Recently I have been asked by several people why I chose to stay in Houston after Mission Year ended...
I used to think that the answer to that question was simple...It's not
I think...the answer to that question is in three parts.
1. I fell in love with the city of Houston while I was in Mission Year. (something I am convinced is part of the effect Mission Year has on someone.)
2. I learned of something new and exciting that I could be a part of.
3. I established some amazing friendships, and also became established as an Artist. (the latter of which was something I had been striving to do for quite some time.)
When you hear me say that I fell in Love with Houston, you might think that it means I learned about a lot of cool places in town, I met some cool people, and I realized how beautiful of a place it is. These things are true, but more than anything when I say I fell in Love with Houston I really mean that I learned more about the suffering, pain, loss, and general decay of this city than any other place in my life. I learned these things from stories, books, and from living side by side with some of the most impoverished people here. In the process of learning the statistics, and figures about poverty, homelessness, broken homes, alcoholism, drug abuse, and the many other evils that plague this city day in and day out, I made a major mistake (which might also be the best thing I have ever done in my life). I put faces on every single one of those things...
I tell people that it became hard for me to sleep when I heard that the average age of a homeless person in America is 9 years old (due to domestic abuse forcing mothers and their children out of the home), I told people it became hard to sleep when I heard they can now track prison populations back to the 3rd grade( meaning that they can look at a class of 3rd graders and statistically determine which ones will end up in prison).I tell people it became hard to sleep when I found out that Houston is the #1 city in the nation for Human Trafficking. I can tell you now that all of these things became impossible to swallow when I met children who live on the street, when I taught third graders who went home to crack addicted parents, when I met men & women who sell themselves night after night, when I heard stories of girls getting kidnapped for the sex slave industry, when I drove past known brothels...I fell in Love last year but not with pretty buildings, cool coffee shops, or art museums, but with prostitutes, homeless men & women, and children who have every statistic in the book fighting against them...
And I couldn't leave them behind...
Toward the end of my year with Mission Year I was introduced to Josh & Aimee Wood who are part of the pastoral team for a church called Harbor Church. Josh & Aimee, when I met them, were starting a community in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston. The Woods' have lived in Montrose for a while, and in the past have used their house and garage apartments to serve as a half-way house for recovering addicts. "Love Works" is what they are calling their new adventure which is an experiment in living in community, serving children at risk in our neighborhood schools, and seeking after a lifestyle of love and service together as a community. When I met them I knew immediately that I wanted to be somehow involved with them, and their program. I moved in the day after Mission Year ended and have been living there since. I love living with Josh, Aimee, their three children, and Juli. Living in the house has been an adventure in and of itself, everyday is different and exciting. I have begun to Mentor two young boys at Gregory Lincoln Elementary School, and spend a good amount of my time (both while at work and other times) hanging out with the people who occupy the streets of Montrose at night. Being part of Love Works was not an easy decision but I feel that it was one of the best things I could do post-Mission Year here in Houston. I moved in with Love Works because I realized that if I went back to my old life I would quickly forget the things I learned in Mission Year, and I didn't want that. I wanted to move past my old life and strive to find my new path.
Part of that new path is my passion for the arts. For many years I have been painting and drawing as both a hobby and a passion...only recently have I become an acknowledged, and successful artist. I have sold a lot of my paintings, and a few of my drawings, also I have become plugged into several communities of artists here in Houston. On top of my success as an artist I have established several very good friendships a few of them being my former Mission Year teammates, and others that I got to know while working here in Houston last year. I look forward to seeing what lies ahead both in my friendships here in Houston, and my career as an artist.
All in all I stayed in Houston because I wanted to love what I do...and I do
and glad that you did! -jax
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