My Life

Real Life in South Phoenix

I have to admit that at times I love rocking other people’s boats but also see the advantage to ‘calm seas’ and not purposely entering into a hurricane. This last week I had a couple of things happen that keep me humble and continue to show me the reality that God is not only in control but has a bigger plan that is unfolding. (Yes I affirm God’s total sovereignty and see the awesome fact that He works around and through our pursuit of total autonomy.)

I knew that moving into South Phoenix might see me on occasion encounter people with attitude. I didn’t expect to meet a Phoenix PD Officer outside of my normal context of doing community development work until this week. I am helping a good friend do a room addition that is relatively close to my tutoring neighborhood and also the painting neighborhood. Like any good concrete guy I knew that I wanted to get an early start, yeah like before the sun peaks over the horizon. So we are all set to start pouring this foundation for an addition and a patio extension. After all of us pour a few wheel barrows into the footings the next door neighbor, who is living in a 5^th wheel on the street, comes out totally unglued ready to tear me apart. I attempt to explain to him that I am sorry for the noise we are making and that this will be done in an hour and won’t happen again. Unfortunately he was more interested in calling the police for me making a disturbance. So as we continue to pour the concrete one of the guys who is helping is now paranoid that the police will come and arrest him. The reality for this young man is that he is undocumented and has already been picked up once and deported. So picture an irate neighbor and now a panic stricken helper who now wants to leave and go any where besides here.

I am thinking to myself boy did I pick the wrong day and time to do this concrete. I drive my helper over to a friend’s house that is close by and knock on their door at 5:30 AM. I knew that I would wake up the mom and kids. I explained the situation and she was willing to take in my friend for an hour till the sun appeared. She too has lived in fear of the immigration situation. I return to the house where we are pouring and jump back into helping wheel the concrete. The Phoenix PD do show up and I apologize for doing this early and the officer calms down the neighbor. We finish pouring out the truck and I return to get my helper who is still shaking from what could have happened. The police are now gone and the morning is upon us. I finish the foundation for this room addition and am back home by 9:30 AM.

I am learning that life is an adventure and seldom predictable. I have to admit I am the one that took the risk of offending the neighbor who was prone to over reacting. I also knew that once this happened that my one helper would run to get away because of his fear of being deported. (He had already been sent back once and he has a wife and young son.) I tell my 'kids' and the grandmas in my ministry neighborhood that grace is the only solution to our neighbor or family spats and that two wrongs never make anything better. I was just recovering from taking a group of 25 teens to a basketball game and had to break up a spat between a Hispanic girl and an African American girl. I have been trying to learn about reconciliation and how to model it and attempt to apply it. I know I am learning that everyone has a story that ultimately promotes and protects their self interest. The opportunity is that Christ calls us not to protect or promote ourselves but if anything to lay our lives down so others can hear and see the gospel lived out. I probably will pour concrete early again but will ask the neighbor without assuming it won’t matter. I know that I will be in the middle of lots more fights between both adults and teens. This can be hazardous to my well-being but it is worth it to see the gospel rock the world of those that live in South Phoenix. My God be gloried both through my blunders but more so through my actively living out the gospel.

Dave