Liz's visit to UMC

Resurrection happens - a more sober Cowboy, a housed Peanut, Wanda's son's acceptance to a magnet school, Rex Wickline, as it turns out, wasn't hit by a train two years ago, but was in a recovery program in Alabama. The long prayed prayers are sometimes answered.

I spent nearly a week at the Urban Ministry Center - a place which in the midst of gaping needs, always puts me more in touch with my own needs, more than my ability to sate anyone else's. With no job responsibilities, I have been living in the land of stories. Taking time for the sweetest parts of life, I walked to the Center each day (about 3 miles), stopping to talk to folks along the way, sitting down to take in sunlight and conversations, walking with someone to the nearest pay phone instead of giving directions, and speaking lots of spanish (gracias a Jorge para mucho practicar).

By far the sweetest part of the visit, however, was soccer. The UMC Soccer team, which will be traveling to Scotland in July (check out the website: www.homelesssoccer.org) to represent the U.S. in the Homeless World Cup, is a community, however dysfunctional it might be. Of the eleven players, two have histronic personality disorders (prone to great drama fro those non-DSM IV users); three can't currently compete because they are in drug treatments programs, one (who worked with me on my attempts to one day do a pull-up) insists on dancing throughout all the warm-up drills, most are learning soccer for the first time, and all players smoke. Imagine taking all the kids who had a difficult time getting along with others in school and put them on a team and competed them against yuppie young adults, primarily who played soccer in high school and perhaps college (reminds me a bit of Bottle Rocket). Yes, a recipe for disaster, and the potentional for some amazing moments of redemption. Breaking across race, ethnic, class and gender lines, this group is really contemplating what it means to be a team. Having each other's back is not a new concept on the street (nor in Rex Kwan-Do), but the notion of calling forth the best in one another, this is one that does not come easily within a population who finds its solace in mutual failure. I was speaking with a volunteer yesterday whose partner is a recovering addict (who at times is not so recovered). She spoke of the difficulties of loving him, but the joys of being with someone who is up for battling the demons of life. It is this sense of courage which makes the soccer team such an amazing group (community, really). To claim our own shame and push through - what a gift in life.

My prayers are with you guys and I look forward to hearing updates.