We're here!

After a very long night of driving we made it to Texas!!!! Hooray! Christmas break how I love thee!!!!

Give You.

It's hard coming to terms with the reality that I can't be and we can't do everything for everyone. The reality is that many people live in crappy situations. There are any number of reasons that cause people and families to end up in broken homes, literally. There are families on my street and children at my school that have lives I will never understand. It breaks my heart when I think about what Christmas is for those in need. Christmas is a time for some fathers and mothers to see that they in fact cannot provide for their families. Christmas is a time to have well meaning families buy your kids Christmas presents and make you feel two feet tall because you can't afford to. Christmas is time for immigrant families to watch others travel to see loved ones when they cannot because it's too dangerous. Christmas is a time for families who can barely get by as it is to sink into debt just to prove they aren't poor like other people.

This Christmas, don't just give a monetary gift to a child or a family in need, that doesn't really cost you anything. Give something that costs you everything. Give you. Invite someone who can't be with their family over on Christmas. Become friends with someone who isn't like you at all. If you are serving meals at the Salvation Army, actually pursue a conversation with a dinner guest. You never know where it might lead. This Christmas give the gift of dignity. It's something that everyone deserves, and most will never get.

Cookie Cookies and more Cookies!

On Sunday we had a neighborhood cookie decorating party! The purpose of the party was to build community within our neighborhood. I would say over the past few months we have initiated conversations and started building relationships with those in our neighborhood. I know many of the kids because they attend Unity. Children are typically the vehicle that relationships are formed through. I love being able to walk through the neighborhood and not only recognize faces, but actually know the faces. Our house has been intentional about making ourself a visible presence in our neighborhood. The cookie party was another vehicle for us to build trust and credibilty with our neighbors.

Jamie and spent about 8 or so hours in the kitchen Saturday baking sugar cookies, chocolate truffles, mint truffles, buckeyes, and almond biscotti. Both of us love to bake and baking is so much more fun when you do it together.

The kids decorated cookies and made gift baskets to deliver to the elderly in the neighborhood. The gift baskets were just wrapping paper and an empty yogurt container. Super cute!

Delivering the baskets was the highlight for many the kids, esp the older boys that were there.

Javion and Ian, they are absolutely precious and have the sweetest family.

My favorite thing about the party was that most of the people that came were kids and adults with which we had already had a prior connection. We hand delievered invitations to the whole neighborhood, but the majority of the people who came were those that already knew us. It important that we didn't just have the big Halloween party and then stop. We are using the Halloween party as a catalyst for other events and other more personal connections.

Another great thing about our the events in our neighborhood is that the Mission Year house is not the only group in the neighborhood interested in creating community. We have made some great friends who have lived in the neighborhood for several years and have been intentional about reaching out to the community. The great thing about having us there is that we have brought many of the these individuals together and now we have several families and households planning events and activities together. Neighbors working together are so much more effective than doing it alone. Working together is also a great way to pull your resources. Our church New Community Church once again donated supplies for our party. Some of us have time to donate some of us have resources, both are necessary.

But parties and events aren't enough. They are definitely a good way to begin to establish initial connections but they are only the first step. After we come back from the Christmas holidays I want to continue to develop my friendships with some of the people I have met. That's where it can be hard, you really have to step out of your comfort zone. But through relationships you can begin to see God transform your life and maybe even someone else's in the process.

Double Double Your Donation!!!!

Double your Donation ???? How you probably are wondering! During the month of December Mission Year will double ANY money raised! How can this be???? Donors and past team members have pledged to 100% match all funds raised this month. What an AWESOME way to help us meet our goal of $24,000 ( and what a fantastic way to get a last minute end of the year tax deduction!!!!)) We are thinking about YOU!!!!!!

Mission Year has been such a transformative year in my life already. We are sent out to transform our neighborhood but we are being changed and challenged in the process. Joining the married team in LaGrange has been one of the best decisions Ben and I have made as a couple. We are exploring our gifts not only as individuals, but as a couple as well.

Mission Year can only continue to love people and transform lives with the help of you. Please consider a gift donation to us this Christmas season. It doesn't matter how BIG or how small. Every penny will go towards advancing the kingdom of God!

Click on this link to securely donate online.

https://www.missionyear.org/donate/?name=Wheeler&support_id=09-0052

Or if your prefer you may send a check to
Mission Year
PO BOX 17628
Atlanta, GA 30316

Put the number 09-0052 in the memo section of your check.
As I mentioned ALL donations are tax deductible, so DON'T put our name anywhere on the check.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support this year.

http://www.missionyear.org/

Advent

We are now in the second week of advent. I really didn't know much about this liturgical season until I started working at St. Gregory in 2006. Advent was one of my favorite times of the year at St. Gregory. Every morning we would gather around our advent wreath and listen to scripture of the day. Every Monday we would gather as a student body to reflect on the symbolism of the candles, Hope, Peace, and Joy. Advent means coming or arrival. The focus of the advent season is on the arrival of Jesus. It's unfortunate that in today's world we only focus on the coming of company, parties, gifts, and Santa. For most of us, even Christians, advent is rarely our focus during this holiday season. I know I have taken Jesus' birth for granted far too many times. Of course I know "Jesus is the reason for the season" but I'm not sure I can actually say I thought much more about it than that. But which season are we referring to? I had heard of advent but I just thought it was another word for Christmas. Christmas is kind of like the culminating event during Advent, it's the celebration we were waiting for! But I think Advent itself is the joyful anticipation of Christmas or the birth of the Messiah. This year I want to truly reflect on the true meaning of Advent and not just the busyness of the Christmas holidays. More to come on this later.

Kerosene and Christmas Lights.

Zechariah 7: 9-11
This is what the LORD Almighty said: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.' "But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears.

I've been thinking alot lately about what it means to truly care for the poor and oppressed. I've gone on a mission trip, volunteered at the Salvation Army, delievered groceries to the poor, elderly homebound, bought a present from the Angel Tree... These are good things but is this really caring for the poor, or is it easing my conscience and making myself think I have cared for the poor. I think that voluntering your time occasionaly is a good start and a good thing to do, but I think there is much more to caring for the poor than that. It's much easier to deliever cans to a canned food drive than invite a hungry person over for dinner. It's easy to help those in need when it doesn't interfere with your schedule or your life.

We live by several people who do not have cars. Our neighbors will often ask us for rides sometimes for legitmate reasons, others for not so legitmate reasons aka the beer store! We do not want to become the neighborhood taxi service, but discerning when you are enabling versus when you are being Christ is tough. If you don't have a car in LaGrange, like most small towns you are extremely limited in your mobility. LaGrange doesn't have public transporation so a kind neighbor or a taxi are really your only transportation options. Last night on our way to community dinner, Nu Nu, our loud obnoxious neighbor, came over needing a ride. Nu Nu is a hard neighbor to deal with most of the time. He thinks since we are the neighborhood "missionaries" we are required to "help" him with whatever he needs whenever he wants. It's really frustrating. It's easy to help those who are thankful and appreciative, it's not so easy when the recipient of your generousity is obnoxious.

Nu Nu came over and said he need to get kerosene for the heater. It was freezing outside. How could we not help. Nu Nu and Ethel live in a house that doesn't have electricity. They can't afford it. It Christmas. People everywhere are decking their houses with lights.
I love Christmas lights. They make me happy. But somehow it doesn't seem at all right that one house can spend hundreds of extra dollars on lights, decorations, and electricity, while others in the same city maybe even the same street can't afford heat. As a Christian what do I do with this? We took Ethel to filled up her kerosene jug last night. We had to wait for the guy in front of us. The guy in front of us took a taxi --- to get keresone. I guess he didn't have a neighbor that would take him. We didn't do much. I wish we could do more. But we did humaninze her situation. Ever since I haven't stop thinking about all the people that I don't know about that don't have heat.

It's hard to understand the struggles of someone living in poverty but it's even harder to not immediately judge and make assumptions as to the causes of their poverty. Sometime we may be correct in our assumptions but what good is it to be right if we don't to anything to help allievate the problem. I am beginning to understand I will never truly understand the situations of my neighbors. I was born into a completely different lifestyle. I have lived an entirely different life than most of my neighbors. However, even though I may never really understand how they got into their current situation I can humanize them and their situation by simply just being with them. Jesus was constantly surrounded by needy people. But it seems like when he was approached by someone with a need he met it. The sick he healed. The blind he restored sight. I can't do that but I can be a friend. I can be a free taxi cab. I can be a listening ear. I can be nice. It may not be much. But it's what I can do.

More pics

Here's a few pictures we took last week.

My week of Thanksgivings

This year we weren't able to go home for Thanksgiving but that sure didn't put a damper on our holiday week! We started celebrating Monday night. Our first dinner was at Anton and Charlotte's home with us and the Alterna families. We started off the meal by telling someone in the room why we were thankful for them. It was a great way to bring our community together. It was almost a meatless Thanksgiving BUT my parents sent us a Greenburg smoked turkey and WOW it was delish!!! We had such a great night. By far we, the English speakers, were in the minority that day. The highlight of the evening was watching Jordi, a two year old, dance or more like bop to Michael Jackson and JT.

That meal was awesome, but Wednesday's meal was EVEN better. Ben's mom and Katie and Suzanne (his sisters) came in from Florida to spend the holidays with us and brought 10 lbs of shrimp and bags of fish. About 3 o'clock yesterday the fish fry extravaganza began. We made cheesy garlic biscuits, fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, carrots, potatoes, corn, fried fish, hushpuppies, a garden fresh salad, an apple cake, and chocolate chip cookies. By far this was the most fantastic meal we have had all year. Our house this year is very nice compared to the normal mission year home, however our kitchen, dining, and living room space are basically in the same space and this space is tiny. During our normal community meal we average about 14 people and that is packed. Last night though we packed in 25 people. It was the BEST night. We shared prayers in English, Spanish, and in Arabic. We had adults and children crammed into such a tiny space, but it didn't matter. It just made us all closer! Last night was a beautiful image of family and community. I think holidays and huge meals normally meant to bring family and friends together can often make everyone stressed out. Even though last night was crazy it really wasn't stressful.

We spent today, Thanksgiving, helping prepare meals that were going to be delivered to people in LaGrange. When we finished that we went to a neighborhood church that planned on delivering some of the meals we packaged earlier to people in our neighborhood. The church is new and wasn't sure what kind of turnout they would have but we wanted to be there to help in whatever way we could. I enjoyed sharing our story and listening to the churches' vision for the neighborhood.

After that we went the Martinez' house and shared a Mexican Thanksgiving meal with them and their extended family. This meal was unlike any Thanksgiving meal I have ever had. Today I tried a chicken foot for the first time. I can't say that I would eat this again, but hey I tried something new! We also had skirt steak, tortillas, corn soup, and some delicious Mexican dessert that I have no idea what it was. Thanksgiving week this year was wonderful. I did miss my old friends and family, but I am seeing how fun it can be to start new traditions. And most of all how fun life can be when you are involved with your neighborhood and community. This week was a beautiful example of community.

Peace Walk

Margareta, Zach, Me, Ben, and Anton before the walk to the SOA rally.

The banner

Brother Utsumi

The whole gang plus a few more.

Simply put, last week was life changing. I had the opportunity to participate in a 100 mile Peace Walk. Actually, I wasn't even going to go at first. Going would mean not being at my service site, not working with my kids, and not sleeping in my own bed. Thankfully I reconsidered and decided this year is about experiencing NEW things, why in the world would I not JUMP at this opportunity.

Last Saturday night we drove to Koinonia Farm, about 15 miles outside Americus, Georgia. Cool bit of info, Koinonia Farm is the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity. For the first 3 nights of the peace walk we stayed at Koinonia Farm. Yes, this did mean we had to back track and drive to our actual starting point but it was great not having to pack up our belongings each morning. I think this year was the 10th annual peace walk for this particular group. Our walk was led by 3 Buddhist Monks from Atlanta from the order of Nipponzan Myohoji. At first I really wondered what it would be like to walk with monks. For the entire walk I knew they would be drumming and chanting.

As part of our Mission Year curriculum we are studying solitude and contemplation. Anton thought this peace walk would tie in beautifully with the idea of contemplation, which it did. The whole week, not just the actual time spent walking, but the entire week was an amazing time of contemplation for me personally. We had the opportunity to meet peace/ non violent activists from all over the country who have commit ed their lives to pursuing justice for the marginalized and oppressed. Listening to their stories was inspiring. These were people who didn't just talk about peace, they lived it. Some of the people I met were so passionate they actually went to jail as a prisoner of conscience for their beliefs. This makes me think of Paul. Paul was continuously imprisoned for the the sake of the gospel. He didn't practice his faith in a way that was safe or easy. He spoke out against the Romans, the leaders of his time, and he wasn't afraid. The men and women I met this week weren't afraid to speak out against our policies and the parts of our government that are frankly plain wrong. It was also challenging to see the dedication of the monks. Every morning at 6 am morning prayers would begin. Once we even started at 5:30 am.


JulesBobThe four women we are pictured with were Prisoners of Conscience.

Each day we would walk about 15 miles. I'd like to say I was able to walk that everyday, but that would be untrue. This walk was hard. After the second day my blisters were so huge and so uncomfortable I could hardly walk at all. By the fourth day I had a swollen ankle due to forcing myself to walk incorrectly just so I didn't have to quit. I ended talking Thursday off completely. I helped drive the support vehicle and prepare lunch and snacks. While in the support car I had a chance to talk with Jim, the founder of Footprints for Peace. He has led and participated in peace walks all over the US and Europe. He told me this walk had the largest group of people of faith, specifically Christians, that he had ever walked with. I wasn't surprised at this statement, but it did make me think. Why aren't Christians involved in more things such as this Peace Walk? Why are we led to believe that questioning the status quo is somehow wrong, anti Christian or worse anti American? This week did make me question and reflect on my faith. What am I called to pursue? What is it that I want my life to reflect? As a Christ follower I want my life to reflect Jesus' love. I want my life to reflect the compassion Jesus showed to the outsider, the stranger, the poor and oppressed. I am proud to have been part of an interfaith group this week. It was beautiful. This week has given me a new sense of hope and inspiration for the future.

Random Pictures

So I brought my computer to Ben's office where there is wifi and thought I upload a few random pictures.

Dirty Pig.

I miss Rico.

Clean pig.

Jamie, Mavi, and I

Seriously, could he be any cuter?

Gabi with Dinner! j/k

Gabi teaching dinner to escape.

Truffle making with Mavi

Contentment

Contentment. It seems almost impossible to actually be content living in todays consumer driven world. Just as soon as you think you finally have everything you need, a commerical on TV reminds you of something you don't have. Just as soon as you buy a house, you drive past a neighborhood that is nicer. Everyday our brains are flooded with images of things we think we need. I think simplicity was one of the things that drew me to Mission Year. I have a deep longing to be content, but it's like I don't know how to do it.

I thought Mission Year would teach me to be content with the material things I have. I figured after doing Mission Year I would be happy with my car, happy with the household things I own, happy with the clothes I have, have less of a desire to consume more. And I was partly right. I have learned to be more content with my belongings. I haven't gone to Target for new clothes in almost 3 months, and I haven't even minded it! I haven't really minded not eating out, (still working on that one!) But what I didn't realize was that I would learn to be content with the non material things I have.

Having the ability to be content with my car is actually a priviledge. Our neighbors, John and Junior, don't even have a junky car to be content with. They are almost always at home on their porch. They are basically confined to a very small space due to lack of transporation. I'm not sure if I could handle staying home all day. Sometimes I've wished I was something besides a teacher, it's not a very glamorous job. Being a volunteer teacher has actually made me more content with teaching. I love teaching, and I absolutely love being at school. Having a job, much less the ability to have a volunteer job is a priviledge. Some of my neighbors don't have any sort of job, not even a crappy one. I'm lucky. I get to leave my house everyday and do something I love.

Having the ability to drive with a license is actually a privilege. Not only do I have a car, but I can drive without the fear of being stopped and fined. Our friends from Mexico and Guatemala don't have that privilege. The men take a risk every time they get into their car to drive to work. And the women, well many of the ladies we have met don't even know how to drive. They are trapped inside their homes during the day. At Christmas, I am going to drive to Texas in my car. I get to see my friends and family. I'm lucky. Norma and Arturo can't visit their family. In fact when Norma's father passed away several months ago, she couldn't even go to the funeral.

Funny thing is though, just when I think I'm finally content I go to Atlanta and drive through a nice part of town, see stores that I used to shop in, see the houses I wish I could afford to buy. I think being intentional is a big part of being content. We have to intentionally keep our self away from things that make us uncontent. It's hard, really hard but I'm trying.

Monday's with Mavi

I love my neighbors. We have had such a wonderful time becoming friends with the Mohammads from next door. It's been neat to see the connections. Mohammad is 16, Dustin and Ben and really invested into his life. Ben helps him with homework and Dustin found a private soccer team he could play on. Our house has become advocates for them. I can't imagine what it would be like to move to a new country. Even if you speak a little bit of the language more than likely you wouldn't be familiar with the customs.

Well Mavi, the 10 year old, has become incredibly special to me. One of our favorite things to do together is bake. She came over one night and helped me make truffles. We took some to her family and she was so excited. Ever since then she has been asking me to make them again with her so she could give them to her teachers. The other night her wish was granted. She came over and we made about 60 oreo truffles. She really didn't need my help at all. She was totally comfortable in our kitchen and made herself right at home. She was excited about school the next day! Charlotte (Anton's wife) is her reading teacher. She said the teachers were reaving about her wonderful deserts! Lately, she come over as soon as she knows I'm home from school and stays for hours. One night, her family was leaving to visit a friend and she decided she would rather stay with us. She was at our house until 10! I'm so thankful her family is comfortable enough with her to let stay at our home.

Monday night Ben and I had to make dinner. Sure enough, Mavi came over about 4 o'clock. I was making empanandas and they were much more time consuming than I had planned. Mavi, to the rescue. Mavi made the dough and Ben was going to try to roll it out, but he was really having a hard time. Mavi completely took over. She was rolling her dough into perfect circles, super thin, and then she even threw it up in the air like piza dough! This kid is a natural in the kitchen! If it wasn't for Mavi, I never would have finished dinner in time. When everyone came over for dinner we made sure to brag on Mavi! It was such a fun evening.

My feelings are bittersweet as I right this. Yesterday Mavi, her mother, and brother Ahmed, left to spend the next 3 months in Iraq visiting her sick grandmother and their family. While I am so glad she will have the opportunity to reconnect with her family, her roots, her culture, I will miss her dearly. She was so excited about going. She hasn't been in Iraq since she was too little to remember. Monday was the last time Mavi will be over for a while and that makes me sad. We spent a few hours at their house Monday night just hanging out with all their friends for one last night. It was great. I am going to miss Mavi terribly but I am thankful for all the wonderful times we have had so far! We already told them we are going to have a HUGE welcome home party in Feb! They seemed to like that idea!

Garden Day

Hanbanero Peppers

Cilantro used to make Guac last night! Mmmmm good!

We have an insane amount of peppers in our house.
This rooster did not make it through the day. Maybe I'll post a video of that later!!! Everything!
Broccoli plant

Birthday Parties

Yesterday I walked home from school. There was a birthday party going on about 3 houses down from us. I recognized a few kids from my school including one I work with everyday (I didn't know he lived in my neighborhood). We stopped and talked to the kids and then the family invited to stay and have hotdogs. It was a great time. The mom, Monica, attened the Hillside Halloween party, where I briefly met her. Actually, the party was part of the reason she wanted us to stay for their party. The Halloween party was a way for us to meet our neighbors, in return we were invited to a neighbors party! Had it not been for the Halloween party we would not have made that connection. Monica actually has been asking been how she can become more involved in the neighborhood. Ben is in charge of the neighborhood watch through his service site, DASH, and has been really trying to bring our neighborhood together.

Joining a strangers house for a birthday party might seem a bit wierd and awkward. But we weren't strangers anymore. Hopefully the door is opened now on a new friendship. I told you Halloween Parties are a good idea! On a side note, had I been driving home I probably wouldn't have stopped. Walking makes your sooo much more intentional about talking to people. I love the fact that my school is close enough to me house to walk! I guess it's a kind of blessing to not always have the luxury of a car!

A Homemade Halloween!

Halloween. Many Christians have mixed feelings about this holiday. When I was a kid I wasn't allowed to dress up or trick or treat. And I hated that, I wanted to trick or treat or treat so bad. Christians are so afraid of staying away from anything that appears to be evil that we have insulated ourselves into a Holy Bubble of sorts. Instead of trick or treating we have Fall Festivals. Instead of a haunted house we have hell house. When I was a kid we had Hallejuah night on Halloween. Instead of dressing up as a superhero or a princess, we got to wear our dads old bathrobe and turn into Moses. Seriously??? Where is the creativity in that.

Church Fall Festivals aren't a bad idea, but they mainly only attract church people. Or they are used to trick people into going to church! We already have so many progams and activities at our churches. We already spend most of our time with other like minded people who are the same as us. But is that what God has called us to do, live an easy life and only associate with other Christians. Didn't God command us to go into ALL the world and share the good news. It's easy to think we have God and Christianity all figured out when we surround ourselves only with others who think just like us.

Why does Halloween have to turn into a church function too. Wouldn't it make more sense if we instead spent Halloween engaging with our actual neighbors? I know it can be awkward showing up at your neighbors porch to see if they want to "hang out." But Halloween gives you an excuse to go next door. Invite your neighbors family to go trick or treating with your family. What a great way to get to know the kids and the parents.

This year we decided to go into ALL the neighborhood to share candy, costumes, and most of all fun with our neighbors. Jamie and I, together with the help of some of our neighbors planned the best Halloween Party the Hillside neighborhood has ever seen. Our entire purpose was to bring folks in our community together - so we could meet than and they could meet each other. Our party wan't fancy. We made treat baskets from milk jugs and wig out of newspaper. We painted nail and faces. There were kids that came to the party without costumes. When they left they had some sort of costume and a basket full of candy, homemade cookies, and popcorn. Our budget for the party was basically $20.00, we had to use the resources in the community to fund the rest. Two churches and DASH (Ben's service site) donated candy and craft supplies. Neighbors collected milk jugs and newspaper. Out of town grandmothers baked cookies and sent them to us! Our party was going to be in an outdoor space but unfortuantely it was raining. A local neighborhood restaurant offered to let us have the party in their building at no charge.

It was an awesome party. Last year only about 20 people showed up to the Hillside Halloween, this year because of neighborhood and community involvement there were about 130 people at the event. The cool thing about this party was that the attendees were mostly residents of our neighborhood. This wouldn't have been the same if it had been in a church. We my have not shared the gospel in words, but we did share our faith in our actions. "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." St. Francis of Assisi. I hope you enjoy the Hillside Halloween pictures! We had a great time!

Hillside Halloween

Milk carton treat buckets


Wig Making
Zach and Margareta as each other!

Awesome nail painting


Cutest Bumblebee ever!!!


The COOLEST Wigs Ever!

Arturo & Norma

If you know Ben and Anton this is funny!