"What's Good" in the Hood...


This weekend was definitely a great one. I got to know more of the girls involved in the ministry and I was made aware of a few things.

We stayed at a "new" place this year; "new" meaning new to us. It used to be an old catholic church/school/convent. It was super sweet and super spooky. We went exploring a lot over the weekend. When we arrived we were informed that we were not only in the most dangerous city in the country, but we were in the most dangerous part of the most dangerous city in the U.S. We were also informed not to be alarmed if we heard gunshots in the middle of the night, it happens everynight. CCH is awesome! I didn't hear so many gunshots, but I did hear sirens every 3 min. or so.

I helped Mama Joyce out in the kitchen most of Saturday because I'm still a little gimpy and it's hard for me to carry a bunch of stuff and go up and down stairs. It was fun to be in the kitchen, but at the same time I was hoping to do a little more, however who can complain when they get to hang out with one of the most awesomest ladies in the world. Later that day, the kitchen crew plus Dave-oh stole away to Target. I grabbed some DP and a little mattress to help out my back from sleeping on the floor. I forgot about that little part of road trips, floors suck to sleep on. I can use the mattress on our other trips, so it was a smart purchase. That night we headed out to the Thies Farm to have our chili cookout, bonfire, hayride extravaganza. I led worship around the fire for a little bit and it was mighty cold. It was cool to hang out with Erin's parents. Her dad always makes me laugh.

Sunday we worshipped together with the little congregation of about 15 or so. With all of us there, the congregation's numbers grew to about 70. After church some of us hung out and played with the kids for a while before lunch. The church is predominantly African-American so I got to hear all kinds of new slang. One thing I was made aware of this weekend is that I'm no better at dodgeball now than I was at age 11. I was taken down hard twice. The kids showed no mercy. After that I switched to frisbee. It was a little safer. The ladies of the church held a potluck for us and the food was amazing! It was a buffet for all the ages. Two of the girls from the church sat at our table with us and we had a great time talking with them. They couldn't have been more than 14 years old. A boy from the church came up to one of the girls and said this, and I quote: "My friend Ryan, axed me, to ax you...what's good?" She then said: "Tell him...I'll let him know." The CCH'ers at the table just kind of stared a minute in silence not really knowing what this foreign exchange was all about. The girl let us know the term "what's good?" means would you like to hangout/go out with someone. So, add that to your everyday vocabulary.

All in all, it was a great trip. I had fun hanging out with the CCH crew and the kids from the church. Keep them in your prayers. I don't know how they live day in and day out with so much violence around them. Later.