Peggy: First Entry from our actual site!

Hey everybody!

It's only the SECOND full day at our actual site here at CityTeam Ministries in Downtown Oakland. For our first few days, I was training with the rest of staff, staying at the World Impact site in West Oakland. We've had a great time of prayer at Lake Merrit downtown and our students finally arrived on Sunday, June 21st. We've been staying at Patten University for the first week for orientation, learning about God's heart for justice, seeking shalom in the city, having discussions about structuralized injustices and racism. There's been so much content and so many heavy issues, but it's been good to process with our teammates.

Being at CityTeam
We've finally moved into our site at CityTeam Ministries in downtown Oakland and let me just say, it's definitely very different! On a team of 7, only me and a female student from St. Mary's College are the only women on our team in a house of all men. It's like living in a frat house! But don't worry, we have our own room, our own bathroom and all the men in the house are extremely respectful.

What are you doing at CityTeam?
To be honest, our first couple of days have been mostly settling in and resting. Starting tomorrow, we will actually be working with CityTeam staff, whether it's doing some administrative work, tutoring the men, etc., I have yet to find out but I'll definitely let all of you know.

The program we are working with is an alcohol/drug abuse recovery program. There are also some men at CityTeam who don't live in our quarters that are part of another program. There is also a homeless shelter and hot meals. The cool thing is that the men in the recovery program basically run this homeless shelter and the other programs.

Are you safe?!
Yes! I know a ton of you are worried about my safety, but do not fear! We have a large team and we're always together and we don't go out too much at night. For the most part, we will be staying in the CityTeam house. We are also located right by the courthouse and police department. And most importantly, we know God is protecting us.

Some Highlights
Team Dynamics
I'm really enjoying bonding with our team, getting to know the other students and my co-leader. Being one of two women on the team, my relationship with our other female team leader is growing and I'm blessed to have her on the team.

Getting to Know the Men
I think a lot of people are constantly asking me what it'll be like since we're working with a men's recovery program. It's honestly been a lot easier than I thought. Granted, there are still a ton of men in the program that I have yet to get to know, but there are definitely some that our team has bonded with quite well. I'm so touched by how open a lot of these men are, especially considering I'm a younger Asian female. I'm excited to continuing learning more about their lives and their walks with God.

Going to Church in Oakland
This morning we got to attend church at True Vine Ministries. One of the men in the program invited us to go to his church and it was such a blessing. I've never been to a black church before and the praise and worship was so amazing! I was really encouraged by it. Next week, we'll be visiting Cathedral of Lights, a Catholic church downtown so that we can continue experiencing worshipping God in different cultural contexts.

Prayer Requests
* Please continue to pray for the team dynamics -- having only two women on the team can sometimes get difficult, not just for safety reasons (there aren't any safety issues honestly) but mostly because we're not really sure how effective we are as we interact with the men. For the most part, our conversations with the men in the program have been really pleasant and I've enjoyed them all, but sometimes we just feel like it's even harder sometimes being a woman.

* Also, continue to pray for the students on the team: Justin, Dillon, John (from Reno), Jeffrey and Irene (from St. Mary's). Our students all come from suburban backgrounds, growing up in mostly white culture, so being in downtown Oakland with a predominantly black/Latino men's recovery program can be really new and different for them.

* Please pray for the men in the program -- although I do not wish to give you specific names, please pray for them. They are brothers, fathers and sons with real lives that they want to get back to, with real daughters and sons that they miss, with families that care about them. So many of them have welcomed us into a place that they've called home for either a week or 400+ days and they've been nothing short of hospitable and loving to us. We've played basketball, had meals, watched movies, and played a lot of Dominoes with the men, these men that are also brothers to us now.

* Lastly, my personal prayer request is more for my identity as a woman and my role as a woman here. I think that God is definitely shaping that in me and has been this whole year, so there is no mistake that God placed me here at CityTeam to continue shaping me in that way. I'm definitely learning more and more about myself as I interact with the men, with my team and with God.

Feel free to e-mail me and questions and comments or words of encouragement! I'll be checking e-mail on Sundays.

PLAN TO COME VISIT?
Before I forget -- OPEN HOUSE IS JULY 12TH! We are located at 722 Washington St., Oakland, CA 94607 if you are interested in coming to see what we've been doing. I'll keep you posted on more information about Visitor Day. Mark your calendars! July 12th!

Blessings,
Peggy