Jail Time and Activism

Dear Friends and Family,

I write this 7 days after being arrested and spending 10 hours in the Fulton County Jail for protesting the stand your ground law of Georgia. Now trust me I realize that 10 hours is a small price to pay for being arrested. Many will spend days, weeks, months, even years locked up. But I will come back to the actual experience of being in jail. First I would like to tell you why I was arrested, and what led me to willingly put my freedom at risk. I will answer these questions simply by telling the story.

On Sunday the 9th Rev. McDonald (our pastor) announced that he would be participating in an act of civil disobedience the next day, and he asked if anyone would like to join him. To be honest I didn't actual realize that meant that we were going to get arrested, but I wanted to stand against the stand your ground act. It has already taken too many lives, and I didn't want it taking more. So the next day I showed up at the church everyone was meeting for a nonviolent instructional on how the arrest would take place. I walked up to the door, and asked "Is Rev. McDonald here? I'm looking for the meeting." The two folks that answered the door greeted me by asking, "Are you here to be arrested with him?" I was a little shocked at first, but then I felt an overwhelming calm as I responded with a yes.

I was invited into a room where there were probably already fifteen or so people, and everyone was sharing their names. So I sat, and shared my name. We were filled in on how everything would work including bail and a lawyer. As I sat there I began to think of the heroes and heroins that were arrested in the Civil Rights movement. I couldn't help but to feel that many of them would have been sitting in that room with us.  The plan was in place and all that was left was to carry it out.

We left the church and headed for the legislative building where we would all crowd into Senator Stone's office requesting the repeal of the stand your ground law. But we were fully aware that there was zero chance that the law would be repealed that day. I was not fully sure what to expect as we went into the office, but what took place was a little bit of a surprise. Senator Stone refused to meet with the group, or with media present. His best offer was that 2 of the twenty-four protesters go into his office with no cameras. We were unwilling to compromise on that issue. Therefore the police were called in on the situation. At this point we were singing This Little Light of Mine, and as the cops came in the music was frustrating to them so one cop (the biggest and I'm assuming they figured the meanest) came in and yelled "SHUT UP!! SHUT UP!!!". The singing became louder. As the song ended Rev. McDonald began to speak to give us a practical pointer about the protest. The cop then tried to silence Reverend. Notice I say tried. It was almost a modern day David and Goliath. Reverend told the police officer, that we would not be intimidated, nor would we be treated or talked to like children. I was empowered by his courage and bravery. We then began to sing This Little Light of Mine again. I was once again reminded of those arrested in the Civil Rights Movement. As the song came to an end, the officers informed us that anyone that remained in the room would be arrested. We refused to leave until the law was repealed, and since we refused we were cuffed. It was a surreal experience to have the cold hard metal of hand cuffs on my wrist. We were then escorted to a conference room where the police took everyone's name and date of birth. Twenty-four names later we were then taken to the two paddy wagons and two police cars that waited to take us to the Fulton County Jail.

See David and Goliath: click here

The Jail Birds 

I was put into the back of a police car with two other men. I assume that most of my readers have never been in a police car. Let me tell you that there is not much room for two people of average height much less three men, two of which are over six feet tall. There is roughly a three inch gap between the back seat, and the metal keeping the inmate from the cop. My hands went numb on the ride over to the jail, and as I rode I realized that I was only getting a small taste of what millions go through, some multiple times because they are trapped in a broken system. We arrived at the jail around 5:30. The protest had started at 4. When we arrived at the jail we were taken into the entry room where they removed our hand cuffs and patted us down. At that point we were allowed to sit in an open room with around 100 plastic chairs in it. They gave us wrist bands for identification, and the booking process began. We were in the jail from 5:30 p.m. until 4 a.m. Our experience seemed a lot more smooth than the experiences of some of the other inmates. (but I'll tell a few of those stories in a second.) At 1:30 a.m. I was finally finger printed and my mug shot was taken with only one stop left. I believed that we would be leaving soon. Around this time the jail served a meal; we were not given any food because we were supposed to be getting processed out within the next thirty minutes or so. Instead we were escorted to a cell where we waited until 3:30 a.m. to be released. As we sat waiting for the final steps of the process to take place Reverend was reminded of a sermon he had just preached on Paul and Silas in prison, and how God had caused the doors to open so they could be free. At that point we were becoming frustrated with how long we had been kept in the final stages, and decided to gather and pray. It was a powerful experience. The nine men in the cell came together and held hands. Reverend led us in a prayer. Not even 60 seconds later the doors opened and we were freed. The last step only took about 15 minutes for all nine guys.

Now for some of the injustice and dehumanizing stories from the Fulton County Jail:

• While waiting to be processed a young man was shot with a stun gun. I did not see what led to him being stunned, but I did see that he was on the ground while the taser was still going. I felt that the continuation of the stunning was unnecessary, and the situation could have been approached differently.

• A young woman locked in one of the holding cells that surrounded the room had her hair used as a steering wheel after an altercation with some officers. An officer entered her cell, and I did not hear the conversation that took place between the two, but the young woman was not happy as the officer left the cell. The young woman was pretty verbal, and the officer was very sarcastic. The officer then asked the young woman to step out of the cell, and the woman very loudly refused. The cop then entered the cell trying to place the woman in handcuffs, and the woman physically responded pushing at the cop, which was met by two other officers coming and forcefully handcuffing the woman (which may have been necessary). The officer brought the young woman out of the cell by her hair and handcuffs. I was very saddened by this situation, both for the young woman and the officer.

• As dinner was being served I began to count the number of men in one cell. Mind you a cell is approximately 4 ft x 10 ft. and 3 of the ten is a restroom. I counted 15 men in one cell. There were two empty cells at that time. 

• My last story, There was an Asian man that had been arrested at the capital while trying to pay his water bill. He was then taken to jail, and kept for nearly 8 hours. He arrived and was told after about 5 hrs that he could post bail soon. Two hours later a shift change took place. The man was very upset (understandably). So when he was put back in a cell after he had been told he could post bail soon he tried to get an officers attention from the cell. The cop establishing his dominance in "his house" began to verbally assault and ultimately threaten to physically assault the Asian man. I would write what he said but it has quite a few expletives in it. So I'll summarize it. Not a direct quote: This is my house, and you will shut up or I'll lock you up for as long as I can. If you don't quiet down I'll come into that cell and make you. (to another officer) open the door, open the door. I'm going to take him down. Luckily the other officers refused to open the cell, and they helped to deescalate the situation. 

I wanted to share these stories because I don't believe many people know what goes on inside the jails. People are no longer people. Their humanity is stripped at the door and is replaced with a blue jumpsuit and a wrist band. They no longer have a name they become a "hey you" or You in the such and such clothing. The slightest misstep or the wrong question can issue a verbal assault or a sarcastic comment.

In the end my arrest was one of the biggest learning experiences of my life. I do not believe that this will be my last act of civil disobedience. As long as there is something to stand for, then I will stand. I believe that is what Jesus would have me do, and that has been the example of modern day prophets like Martin Luther King, Jr. It is my desire to continue to pursue his dream.

The I have a Dream Speech: Click Here

I hope that this has given you a little insight into why I was arrested and what my experience was like.

Shalom,
Adam

Welcome to the Tool Bank

Wow, what a week it has been! I officially started my new volunteer site this week at the Atlanta Tool Bank!  It is a really awesome non-profit organization that provides all kinds of different tools to other local non-profits and even for profit companies non-profit sectors that are doing volunteer work (ex. Home Depot Foundation) for their projects. Here are some ideas of what you can do with tools from the Tool Bank. Do you need to bust down a wall rent a sledge hammer, do you have some wood that needs to be cut rent a circular saw, do you need to sweep up your mess from cutting the wood rent a push broom or a sweeping broom with a few dust pans, does your project require you to mow grass rent a lawn mower. There are a ton of other tools that are available. This is just an idea of what the Tool Bank does.

This is Shirley. The Tool Bank mascot.

My job will be multifaceted. The Tool Bank just recently moved to a new location, and they will be doing construction over the next year tearing down walls and preparing their new warehouse. So I will be helping with that project, and I can't tell you how pumped I am to bust down some walls! I will also be doing paper work and working closely with their computer system called the Elephant. I will also be helping fill the orders that come in which means that I will be meeting a lot of local organization leaders and their employees. I'm really excited about this opportunity! My first week  was amazing I enjoyed meeting folks, and filling a ton of tool orders.

So, just a little about the staff. The Tool Bank Atlanta is ran by three awesome women, Gina, C.J., and Patty! They have welcomed me with open arms, and have been very helpful in teaching me about what I will be doing over the year. I have to mention Super Volunteer Brock as well, and he is there 4 days a week. We worked together this week filling the orders, and he was a great help in my learning the tools and how to fill the orders. I'm very excited about my partnership with the Tool Bank, and ask that you continue to pray for me in the building of relationships and in the work that the Tool Bank is doing.

Back to the City

Wow it is hard to believe that it has been over a year since I moved to Atlanta for Mission Year! After a month back in Tennessee I moved back to the ATL for another year of service as an alum intern for Mission Year. I'm very excited about this opportunity. I moved in to Glencastle apartments last Wednesday after a week long orientation in Houston, TX. I'm living with six folks from all over the world, and we are hoping that we will have one more person join the team if they can get their visa worked out. To find out more about the team check out my Facebook page for my first newsletter as an alum. 

A couple Friday's ago we had a scavenger hunt on the MARTA transit system. You may remember reading about it last year. I had a lot of fun this year. It was really cool to actually know where most everything was on the hunt, and it was great seeing my team work together to find all the different places. Now this is a competition with the two other teams in Atlanta, so I'm hoping that we made it to more places so we can win, but even if we didn't make it to the most places we still have a chance to win with the presentation of MARTA day! I look forward to telling y'all how we choose to present our day.

Here are a few pics from MARTA day...

Krispy Kreme at the West End

Zoo Atlanta in Grant Park

Turner Field: home of the best team in the MLB

MLK Historic Site

First African-American Firehouse in ATL

 Thanks for reading,
Shalom,
Adam Q

A Day of Remembrance

  In many ways this post may not seem like it should be a Mission Year blog, but for me it has everything to do with my year here in Atlanta.

  A year ago today Granddad passed away. This was one of the hardest moments of my life. I didn't believe that I would ever have to say goodbye. He was my hero. It didn't matter what I got into he was there for me. Now sometimes that meant that he wasn't happy with my actions, and he wasn't afraid to tell me that. I always loved that about him. He was honest, but he was gentle and loving with his honesty. I was able to grow from all that he was telling me.

   When I think back to when I was just a kid some of my fondest memories are sitting in his recliner (where he always had on the news or the Braves game) reading a Bernstein Bears book. Or as I got older learning how to play checkers. I hardly ever won, but I learned how to loose gracefully. I learned how to love the Braves sitting in his basement. These details are nothing compared to what he did for my spiritual life. I remember saying when I was younger I want to be a preacher just like Granddad. I don't think that dream was lost. I look back to my life starting in the church, and it starts in the front pew at Rural Hill listening to my Granddad sing every song with everything he had. I learned to love God because he loved God. He baptized me when I was twelve. I can still feel his hands clasp behind my back as I came out of the water.

  As I continued to grow, he continued to teach. He taught me many practical life skills like how to change a lawn mower blade, which he helped me with until a few months before he passed away. He was a wonderful example of a husband and father. He was a leader. And he loved everyone.

    After I made poor life decisions, he and Grandma were there. Offering me a place to live and sleep. I cherish those times that I was living with them. He continued to teach me until he passed, even when I was 22. The lessons kept on coming. We talked about financial establishment, and how to take care of funds. How important it was for me to keep my word. He was always asking me if I had paid my bills. I'm so grateful for all the lessons that I was able to learn from him.

    I don't know if he ever knew this, but he is one of the biggest reasons I'm in Atlanta. His life showed me that God was his love, and from his love for God he loved me. I can't begin to explain how special that is to me. There have been many times since I have gotten here in Atlanta that I have wanted to call him up, and tell him how things are going here. To tell him how much he has influenced my life and my decisions. I don't know that he ever knew that he is one of the biggest reasons I am a Christian. If you asked me why I'm in Atlanta I would have to say because my Granddad lived out Jesus calling to love God and love others, and I want to be like him. I want to love God and others like he did.

My Granddad was a great man. He was a father. He was a husband. He was a Granddad. He was a friend. He was a lover of God. He was a teacher and a leader. He was a lover of people. He was MY Granddad!

Granddad, I love and miss you! I can't wait to see you again. I know you are watching over me. Thanks for everything that you did for me! Love you!

Grace and Peace.

 

It is spring time in the ATL

I have been trying to think about what I wanted my first blog of this trimester to be about and sorry it has taken me two weeks to write it. There has been a lot going on since I got back from spring break. We only have one more week of the s.a.y yes program before we take three weeks to plan a killer summer program! I'm really excited about getting to be involved with the kids during the summer. There are some great things planned. Every Thursday we will be going on a field trip, and four of the students are going to North Carolina for a Bible Camp. I can't wait to see the kids growth over the summer.

We started new Wednesday night Bible studies. I am going to one that is about the post resurrection appearances of Jesus. We started with his appearance to the disciples while they were fishing, then studied Jesus' appearance on the Emmaus road, and last week we look at his appearance to the twelve in the upper room. It has been awesome looking at the power in his resurrection, and talking about what that means for us today.

It has been great being in the community for the past couple weeks. With the weather it seems like the neighborhood is coming more alive. There is the smell of bbqing, horseshoes clanking, and laughing. I'm pumped for the summer, and ready to see what it is going to bring.

This is the community garden.

Speaking of bbqing, a couple weeks ago one of the guys in our church threw us a bbq cookout in the churches garden. It was great! It was a lot of fun to get to hang out with neighbors and folks that go to the church. The food and fellowship was an awesome welcome back from spring break! Tomorrow night in the garden we are having a community movie night. This is following our weekly community dinner. I'm hoping that there will be a good community turnout.

Sorry that this post was so jumpy there are just a lot of great things going on. Continue to be in prayer for Atlanta, the English Ave community, and my mission year team! Thanks for all you do.

May grace be up on you.

Shalom,
Adam

Celebrating Holy Week

The whole lent season leads up to this Holy Week. I have never celebrated lent before, but have really appreciated the beauty and intimacy that lent holds. It has been amazing to walk with Christ through fasting for forty five days. Sunday marks the end of the season with the celebration of Christ ressurection (aka Easter).

Holy week actually started last Sunday with Palm Sunday. The celebration of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey. The church service was beautiful, and we celebrated with fellowship and food after service. The church service included the presenting of Holy Week symbols, folks reading scripture, and a wonderful sermon about Jesus entering the city (or triumphant entry ). It was a great time of reflection, and a new experience of celebrating the triumphant entry.

On Wednesday we reflected with a prayer walk around our neighborhood. We joined with Jesus lamenting over the city when he wept. We went to different areas in the community starting with an area that had been used for a tire dump, then went to a school that has been closed and boarded up, following that we walked to an abandoned house that someone is trying to flip for profit, and ended at an abandoned jump start building. We prayed over all the areas asking God to intervene and  reflecting on all the hardships of the community. We prayed for the families in the community, and for all the folks that are sitting on property instead of selling it. (There is a whole lot of frustration that comes with that...I will blog about that soon.) This was a hard night, but it was good to lift all those cares to Christ.

Us praying at the old tire dump

Unfortunately I was unable to be a part of the maundy service. The church celebrated the Passover by breaking bread, feet washing, and ended in our community garden.

Tonight we have the Good Friday service. I believe that it will be a powerful experience reflecting on Jesus being hung on the cross. And walking through it with fellow brothers and sisters.

But all of this leads to the big day! A day when death was defeated forever and Jesus brought his Kingdom to Earth. On the third day he rose, and death lost its power! I'm looking forward to a 7:30 am sunrise service followed by activities for the kids, finally leading into an Easter service. Praise God that Jesus rose and the grave could not contain him!

I have truly enjoyed the celebration of Holy Week. God is good and has shown himself to me throughout this lent season and my year here in Atlanta! Thanks for reading.

May grace and peace be upon you.

Shalom,

 Adam Q

Spring Ahead

Atlanta has taken a literal meaning to spring ahead, and I am loving it! The weather went from lower to mid forties up to lower to mid sixties it seems overnight. Since the weather is getting nicer it means more people are out and about. I expect that the smell of barbequing will fill the air in English Avenue here shortly. And I have to admit I can't wait!  I am really excited for the next few weeks and months.

The past few weeks have been great! I got to take part in a few games of horseshoes with Horrace, Reggie, and Tony last Saturday. It was Reggie and myself versus Horrace and Tony. Reggie and I won two of two. It was a blast! I have to give the credit to Reggie he carried us to victory. I don't think the winter helped my horseshoe game any. I'm looking forward to bonding over more friendly games of horseshoes.

One of the awesome things about more people being out means that there is a real chance to build new relationships. I'm praying that God will bless me with some new relationships, and I ask that you pray for me in this area as well. At the same time I am really excited to see what the summer means for the relationships that I already have. I look forward to being able to sit on the front porch with the Rouse family. Front porches are a wonderful time of getting to know others, and allow them to get to know me.

I think God for the ways he has already blessed my year here! And I can't wait to see the ways he continues to bless my year as the seasons change. Thanks for reading!

May grace and Peace fall upon you.

Shalom,
Adam Q 

S.A.Y Yes! black history performance

This Thursday we had our second S.A.Y Yes! performance. It was a ton of fun. This session was titled Imagine Me. So the kids performance reflected the idea of what there culture means. My kids the K5-2nd graders sang this little light of mine and told a short story about Harriet Tubman. The 3rd-5th graders represented influential people of color. The 6th grade girls quoted poetry. And last but not least the 6th grade boys performed a skit titled The World Without Black People. The skit discussed the different inventions of black people. It was really encouraging and a great blessing to see the kids perform what they have been working on since January. In this case I feel that pictures speak louder than words. So enjoy the pictures from the performance.

The k5-2nd graders performing This Little Light of Mine

 

3rd-5th graders as influential characters

Bring on the Poetry!

The world without black people skit

I hope you have enjoyed following the night through pictures. It was a great night. I'm so proud of all the S.A.Y Yes! students. 

Thanks for reading. Love you all.

May grace and peace fall upon you!

Shalom,

Adam Q

Come and See

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I can't even begin to tell you how busy this trimester has been. But there has been some really exciting things happening the past couple of weeks.

community dinner!

I will start with two weekends ago. We had what is called come and see weekend, my mom and sister came down and experienced a little of what my life is like here. I had a blast with them here. They got in late Thursday night and stayed until Sunday afternoon. It was a very busy weekend, but we had a ton of fun. We started Friday by going to Cafe 458 and volunteering. I wanted them to see what I do everyday. I think they really enjoyed themselves. I know I had a great time. On Saturday they got to experience a normal Saturday for me starting with morning devotionals, then curriculum and grocery list, and then getting out into the neighborhood for the day. We visited with my neighbors Ms. Rouse and Casandra. It was really neat to see my life in Tennessee meet with my life in Atlanta.After we visited with Ms. Rouse and Casandra for awhile we headed over to the church because I had praise team practice so they got to meet some of my church family here. Finally to end the day we headed back to the house for community dinner. There were a bunch of the kids from S.A.Y Yes! there. So they were able to meet a lot of the students that I help tutor in the after school program. They also were able to meet a few more of my neighbors. It was a beautiful day. On Sunday they came to church and experienced a normal Sunday for me. And after church the whole house headed up to The Varsity for lunch. I had a great time with my family here. I'm glad that they were able to experience just one weekend of what I'm doing.

To shift gears a little, this past Saturday we went to the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a very powerful experience. The museum followed the history of the Civil Rights in Birmingham as well as showing a bigger scope of the movement. There were parts that made me angry and sad one particular was a room with a KKK robe and a cross that was burned on a biracial couples yard in 1991. It is hard to believe that was only 22 years ago. It is even harder to believe that the Civil Rights movement was only 50 yrs ago. There were great strides made by all those that fought for equality in the movement, but I believe we still have a long way to go. We still have a lot to fight for in this country and around the world. There were also parts of the museum that gave me hope the one that really stands out is watching the I Have a Dream speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and another that brought a strong sense of hope was reading about Birmingham's first black mayor and all he did to help the people and the area. I would encourage everyone to go and visit. It is a very powerful and moving trip.

An exhibit at the Civil Rights Institute

Thanks for reading!

May grace and peace fall upon you.

Shalom,
Adam Q.

King for a Day

This week we, as a nation, celebrated the life of one of my all time heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There was no better way to celebrate the legacy that he left then by taking part in a community garden project that was going on a couple of blocks from where I live.  The project was a ton of fun. The garden will be open to folks that signed up for the plot. If the first plot is successful more will be put in, and they will be opened up to more members of the community. 

There were plenty of volunteers there. They ranged in age, sex, and race. Some people lived within English Ave, and others drove in from around the area. It was great to see so many folks come together to work for the good of the community.

It was nice to get to work with my hands. There was plenty of work to be done. I started the day by clearing brush and debris from the landscape, then went to putting compost onto the garden plot, after which I started digging the walkways in between the rows of plants, and ended the day removing leaves from MLK's adult house in the neighborhood next to ours. It was great to get home, and be wore out from manual labor. 

After working on the garden Brian and I headed up to the King center here in Atlanta where the parade would end. We visited the Ebenezer Baptist Church where MLK was associate pastor under his father. Then went up the street to the first integrated fire station. Both were great experiences. Finally, we went to watch the parade. It was really neat to get to see all the organizations and groups represented in the festivities. 

It was an amazing day all around. It was great to honor MLK with a day of service. I feel that justice was served in a little dose to Elm Street in English Ave. I really enjoyed being a King for a day.

Thank you for reading. 

May grace and peace fall upon you!

Shalom,

Adam

 

 

It is football season!

     


              VS.






I'm sure your wondering why I would write on football. What could that possible have to do with being a neighbor? It actually has a ton to do with being a neighbor especially being in the hometown of one of the teams playing for a spot in the super bowl. I can barely walk down the street or ride MARTA without hearing someone mention the Atlanta Falcons. It is donned on every bus marque and on the clothing or cars of many Atlantians.

I also live about a mile away from the Dome so on game day our neighborhood gets a lot of traffic.The parking lots near the Dome become crowded with folks celebrating their teams rise to the conference championship.Although I have to admit that I am not pulling for Atlanta to go to the Super Bowl it is very exciting to see how the sport has pulled so many people together for a common purpose. It reminds me of the many children of God celebrating the common purpose of Christ.

Football has given me many opportunities to spend time with one of the families in my neighborhood. They have invited me over every Sunday to watch the game. I'm thankful that they are were willing to open up their home, and invite me in to spend time with them. I'm even more excited to continue the relationship after the season is over. God is doing huge things here in Atlanta, He is doing huge things in my life, and I cannot express how thankful I am for his love!

May grace and peace fall upon you!

Shalom,
Adam Q.

Back to the City

I got back to Atlanta on Sunday afternoon after a great time with friends and family! Although, I had an amazing time in Tennessee I am very glad to be back in Atlanta. I have already had the opportunity to visit many of my friends here. I'm very excited for this coming semester.

 It was great to be back with my family here in Atlanta!

It has been a very quick transition back into life here in Atlanta. I got back to volunteering on Monday and it has been a great week. We spent the week preparing for the upcoming semester in S.A.Y Yes! We are titling it "Imagine Me" which will deal with cultural identity and the students identity in Christ. I'm very excited for this coming time with the students. I have also been given the honor of being the team leader for the K5-2nd graders. To be honest this would not be my first choice for placement, but I know that God has something planned for me to learn from the children! I pray that my relationships here in Atlanta continue to grow, and that God does amazing things through them. I also pray for everyone back in Tennessee, and I thank you all for what you have done for me here!

May peace and grace fall upon you!

Shalom,
Adam Q.

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