Philly

Jacinda, Emily, and Sarah jumping in Philly


After our return from Oregon we enjoyed a week back in Mississippi before leaving for the annual CCDA conference in Philly. CCDA ( Christian community development association) is an association of people who live and work among the poor in cities all over the country. It was founded by John Perkins and Wayne Gordon and every year seems to grow.
We had a great time at the conference. Its always rejuvenating to be around others who are involved and passionate about the same things that you are. This was our 4th time attending the conference and we continue to learn from the amazing people who are a part of CCDA.
We were able to meet up with our good friends Matt and Jacinda from New York as well as Sarah from Mass. It was great to see and hang out out with our friends. One day we rode the subway out into north Philly with a new friend whom we met at the conference named Brian. Brian showed us his neighborhood where he is working to create economic opportunities for low income people.(check out the organization Brian works with here) North Philly is the part of town that wealthy white folks downtown told us to stay away from. It is also the place where The Simple Way is located. It was very interesting to walk around the community and to observe the social dynamics of the city.

We drove to and from Philly in a van with the Perkins center staff. It was two long 19 hour trips straight through. We actually blew a tire on our trailer right as we exited the freeway back in Jackson at 5:00 am on Monday. Luckily we were able to get the van back to the center.

We are back in Jackson now and ready to continue our work here. Emily and I are both working in the after school program. Emily has been doing a lot of research into grant opportunities as she prepares to become a grant writer for the foundation. Stating in January she is planning on enrolling full time at Jackson State University.
In the mean time we seek to love our neighbors and to invest quality time with the children we work with.


Johnny


Johnny and Matt try to out jump the girls



The girls strike back by adding a man from the street to thier jumping team


Matt wins