Tis the Season

 

Tis the season to be a consumer. Consumerism is a disease that has consumed most of the American society. We spend just to spend. Many Americans are trying to climb out of the debt that they have accumulated with credit cards. As a society we have mixed up our wants with our needs. We buy with little concern of where or how something was made. Think about the clothing you have in your closet, how much of it was made in China or some other country that makes clothing in sweat shops then sells it to American corporations for cheap. What price are we paying for "affordable" clothing? Are we willing to let people lose their lives or work for 13 cents an hour just so we can buy a t-shirt for a few bucks? We have to become more conscious about where our money is going. 

 

Consumerism has also high jacked Christmas. We measure our Christmas with what or how much we receive. Kids are taught from a young age that during Christmas their parents show them how much they love them by how many presents they give them. Something has to change. We have to move away from this mentality of gifts equal love, and move toward the real reason we celebrate Christmas and that is Christ birth. I'm not saying that gift giving is evil or wrong, but their is so much more we can give than the latest video game system or newest toy. The best gift I ever receive on Christmas is spending time with family. Let's take Christmas back from Santa Claus and the American dream. Give a gift this Christmas that means more than money, give your time and love.

Disclaimer: when I use the word we I am speaking on the overall American society

Thanks for reading!

May grace and peace fall upon you.

In Christ,

Adam Quick

Good Eats and Great Fellowship

This Thanksgiving was my first one away from home. Although, I missed my family, and the tradition of eating together that we have celebrated for as long as I can remember. I had an amazing day. I was invited to a neighbors house last week. I was very excited to receive the invitation.

I went over to Mrs. Rouse's house around two and did not get home until almost nine. I had a blast. Started off by playing some Xbox with one of the kids from S.A.Y. Yes! Then from there went and watched some football with one of Mrs. Rouse's relatives, Casandra. I enjoyed great conversation with her as we watched the game.

Then came one of the best parts of the day, the food. We had all the fixings. There was also some foods that I have never experienced at Thanksgiving. One was collard greens; although, I have had those before. The second was chitlins. In case you don't know chitlins are pig intestines, and they are delicious. The whole meal was amazing, and the fellowship within the meal was very enriching. After the meal some sat around the table and talked others enjoyed the Dallas/Redskins game, and the kids played video games. The whole experience was a huge blessing.

I had worried about what I would do for Thanksgiving, but I was very thankful to be invited to have Thanksgiving at Mrs. Rouse's house. I felt as though I was part of the family. As I was on my way out the door Casandra invited me over for Sunday football games. It was a great experience. I left full both physically and emotionally.

Thanks for reading! May grace and Peace follow you.

In Christ,
Adam Quick

Sorry I missed you

I want to start by apologizing for not putting a blog up last week. I want to reiterate my appreciation to everyone that has been following my blog. It means the world to know that folks are at home praying over and joining me in my journey here in Atlanta.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but S.A.Y Yes! celebrated early. On Thursday we invited all the kids parents down for a time of fellowship and eating. We had three kids have family come. It was a wonderful time to share what is going on with the kids, and to get to know the families better. We had a wonderful meal of turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mash potatoes, and rolls. I can still taste it. All in all this was a great time of fellowship, and I really enjoyed getting to spend the time with the kids and their families.

As an incentive for good behavior the kids can earn an ice cream social by receiving marbles for behaving in various activities throughout the day. They earned the ice cream social this week. So not only did we celebrate Thanksgiving this weeks with the students, but we got to enjoy sundaes after eating dinner. It was awesome to see the kids reap the reward of good behavior. The after effect of all the sugar was a sight to see. Overall the day was very blessed. I am very blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group of kids.

Thanks again for reading.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Experiencing Homelessness

For our last two trainings we have gotten a little taste of what it is like to be homeless. The first training everyone was split into teams, all the teams were given a scenario, and we had to find housing and any other help that we could find. That means finding out if our kids could get Peach-care or Medicaid. My teams scenario was: You just recently kicked your husband out because he was being abusive. After kicking your husband out you could not afford the bills and was notified of a court date to see if you could keep the house or if you would be evicted. The judge ruled against you, and you now have seven days to leave your residence. And you have two children one in school and the other child is not yet attending school.

There were stations set up for us to visit that represented actual resources in Atlanta. Our first plan of action was to find housing. This in itself is a strenuous process. There are multiple places one has to journey to gain housing. We were awarded transitional housing (housing that is granted for a certain amount of time allowing someone to get back on there feet and find another place to live), but in order to except this housing our family would have to change counties. Just in the simulation this process was tiresome. I could not imagine having to do this while actually having a toddler and taking public transportation. It would take multiple days! The whole time you have the time frame in the back of your mind. I thought, we only have seven days to move out before our stuff literally is put on the street. This is a very sobering reality.

Many of the shelters do not fulfill all needs or help to solve the problem of homelessness. Section 8's (affordable housing)  waiting list has not been opened for over eight years in Atlanta due to the high need. Transitional housing is very hard to receive, there are very specific requirements that have to be met, and the process is just all together difficult.

Today, Nov. 3, 2012, I was able to experience homelessness first hand. At seven A.M. we were awoken and given only five minutes to get ready. Then we were taken to a thrift store where we filled out a three page application to receive a clothes voucher. Once inside the thrift store we were rushed to make a selection, much like people are rushed in clothes closets. Then we were given breakfast and the day was explained. We were taken to downtown Atlanta and dropped off with no cell phone and no money. I was dressed in pants that were two sizes to big, a shirt that was a size to big, and a suit jacket that was to big. I spent eight hours on the streets of Atlanta talking to and sharing time with those in the margins. It was a very blessed day. God opened my eyes to my own selfishness and pride.

As I sat on a corner at the very beginning of the day, people would drive by and just stare looking at me in disgust, or people would walk by with there nose in the air not even giving me a second look if they looked at me at all. This was very sobering and humbling. After sitting on the corner for awhile I thought I would go try to find some food. As I walked a gentleman I had seen earlier in the day directed me to a place called The Shrine where I was served hot soup and given a couple bags of food for the rest of the day. After eating, I walked around the city for awhile stopping and talking with some of the homeless in the city. I met a couple guys, Tim and Sam, we spent a good hour talking. The conversation ranged from sumo wrestling to the injustice in the shelters. It was one of the best parts of the day. It was an amazing and beautiful experience.

Unfortunately I can not put all of my experience in this blog. I wish I could literally share the experience with you. Both of these trainings reshaped my thinking on the homeless community. The saying put yourself in someone else shoes became a reality for me today. I think God for the joy (from the conversations), frustration (from the stares), trust (from everyone being so helpful), and all the other emotions I was allowed to experience today.

I hope this gives you just a little insight in the life of the homeless. Even after experiencing this I realize I still have no idea what it really means to be homeless.

What is homelessness to you? Take a second to look at how you view God's children on the streets. Lift up a prayer that God will open your eyes so you can see people the way he sees them.

God I thank you for all the experiences I was allowed to walk through today. I thank you for all the friends I made and I pray that you allow those friendships to grow.God I pray that you continually open my eyes to your will. That you would allow me to see others the way you see them. Lord I pray that you break me of selfishness, pride, and vanity. Thank  you for your love and grace! Amen.

May grace and peace fall upon you.

Shalom,
Adam

Casino Night and Rest

This week was started off right with a fundraiser for the gym, Urban Perform, connected with my church. The fundraiser was a casino night with a silent auction. It was pretty awesome. They auctioned off some sweet items like a signed Atlanta Falcons jersey, a signed Georgia Bulldogs football, tickets to a play, etc. It was a great night of fun. Our team worked for a couple hours then had a chance to enjoy some of the events happening. Since it was a casino night everyone was given 20,000 in casino money (basically monopoly money). There was Blackjack, craps, roulette, and Texas Hold 'Em. I only played blackjack and ended the night with $9600. It was a ton of fun, and a great opportunity for the gym to raise money. We haven't been given a final figure on how much the night raised, but I do know that it was well supported.

Now onto a completely different topic...

  When I use to think about rest, I thought it meant lying down and basically being lazy, but God is opening my eyes to what rest truly is and where I'm supposed to find it. It is hard to think that even in our busyness we can be at rest with an overwhelming peace that is an extension of that rest. I'm finding rest at work, in the crazy schedule we maintain, and of course on Sabbaths. I would have never thought that I would say that I find rest and peace at work, but I am rejuvenated everyday by going in to the Cafe. I think God for showing me this new peace, and another way that he shows his love and grace in my life. When it comes to the busy schedule I wouldn't say that the rest actually comes from the busyness of it, but the fact that when I do get to slow down it allows me to see God more clearly.
My Sabbath falls on Friday, and I have been asked by a few people why we call it a Sabbath. It is called Sabbath because it is a day that I have to find rest in our marvelous creator. Most of my Sabbaths I spend time in the beautiful nature God has given us. Sabbath gives me a chance to truly find rest in Christ and prepare myself for the beginning of a new week. My challenge to you is to find a new rest in Christ this week. That may look different for everyone. It could look like an hour of  silence and study, or prayer and meditation. It could be spending time with loved ones just being family.

I want to thank you for reading my blog. My prayer for you this week is that Christ shows you what it means to find rest and peace in him, and that you see God's love in miraculous ways this week. Amen.

May grace and peace come upon you.
In Christ love
Adam

The festivals of covenants

This week marked the end of our electronic fast. We celebrated this with a commissioning ceremony. All the Atlanta team and alum interns wrote a team covenant. The whole ceremony was a beautiful and spiritually uplifting time. I have never been part of writing a covenant, it is hard to explain how amazing it is to share our team aspirations on paper and through words. All the teams shared their covenants aloud with the other teams during this time you could just feel the spirit of God moving. We were also given the opportunity to take part in communion together, and it was so uplifting. Just bringing back to my mind that Jesus died and shed his blood for me! The best part is the story doesn't stop their, but he rose again from the grave defeating death! O' how great is our God! I am very thankful for the family that I was able to covenant with, and the beautiful ideals that we have committed  ourselves to following.

We were also able to take part in a community parade and block party this week called the festival of lights. After walking with the kids in the S.A.Y Yes! program during the parade, which was a ton of fun. I was able to enjoy spending some time with them while they got to eat free popcorn, cotton candy, and sno cones! The kids also got to enjoy a moon bounce. There was great entertainment, mostly talent from the community! It was really encouraging to see the community come together and celebrate all the beautiful things going on within English Ave. I'm thank God everyday for bringing me to Atlanta and specifically English Ave.

Thanks for your continual support and prayers. May grace and peace fall upon you!

In Christ,
Adam

Solitude or Prison?

. I have viewed silence and solitude as a kind of prison up until this year. I always found sitting alone in silence hard and pointless. I never cared to be alone or to be silent for that matter. I have always tried to fill silence with words, but I have been confronting my fear of loneliness during morning quiet times and on solitude retreat. What I am learning is that silence and loneliness is beautiful. It is nearly impossible to hear God's quiet whisper when you don't sit and listen. Many times we get caught in the whirlwind of life, and we don't mind because it keeps us from feeling alone. Well at least that was true for me. Over the past month and a half God has been showing me his beauty in silence and solitude. This was a lesson I never expected to learn this year. I thought living in a house with six other people there will never be a quiet moment. Needless to say I was wrong, and I can honestly say that I am glad that I was.

I have been practicing different methods of reading scripture in the morning. In a book that we are reading for Wednesday night bible study suggested as a discipline a type of scripture reading called lectio divina. This is a very deliberate way to read scripture. It is a slow and reflective process. (If you would like to know more about it email me.) I chose to focus on Romans 1:16-17. It was a beautiful time to hear God speak to me from his word. I was able to slowly and methodically read and reflect on the message. Listening to what God was telling me in this particular scripture. I heard words like unashamed, righteousness, and gospel. I then took the time to reflect on those words.

Being unashamed allows me to freely trust in God's will, and to freely follow him into situations that may be difficult. When I read about righteousness it reminds me that we are clothed in his righteousness, and that we can delight in that fact. I was also reminded what the gospel was, the good news of grace that was freely given by our loving father by the death of his son Jesus. I also realized what it means to combine these three things. To wear God's righteousness while being unashamed of the gospel, means to trust in what he is having you to do know that there is no reason to worry about what others think about you, and to gladly portray Jesus in our everyday life.

Thursday and Friday, we spent on a solitude retreat. I believe in total we spent between 6 and 7 hours alone with God just reflecting on readings, in prayer or just being. I read Psalm 104 in my first 45 minutes of quiet time and spent the whole time trying to listen to God in the scripture and in nature. In the Psalm there is a part that speaks about the wind. During that part the wind began to blow fairly strongly. This reminded me of how active our God is. We do not serve a God that sits in the heavens and looks down upon us. We worship a God that kisses our cheeks in the wind, that speaks to us in the silence, that wants a intimate relationship with him, and that wants us to realize that he loves us even though we are broken.  These are some of the things I learned during my time of solitude.

I said above that I use to think that silence and time alone felt like a prison. It felt like a prison because I didn't know how to let things go and give them to God. I was afraid to be quiet and alone. I didn't realize that being silent and alone would allow me to meet with God. When we allow ourselves to be still and reflect on God, we allow God to meet us in our brokenness and that is where healing begins. I thank God that he does not expect me to be perfect, that he loves me in my imperfection. I thank God for the silence and the whisper of his voice that gently whispers, "Adam, I love you. I have been trying to tell you this, but you have surrounded yourself with noise. Can you hear me, my son? I love you!"

Grace and peace,
 Adam Q.

The Documentary of Spades

So last week I talked a little bit about wanting to sit on someones porch for community day. Well God is faithful and he answered my prayer! It wasn't necessarily the way I was expecting him to answer, but that is typical. Tony and I were walking around the neighborhood for the first hour and half just talking with random people; which, I love to do. Then we headed home for a drink of water, and we had decided to split up and go our separate ways for the rest of the day. As I walked around the neighborhood, I wasn't seeing very many people that is when I saw Tony and SooJi playing dominoes with some of the neighbors. So I headed over to watch the game. Not only was there the game of dominoes being played but there was another group playing spades. After watching the spades game for a few minutes they invited me in the play the next game! I was only going to play a few, but we ended up playing for a little over two hours! It was a lot of fun, and I got to know some of my neighbors a little better! I plan on going back over there this Saturday as well, and hanging out with them for a little while. Playing spades with my neighbors was a great way to end my week!

This week I had the opportunity to watch two documentaries. The first was named "The Line". It was about the poverty line. The film followed four people that had fallen below the poverty line. In case you are unaware what the poverty line is: when a family of four is living off of a little more than 23,000 a year! The first guy it followed went from making over six figures a year to living in poverty because he could not find a job. He was trying to raise two sons. The second lady it followed was out of work because of an injury that she had sustained when she fell in a subway. She was living off of disability that came to about $1500 a month and she was trying to raise three kids. The third guy it followed had lost his father at a young age causing him to drop out of  school, and start working at a race track. He quit the race track and moved from New York to North Carolina where he spent some time trying to find a job. During the time he was looking he was living in a homeless shelter. He eventually found a job at a kitchen as a bus boy. With his first check he moved out of the homeless shelter into an apartment. The joy he had in the fact that he had a job and his own place was amazing and encouraging! The fourth guy was a Louisiana shrimper. His lively hood was severely affected by Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. Both of these causing natural changes which made shrimp hard to catch and oysters uneatable! Later Hurricane Ivan completely destroyed the place that he docked his boat. The reason I share this is because it really touched me, and I wish everyone could have a chance to watch this film. I agree with one thing said in the film: Everyone below the line is always striving and looking to what is above the line, but those that are above the line don't ever want to fall below, and they don't even look below it because they don't want to see what is under it. (that is a paraphrase.)

The second documentary I watched this week was called "The Interrupters". The documentary was about a group called Cease Fire. They worked in the Chicago area, and they try to interrupt violence. I would highly suggest seeing this if  you are over the age of eighteen. ( it is rated r, there is strong language.) It will really open your eyes to the damage of violence. There were parts that I wanted to cry looking at the memorials of kids, and then parts that made you smile. Watching someone go from a lifestyle saturated in violence to trying to be a peace maker and having a job was amazing. I learned a lot from both of these films and would encourage everyone to watch them!

Thank you for keeping my team and myself in your prayers! Much love! May grace and peace fall on you!

In Christ,
Adam 

Time Flies and God is Good!

It seems like just yesterday Cole and I were lost driving down Jonesboro Rd looking for the church where I would meet my family for the coming year. Now, I have been living in Atlanta for four weeks! I honestly can't believe that it has been that long. As the old saying goes, time flies when you are having fun! Although, not everything that we do has been "fun" I have learned a lot. During the not so "fun" times I am normally growing in my faith and seeing God's beauty! That is the beautiful thing, God is present in the times of fun and the times of solitude and learning.

When I say time flies, I mean, I have no idea where my week has gone. My schedule is crazy packed, but honestly I like it that way. It looks like this. On Sunday's I wake up and go to church at New Life Covenant after church we head home for lunch and use the next few hours to catch up on curriculum, writing newsletters, cleaning the house, etc. then Sunday nights we have what we call points meetings, this is our chance to talk about things the team could be doing better, and then we have a family story time where someone shares there "testimony". Monday thru Thursday, I get up at 6 and then the team has bible study and an hour of reflection time from 6:30 to 7:30. I go to my first work site at 8:30 and I normally get off between 12:30 and 1:00. Then i head home and start getting ready for my second work site which starts at 3:30 and goes until 7:00. After work everyday we have an activity. Monday is our grocery shopping day, Tuesday is Family Night (these are a ton of fun), Wednesday is Bible Study, Thursday is training or citywide. Saturday is community day, we are out in the community all day and then to end the day we have a community dinner open to anyone that wants to come over for food and conversation. Now I left Friday for last because it is a special day, it is my day of rest or sabbath day. (I will have a blog one week just on what this day looks like and what it means to me.)

Family night is just a time for the team to come together and enjoy each others company. Every week a different person leads family night, and this week just happened to be mine. The whole team was frantically trying to finish putting there newsletters together and their envelopes addressed. So it was nice to take a break from the stuffing of envelopes to enjoy each other, and play a game of Apples to Apples. We had a lot of fun playing, and it was just what the doctor ordered. You know the old saying, An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

In our Bible study on Wednesday night we have been reading The Good and Beautiful God. We have been in the study for two weeks. I am really enjoying the book which about taking our worldly narratives and changing them to Jesus' narratives. We have group discussion about the book and every week there is a soul training to go along with the chapter so it is really nice to listen to how the book is affecting everyone's life. We have about seven more weeks left in this study. I can't wait to see how God uses it in my life.

This week we had a "training" on Thursday. The reason I put training in quotations is because it didn't feel like a training at all. We did what is called interplay which was essentially acting goofy and having a good time while getting to know each other. It started off with us just moving our body while standing still. Then we began to move around the room doing whatever pleased us, which was to free us up and brings us out of our own heads. Then we did some mirroring exercises. This was a ton of fun! After mirroring, we did a babbling exercise where the instructor would give us a word and we would just talk about it. I heard and gave out a lot of useless information, but I enjoyed every minute of it. At the end of training I had a few major thoughts. The first was during the mirroring exercises, we would tend to start off doing something really excessive and then near the end we would mellow down. I feel like that can be applied to life and spirituality. We hustle and bustle at work and with family, but at some point we have to slow down take a breather and listen to God's voice in our life because your not going to hear him if you don't take the time to listen. The second thing I realized was how important it is to listen to one another, even if you are only listening to pointless information about parking meters. (and yes that was one of the topics.) All in all something that didn't feel like a training at all taught me some very important things that I want to carry with me throughout the year and the rest of my life.

Today, my sabbath, has been a really amazing day. I started off by reading my daily Bible (thanks to Tommy and Becky Holland for gifting me that!). Then I headed to the Library and got a few books. I got an autobiography of Abraham Lincoln, a biography of Martin Luther King Jr., and a Ted Dekker fiction book. Then I walked to Centennial park found a nice place to sit and spent thirty minutes in silence with God. It was beautiful! It has been a wonderful and restful day!

Tomorrow is community day. One thing I would like to happen tomorrow is that i will be able to just spend some time sitting on someone's porch with them. I am really trusting God in finding the relationships that are suppose to take place this year! So please be in prayer for the neighborhood and myself. I would also like to see a good turn out to our community dinner. We are serving white chicken chili! I can't wait! That is a great time of fellowship with neighbors.

Go and check out Luke 10 and the power behind Jesus teaching!
Thank you all for reading and your prayers! Grace and peace be upon you! I send my love!
In Christ
Adam  

This is Work and I'm loving it

I have been in Atlanta for three weeks now, and I love it! Although, I miss family and friends, Atlanta is quickly becoming my new home. I'm becoming familiar with faces and names, the Marta system and just the community in general. I meet interesting people everyday, and almost all encounters are warm and welcoming which make it that much easier to feel like home. This feeling of being at home gives me a sense of what it is like to be a true neighbor and to live in community.

I started work on Monday! I work at Cafe 458, as assistant kitchen manager, and I also work at SAY Yes an after school program at my church. I have not yet assumed the role as asst. kitchen mangager because I'm just learning how to cook. Lucky the staff and regular volunteers there are amazing and making it very easy to learn and run the kitchen. At the Cafe we serve homeless that are going thru a program to become self sufficent. Since it is a program I am able to see the same faces every few days. This will hopefully allow me to become friends with them, learning there stories and sharing mine with them as well. I love working in the kitchen. To be honest at first I was skeptical about the whole thing. I was nervous that I would mess something up when it came to the cooking part, but thanks to some very great people I'm learning the art of cooking quickly. I hope to take what I learn in the kitchen back to Tennessee or wherever God takes me from here.

Like I said I also work in an after school program that serves our neighborhood in English Avenue. The program is for students k-8. I mostly work with 3-5. This is quickly becoming a blessing in my life. I do a Bible study with all students k-5 on Monday's and I help tutor students 3-8 everday. I love getting to work with kids of the neighborhood. I hope to develope a mentorship with a few of the students. I believe in all the kids in the program. They are all exceptionally smart, not that it surprises me in the least. I can not wait to see the children develope over the year!

Thanks again for all your prayers. I have to sign off. Grace and Peace.
In Christ,
Adam

Welcome to Atlanta

I have been living in Atlanta for two weeks now. I live on Sunset Ave in the English Ave community. I'm living in community with six other people. We are all part of a program called Mission Year. In case you are wondering, Mission Year is a year long program in which people live in an urban neighborhood to experience intentional neighboring and discipleship. There are many other aspects to the program. They are justice, community service (volunteer work), church partnership, and simplicity. I am very excited to see how all these aspects will play into my year, and what I will learn from each one.

Mission Year is set up for relational ministry. It is a chance to befriend people and truly pour yourself into their lives and allow them to pour into yours. I believe that there will be plenty of times that I am blessed more than I bless. My reasons for coming to an urban neighborhood is not to save it from being urban or to save the people. My reasons for coming is to live in solidarity with my neighbor. Do I intend to share Jesus with my neighbor, absolutely. Do I intend to love my neighbor with every fiber of my being, yes. Do I want to see my neighbors come to Jesus, of course. (That is if they do not already know Jesus.) But I intend on seeing the beauty that God has already given English Ave. I am not the communities savior. Their savior died on a tree and rose again over 2000 years ago. I am just hear to tell my neighbors about him and about what he did for them. I want to hold to the model of Mission Year. Love God. Love people. Nothing else matters.

As I said before I have been here for two weeks, and for those two weeks I have been in what is called orientation. Orientation for all intents and purposes is a two week long class about what Mission Year is all about. Many of the trainings made me think deeper and harder on my convictions. Some of the training was very emotionally draining which is not a bad thing. I experienced a roller coaster of emotions, that ranged from anger to guilt. It was all in all an amazing experience, and I hope to be able to use what I have learned in my day to day living. I pray that I can use it to find injustice, and pursue the correct avenues to fight that injustice. I am glad that I was able to experience these two weeks of training and orientation. I feel that it has readied me for the year.

Now that orientation is over, I will begin working at my service site next week. I will be working at a place called Cafe 458. I will be running the kitchen. Anyone that knows me is probably freaking out about this fact. All joking aside, I am very excited for this opportunity. Cafe 458 serves a program for the homeless. I will be cooking lunch for the program! I truly can not wait to get started.

I will also be serving in an after school program, at my church New Life Covenant, called S.A.Y Yes. I will be working with youth from the our neighborhood ages k5-2nd grade. I'm stoked about this opportunity and I pray that God blesses me as much as he uses me in this experience!

Thanks for reading! May peace and grace fall on you! God Bless!

Peace,
Adam