For the past year and some months, I've been going to City Gospel Mission on Monday nights. I chat with the ladies who come in there and also open the game room so people can play pool, ping pong, etc. I've come to count many people there as friends.
This past Monday night I had a "Ladies Night" at the Mission. I roped my friend Emma (who I've met there) into helping me as well. Ladies Night basically just involves having a fun, easy craft to do with the women who come in. This time we made tissue puffs and had nail polish for nails to be painted. Pretty simple.
As I was driving to the mission, I was having one of those utterly exhausted kind of days....the kind where you don't feel like you can do anything but stare. Not good. So I'm having this prayer to God about how he really is going to have to come through on this one, b/c I don't feel like being loving, kind, generous, etc. etc. etc. I get to the mission, exhausted, and head downstairs to start setting up. I honestly really wondered if anyone was even going to come. I fairly regularly do these kinds of things - get an idea, pass out invitations, and have no idea if it will even work.
However, around starting time, about 10 ladies came down with kids and tons of excitement. We gathered around the ping pong table, and I began to explain how to make the tissue puffs. These ladies were so excited...they could not wait to get started! I show them the little puff I made and they oohed and awwwed over how cute it was! So I began explaining the steps. The next thing you know, there is laughing, smiling, crafting, and all sorts of crazy conversation is happening. I honestly don't understand a good portion of the dynamics that go on when I'm with these ladies...although I do believe I'm understanding it more and more as I have more interactions in this culture.
Some generalizations: They are fiercely honest. If you bother them, they will tell you. They are loud. If they have an opinion, they will share it. They will ask for help. If they don't know how to do something...they will GET you to help them. And they talk fast...I don't understand about 50% of some conversations I'm in.
One lady said she was going to figure out how to make her puff on her own...I looked over at what she was doing and she had made about 5 accordians with the tissue paper and had roped them all together going in all different directions! (Those of you who make tissue puffs are aware of what this means) I said something like "Wow, I can't wait to see how THAT turns out!?" and she said "See, you and me, we can learn from each other!"...and then I had to "give it up" and five her. (She didn't even finish that tissue puff - it was seriously a disaster waiting to happen...) But I bet I high fived her 10 times throughout the evening, as that seemed to be her affection of choice...every 10 minutes, she was wanting me to "give it up" again and high five her over something........hilarous.
Don't get me wrong. There are things I seriously don't like, and even hate that I'm in contact with at City Gospel Mission. I HATE that one of the ladies there is pregnant and supposedly a heroin addict too. HATE, HATE, HATE that. I am a friek about germy stuff...one lady cut her hand while she was using my scissors...the bag with the scissors will be sprayed til kingdom come with germ killer stuff. I Loathe the fact that there are bedbugs in some places of the mission...again, my friekezoidenss...I didn't sleep well that night b/c I was dreaming about bedbugs. And I wish I was making that up.
However, there are some beautiful things too. I LOVE that Emma calls me her friend...(she actually says "best friend" and one time even added "her only friend"). I LOVE that the people there accept me despite obvious cultural differences. I LOVE to see the leadership of the men recovering from addiction. I LOVE that a gal named Kitty came although she seems terribly shy and will hardly speak...and I love seeing her cartoon artwork. I love that one of the older ladies yelled for everyone who was leaving and called them out on not cleaning up. I love Dee Dee's smile. I LOVE Dorothy's faith. Even when her apartment burned down...she believed that God is good and continued to express her faith in Him. And one of the highlights of the evening for me on Monday, was when a somewhat delicate lady who had made a puff went over to the table to get her nails painted quietly said, "I feel better now."
Wow - one tissue puff, a little conversation, and some nice music later...and she feels a little bit better about her life. THAT (all wrapped up in God's love, mercy, grace, and hope) is what this is about.
