a service at Seeds of Hope? Do you REALIZE you were within a few blocks of my mom and sister and you didn't even MEET them? Oh goodness. Next time you're going to Pittsburgh, TELL ME! Lol.

Rachel Dawn Kornfield said...

If you weren't already involved in a community in Cali I would tell you to move to Pittsburgh. That'd be so much fun!! We'd actually SEE each other once a year or so. Isn't Amanda AMAZING? Too bad you're already dating... lol. All of a sudden there are too many amazing women in the world. Drought or flood, right?