Nellie's Life

This is exactly what I want to do with my life. I knew it for about a year now but this is just a reminder of how much I really want to move into the city and make it my home. Wow, I am so amazed at God’s works, what a great God we serve. God continues to amaze me with his work in the city. It is obvious that is exactly where God wanted the White family to be. It was amazing to watch the ways that God made everything come together for them to move their. It also takes my breath away when I hear how their children are working in the neighborhood as well, and how they are growing up with such Christ centered values. Praise God for His work with this family.
I can relate to this in certain ways from when we were in Atlanta, kids would be over at our house all the time and it was great. We would work down the street at a tutoring program, and my roommates and I would work at different organizations in the neighborhood. Three of the five us worked at schools and after school we would all walk down to the tutoring program at our church. It was great to see all the kids there. There would be some neighborhood kids that would stop by, as well as kids from the shelter at the church. God was definitely present in our neighborhood and it was obvious as well.
When we first moved into the neighborhood there was a lady named Mary who lived across the street. She had a grandson named Bam who was twenty years old and I would go over there to hang out and talk with Bam a lot. When ever I would knock on the door she would answer but would not really want to talk to me at all. I would ask her how she was doing and there wasn’t much of a response from her. It was difficult to get to know her. One day I went over to see if Bam was home and I heard her on the phone and as she came to the door she said oh it is those F-ing white girls again that live across the street. I was ready to turn around and leave but I knew I needed to stay. When she opened the door I could see she was busy but I asked her how she was doing and then if Bam was home. She said he wasn’t and I walked back across the street in shame wondering what this meant.
After this experience I prayed a lot and I was very nervous to even go back over to their house because I was embarrassed and I wasn’t wanted. Through talking with my roommates and a lot of praying, I knew what I had to do. I continued to go over to Mary and Bam’s house with God by my side. I was scared but I knew that God was with me and he would do the rest of the work. As time went on Mary began to open up a little from conversations on the porch to watching me interact with her grandson Bam.
By the end of the year Mary had completely opened up to her hurtings and pains, and how much she appreciated me helping out her family. I call Mary about every couple weeks and we talk for quite awhile about life. Then, when I go to hang up the phone she tells me how much she misses me and that she loves me! WOW, what the heck, the first time I heard this I cried and praised God for his faithfulness.
God is obviously present in the city and there are too many faithful occasions to even question it. I am thankful for books like this to remind me of how faithful God is and how He is ever so present in the city. I am excited for the day I can move back into the urban neighborhoods and continue to live out God’s story in the city.