Hope Rising in Detroit by Niko Deffigos

When I told people that I would be serving as a missionary in Detroit, Michigan this summer, I received a nearly unanimous response: a look of confusion and uncertainty followed by a mixture of, “Why would you go there”, “Isn’t it dangerous” and “Don’t get shot.” To be frank, my perception of Detroit was very similar. I tried to approach my service with an open mind, but I harbored doubts about both the safety of the work and the impact that a couple college students could have in solving the deep-rooted issues the communities of Detroit experiences.

I have only begun to scratch the surface of this city and the mission we have been called here to do after the first week.

On the east side of Detroit, there is a street called Alter Road. Alter Road separates Detroit from Grosse Pointe. Grosse Pointe is a picturesque Midwest suburb. Well-manicured parks and quaint well-kept brick homes line the streets, unthreatening and inviting. When you cross Alter Road heading west into Detroit, the beautiful parks are replaced with abandoned lots, garbage dumps, and dilapidated homes near collapse.

The difference between the two places, separated by one single street, is like stepping from one world into another. The suddenness with which you can transition from one side to  the other is unnerving. There are numerous reasons for this drastic disparity, one of the most prominent is race related. Decades ago, the city of Grosse Pointe placed physical barriers along certain roads that intersected Alter Road, and forced  one-way streets, so that it was difficult to enter Grosse Pointe for people living on the Detroit side.

These barriers separated white from black, suburb from neighborhood, and wealthy from poor. The last of the barriers were removed in 2014. And even though the physical barriers are gone, the effects of the barriers and what they represent are impossible to ignore.

Alter Road is an important landmark in beginning to grasp the generational trauma of this city. No human or assemblage of humans, has the capacity to heal this city on their own. No politician, legislation, or social justice movement is capable of healing this city alone. New politicians with new policies have come and gone and nothing has worked. Neighborhood outreach organizations drop in and dry out just as frequently as it rains here in Detroit (which is nearly every day as I’ve learned). Despite their good intentions, they struggle to achieve peace in Detroit.

For us as missionaries it can be overwhelming to face this challenge where many have failed. I want more than anything to help people heal, but oftentimes I feel that on my own, I am wholly incapable of reaching them. I find beauty in that, as Orthodox Christians we are called to allow God to work through us to serve those thirsting for His grace and love. In this way, Christ provides us the strength we need to properly serve. The knowledge that He is by our side in our effort to help His people provides immense encouragement. St. Paul writes,

“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11).

Christ provides us with hope even in the darkest of circumstances, and with His strength we can reach peace in the communities that have been abused and neglected. The Detroiters I have met are wonderful, kind, and generous. Many have been born into difficult circumstances, but they continue to exude a joy and exuberance for life that is a clear sign of God’s presence within each of them. The work we have been doing in service of Detroit has been both humbling and enlightening.

In our short time here we have cleaned up abandoned houses, sorted and organized donations to the FOCUS Detroit Outreach Center—so that people in the community can come grab what they need, whether it be canned foods, sweaters and hygiene items. There is a garden we have been tending with the hopes of harvesting fresh fruit and vegetables to distribute to the neighborhood. These are small and simple forms of outreach to the community, and through them we are hoping to weave God’s love into the fabric of the community.

Detroit is a beautiful city, one of the greatest metropolises in America. Although Detroit has struggled through decades of decline and neglect, it remains vibrant and steadfast. God has not abandoned Detroit, and neither will I.  

I ask for your prayers that us interns at FOCUS Detroit may humbly give ourselves to God and that He may work through us to reach those who desperately need what only He can provide: hope.

Stationed in Detroit, MI with our partners at FOCUS, Niko Deffigos is a Media Intern for summer 2021. You can directly support him and our ministry work by clicking the support button below.

Strength by Gabriel Fahling

 From June 2021-August 2022 Gabriel will be serving as an intern with FOCUS through the St. Innocent Service Works program. Gabriel will be working with FOCUS Orange County to help distribute food to those in need in the Orange County area in southern California.

For the better part of my life, I believed that service meant helping those who are less fortunate than yourself. As time has passed, I’ve come to understand how service can look many different ways and be many different things. This summer I am interning for St. Innocent Service Works because I want to dive deeper into following Christ’s call to serve others, to learn how to humble myself to be least among my brothers and sisters. 

In autumn of 2020, I was an intern for Neighborhood Resilience Project, a non-profit in the Hill District of Pittsburgh that offers community support and free resources such as food and clothing. My fellow interns and I spent two and a half months moving and breaking down boxes, putting together lunch bags, sorting clothes, cleaning, and working the front desk, among many other things.

Most of the work was not glamorous and the days were often quite long. You had to be ready to serve someone at almost any time, as it would happen frequently that there was help needed with something at practically any time of the day. Most days we were running around making sure all the essential tasks were completed and everyone was served. Arriving home from work both meal preparation duty and house cleaning were also ways in which we ministered to each other.

It was exhausting. There were other challenges I encountered during my experience in Pittsburgh, however,  I learned a very important lesson in regards to service: no matter what you are doing, you can make any simple act one of love and service. Even when we are not tangibly doing something for someone else—such as the time we take for ourselves to wind down—all of our life we can offer to God. 

From my time at Neighborhood Resilience Project and my time as an intern at Project Mexico, I have been inspired to pursue service to others and to God. This summer, through God’s providence I am in Orange County, California helping distribute food and household items to those in need. It has been a surreal and somewhat intimidating feeling; not knowing what each day will look like but only knowing that I am here to give myself over to God’s will, and to do the best that I can to serve those in need and my fellow interns. It is something I feel very ill-prepared for, but my comfort lies in knowing that Christ gives strength to those who lean on Him. (Philippians 4:13)

To support Gabriel and the work we’re doing in the US and Mexico, please use this link: https://sisw.managedmissions.com/MyTrip/GabrielFahling1

Leading and Learning with Generosity by Eliza Corder

When I was eighteen years old, I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. That adventure changed me in innumerable ways, but the most meaningful—and the most long-lasting—is my outlook on giving.

Hospitality takes on a new meaning when you are, to use a biblical term, a sojourner. For months I walked from town to town, carrying my pack on my shoulders. Unfortunately, that pack couldn’t hold everything I needed. It couldn’t contain medical care, showers, heating, laundry machines, or my transportation to grocery stores and post offices that were far off the trail. Though I had planned as best I could to meet these needs for myself, it did not change the fact that as a foot traveler with only 30 pounds of possessions, my life was inherently vulnerable to forces larger than myself. Anything from a freak thunderstorm to an unexpected road closure could undo days and weeks of careful planning.

It was from this position of profound vulnerability that I learned the meaning of generosity. Unlooked for and unsought, locals from everywhere along the trail (often referred to as “trail angels”) stepped up to take care of me and my fellow hikers. I cannot possibly recount the thousand tiny kindnesses they showed me. And likewise, I cannot explain to you how profoundly even the simplest acts of hospitality impacted me.

After one particularly bad morning, a group of trail angels took me under their wing. They gave me directions, fed me, got me to the post office where I needed to go, and introduced me to another trail angel who cooked a hot meal for me and a few other hikers. Although these all sound like small things, to me they meant the world.      

I say all this not to elaborate on my own adventures, but to illuminate this truth: the impact of kindness that seems small to us, who have more than we need, can be unfathomable to someone in want.

When I returned home to my former cushy lifestyle, I couldn’t shake the memories. After taking a brief job working with refugees, I realized that many people even in my own neighborhood are more vulnerable than I ever was on the trail. I felt a responsibility to give back, to care for my brothers and sisters just as so many people had cared for me, and to obey Christ’s injunction to be mindful of the widows and orphans.

All that brings me to the present day. My aim is to unite my desire to serve with my Orthodox faith. In service to that plan, I am interning with St Innocent Service Works, which has stationed me at a FOCUS (Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve) location in Cleveland, OH called St. Herman’s House. Fittingly, St. Herman’s works with the homeless population, feeding them and providing housing.

Christ asks us to love our neighbor, to feed, clothe, and shelter them: I humbly ask for your prayers and support as I and all my fellow interns attempt to do just that. Organizations like Project Mexico, St Innocent Service Works and FOCUS exist because of the generous support of donors and even if you’re unable to give of your time, you can also play a critical role in caring for the poor and spreading the light of Christ.

Last year was hard.

This year is new and different.

I know that with creativity and perseverance we can continue to grow, thrive, and serve.

Let’s make a difference together.

You can directly support my mission work at the button below.