Author: erika

Quotation of the Week

Whatever my child may face in public school, I can assure you that none of it is subtle. On the other hand, the pernicious nature of the subconscious message of the exclusive private Christian school is the the message of upper-middle-class suburban Evangelicalism: materialism. Fourth-graders putting condoms on bananas OR materialism. Which one damages the… Continue reading Quotation of the Week

“The kind people easily dismiss…”

For all of the jokes and smiles our little phone-line bullet has provided the past two days, I find myself occasionally glancing over at the little lump of metal and shuddering. I have fought back the visual memories of standing in my Chicago apartment bathroom helping one of the young men who had been one… Continue reading “The kind people easily dismiss…”

What next?

It has not been a great week so far. In fact, it’s really not been a great month, and I was just telling a friend that the verse in scripture that talks about how God will not give us more than we can bear must assume that, because of what Jesus did on the cross,… Continue reading What next?

Outside looking in…

I had a hard time at church yesterday. I was feeling a lot of discomfort and even pain, and the morning had already been an exhausting one by the time we arrived. There were also some other barriers to my ability to enter into worship, and I found myself standing in the back, behind where… Continue reading Outside looking in…

Holy Week

Our first year living here, there was a homicide on our street on Easter Sunday. I remember sitting on our little second story porch watching detectives work the crime scene, and the coroner arrive to remove the body. The victim was shot and killed while sitting in his car, and no one we spoke with… Continue reading Holy Week

What’s in your dish rack?

My mom brought down a beautiful china tea set for Mercy when she was here a few weeks ago, and Mercy’s tea parties are now a daily highlight. Mercy can fill her tea pot with water, and she is allowed one Girl Scout cookie to have as the “snack”. Or, if it is right after… Continue reading What’s in your dish rack?

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Forsaken

This morning I received an email from our Senior Lead Officer about the spike in gang violence this past week. A conflict between the Rolling 20’s (the gang that runs our street and the blocks north of us) and the Rolling 30’s (recently named one of L.A.’s “Top Ten Most Dangerous Gangs”) who control the… Continue reading Forsaken

In the world

Yesterday we went to the little park by our house. Mercy’s God-sister, Jessica, is here with us helping out for the week, and it was great to have the ability to get out of the house and to go outside and play. When we arrived at the park, we were greeted by the noise of… Continue reading In the world