Wake Up Early This Saturday Morning!

This Saturday morning, February 28th, we have a great opportunity to help bring Up There Down Here.

Larry Jones, founder and president of Feed the Children recently shared his concern over the sky rocketing unemployment in and around Elkhart county and wanted to do something about it. So, on Tuesday, March 10th 15 semi loads of food and personal care items will roll out of the Feed the Children warehouse in Elkhart to locations all over the community. Thousands of families who recently lost their jobs will receive a box of food and a box of personal care items.

Before that can happen nearly 12,000 boxes must be packed or shipped in from other Feed the Children distribution centers. But every semi load we are able to pack out in Elkhart saves fuel and transportation costs. Every semi load that leaves the docks from Elkhart means Feed the Children has the funds to purchase another 1/3 load of food. We want to vote for more food for our friends and families of Elkhart county!

So here's the request:

On Saturday, February 28th from 8:30 am til noon we will become a box packing machine at the FtC Elkhart warehouse and distribution center. Ask your friends, invite your neighbors, wake up your kids. Go directly to Feed the Children's warehouse, help pack out the boxes and help bring a ray of hope to thousands of families in Elkhart county that we call our friends.

So close but it seems so very far away....

Most of you that know me I think for the most part my personality is pretty even tempered. However, I have an extremely short fuse when it comes to seeing injustice especially when it is toward someone else.

I've been trying to process this for the last week or so but today over lunch I heard the story again and it just lit me up!

Nearly two years ago I begin developing a friendship with a guy that lives in the Monroe Circle Community. He was from the streets. I was not. Most men feared him. Me, not so much. D wanted to change his destiny. I needed to open my mind. So, we started a journey and it was not without its challenges but overall D was making great progress. He went through the STARs program at the Center for the Homeless, worked a few different jobs but had landed a great one several months ago. He loved it. His employer thought D was doing an amazing job and kept giving him more and more responsibility. Great pay and full benefits.

Then it happened. D cam home and had a small disagreement with his girlfriend. Nothing physical or abusive just louder than normal conversation. The next door neighbor called the police. Several squad cars arrive. Talk to both D and his girlfriend. No signs of injury. No tears. No screaming. His girlfriend tells the police everything is really ok and apologized for raising her voice. Not good enough - someone is going to jail and D is the chosen one.

Now here is were it gets even more bazaar. D has no less than 6 phone numbers of guys, good friends that he can call. But they confiscated his phone and his girlfriend did not have our numbers and was too embarrassed to tell anyone what happened at the community center. For two weeks we called and called and called with no answer only a voicemail message. Then even the voicemail was turned off. It was like D had just disappeared.

Two weeks later D calls. He has been in county jail for the last two weeks waiting for his girlfriend to get paid so he can get bailed out. It turns out that she isn't even allowed to bail him out or even talk to him because she is listed as the victim on the police report.

So, today over lunch D is sharing with us how he is trying to get his job back but right now it does not look promising. We've came so very far to break the grip of generational poverty with D over the last two years to have it slip away so quickly. But it seems like a big step backward.

I really don't want to blame the police, D, his girlfreind or even the neighbor lady. But is seems to me that we have built systems and thought patterns based upon the group and not the individual. It is so much easier to prejudge an individual based upon what we think a group of people that have different traits than we do might do.

I can't imagine how D must feel. The closest thing I can come to is the day a group of us were working at Cabrini Green in Chicago. From the walkway enclosed with security fencing you could see, all most touch, Chicago's Magnificent Mile - an icon of the American dream. It was right there but it felt like it could have been a million miles away.

D, we are right there with you. We will pick you up and walk with you again and again. Because if you fail, we fail and that is just too difficult to even think about.

Front Page News that is Hopeful

As bread is broken, neighbors find unity

Free meal fills stomachs, lifts spirits each Tuesday.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED

By JOSEPH DITS
Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND — "I heard they feed well," says 21-year-old Tony Elliott, among the first ones to line up in the bitter cold.

Several minutes later, Lorraine Bailey also walks up to the door of the Monroe Circle Community Center at Western Avenue and Taylor Street. She comes as much for the conversation as the food.

Denise Martin of Granger Community Church serves drinks to Tony Elliott and DiAnna Thompson at The Gathering, a weekly meal at the Monroe Circle Community Center in South Bend.

"Nice people you see on the street every day," she says.

And, she adds, there's the spiritual message that comes each time they dine.

At 54, she was laid off from her hotel housekeeping job in November and is waiting to be hired back in March or April. She goes to some food pantries but doesn't really go to other free community meals.

People sometimes wait outside an hour or more for these weekly Tuesday meals, known as The Gathering. Sometimes they are turned away because there's enough space inside for just 55 adults, plus some kids, says coordinator LeRoy King.

Doors typically open by 6:30 p.m. — make that 6:19 on this night. The crowd steps into a thick, warm aroma of gourmet coffee and hot cocoa. Volunteers from Granger Community Church greet them. Smiles. Handshakes. Hugs.

The diners take their seats at cozy little round tables draped with white cloths, maroon place mats and white and black balloons. Volunteers take orders, then deliver potato chips and dip with tall cups of soul-thawing cocoa or coffee.

"We are trying to create a place where they can have community with their neighbors," King says. "Our goal is not to treat them as second-class citizens. One thing we always tell them is that they matter and that they are loved by God."

The Gathering started in June. It's part of the Granger church's ministry here in a strip of old storefronts that the church renovated into a sleek, modern school, food pantry and other programs.

The meal, King says, targets next-door neighbors in the apartment complexes of the South Bend Housing Authority and the 46601 ZIP code area, but anyone is welcome.

"It's more like home," says David Johnson, 46, who lives in the Monroe Circle complex and often brings neighbors with him.

What he enjoys, he says, is "to see people eating here, to see them in a more relaxed atmosphere."

"It allows you to meet people from other walks of life," says Eileen Wade, 56. "When you think you have problems, you find someone whose problems are worse than yours."

But make no mistake, she says: That one meal makes a financial difference "when you're on a limited income and you only get a lousy $10 in food stamps (per month)."

Raymond Seiler, 64, tunes in to the spiritual presentation, a scaled-down version of the church's weekend services. Some of it is on the TV screens in the room, a Christian message with a rhythm-and-blues beat that moves the diners to sway. King also speaks, but so do other church members, like Mike Jackson, who had seen President Barack Obama's inauguration in Washington, D.C.

"You don't hear one person talking," says Seiler, a retiree who also picks up food boxes here each month. "You can hear a lot of people getting the message across about Jesus Christ. In church, you only hear one person, and everyone else has to shut up."

Meanwhile, children are in a room next door with more elbow room for their energetic bodies. They are coloring sheets of Noah's ark, sipping water and munching on chips. Ten to 20 kids show up weekly for a meal and a Christian activity.

The food then comes in both rooms. In the past there has been spaghetti, turkey, soups ... really, just a variety. This time it is a form of broken bread, that biblical symbol of communion: Subway sandwiches.

Staff writer Joseph Dits:
jdits@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6158

Well done, Friend!

I knew Millard Fuller for about 10 years. His story inspired me to take steps to help others. I truly believe without my involvement with Habitat for Humanity and spending time with Millard and his wife I may not have had the courage to even think about starting a project like Monroe Circle Community Center. He told me many times, you do what you can do and God will take care of the rest. He was a man of vision. A man with great focus. He listened to God and lived a great live full of adventure. Tonight, my prayer is that I can become more like Millard.

The passing of an inspiration

Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity and The Fuller Center for Housing, died early this morning after a brief illness. He was 74. Family and friends are mourning the tragic loss of a true servant leader and a genuine heart.

There will be a visitation tonight at First Presbyterian Church from 6-8 p.m. The family will be there to receive guests. The church is located in Americus, Ga., at 125 S. Jackson St.

Millard will be buried at Koinonia Farm on February 4 at 11 a.m. Koinonia is located at 1324 Hwy 49 S, Americus, Ga., 31719. The funeral is open to the public.

The family is planning a memorial service for later in the month. Please check back here for further details.

Linda Fuller, Millard’s wife of 49 years and the co-founder of Habitat and The Fuller Center, said that great strides have been made toward fulfilling Millard’s vision of eliminating poverty housing around the world, but that there is still tremendous work to be done. Millard would want us to carry on with faith and strength.

The couple was planning to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in August with a blitz build centered in Millard’s hometown, Lanett, Ala.

“We’ll probably go ahead with the blitz build. Millard would not want people to mourn his death,” Linda said. “He would be more interested in having people put on a tool belt and build a house for people in need.”

Former President Jimmy Carter issued a statement in which he called Fuller “one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known.

“He used his remarkable gifts as an entrepreneur for the benefit of millions of needy people around the world by providing them with decent housing,” Carter said in the statement. “As the founder of Habitat for Humanity and later the Fuller Center, he was an inspiration to me, other members of our family and an untold number of volunteers who worked side-by-side under his leadership.”

The family asks that donations be made to The Fuller Center in lieu of flowers, and to help us continue the great work that is Millard’s legacy.

For more on Millard’s life and work, visit MillardFuller.com, or read the Associated Press article published today.

Through the Eyes of an Eight Year Old

I grew up in a middle class family in the 60's. Dad worked. Mom stayed at home. We didn't have a lot of extras but we never went without. Each summer we would take a family vacation. One of my greatest memories as a very young boy was our ritual on Saturday night. First was a bath so we were ready for church the next morning. Then a trip with Dad to McDonald's on South Michigan Street in South Bend. I don't remember if they had inhouse dining because every time we would pull up in the drive thru and watch them peal potatoes for the french fries. We'd order a cheeseburger, fries and usually a chocolate shake and head home. I still remember how great that felt.

As we raised our kids and now as we have grandkids a trip to McDonald's is commonplace. Almost expected. Not out of greed but out of convenience.

Today, I had the chance to take two boys from the Monroe Circle neighborhood to McDonald's. Last week during the after-school program they brought in a certificate for a free sandwich as a reward for their good attendance. They talked about how they really wanted to go but didn't think it would happen. We made a plan. They got excited and asked over and over if it would really happen on Monday.

Here is their reality in 2009 from the eyes of an 8 year old living at Monroe Circle.

1. You arrive at MC3 fifteen minutes early because you can't believe the day has finally arrived.
2. Your parental release form has been folded, opened and refolded so many times the paper is starting to tear on the fold lines. You've stuffed it deep in your pocket because this is your golden ticket to a rare experience. Without it you can't go - you can't leave. The dream of going to McDonald's is so close but yet it seems so far away.
3. You get very quiet when we pull into the parking lot because you see three police cars parked outside the restaurant. You are afraid to ask but you think you know the answer, "Can we still go in?" You are relieved when you hear sure we can.
4. You have been given your final instructions on how to order your meal.
5. You shyly look at their feet when asked what they would like to eat. Quietly and politely you ask for a Big Mac, an order of small fries and coke. After prompting you agree to change the coke to a shake but still insist on the small fries.
5. You ask if it is okay to set in a booth next to the gas fireplace because it "feels good." You look up and see the three officers are sitting at the next table over and you are not sure it is still okay to sit here. You look at me for confirmation.
6. You share as you devour your meal that you can't remember when was the last time you came to McDonald's because it takes too long to walk here from Monroe Circle.
7. You try to be polite and answer questions about your hopes and dreams but you really can't even get past the next few months. You have learned to survive one day at a time. You've been to Mishawaka but that is as far from home that you have gotten.
8. You ask if you can go back to Monroe Circle Community Center because you want to finish your homework before you go home at 5 PM because you know Ms. Amy or one of the other volunteers are truly interested in helping you get it right.
9. You are pretty sure you will be able to come back to MC3 on Wednesday. Next Monday is not guaranteed. Hope is one day at a time.

My prayer is the $10.00 I spent on two Big Macs, two small fries and two shakes will have a small impact on how these two boys view their value, their worth, their potential. I know for sure it made my day.

Melinda Chisholm Brings Her Indian Story Back to IUSB

I've had the privilege of traveling to India with Melinda twice in the last year. Last summer I had a blog post on how well she adapted and even excelled on the first trip. Her second trip revealed even more of her heart for the poor.

One of the things we try to ask our team members to do is not to leave their experience in India or put it away once they come home.

Melinda took that step last week when asked to tell her story that would be published in IUSB's Preface. Here it is. Enjoy. Be encouraged.



Student builds houses and hope in India
Shaun Christensen
christss@iusb.edu

Small in stature at 5'3", Melinda Chisholm is not the largest person attending IU South Bend, but she has travelled large distances to make big differences in the lives of others.

Chisholm, who will graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in psychology, has travelled to Tamil Nadu, India twice in the past year on mission trips through the Granger Community Church (GCC).

"My first trip to India was in July 2008, and I taught conversational English in both government and private schools." Chisholm said, "I had an amazing experience the first time, so I decided to sign up for another trip if the chance came up."

Chisholm was confronted by the opportunity to return to India when she read about an Indian mission trip in a GCC bulletin. She was eager to sign up for the trip, and was able to cover its expenses through fund raising.

In December 2008, Chisholm joined the GCC construction team on their trip to Tamil Nadu to help them accomplish their goal of knocking down and rebuilding as many faulty houses as possible.

"The houses that we rebuilt were government houses that were built with an inferior mortar consisting of too much sand and not enough concrete," Chisholm explained. "The houses were crumbling and needed a lot of attention. So, we had to get the right mixture and rebuild the houses from scratch."

The Construction Team of six members worked tirelessly for four days from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with only primitive tools. They succeeded in tearing down four houses and rebuilding three.

The locals were grateful to the team, and welcomed them in their village while they worked. They even hung up plaques with the team members' names on the houses they built.



The trip, which lasted from December 27 to January 6, was not all work though, as the team got to spend their free time being tourists and soaking up Indian culture.

"The trip was great! I slept in tents, ate wonderfully made Indian food, interacted with the villagers, swam in a well, got bit by mosquitoes, held and ate a rat, dressed up in a saree, and got henna tattoos," Chisholm said excitedly. "But the most important part of the trip was serving God and the people of India, and I cannot wait to go back!"

When I grow up I want to be more like Dr. Ted Bryant!

Ted has become a good friend and I have had the privilege of getting to know him even better on our recent trip to India (28 hour plane rides have a tendency to do that!). I am so excited that we get to partner with Ted and greenLockers not only through our own 501(c)3 here and in India.

Today, the Tribune ran an article on greenLockers and Ted. Here it is;

Charity wants old recycling bins
Nonprofit putting bins, excess school supplies to use.

By JEFF PARROTT
Tribune Staff Writer

St. Joseph County residents stuck with old recycling bins can get rid of them and help needy children at the same time.

Ted Bryant wants as many of the 18-gallon bins as he can collect for greenlockers, a nonprofit he founded that distributes school supplies and used clothing to children here and abroad. He is asking people to drop off the bins at one of five local Martin's Super Markets on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The group will have tables and banners set up outside the stores.

So far, Bryant has partnered with student groups such as Five Star, National Honor Society and student council, who have organized the school supplies collection by placing cardboard boxes or trash cans in hallways on the final chaotic day of classes. Traditionally, students have just tossed the contents from their lockers into trash cans.

But Bryant says those lockers contain plenty of excess school supplies and clothing.

Bryant, a 30-year-old Bethel College psychology professor, said he conceived the idea in 2006 on a Granger Community Church high school youth group trip to orphanages in Mexico. Those making the trip were required to fill 40 suitcases with school supplies.

He thought back to his own school days, and how much stuff kids threw away on the last day of school.

"When I gave a half-used crayon to a kid in Mexico and saw genuine excitement like it was Christmas morning, I knew there was something here," Bryant said. "One of the things I've found around the world is that education is a doorway out of the grip of poverty, and education cannot happen, from what I've seen, for a lot of these kids, without basic school supplies."

He started the program as "Trash to Treasure" in 2006 at Clay High School and Discovery Middle School. In 2007 he dropped Clay and decided to focus only on middle schools, taking it to Discovery, Schmucker and Grissom in the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp., and Pierre Moran and Mary Beck middle schools in Elkhart.

Without any kind of advertising or promotion, he collected 7,000 pounds of materials from those five schools.

The items ended up in the hands of children in South Bend, Chicago and Mexico.

"People right here need this stuff," he said. "I'm not trying to send it all to Mexico, especially during these hard times."

Good sorting is important, he said, noting that the condition of the materials might help determine their destination. Children locally are more choosy about the condition of their school supplies than are children in poorer countries, he said.

Last year a family matter took Bryant out of town, causing a hiatus in the program.

Upon his recent return from a mission trip to India, he felt a new sense of purpose to aggressively grow it.

He legally incorporated as "greenlockers" and earlier this month launched a new Web site at greenlockers.org.

He plans to collect from at least a dozen area schools this spring.

Bryant said it has become tougher to gather cardboard boxes from supermarkets because so many stores quickly break down and compact them for recycling. They also don't hold up well when kids toss pop cans into them, despite being urged not to do so.

When Bryant saw a recent Tribune article reporting that the county solid waste management district would not be picking up bins that have become obsolete under the new curbside recycling program, an idea struck him.

"These recycling bins are the perfect size, and they could basically survive nuclear warfare," he said. "It takes a lot of containers because kids do not want to walk more than four feet from their lockers."

Like any new organization, greenlockers hit some bumps at the beginning. For instance, Clay High custodians initially grew angry when they saw the mess left in the hallways, but they cooled down once they saw Bryant cleaning up the debris himself, Bryant recalled.

These days, he isn't having much trouble inspiring enthusiasm for the cause.

He finds donations to rent trucks and buy gasoline needed to haul the materials. Granger Community Church volunteers do the sorting.

Five Star is letting him store the bins at its Elkhart warehouse.

Bethel College business students have come on board, hoping to do good while acquiring real-world experience in logistics and marketing.

Bryant would like to one day go national, but doesn't want to grow too quickly.

He has heard interest from as far away as California, he said.

"A lot of people know things need to be done," he said, "but they don't think they can do anything about it. They can."

Staff writer Jeff Parrott:
jparrott@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6320

LeRoy King's Words on Tuesday's Historical Event

Our friend, brother in Christ, father, husband, leader at The Gathering and MC3 recently wrote this words on his Facebook page. They are inspiring. They are moving. I'm so looking forward to sharing the journey with LeRoy, with others as we walk together into a better American... a more hopeful Monroe Circle.

Read and enjoy.



My Inauguration by LeRoy King.

Its approximately 12:04PM with camera set in its appropriate place... click!.., I also grabbed my black leather bond bible and laid it respectfully on my lap. As he approached his place in history, I placed my left hand on the bible with my right hand raised. It..., history..., a new day’s dawn..., any minute now... click!.., anticipating..., here WE go..., “I... solemnly swear...” or more appropriately, “We... solemnly swear...” Yes, this is as much my inaugural as it is President Barak H. Obama’s inaugural.

Let me explain...click!

When Africans were snatched from their native land and country, families divided and sold on auction blocks, women raped, and men whipped to near death, it happened to we, to us. Shortly after the “emancipation proclamation,” the establishment of “Jim Crow Laws” institutionalized racism and created a system that was design to keep the Negro in his place through fear and intimidation... “separate, but” never “equal.” These atrocities were done to we, to us. When the parents of my white friends would not allow their children to play with me because I am black, this too was done to we, to us. “Play your fiddle, dance a jig, make us laugh... run fast... jump high like the gazelle”... you say. But lead...? But think...? But discover...? Not in your DNA... so we, so us been told. Ode to the injustice done to we, to us. When a gang of white boys would, with venom, SCREAMED!... that one word that causes... we, us... to cringe . You know the word I speak of... This word cuts so deep, deep,... here it comes... like many times before and many times since... “NIGGER!” Maybe the blow to my essence would be minimized if you begin that word by saying “MY” in front of...? Or maybe by replacing “...ER” with “A” followed by “please...” it wouldn’t hurt so bad... to we. to us? ...still it hurts, still so deep. Walking my sister home from school... harassed, kicked, and called names, not true... not me... not us. Why?... Racism happened for no other reason than this, I am black, in a community of Black, Colored, Negro, African American... we, us... click!

News flashed across the TV screen, images of dogs attacking we, us, white police officers with club in hand beating, we, us. Why? So that... we, us... can vote? Church bombed, little girls... we, us... somebody’s daughter, sister, and friend... died... groan. Young black men, black boys lynched... shhh... whispered... not talked about but heard about... we, about... us.

Fear... uncertainty... inadequate I feel... I am... informing my, we, us psyche... re-writing my, we, us very soul.

Dreams? Difficult to... almost impossible to... But, dream... we, us... did. Dreams, too dangerous to entertain... some were, are killed for this very act of insurrection. Yes, dream... we, us... did, still. Martin Luther King, was not the architect of The Dream... Dr. King gave voice to the dream already formed, already embraced, already... From the time the first slave ships left the harbors of West Africa... already... the dream... hid in we, in us... in the face of horror..., victories along the way..., to we, to us. Yes, dreams... possible... expected... because I am black, in a community of Black, Colored, Negro, African American... we, us.

Some have suggested, “let this inaugural of the 44th President be not about race.” I...we, us... respond by saying, “Too late.” Race was placed on the table by others over 400 years ago when the first slave ships docked, when black men, the victims of greed and of power hungry men, were legally declared to be three-fifths of a man. It is too late to remove race issues from the table. Yes, the Economy. Yes, Health Care, Yes, National Security. Yes, Foreign Affairs. But let this too... be about race. For race not to be included would strip this monumental event of its historicity. It is only in the historical context of America’s race relationship, strained relationship, that makes this particular inauguration significant, indeed remarkable, that a Black Man... White Man, oh the irony of it all, would be placed in the highest and most powerful office in the land by the people...

So allow me, we, us to sit here and simmer a bit...

Remembering...how we, how us... got here...simmer some more...

And then maybe, after a bit.., it will not need to be about race... no longer.

But for now... I will allow this inauguration..., Barak Obama’s inauguration..., my inauguration, de-constructing... re-constructing... create in me, we, us..., to replace the tears of struggle with the tears of joy, healing the wounds of rejection, recapturing the very essence of who I was meant to be... who I am, redeeming what was lost but now is found... Could it be that the world will come to see... we, us... dif-fer-ent-ly? And maybe I will see me...

And what about reparations?... I got mine... Thank you... we, us...AMERICANS... click!

Celebrating Martin Luther King

This morning I had the privilege of attending the Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast at the Century Center. Today is also on the eve of our country being lead by a person of color. It is a good day for all Americans. It is a good day for us to demonstrate to the world that as Martin Luther King said "we should not judge a person by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

However, we still have some work to be done. Because, even today we have teachers, policeman and business people prejudging the content of someone's character because they are black. But I also see the discrimination of young black kids against someone who is from a biracial family. This all occurring on the heals of their excitement of our first African American president that has a similar family history. How can we hold up one as a shining example and not celebrate the other? How can we be so quick to prejudge someone's character just by the color (or lack of color) in their skin?

I see signs of hope. Their names are Peewee, Demond and Roy. I see signs of encouragement and opportunity and their names are Dan, Brian and Coop. Dawn is coming and it is going to be a new and better day.

My prayer is that in 2009 our country, our community, our Monroe Circle will become more of a reality and less of a dream in order to honor Martin Luther King. My prayer is that what is happening at Monroe Circle Community Center would make Dr. King proud and make him smile.

Servants' Hearts - Dave & Nancy Leist

Last week Dave and Nancy Leist were with me in India building houses for people that did not have a home. They worked all day along side their new India friends in 85 degree weather.

Today, I drove by Monroe Circle and who did I see? Dave and Nancy clearing the snow away so our guests next week would have easier access to the community center. They serve not to earn any additional points with Jesus but because they just want to be more like Jesus. Most of us could learn a lot by just hanging around them.

Thanks, Dave and Nancy. You are an inspiration to me and many others!