Many volunteers from Bethany Chapel came out to my Smurfville looking Calgary Housing building. Congregation members who know what it means to do Christ's work in the heart of a community.
When I moved in to this residence it was dishevelled looking, grass was ruined, garbage thrown about. I can't say it was ALL from previous Calgary Housing Tenants, because buildings run down, the government doesn't have the money for upgrades so it becomes an eye sore, a not so nice looking place to live.
I would love to plant flowers, re-do the grass on my lawn, resoil the dirt in my garden. But I can't. I have to chose on a month to month basis on whether or not I can feed myself and my child.
So every year people come out from the church and help us make it a more beautiful place to live. It is really quite glorious. Seeing the children pick up a broom and help sweep, families from the neighborhood getting together in one place to help each other out in whatever help they may need.
I watched two strong burly men go and help my neighbor lady who isn't strong enough to lift the heavy furniture in her house from the basement to upstairs, I sat and helped the Community Neighborhood Social Worker, Twyla Moon, register people for our brand new Tool Box.
The Tool Box is a new program in the neighborhood. It is a tool lending library where we can sign up for $10 a month and go and borrow whatever tools we might need throughout the year. It will open sometime in the next few weeks.
This is my Calgary neighborhood, proud, strong, supportive, encouraging, inspiring, helpful, and together, hopeful.
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