where: we moved into a community house east of the river. the area where we live in is historically "dangerous" and "impoverished" which basically means that while the rest of the city is busy gentrifying, the people who are being pushed out tend to move east of the river. this area has less services than other areas of the city, and is less developed (though that is changing). while we have found our neighbors to be amazingly nice, we still get some strange looks when we tell people that we have moved into this area. we live about a 5 minute walk from a beautiful park right by the river, and my running path now includes a lap around Nats Stadium. pretty much, this is the perfect area for us.
who: we moved in with 6 other people, and will be expanded to 7 in august. luke and i are the only married couple, and luke is actually the only man. we explored the possibility of moving into three different community houses, and this was the house that luke and i both felt the most comfortable in. we all have different backgrounds, but we all care about this city, the marginalized and we all love Jesus. oh, and we have a cat.
why: while most married couples our age are thinking about or have already bought their own home, luke and i decided that it was time to go for a little bit less privacy and move in with others in an attempt to learn about living in christian community. we are doing this partly to prepare for our service abroad, and also because we feel like this is something that God is really calling us to. we have read several books, and seen intentional community acted out in many different ways, and believe that the most effective way to serve is within the support of a christian community.
what: and so here we find ourselves. within a crazy community, learning about what it looks like to love others 24-7 as well as love a community that has a lot to offer, but is definitely under-served and discriminated against. we sometimes share meals (soon we will share a meal together at least once a week, now it's a little bit more haphazard), we almost always have crazy conversations (ranging from serious questions--what can we DO about poverty, to silliness--how will we keep our cups from getting mixed up? random koozies from ebay!), and we share our interests (yesterday i went running in the park with a housemate and then we did yoga in the garage...). pretty much we learn how to love Jesus and others better.
practically: i'm learning the beauty of serving a community OUT of a community, rather than trying to go about it individually. i've already seen an amazing example of this when last tuesday i had a rough day which really left me questioning what i do and why i care. i came home and was able to have a good, solid conversation with a housemate, and then i sat down for dinner and that was the end of it. i finished the night feeling so much better than i had--and while luke was good to talk to, when there are 6 other people to focus on rather than one, it's so much easier to get out of your own head.
so, with that being said, i wanted to show you around our house a bit. so here it goes:
this is our street. it's pretty and fairly peaceful. it's actually a lot quieter than our old apartment because it is not right next to a fire department...
this is our house. it's three stories with 6 bedrooms. it's pretty amazing.
this is what you see when you talk in the front door. one living space is on the right, with the dining room behind. directly back the hall is the kitchen and to the left are the stairs.
this is the upstairs landing (as seen from our bedroom). two bedrooms right across the hall, one to the left of ours, and one behind the two bedrooms (i know, weird set-up). there is one bathroom to the right of our room as well.
this is the view of our room from the landing. i really love all of the windows in our room.
to the left after you walk into our room is a little half-bath. everyone shares it, but luke and i get most of the use out of it when we're home. there's a little tribute to unc on the right wall. =)
on our left wall there is a window, and we also hung an upside down map that we got from ten thousand villages. the map is to help us view the world differently, and reminds us that the "global north" isn't necessarily on top. we hung the cross over the map to remind us of Jesus' upside-down kingdom.
when you face the hall, our bed is in a little cut-out with our wedding pictures of us, family and friends hanging above.
on the opposite wall is our (new) dresser. mom t. and i went to IKEA to do some shopping the weekend we moved =)
again, facing the hall.
this is the front door, as you are coming down the stairs.
here's a little tour of the main floor:
living space as you see it if you look into it from the front door.
living space as you see it if you view it from the dining room.
dining room. to the left is the kitchen.
dining room, ahead is the upstairs living space.
from the kitchen facing the hall (with the lovely housemate, carrie), the door leads to the basement.
from the hall facing the back door.
going down into the basement.
the second living space/tv room.
and another kitchen/bathroom.
oh, and finally, the little kitty. she makes a very valid point. and looks thrilled about it =)
this is our house. it's three stories with 6 bedrooms. it's pretty amazing.
this is what you see when you talk in the front door. one living space is on the right, with the dining room behind. directly back the hall is the kitchen and to the left are the stairs.
this is the upstairs landing (as seen from our bedroom). two bedrooms right across the hall, one to the left of ours, and one behind the two bedrooms (i know, weird set-up). there is one bathroom to the right of our room as well.
this is the view of our room from the landing. i really love all of the windows in our room.
to the left after you walk into our room is a little half-bath. everyone shares it, but luke and i get most of the use out of it when we're home. there's a little tribute to unc on the right wall. =)
on our left wall there is a window, and we also hung an upside down map that we got from ten thousand villages. the map is to help us view the world differently, and reminds us that the "global north" isn't necessarily on top. we hung the cross over the map to remind us of Jesus' upside-down kingdom.
when you face the hall, our bed is in a little cut-out with our wedding pictures of us, family and friends hanging above.
on the opposite wall is our (new) dresser. mom t. and i went to IKEA to do some shopping the weekend we moved =)
again, facing the hall.
this is the front door, as you are coming down the stairs.here's a little tour of the main floor:
living space as you see it if you look into it from the front door.
living space as you see it if you view it from the dining room.
dining room. to the left is the kitchen.
dining room, ahead is the upstairs living space.
from the kitchen facing the hall (with the lovely housemate, carrie), the door leads to the basement.
from the hall facing the back door.
going down into the basement.
the second living space/tv room.
and another kitchen/bathroom.
oh, and finally, the little kitty. she makes a very valid point. and looks thrilled about it =)so that's our house! thanks for coming along for the tour! maybe i'll post more in may than in april. oh, look at that...mission accomplished...
1 comments:
you never cease to inspire me betsey.
thanks yo :)
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