some pictures
Last Sunday John was preaching and wanted to have a powerpoint presentation with pictures of the kids and neighbourhood, so we drove around on Wednesday and took some pictures or the neighbourhood and downtown Detroit.
The pictures were inspired by Isaiah 61:1-4;

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion--to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.


This is the church where we spend most of our days. It is in a primarily residential neighbourhood, not what I had originally pictured, but it is definitely impoverished, as you'll see in some of the other pictures.

















This is about 1 block away from the church, there are so many houses like this.



















Many of the houses, even though they don't look habitable, actually have someone living in them.



















This happens a lot in this neighbourhood, there will be a row of houses that look fine, and then a pile of rubble, a hole or an empty lot where a house used to be.



















This was taken closer to the downtown area, it is crazy the conditions people live in.



















This is downtown Detroit - it looks more like a war zone than a city where people live.



















Here is a window in the church sanctuary. It is broken because of a bullet. (don't worry, we weren't there when it happened)

























Here is John with some of our kids. They call him Pastor John or sometimes even Dad, since many of them don't have fathers. The kids think of the group that meets at the church as a family, which is an awesome way to build community.