HOW THEY LIVED & LOVED

Below please find an excerpt from the summer weekly correspondence for active Fellows, called Fellowship Weekly. This information medium synthesizes the submitted reflections, logs, and comments of the Perkins Fellows into an email transmission to build connectedness and community.

JUNE 15, 2004 -- Congratulations are in order for April, who completed her Fellowship commitment to Tampa Bay Dream Center (TBDC) this week. We enjoyed her thoughtful reflections on race, culture and class. More importantly, according to one TBDC staff-member, April’s presence was an answer to a prayer. Great work April!

In Jackson, MS, Corinn and Sarah are serving at two ministries (John M. Perkins Foundation & Voice of Calvary Ministries) within walking distance of one another and share a house together with two other female volunteers. They should both be congratulated for contributing to a state of relative peace in that house. Last year, the Perkins Fellow living there reported that tensions occasionally ran so high that, if you did not speak to your house-mates during the course of the day, it was considered a good day.

In Washington, La Shawnda may be enduring what could be considered the most challenging housing situation in the Fellowship’s six-year history with 19 housemates and only two bathrooms. Speaking of challenging housing arrangements, let’s not forget about Sokki in California, who shares a living room floor with two other girls, all on inflatable beds. Thank you all for your sacrifices.

Congratulations are also in order for Erica, who completed five weeks of service at Community Fellowship ministries in Atlanta. She will complete the remainder of her Fellowship term at Peacemakers Ministries in Miami, where she will join Perkins Fellow Nicole in ministering to a diverse community of African Americans and Caribbean immigrants. Nicole and Erica had already been corresponding as prayer partners for a couple of weeks and looked forward to finally meeting each other in person. This dynamic duo is certain to leave a long lasting mark on Miami’s unique social landscape.

The Fellowship’s Texas team has completed 50% of its mission. In Waco, Paul concluded his term of service with a rhythmic dance performance inspired by the Motown sound of the Temptation’s My Girl. At the same time, but further south in Houston, Dobromir was literally digging ditches with a group of neighborhood teens participating in a community service program. Reportedly, it was Dobromir (our man from Bulgaria) that appeared to be performing the bulk of the work. Show ‘em how it’s done Dobromir! And, if anyone has any information on the location of the next American Idol auditions, please affectionately forward it to Paul.

In Charlottesville, Andrew is preparing for two trips: First, this weekend he and several other counselors will take a small group of teenage boys on a history tour of Atlanta, GA. And next month, Andrew will accompany his ministry to Pasadena, for the 10th annual CCDA Youth Conference. Let’s keep the travel plans of this ministry in our prayers.

In East Palo Alto, Stephanie is stepping beyond her role of counselor/teacher by volunteering to develop and host a new chapel service for ministry staff. Perhaps we should call her Bishop Stephanie. The Bishop also has the honored distinction of sharing a house with two Perkins Fellowship alumnae, Karla Gurley and Andrea Daniels.

On the other side of the country, in Camden, NJ, Susan continues to evolve as a cultural critic with insightful and profound commentary on the social effects of poverty, crime and the breakdown of the family. Look for her upcoming publication on the shelves of bookstores near you.

Lastly, please join me in welcoming Elizabeth back to the good old U.S. of A. She spent almost a week in the sweltering and humid heat of northern Mexico on a mission trip to an orphanage. The details of this adventure were colorfully articulated in her latest weekly log. Some of the highlights include: painting houses for the locals, dodging spiders the size of scorpions, counting more than one-hundred desert mice, classifying insects that appeared to be from Mars, and a panoramic view of an accidental, well . . . umh . . . "mooning" of a local pastor. What a trip!

Thank you all for going above and beyond the call of duty to meet the needs of your constituents but don’t forget to take some time for yourselves!