Motown Mission 1 - engaging & promoting
Submitted by shelleydobes on June 21, 2010 - 10:56pm.

Last week was an amazing kick-off to our summer in downtown Detroit. We had a great group of kids and adults come in from Indiana to serve the people of Detroit in numerous ways, including:
-"overhauling" a parking lot for a new farmer's market
-renovating a crumbling concrete porch and sidewalk
-repainting the exteriors of a house and garage
-working on their hands and knees in an urban garden

The volunteers physically changed parts of this city in a beautiful way. More remarkably, they impacted so many people in just a week. They truly were God's hands and feet, as well as His words. Whether it was the Motown staff, their own group of kids, families they were working for, or just people walking down the street, everyone seemed to recognize the work they were getting done. A few incredible things happened because of this:

1. While some volunteers were clearing a huge area of sidewalk that had become completely engulfed by grass and tree branches, a woman was walking on the road with her two grandchildren. She noticed their work and thanked us for making the sidewalk accessible - and so did her 3-year-old grandson! It was heartwarming to know that these people would be able to use the sidewalk instead of the street next time.

2. A local walked by one of the worksites to see what we were up to, and started talking to some volunteers. He liked what we were doing so much that he offered us a great deal at his very own restaurant!

3. Some volunteers worked on painting the front of a house bright white and caught the eye of a passer-by. This woman pulled over in her car to chat with Ben, our projects coordinator, about the help she could use on her home!

4. Near the end of the week, an 8-year-old boy from the neighborhood approached one of our adult leaders on the side of Joy Road and asked, "Are you guys gonna do that food thing again sometime?" The leader was confused, but realized that he was talking about the farmer's market that had began just the day before (that our partners at Joy-Southfield coordinated). This novel "food thing" impacted this boy so much, and that is absolutely amazing.

Our volunteers have promoted Motown Mission so naturally that I didn't even realize it was happening until after it happened! God powerfully spoke through them, using their words and actions.

As for us interns, God has provided everything we lack, and for that we are so grateful.