Revolutionaries,
It’s time to update you with some information pertaining to our weekly homeless outreach.
First off, I want to thank all of you for the support and encouragement I received from so many of you in response to the note I posted last week, announcing the now-dormant status of the Dirty Roots Revolution. I am humbled and overwhelmed by your response. (If you haven’t read the note, you can find it, titled “In Conclusion…” on our Facebook page or our blog:www.DirtyRootsRevolution.blogspot.com)
As I stated in that note, all activities pertaining to the Dirty Roots Revolution will cease indefinitely. EXCEPT, that is, for our homeless outreach.
This activity will continue weekly and will be moved under the umbrella of Wired, the college ministry at the First Christian Church in Greenville, IL.
I want to assure you that this means very little change as far as how the outreach is conducted.
EVERYONE is welcome to participate in the homeless outreach, regardless of their church affiliation or spiritual beliefs.
The homeless outreach will resume this Saturday, September 4th.
We will meet at my home, 615 East Oak St. in Greenville, at 10 a.m. and depart for St. Louis shortly thereafter each Saturday.
We will visit the same neighborhood in St. Louis as we have in the past (in front of the Public Library on Olive, between 13th & 14th Streets).
If you are one of our out-of-town friends or groups who have joined us in the past, or have recently inquired about joining us, you’re welcome to meet us in that location around 11:30 on Saturday mornings.
We are still accepting contributions of travel-sized toiletries and individually-wrapped, non-perishable food items for distribution on the homeless outreach (A list of needs follows this message). To contribute these items, you can drop them off at our home (we store all homeless outreach items in our garage and have a white shelf outside of the garage where you can leave items), you can leave them in the large blue barrel outside of the office at the Greenville First Christian Church, or you can contact us to arrange pick-up or delivery.
Financial contributions CAN still be made toward this program. However, we ask that you do NOT make checks to the Dirty Roots Revolution. Please make your checks to the First Christian Church and put “Homeless Outreach” or “The 3.11 Project” in the memo line. You can send contributions to the First Christian Church at 1100 Killarney Drive in Greenville, IL 62246.
ALL contributions to this effort through the church will be put in a special fund and directed to us, to be used exclusively for the homeless outreach.
This will actually be a benefit to those who choose to financially support our homeless outreach. Since the church is designated a non-profit organization, you will receive a tax break through your contribution, which was not possible for us as the Dirty Roots Revolution.
Finally, the name of this initiative will be changed. The homeless outreach will know be known as “The 3.11 Project.”
The 3.11 Project was originally a division of the Dirty Roots Revolution’s homeless outreach, wherein we sold T-shirts with the 3.11 Project logo on them. The profit from each shirt was used to provide an identical shirt to one of our homeless brothers or sisters in St. Louis.
The idea for the program was submitted by high school student Sam Filby and takes its name from Luke 3:11, which says, “John answered, ‘The man who has two tunics should share with him who has none, and the man who has food should do the same.”
That’s really what the homeless outreach is about, overall. So we took the opportunity of the changes that are occurring to apply that concept and name to the entire homeless outreach.
A few extra things for you to keep in mind:
The Dirty Roots Revolution Facebook page will most likely be removed in the fairly near future. If you would like to keep up with the happenings of this homeless outreach, please look up “The 3.11 Project” on Facebook and become a fan of that page. It’s not up and running yet, but it will be very soon.
We also have a new email address: 3.11project@gmail.com. We don’t have any immediate plans for a newsletter or anything like that, but we will from time to time communicate various needs, activities, etc., through this email address. If you would like to be added to our database to receive updates from the 3.11 Project, please send an email to that address with “Subscribe” in the body of the message.
And, finally…
Part of the reason for the changes currently happening with the DRR is a need to lessen the workload of some key people. In doing so, we’d like to recruit some more “team leaders” for our weekly homeless outreach trips. Team leaders are basically the “go-to folks” on each weekly trip. Their main requirements are to keep track of the canvas bags and coolers we take items in, return them to their storage place after the trip, keep and eye on things during the outreach, and answer any questions that may come up during the visit.
If you have been on some of our weekly trips and are interested in serving as a team leader (either on a frequent or occasional basis), please email us and let us know. We’d love to have your help!
Thank you for your support and involvement in our homeless outreach. We look forward to working with you under the new name of The 3.11 Project!
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Here’s that list of needed items for the homeless outreach:
Toiletries
(Please note: for some items, like soap and deodorant, the regular size is OK, but travel size is much better for toothpaste, soap, lotion, etc.)
Soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, lotion, lip balm, etc.
**Toiletries are not limited to these items, however we do NOT accept any mouthwashes or any types of medication
Snacks
Peanut butter or cheese crackers, beef jerky, granola bars, raisins, etc.
**Snacks are not limited to these items, but they MUST be non-perishable and individually-wrapped
Misc.
NEW men’s and women’s T-shirts, underwear, and socks (L & XL sizes)
PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO SPACE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONSTRAINTS, WE CAN NOT ACCEPT DONATIONS OF CLOTHING AT THIS TIME, other than new underwear, socks, and T-shirts. Please take clothing contributions to your local thrift shop or another worthy cause.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
In Conclusion...
My fellow revolutionaries,
Our Lord has taken us on quite an adventure through the Dirty Roots Revolution over the past year. It has been a year of challenges, growth, blessings, hard work, inspiration, and – most importantly – positive world-changing in the name of Jesus Christ.
I have told you before that the main focus of the DRR leadership has been to make very certain that the reins of this project remain in God’s hands – not ours. This effort has consistently been rewarding and humbling. At times it has been scary, requiring us to step out on faith with little knowledge of what the future would hold. We have now reached another of these times.
The Dirty Roots Revolution is too large to be small. At the same time, it is still too small to be large. It has grown very quickly. And the administrative and organizational duties associated with it have become a full-time job. This work has required more and more attention and time. I have begun using personal vacation time from my work, not to spend time with my family, but to tend to DRR business. The administrative duties and creative requirements of the DRR consume more and more of my attention, my time, and my efforts.
All three of which should be primarily devoted to my young family. A wise man once told me to be careful never to sacrifice my family on the alter of my personal ministry.
Following too many days, weeks, and months of burning the candle at both ends, in mid-July I found the middle of my wick. I called a meeting of our board of directors and following a lengthy and emotional discussion, our official stance was that the DRR was entering “a time of prayer and fasting”. During this period of several weeks, we put aside all tasks related to the DRR. I canceled and declined speaking engagements, we let our Facebook page go quiet, and – in light of our difficulty recruiting volunteers this summer – we suspended our weekly homeless outreach indefinitely.
This was a challenging time for us as we sought “be still” and seek the voice of God. After several weeks of listening for God I became fully aware that I was going to have to walk away from the Dirty Roots Revolution. I was heartbroken. In my frustrated prayers, I cried out to God for some kind of understanding, clarity, wisdom, and peace. And, as always, He was moving in ways I hadn’t foreseen.
To make a long story short, my wife, Amber, and I felt an undeniable nudging from God to remain in our leadership position of the college ministry at our home church – the First Christian Church here in Greenville.
The Dirty Roots Revolution was basically born from our involvement in that ministry. And as we attempted to work through whatever was happening with what the DRR had become, we felt the call to take things back to where they started. “Back to the basics,” as my Dad would say.
While the mission of the DRR has always been about encouraging people to make a difference in the world in whatever way they see fit, it has clearly been the weekly Homeless Outreach that has captured the hearts of our community. In working through the past few weeks, I could not get past the negative feelings I had, associated with the discontinuation of this project.
So, we’ve opted to move it under the umbrella of Wired, the college ministry we lead. The DRR largely started with the homeless outreach and the homeless outreach has primarily been made possible through the volunteer efforts of college students. In fact, one of my original ideas for the DRR was to have a board of directors made up largely of college students.
I want to stress that other than a change in the “parent organization”, there will be NO changes to the Homeless Outreach. IT WILL REMAIN OPEN TO ANY AND EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR CHURCH AFFILIATION. We will announce more specific information pertaining to the Homeless Outreach in the next couple of days. Please keep your eyes peeled for this information and have a look at it when it’s released. It is our hope and prayer that you’ll remain involved in this initiative if it has meant something to you.
In addition to the continuation of the homeless outreach, the Dirty Roots Radio Show will continue unchanged. You can catch it every Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m. (Central Time) on WGRN 89. FM in Greenville, IL or online at www.wgrn.net. Dirty Roots Radio will still be your source for all kinds of unique music, thought-provoking guests, and revolutionary information.
When it comes to the rest of the Dirty Roots Revolution, whether or not it will officially dissolve its incorporation remains to be seen. That is another conversation for a different day. I have yet to meet anyone who has figured out God…and I won’t pretend to know what He has in store.
If the opportunity to direct the DRR as a full-time job should happen to present itself, I would gladly jump at the opportunity to continue this adventure and explore many of the ideas we had worked on, but hadn’t had the time and/or funding to accomplish. We certainly had big plans…But, again, His will be done – not ours.
However, we recognize that without funding to allow this to become an actual job, things simply cannot continue as they have been.
And God is definitely teaching us something through all of this.
Our message has always been that one person can make a difference. And, more importantly, that people can make that difference by doing small things, taking small actions, making small changes, giving small amounts, etc. I tell people that you don’t have to quit your job and become a missionary to Africa to make a difference. You can make a difference wherever you are. You can be a banker and make a difference. You can be a nurse and change the world. You can be a plumber and have an impact.
We can make a difference without leading an officially incorporated revolution.
I want to stress to you that we are NOT giving up.
The revolution is alive within us. And we know it’s alive within you.
You do not need a little non-profit ministry like us to tell us that you can make a difference. You don’t need us to motivate you to get involved. You don’t need us to help you change the world.
You can do this. More accurately, GOD can do this…THROUGH you!
Always remember the words of Joe Strummer: “The world is worth fighting for.” Not physically fighting of course. But, fighting for the good in the world. Our God made this world. It is His creation. And He said it was good. Biblically, this world will continue to “get worse” until Jesus comes back. But, in the meantime, we believe we must strive to increase the amount of light that is present in the midst of the darkness at any given time.
God made all people in His own image. And every life matters.
While the formal organization of how we do this is changing, please continue to join us in our efforts to change this world. Find a cause and jump in. If you don’t know where to start, watch the evening news. Whatever makes you the angriest or tugs at your heart the most….there’s your cause.
Remember, even though they may go unnoticed, small actions matter. Small actions CAN and WILL change this world! Please don’t give up on these small actions. Your choices, your attitudes, your actions – every one of them matter.
Please allow me to acknowledge the leadership of the DRR. Our board of directors consists of Amber Mifflin, Chris Harnetiaux, and Miranda Caulkins.
My wife, Amber, was witness to whatever was brewing in my heart that eventually led to the DRR for a long time before anyone else. She encouraged me to pursue it to see where God was leading. And when things took off, Amber bravely stood by my side, knowing full well the commitment that this adventure may involve. I cannot thank her enough for her patience and support.
Chris Harnetiaux is my best friend and my brother. It’s been a pleasure to have him as my right-hand-man in this adventure. Chris and I shared many late-night cups of coffee, discussing the possibility of a better world, leading up to the formation of the DRR. Chris continually provided a Biblical perspective to the board that was always needed.
Miranda Caulkins was the first person I thought of when forming a board of directors. Miranda truly “gets” the philosophy of the DRR. She is an incredibly gifted photographer and graphic designer, which was a tremendous blessing for our organization. More importantly, Miranda (a sophomore in college when all of this started) is one of the wisest and bravest people I know – of any age. Miranda always encouraged us to take risks and do what we knew God was asking of us, even when we were uncertain or it was uncomfortable.
I have been blessed to serve alongside these three world-changers. And I have been forever blessed to serve alongside each of you.
To everyone who contributed funds, materials, prayers, encouragement, guidance, interest, and support, I say THANK YOU. You have made a difference. You have made this world a better place! Please keep it up!
A few final thoughts:
- One person CAN make a difference
- YOU are the leader we’ve been waiting for
- Silence is the enemy
- If you’re thinking, you’re winning
- People can change anything they want to
Most importantly, let me remind you what our homeless friend O’Lester (a wise old prophet to be sure) told us on one of our first homeless outreach trips: “God is good….ALL the time!!!”
Thank you for the blessing of this past year. All glory to God for what has been achieved!
Our Lord has taken us on quite an adventure through the Dirty Roots Revolution over the past year. It has been a year of challenges, growth, blessings, hard work, inspiration, and – most importantly – positive world-changing in the name of Jesus Christ.
I have told you before that the main focus of the DRR leadership has been to make very certain that the reins of this project remain in God’s hands – not ours. This effort has consistently been rewarding and humbling. At times it has been scary, requiring us to step out on faith with little knowledge of what the future would hold. We have now reached another of these times.
The Dirty Roots Revolution is too large to be small. At the same time, it is still too small to be large. It has grown very quickly. And the administrative and organizational duties associated with it have become a full-time job. This work has required more and more attention and time. I have begun using personal vacation time from my work, not to spend time with my family, but to tend to DRR business. The administrative duties and creative requirements of the DRR consume more and more of my attention, my time, and my efforts.
All three of which should be primarily devoted to my young family. A wise man once told me to be careful never to sacrifice my family on the alter of my personal ministry.
Following too many days, weeks, and months of burning the candle at both ends, in mid-July I found the middle of my wick. I called a meeting of our board of directors and following a lengthy and emotional discussion, our official stance was that the DRR was entering “a time of prayer and fasting”. During this period of several weeks, we put aside all tasks related to the DRR. I canceled and declined speaking engagements, we let our Facebook page go quiet, and – in light of our difficulty recruiting volunteers this summer – we suspended our weekly homeless outreach indefinitely.
This was a challenging time for us as we sought “be still” and seek the voice of God. After several weeks of listening for God I became fully aware that I was going to have to walk away from the Dirty Roots Revolution. I was heartbroken. In my frustrated prayers, I cried out to God for some kind of understanding, clarity, wisdom, and peace. And, as always, He was moving in ways I hadn’t foreseen.
To make a long story short, my wife, Amber, and I felt an undeniable nudging from God to remain in our leadership position of the college ministry at our home church – the First Christian Church here in Greenville.
The Dirty Roots Revolution was basically born from our involvement in that ministry. And as we attempted to work through whatever was happening with what the DRR had become, we felt the call to take things back to where they started. “Back to the basics,” as my Dad would say.
While the mission of the DRR has always been about encouraging people to make a difference in the world in whatever way they see fit, it has clearly been the weekly Homeless Outreach that has captured the hearts of our community. In working through the past few weeks, I could not get past the negative feelings I had, associated with the discontinuation of this project.
So, we’ve opted to move it under the umbrella of Wired, the college ministry we lead. The DRR largely started with the homeless outreach and the homeless outreach has primarily been made possible through the volunteer efforts of college students. In fact, one of my original ideas for the DRR was to have a board of directors made up largely of college students.
I want to stress that other than a change in the “parent organization”, there will be NO changes to the Homeless Outreach. IT WILL REMAIN OPEN TO ANY AND EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR CHURCH AFFILIATION. We will announce more specific information pertaining to the Homeless Outreach in the next couple of days. Please keep your eyes peeled for this information and have a look at it when it’s released. It is our hope and prayer that you’ll remain involved in this initiative if it has meant something to you.
In addition to the continuation of the homeless outreach, the Dirty Roots Radio Show will continue unchanged. You can catch it every Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m. (Central Time) on WGRN 89. FM in Greenville, IL or online at www.wgrn.net. Dirty Roots Radio will still be your source for all kinds of unique music, thought-provoking guests, and revolutionary information.
When it comes to the rest of the Dirty Roots Revolution, whether or not it will officially dissolve its incorporation remains to be seen. That is another conversation for a different day. I have yet to meet anyone who has figured out God…and I won’t pretend to know what He has in store.
If the opportunity to direct the DRR as a full-time job should happen to present itself, I would gladly jump at the opportunity to continue this adventure and explore many of the ideas we had worked on, but hadn’t had the time and/or funding to accomplish. We certainly had big plans…But, again, His will be done – not ours.
However, we recognize that without funding to allow this to become an actual job, things simply cannot continue as they have been.
And God is definitely teaching us something through all of this.
Our message has always been that one person can make a difference. And, more importantly, that people can make that difference by doing small things, taking small actions, making small changes, giving small amounts, etc. I tell people that you don’t have to quit your job and become a missionary to Africa to make a difference. You can make a difference wherever you are. You can be a banker and make a difference. You can be a nurse and change the world. You can be a plumber and have an impact.
We can make a difference without leading an officially incorporated revolution.
I want to stress to you that we are NOT giving up.
The revolution is alive within us. And we know it’s alive within you.
You do not need a little non-profit ministry like us to tell us that you can make a difference. You don’t need us to motivate you to get involved. You don’t need us to help you change the world.
You can do this. More accurately, GOD can do this…THROUGH you!
Always remember the words of Joe Strummer: “The world is worth fighting for.” Not physically fighting of course. But, fighting for the good in the world. Our God made this world. It is His creation. And He said it was good. Biblically, this world will continue to “get worse” until Jesus comes back. But, in the meantime, we believe we must strive to increase the amount of light that is present in the midst of the darkness at any given time.
God made all people in His own image. And every life matters.
While the formal organization of how we do this is changing, please continue to join us in our efforts to change this world. Find a cause and jump in. If you don’t know where to start, watch the evening news. Whatever makes you the angriest or tugs at your heart the most….there’s your cause.
Remember, even though they may go unnoticed, small actions matter. Small actions CAN and WILL change this world! Please don’t give up on these small actions. Your choices, your attitudes, your actions – every one of them matter.
Please allow me to acknowledge the leadership of the DRR. Our board of directors consists of Amber Mifflin, Chris Harnetiaux, and Miranda Caulkins.
My wife, Amber, was witness to whatever was brewing in my heart that eventually led to the DRR for a long time before anyone else. She encouraged me to pursue it to see where God was leading. And when things took off, Amber bravely stood by my side, knowing full well the commitment that this adventure may involve. I cannot thank her enough for her patience and support.
Chris Harnetiaux is my best friend and my brother. It’s been a pleasure to have him as my right-hand-man in this adventure. Chris and I shared many late-night cups of coffee, discussing the possibility of a better world, leading up to the formation of the DRR. Chris continually provided a Biblical perspective to the board that was always needed.
Miranda Caulkins was the first person I thought of when forming a board of directors. Miranda truly “gets” the philosophy of the DRR. She is an incredibly gifted photographer and graphic designer, which was a tremendous blessing for our organization. More importantly, Miranda (a sophomore in college when all of this started) is one of the wisest and bravest people I know – of any age. Miranda always encouraged us to take risks and do what we knew God was asking of us, even when we were uncertain or it was uncomfortable.
I have been blessed to serve alongside these three world-changers. And I have been forever blessed to serve alongside each of you.
To everyone who contributed funds, materials, prayers, encouragement, guidance, interest, and support, I say THANK YOU. You have made a difference. You have made this world a better place! Please keep it up!
A few final thoughts:
- One person CAN make a difference
- YOU are the leader we’ve been waiting for
- Silence is the enemy
- If you’re thinking, you’re winning
- People can change anything they want to
Most importantly, let me remind you what our homeless friend O’Lester (a wise old prophet to be sure) told us on one of our first homeless outreach trips: “God is good….ALL the time!!!”
Thank you for the blessing of this past year. All glory to God for what has been achieved!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Homeless Outreach Supplies Needed
Revolutionaries:
The Dirty Roots Revolution will spend this coming week playing host to a youth group from Columbia City, Indiana. They will stay in St. Louis and we will take them on a Homeless Outreach, hold various educational workshops in conjunction with several of our ‘partner’ organizations, and facilitate several service projects and awareness-raising activities for them.
In preparing for the Homeless Outreach we realized we have literally reached the end of our supply of toiletries and food.
We try not to publicly cry out for money or materials too frequently. We realize times are tight. But we are in need. More appropriately put, our homeless brothers and sisters in St. Louis are in need. And unfortunately, their numbers are on the rise once again. We are seeing larger groups, new faces, and for the first time since last fall, we’re seeing many, many, many homeless children once again.
This Thursday, July 8th, the youth group will join us in Greenville to finish up the renovation project at DRR HQ (615 East Oak St.).
We’d LOVE to take full advantage of all the energetic young hands we’ll have available to sort donations of Homeless Outreach supplies. Can you help us? A detailed list of needed items follows.
Items may be dropped off at 615 East Oak St. in Greenville, IL. Please place the items on the white shelf, located under the carport. To arrange for pick-up of items or for more information, contact us at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com or call 618-267-5436.
Financial contributions are also accepted. (Please note financial contributions to the DRR are not yet recognized as tax-deductible gifts)
We need the following items:
TRAVEL SIZED TOILETRIES: Soap, disposable razors, shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste/toothbrushes, lotion, and feminine hygiene products.
INDIVIDUALLY-WRAPPED, NON-PERISHABLE FOOD: Peanut butter or cheese crackers, beef jerky, raisins, tuna packets, tuna/chicken salad w/crackers, granola bars, etc.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS: Men’s and women’s socks, underwear, and T-shirts (Sizes L through 2XL)
WE DO NOT ACCEPT ANY MEDICATIONS, PERFUMES, OR MOUTH WASH. WE CANNOT HANDLE DONATIONS OF CLOTHING AT THIS TIME – PLEASE TAKE THOSE TO A THRIFT SHOP OR CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE.
Here's to Another Year...
It was one year ago that I posted a note on Facebook announcing the official formation of the Dirty Roots Revolution.
At the time, a few folks were holding conversations about things we could do to make the world a better place. Three of us were taking occasional trips to St. Louis to hand out care packs to homeless people (8 was our record on a given trip). I had begun to speak about this “revolution” on my Dirty Roots Radio Show.
We had given it a name…the Dirty Roots Revolution, but it was more of a philosophy than a group.
And last July 3rd, I posted a note announcing that we were going to “get organized”.
We were going to do the Homeless Outreach every single Saturday. We were going to officially incorporate as a non-profit organization. We were going to make a difference.
I ended that note with these words: A revolution is coming. WE are the insurgents.
And one year later, not much has changed. But a lot has GROWN.
The Dirty Roots Revolution now serves about 120 homeless individuals in St. Louis every Saturday. We’ve been able to build relationships with many of these folks and are very proud to call them our friends.
We started the Generations Project, which brought several high school and college students into local nursing homes and retirement communities to visit with elderly residents there.
We’ve raised hundreds of dollars through our CHANGE the World program.
Thanks to the growth of the Dirty Roots Revolution and the magic of social networking, Dirty Roots Radio has people all over the world tuning in every Thursday night.
Social networking has also helped us spread our message, literally, across the globe. People in England; Brooklyn, New York; China; and many places in between have told us they believe in our cause and are taking similar actions in their communities.
We’ve been in touch with countless organizations in our region, our nation, and internationally who are taking small actions to change the world around them. We are truly part of a global movement of love.
With the help of a creative high school student we launched the 3.11 Project, a self-funding program where for every T-shirt someone buys, we donate an identical shirt to a homeless brother or sister.
We’ve been invited to share this message throughout our region and as far away as Kentucky, Ohio, and Minnesota.
College students in Iowa have asked us about starting a Dirty Roots Revolution chapter on their campus.
This week we move into the arena of planning weeklong mission trips for visiting youth groups.
This week we will also roll out our newest program: DRR for Kids.
One year ago we said a revolution was coming. Now, a revolution is HERE. And you made it happen. With your small and large contributions. With your gifts of encouragement and prayer. With your coins. With your crocheted hats we gave out in the winter. With your donations of toiletries and food. With the skills of your hands. With the food you made for our meetings. With the ideas you shared with us. With the greeting cards and pictures your children drew for homeless people. With the $1 proceeds your kids made at their lemonade stand. With the gift of an eye exam and glasses you gave to a homeless man with poor eyesight. With the funds you gave us to make sure a man on death’s door with diabetes could get a month’s worth of the medication he needed. With your regular visits to local nursing homes. Every time you paid for the meal of the man behind you in line in the drive through. With every smile, kind gesture, and warm greeting you gave someone.
There’s a revolution happening. You are making a difference. Small things DO matter.
We CAN change the world. Maybe thinking that way makes us crazy. We’re just crazy enough to try.
And so, on this one-year anniversary of the official launch of a new kind of revolution, I offer the following pledge on behalf of the Dirty Roots Revolution…our board of directors…our supporters…our sympathizers…and our fellow malcontents, co-conspirators, and insurgents:
This world is an imperfect and fallen place. And Heaven is our one true home. But we’re here on this earth for now. God created this earth and He said it was good. He made all people in His image. So, as long as our good Lord puts breath in our bodies and as long as He keeps this passion burning in our hearts, the Dirty Roots Revolution is and shall remain A THREAT TO APATHY EVERYWHERE.
Join the revolution.
Friday, July 2, 2010
REVOLUTION THROUGH COMMUNITY!
The Dirty Roots Revolution (DRR) will hold their second “Revolution through Community” gathering on Thursday evening, July 8th at 7 p.m. in the Family Life Center of the Greenville First Christian Church. The group hosts “Revolution through Community” events once per quarter, each in a different location.
“We at the DRR believe that being together, sharing together, learning together, creating together, is in and of itself a revolutionary act these days,” explained DRR Founder/Director Ryan Mifflin. “The point of this effort is to encourage community between churches and groups that may not otherwise gather together very often. We offer different activities at each gathering to encourage interaction and sharing. We also provide opportunities to learn about other organizations that are doing great work in this and other communities.”
The focus of Thursday’s event will be a highlight of a mission trip the DRR is facilitating this week (July 5-9) for a youth group from Columbia City, Indiana. “A mutual friend who follows the activity of the DRR on Facebook put them in contact with us,” said Mifflin. “They asked if we could facilitate a week-long mission trip for their group. We were thrilled to help them out. We are leading the group on one our Homeless Outreach trips and we have a variety of educational workshops scheduled, as well as various service projects. We are fortunate to be able to partner with International Crisis Aid, Project Restore, and Lots of Drops to make this event possible. These are like-minded organizations that we work with throughout the St. Louis area.
“At the event Thursday, we’ll share with the group some of what we did over the past week and we’ll invite some of the students to reflect on their experiences. We’re excited to hear how the week impacted them.”
The event is free to attend and everyone is encouraged to bring a dessert to share. Drinks are provided. Children and families are invited to create greeting cards, which will be used by the DRR on their weekly Homeless Outreach. Donations of snacks and toiletries to the Homeless Outreach can be made Thursday night, as well as contributions of coins to the group’s “CHANGE the World” project. Dirty Roots Revolution T-shirts and backpacks will be available for purchase.
“These meetings are always a good time,” said Mifflin. There’s music for everyone to enjoy, desserts to share, and lots of activities for everyone to do together. The kids love putting their coins in our “CHANGE the World” jug and families always have fun drawing the greeting cards. This really is just designed to be a fun time being together, to benefit a good cause.”
For information on Thursday night’s “Revolution through Community” event, contact Mifflin at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com or 618.267.5436. For information on the Dirty Roots Revolution visit the group online at www.DirtyRootsRevolution.com or view their Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/DirtyRootsRevolution.
INFORMATION ON THE MISSION TRIP PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
International Crisis Aid (ICA) is a St. Louis based international relief and development non-profit established in 2000. ICA's programs have reached out to thousands of children and families in need around the world. They are best known for rescuing young girls from the international sex trafficking industry. According to ICA, 1.2 million children are trafficked every year and every two minutes a child is prepared for exploitation. The average age of a trafficked victim is 11 to 14 years. ICA will share information on the work they do during a workshop as part of the mission trip. For more information, visit www.CrisisAid.org.
Project Restore is a humanitarian development and relief agency that supports, rehabilitates and enhances the quality of life and well being of individuals and communities across the world. Their areas of focus include clean water, education, hunger, and healthcare. The students on the mission trip will be presented with information on Project Restore and their efforts and will spend a day sorting textbooks for overseas distribution by the organization. For information on Project Restore, visit www.Project-Restore.org.
Lots of Drops is an informational organization founded by Dirty Roots Revolution volunteer and recent Greenville College graduate Catherine Weyers. Weyers compiled the website www.LotsOfDrops.org as the culmination of her departmental honors research on the Church’s response to the international water crisis. She became interested in this topic when she heard the statistic that every 10-15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness. Weyers will present information on the global clean water crisis and lead the group on a “Water Walk”. As part of the water walk, the group will walk one to two miles to the Mississippi River, where everyone will fill two water jugs and carry them back another one or two miles. The average person who lacks clean water must walk four to six miles to access water. One gallon of water weighs eight pounds and the average trip involves carrying 30 to 40 pounds worth of water. Young girls are typically responsible for carrying the water for their family and are unable to attend school because of this responsibility.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
A Tremendous Opportunity.....And We Need YOUR Help!!!
The Dirty Roots Revolution is pleased to welcome the high school youth group from the United Methodist Church in Columbia City, Indiana.
The group, consisting of about 20 students, six church volunteers, and 4 DRR volunteers, will spend a week carrying out a variety of service projects and learning about a variety of causes/issues.
We are being joined in this endeavor by Project Restore, Lots of Drops, and International Crisis Aid – three non-profit organizations doing work that we believe in and support every chance we get. Please see the bottom of this note for more info on each of them…
This is a tremendous opportunity for everyone involved. For the students, they’ll learn a lot and have the opportunity to make a difference with and for these groups in a tangible way. For the groups, they’ll have a new audience to share their mission with and they’ll benefit from some free labor for the week.
For the Dirty Roots Revolution it is a chance to share our message with a new audience. It is also a great way to test what may be a big part of our ministry as we move into the future.
A couple of physical needs have presented themselves as part of this endeavor. Would you please consider helping us with them?
1) One of the days we will stage a “water walk” for the kids. Access to clean water is one of the most pressing issues in our world today. 1 out of every 6 people on this earth lack access to clean drinking water. Thousands of them die each day from preventable diseases they caught from their water. A large percentage of the global population, are forced to walk a few miles to access water (not necessarily even clean water) and bring it back to their home. So…one day, everyone in our group will walk a mile with two empty gallon-sized milk jugs. We’ll reach the Mississippi River after the mile walk, fill the jugs with water, and walk back to our “home base”, each carrying two gallons of water. The event is carried out mostly silently, so participants can reflect on what the event represents
OUR NEED: We need MANY, MANY gallon-sized milk jugs (empty and clean, please).
2) We are FINALLY ready to renovate the garage at the home of DRR Director Ryan Mifflin. This garage space is already being used for DRR storage, but the renovation will allow us to have a more organized and useful space. We’ll keep all of the supplies for our weekly Homeless Outreach there, as well as all of our office supplies. We have a very generous supporter of the DRR who has donated time and materials to design and build shelving in the garage. The youth group will join us in Greenville for one day of their trip to help us with the renovation.
OUR NEED: We need several Rubbermaid-style storage totes to adequately organize our Homeless Outreach supplies.
If you can help with either of these needs, please bring your contributions to 615 East Oak St. by Sunday evening, July 4th.
We would GREATLY appreciate your prayers in association with this event. Please pray for a good week for everyone involved…Please pray for safety for everyone involved (including safe travels for the group from Indiana)…Please pray for the various ministries involved in the event – that they would be blessed by their involvement…Please pray for all of the participants – that their lives would be impacted as God wants…And please pray for what this event may mean for the DRR (again, endeavors like this could be an area we focus on as part of our future).
WE’D ALSO LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO OUR NEXT “REVOLUTION THROUGH COMMUNITY “ EVENT ON THUSDAY, JULY 8TH AT 7 P.M. IN THE GREENVILLE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH FAMILY LIFE CENTER. THAT EVENT WILL SERVE AS THE CONCLUSION TO OUR WEEK-LONG MISSION EVENT. WE’LL SHARE STORIES FROM THE WEEK AND MUCH MORE…..WE’LL HAVE MORE INFO COMING SOON.
INFO ON THE MINISTRIES HELPING US WITH THIS EVENT:
LOTS OF DROPS (www.LotsOfDrops.org)
Catherine Weyers is a Dirty Roots Revolution volunteer from the original days of the group. During her senior year at Greenville College, she compiled this website as the culmination of her departmental honors research on the Church’s response to the international water crisis. She became interested in this topic when she heard the statistic that every 10-15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness. As a soon-to-be medical student, she began to see the treatment and prevention of water-related diseases to be one of the most primitive and wide-scale opportunities in the medical field. Through time in the Scriptures, particularly in Matthew 25, the prophets, and throughout the gospels, she began to be challenged by God’s imperative that His people take care of those less fortunate than themselves. She hopes that by visiting this site, you are challenged by the staggering statistics and stories, and that you take the opportunity to be involved in the life-changing opportunity to provide life-giving water.
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS AID (www.CrisisAid.org)
International Crisis Aid's mission is to assist in sustaining life, bring encouragement to those suffering and collaborate with other relief organizations in bringing necessary foods, materials and medicines to people in times of crisis, particularly where life and death situations exist. Additionally, we attempt to bring public awareness to these situations and to solicit citizen involvement whenever and wherever possible. All assistance and resources are traditionally secured in the country of need when possible, so as to develop relations with the local business people and foster a true spirit of cooperation. Demonstrating God's love and care for people is our highest and most cherished goal. To accomplish this vision we will continue to target our efforts in "no-go zones" where other organizations cannot or will not go. Frequently this means taking on escalated risks. We feel that these risks are a small price to pay in a game where the stakes are so high: literally, life and death.
PROJECT RESTORE (www.project-restore.org)
Project Restore helps relieve the suffering and oppression that overwhelms underprivileged individuals and communities. By focusing on four key issues, we promote self-sustainable, prosperous communities here and around the world. Our four areas of focus are Clean Water, Education, Hunger, and Healthcare.
The group, consisting of about 20 students, six church volunteers, and 4 DRR volunteers, will spend a week carrying out a variety of service projects and learning about a variety of causes/issues.
We are being joined in this endeavor by Project Restore, Lots of Drops, and International Crisis Aid – three non-profit organizations doing work that we believe in and support every chance we get. Please see the bottom of this note for more info on each of them…
This is a tremendous opportunity for everyone involved. For the students, they’ll learn a lot and have the opportunity to make a difference with and for these groups in a tangible way. For the groups, they’ll have a new audience to share their mission with and they’ll benefit from some free labor for the week.
For the Dirty Roots Revolution it is a chance to share our message with a new audience. It is also a great way to test what may be a big part of our ministry as we move into the future.
A couple of physical needs have presented themselves as part of this endeavor. Would you please consider helping us with them?
1) One of the days we will stage a “water walk” for the kids. Access to clean water is one of the most pressing issues in our world today. 1 out of every 6 people on this earth lack access to clean drinking water. Thousands of them die each day from preventable diseases they caught from their water. A large percentage of the global population, are forced to walk a few miles to access water (not necessarily even clean water) and bring it back to their home. So…one day, everyone in our group will walk a mile with two empty gallon-sized milk jugs. We’ll reach the Mississippi River after the mile walk, fill the jugs with water, and walk back to our “home base”, each carrying two gallons of water. The event is carried out mostly silently, so participants can reflect on what the event represents
OUR NEED: We need MANY, MANY gallon-sized milk jugs (empty and clean, please).
2) We are FINALLY ready to renovate the garage at the home of DRR Director Ryan Mifflin. This garage space is already being used for DRR storage, but the renovation will allow us to have a more organized and useful space. We’ll keep all of the supplies for our weekly Homeless Outreach there, as well as all of our office supplies. We have a very generous supporter of the DRR who has donated time and materials to design and build shelving in the garage. The youth group will join us in Greenville for one day of their trip to help us with the renovation.
OUR NEED: We need several Rubbermaid-style storage totes to adequately organize our Homeless Outreach supplies.
If you can help with either of these needs, please bring your contributions to 615 East Oak St. by Sunday evening, July 4th.
We would GREATLY appreciate your prayers in association with this event. Please pray for a good week for everyone involved…Please pray for safety for everyone involved (including safe travels for the group from Indiana)…Please pray for the various ministries involved in the event – that they would be blessed by their involvement…Please pray for all of the participants – that their lives would be impacted as God wants…And please pray for what this event may mean for the DRR (again, endeavors like this could be an area we focus on as part of our future).
WE’D ALSO LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO OUR NEXT “REVOLUTION THROUGH COMMUNITY “ EVENT ON THUSDAY, JULY 8TH AT 7 P.M. IN THE GREENVILLE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH FAMILY LIFE CENTER. THAT EVENT WILL SERVE AS THE CONCLUSION TO OUR WEEK-LONG MISSION EVENT. WE’LL SHARE STORIES FROM THE WEEK AND MUCH MORE…..WE’LL HAVE MORE INFO COMING SOON.
INFO ON THE MINISTRIES HELPING US WITH THIS EVENT:
LOTS OF DROPS (www.LotsOfDrops.org)
Catherine Weyers is a Dirty Roots Revolution volunteer from the original days of the group. During her senior year at Greenville College, she compiled this website as the culmination of her departmental honors research on the Church’s response to the international water crisis. She became interested in this topic when she heard the statistic that every 10-15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness. As a soon-to-be medical student, she began to see the treatment and prevention of water-related diseases to be one of the most primitive and wide-scale opportunities in the medical field. Through time in the Scriptures, particularly in Matthew 25, the prophets, and throughout the gospels, she began to be challenged by God’s imperative that His people take care of those less fortunate than themselves. She hopes that by visiting this site, you are challenged by the staggering statistics and stories, and that you take the opportunity to be involved in the life-changing opportunity to provide life-giving water.
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS AID (www.CrisisAid.org)
International Crisis Aid's mission is to assist in sustaining life, bring encouragement to those suffering and collaborate with other relief organizations in bringing necessary foods, materials and medicines to people in times of crisis, particularly where life and death situations exist. Additionally, we attempt to bring public awareness to these situations and to solicit citizen involvement whenever and wherever possible. All assistance and resources are traditionally secured in the country of need when possible, so as to develop relations with the local business people and foster a true spirit of cooperation. Demonstrating God's love and care for people is our highest and most cherished goal. To accomplish this vision we will continue to target our efforts in "no-go zones" where other organizations cannot or will not go. Frequently this means taking on escalated risks. We feel that these risks are a small price to pay in a game where the stakes are so high: literally, life and death.
PROJECT RESTORE (www.project-restore.org)
Project Restore helps relieve the suffering and oppression that overwhelms underprivileged individuals and communities. By focusing on four key issues, we promote self-sustainable, prosperous communities here and around the world. Our four areas of focus are Clean Water, Education, Hunger, and Healthcare.
Friday, June 18, 2010
PRAY FOR THE DRR
A wise man told us not too long ago that if you‟re doing any kind of missions work, you need to have someone praying for you every sin-gle day. So that’s our goal.
As the DRR has grown and as we strive to fulfill our mission, we have come up against more and more obstacles, struggles, and even what we could fairly call persecution. The Bible tells us that when we do God‟s work, we will come under attack. And while this is tough, we consider it a sign that we‟re on the right track. A blessing, even. Still, we need to continually be in prayer that God would pour His Spirit out on this ministry. Most of all, we want to make sure we never take the reins on this endeavor. We work daily to make sure they stay in HIS hands.
We’re asking all willing revolutionaries to pick a specific day to pray for the DRR. It can be one day per week, one per month, multiple days, or every single day. If you're willing, please visit our Facebook page and add a comment too our "PRAY FOR THE DRR" note on the page. Please post the day(s) you select in the comment section below. Again, feel free to post a single day of the week or a specific date of the month.
If you are not on Facebook, you can send us an email with the day/date of your choice and we'll add it. If you prefer to remain anonymous, but want to make a commitment, please email it to us and we'll add "Anonymous" with your date on the Facebook note.
Our Facebook note is located at:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&suggest¬e_id=433790751022&id=94601137886
Our email address is: info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com
By posting this commitment publicly, we believe you will be sending an inspirational visual image for people who see this note and see the names and prayer commitments. We know it will be an inspiration to us. Above all, we know God will be glorified by it.
WHAT TO PRAY FOR:
Please pray for the leadership of the DRR. Our leadership consists of our director, Ryan Mifflin, and board members Chris Harnetiaux, Amber Mifflin, and Miranda Caulkins. Please lift them up by name.
Please pray for those we serve. This population mostly consists of homeless individuals in the St. Louis area, but also involves residents in the local nursing homes that we visit with through our Generations Project. Additionally, we serve people right here at home; by providing them with the knowledge that one person CAN make a difference in our world.
Pray that lives would be impacted and hearts would be changed as God sees fit.
Most of all, pray that He pour his Spirit out on this ministry and that His will be done.
OUR LIST OF PRAYER REQUESTS CHANGES ALL THE TIME. IF YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW SPECIFIC THINGS YOU CAN PRAY FOR, PLEASE CONTACT US AT INFO@DIRTYROOTSREVOLUTION.COM AND WE'LL BE GLAD TO FILL YOU IN!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT!
As the DRR has grown and as we strive to fulfill our mission, we have come up against more and more obstacles, struggles, and even what we could fairly call persecution. The Bible tells us that when we do God‟s work, we will come under attack. And while this is tough, we consider it a sign that we‟re on the right track. A blessing, even. Still, we need to continually be in prayer that God would pour His Spirit out on this ministry. Most of all, we want to make sure we never take the reins on this endeavor. We work daily to make sure they stay in HIS hands.
We’re asking all willing revolutionaries to pick a specific day to pray for the DRR. It can be one day per week, one per month, multiple days, or every single day. If you're willing, please visit our Facebook page and add a comment too our "PRAY FOR THE DRR" note on the page. Please post the day(s) you select in the comment section below. Again, feel free to post a single day of the week or a specific date of the month.
If you are not on Facebook, you can send us an email with the day/date of your choice and we'll add it. If you prefer to remain anonymous, but want to make a commitment, please email it to us and we'll add "Anonymous" with your date on the Facebook note.
Our Facebook note is located at:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&suggest¬e_id=433790751022&id=94601137886
Our email address is: info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com
By posting this commitment publicly, we believe you will be sending an inspirational visual image for people who see this note and see the names and prayer commitments. We know it will be an inspiration to us. Above all, we know God will be glorified by it.
WHAT TO PRAY FOR:
Please pray for the leadership of the DRR. Our leadership consists of our director, Ryan Mifflin, and board members Chris Harnetiaux, Amber Mifflin, and Miranda Caulkins. Please lift them up by name.
Please pray for those we serve. This population mostly consists of homeless individuals in the St. Louis area, but also involves residents in the local nursing homes that we visit with through our Generations Project. Additionally, we serve people right here at home; by providing them with the knowledge that one person CAN make a difference in our world.
Pray that lives would be impacted and hearts would be changed as God sees fit.
Most of all, pray that He pour his Spirit out on this ministry and that His will be done.
OUR LIST OF PRAYER REQUESTS CHANGES ALL THE TIME. IF YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW SPECIFIC THINGS YOU CAN PRAY FOR, PLEASE CONTACT US AT INFO@DIRTYROOTSREVOLUTION.COM AND WE'LL BE GLAD TO FILL YOU IN!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT!
Friday, June 4, 2010
JOIN US FOR A PRAYER VIGIL TO LIFT UP OIL SPILL CRISIS
REVOLUTIONARIES: This event has come together very quickly. Once the idea came up, all of the pieces fell into place and we felt it was important to move ahead with this. Given the short time frame, we need YOUR help in spreading the word. Please share this information with your churches, your family, your friends, and anyone else you'd want to invite. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A PRINTABLE PDF FILE OF THE FLYER SHOWN BELOW, CONTACT ME AT INFO@DIRTYROOTSREVOLUTION.COM OR 618.267.5436.
Thank you,
Ryan Mifflin, Director
The Dirty Roots Revolution has announced a prayer vigil, held to offer prayers for the ongoing oil spill crisis in the Gulf Coast. The event will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday evening, June 10th on the south lawn of the Bond County Courthouse.
Dirty Roots Revolution Director Ryan Mifflin explained, “This gathering is being held to lift up this devastating situation in prayer. We will pray for the affected environment and wildlife, for the workers who have become ill, those who have lost their livelihood, and for those involved in the cleanup.”
“This gathering will not be political in any way,” said Mifflin. “We won’t be laying blame, complaining about the situation, or discussing how anyone feels it should be handled. We believe it’s gone past the point of blame and arguing and we want to collectively be in prayer; that something would be done and whatever is done would be swift and effective. The impact from this disaster is huge.”
The prayer vigil is a non-denominational gathering and everyone is invited to attend.
“We promise to have the event concluded by 6:30, so folks have plenty of time to get a spot at the Municipal Band concert at the library at 7 p.m.,” said Mifflin.
For more information on the Dirty Roots Revolution’s oil spill prayer vigil contact Ryan Mifflin at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com or 618.267.5436.
The Dirty Roots Revolution is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with the knowledge that one person CAN make a difference. The group conducts a weekly homeless outreach trip to St. Louis, a nursing home partnership project in Greenville, and many other events. To find out more, visit the Dirty Roots Revolution online at www.DirtyRootsRevolution.com or visit their Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/DirtyRootsRevolution.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A Case for Revolution, Through Abraham & Isaac
God works in mysterious ways.
We all know that. We’ve all been able to look back on something and totally see how He intervened or made something happen. We’ve all asked for ABC, but got XYZ…later realizing that XYZ was, indeed, what we needed after all.
To borrow a line from one of my very favorite songs: Well, God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son”. Abe said, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on!” God said, “No”. Abe say, “What???” God said, “You can do what you want, Abe, but the next time you see me comin’, you’d better run!!!” (“Highway 61 Revisited”, by Bob Dylan)
You know the story…Abraham and his wife Sarah wanted a child so badly for a long time. When they FINALLY (and believe me, their “finally” was WAAAAY longer than any “finally” you or I will ever experience) had a son, God wants them to do what????? He wants Abraham to sacrifice him. K-I-L-L H-I-M.
Murder is wrong, right? But, so is disobeying God. And you think you’re facing conundrums in your life!!! At the last second, of course, God, realizing that Abraham is so willing to seek God’s will that he’ll even take his own child’s life, tells Abraham not to. Because He knows now that Abe WAS WILLING TO GO THE DISTANCE. For God.
I’ve been talking a lot with the college students in our ministry lately about things that are happening in the world. In a nutshell, it seems to me that people seem to be waking up to God’s calling. As the Bible says will happen, when we do that (seek God, do his work), Satan wakes up, too.
I’m going to take a tangent here, to provide some background, but I promise I do have a point…
I have a theory that for the most part, Satan leaves us (well-off, modern Western believers) alone. Why would he waste his time? We’re comfortable. Nothing really shakes us into action. Or shakes us into a dependency of leaning on God. We have everything we need at WalMart. In the grand scheme of things, we aren’t “needing for” anything. At all. So as long as we plod along and follow the American dream, I feel Satan leaves us to it.
He busies himself where his efforts are truly needed: Places like Africa and other third world places, where Christians are living radically. Where they MUST cry out to God, call on Him, lean on Him fully, and depend on Him for everything they do. To be a Christian in America doesn’t mean much. I’m not bashing America, but the very freedom that we all (myself included) love so much, means that we don’t have to take much of a “stand” for our faith. Now, in Africa, Asia, India, and lots of other places, Christians DO have to take a stand. And in many cases, the consequence is death. THAT is the place Satan wants/needs to put his efforts.
But…as I said…I feel we are waking up to what we’re supposed to be doing. I have a little bit. I’m not saying I’m “making the stand” or doing anything significant. But the Dirty Roots Revolution is a collective effort that started organically with a bunch of folks going out and making a difference for Christ. And good HAS come of it. Lives have been touched.
On one particular day (see Alexander’s Story on our blog), I think the world was actually altered by all of the goodness flying around. While I knew something beautiful had happened, I didn’t expect negative repercussions.
I now realize that all of that goodness that happened (several innocent bystanders were nudged into positive action because of Alexander’s story)…a little apathy was defeated that day. People got involved and DID good. And, Satan, while he was busy with something that “mattered”, snapped to attention and said, “WHAT was THAT????”
I take no credit for this. In fact, I didn’t even realize these things until later.
Ever since that day, things have been harder for the DRR. We’ve struggled more. We’ve run into more roadblocks. But, we’ve also been more and more blessed.
We’ve become a target for Christians who are angry that we’re encouraging folks to reach out to “the least of these”.
Alexander – the homeless man we were able to get new glasses for – was attacked the week after we got the glasses. For the sake of time and space, I won’t go into the details (but would be willing to talk to you about the situation). We were originally told the new glasses were broken. After a LOT of stress, prayer, running around, etc., we FINALLY learned, about two weeks later, that what during the attack, Alexander’s bag was stolen. When the thief saw the glasses, he found someone who knew Alexander and returned them. He kept the bag, but returned the glasses. We were devastated by the original news, but lifted it up. And God worked.
At the same time these negative things were happening (which were ALL happening at the same time, by the way), I was asked to speak for about six different organizations and churches over the course of about four days. I was asked to speak to youth ministers at the AgapeFest. I was invited to share the DRR message on the main stage at Agape in front of about 5,000 people.
With the action came two attacks. Through the attacks we prayed. We were blessed.
My point here is that God’s children are waking up. But that means Satan will, too. I used to hear people say “Satan did this or that” and it bothered me. A college student once told me in frustration, “I’m sick, I’m stressed, I’m busy, I have too much homework, I’m behind, and now, this morning I tried to print a paper and my printer broke. The devil is attacking me!” That’s giving Satan a little more credit than I’m comfortable with. I don’t think that situation is the devil…that’s just a crummy day in an imperfect world.
Again…when we wake up…Satan will wake up. This is happening everywhere. College students are coming back from missions trips and telling me that the work of the DRR is being echoed by small groups across the globe! This is amazing!!!
But we must realize, when we wake up and do God’s work, there will be trouble. Jesus Himself said people wouldn’t get it. People would not like it.
But He told us we’d be blessed by it. We do good…we may experience troubles…we give those up to God…we lean on Him…we pray. And blessings will come our way, too. To sustain us through the hard times.
I pray for peace now more than I ever have. Not answers. Not even comfort. Not for deliverance. Just peace. Peace.Peace.Peace. Peace just for today.
As promised, here is my point…
Six of the students in our college group have been planning for many months to travel to Ethiopia with a group called International Crisis Aid. ICA is most known for rescuing girls across the globe from the hells of sex trafficking. Our friends on this trip will have a bit of that experience, as well as working in a medical clinic, an orphanage, etc. Their hearts are IN this. They fell called/led to go. They WANT to go.
Then the word came that there was a mistake and there weren’t enough folks signed up to go. So it was put on hold. They were told only a miracle could make it happen.
But word came in later on, that they WERE going to be able to go. Miracle! They resumed fundraising efforts, now with an even tighter deadline. They had a lot to raise.
The trip is right around the corner and everything was almost ready. They got a call about two hours ago, saying the trip was off. This time for good. The United States has declared Ethiopia unsafe due to a potentially volatile election wherein they’re expecting riots, etc.
These kids will NOT be going to Ethiopia.
And while they’re all broken-hearted about it, keep thinking it’s yet ANOTHER “Abraham & Isaac” story. I’ve heard SO many of these over the last couple of months. “We thought God wanted this…”, “God put it in our hearts and we worked so hard for Him…”, “We cried out to God and He moved, but then things changed…”.
The DRR even had a situation present itself that we thought would be HUGE for our future. A real answer to prayer. And it fell apart in our hands. Not for lack of trying or praying. It just wasn’t right. For whatever reason. God knows.
In all of these various situations I’m thinking of, folks involved didn’t do anything wrong. Quite the opposite. They did what they were called to do. Many times against great odds. They lifted the situations up to God. I can tell you personally, with the DRR, we prayed that God would take this situation and do what he wants. It’s scary to do that. and it’s painful when you do and then it doesn’t work.
The people involved in all of these situations I’m thinking of were left feeling empty when God seemingly switched gears on them.
But…my thought right now, and my question is, “What if God is getting us ready?”
I’m not what you’d call a super-“charismatic” Christian. But my experiences lately have nudged me a weency bit more in that direction. When I speak for the DRR I always say that it doesn’t take an expert to know that things are just flat wrong in our world. They’re “off”. Things are NOT right.
I said to our college group once that I felt their generation was going to make the world better. One of them corrected me – rightfully so – and reminded me that, biblically speaking, the “world” IS going to keep getting worse. BUT…the chasm between the good and the bad, the light and the dark, is going to get wider. And THAT is good. She knew what I was getting at, but I needed to rephrase: The world will get worse. But…those who truly seek the Lord are going to have to stand up and REALLY seek Him. To cry out for Him. To give it all up for him. Scary stuff, to be sure. But GOOD stuff. What HE intended all along.
I’m not alleging we’re in the end-times. I figure those started the day Jesus went to Heaven. That’s not my concern right now.
But “hot and cold” is the concern. If we’re going to say we’re “hot”….we have to live “hot”. And we have to expect trouble.
So, what if this is where we are? I’ve talked to so many people who have echoed these thoughts. So many people have affirmed that they feel this “darkness”, too. I don’t know what else to call it or how else to define it. There’s just a “darkness”.
But there’s also light. And I feel that the countless “Abraham & Isaac” moments that my friends are experiencing, are, for lack of a better term, “getting them ready”. For what? For…something.
Maybe this is how God whittles us down…refines us. Maybe this is how He helps us see what’s important. For those six students…this Ethiopia trip is important. One of them has already told me, “I know I’m going…I just don’t know when”.
For some, maybe this is how God shows us what is NOT important. What we’re willing to sacrifice or live without. Using the Ethiopia example, maybe some of the students gave up something in order to save money for their trip. Maybe now they know they can live without whatever that was.
Or maybe everyone going through these “Abraham & Isaac” experiences is just supposed to realize that they’re awake now and CAN NOT go back to sleep.
I’m pretty sure weird times are ahead. I’m pretty sure we’re going to enter a period of time where what is right and moral is not necessarily the same thing as what is accepted or common (or maybe even legal?).
You’ve heard me say that we’ve taken the claws of the lion before. Jesus is the lion. And we’ve made him “easily digestible”. We did that so people wouldn’t fear Him. But…he is NOT easily digestible.
Everything is upside down in the Kingdom of our God. Poor means rich. Death means life. Last means first. Sacrifice means gain.
As a society we put so much value in being “counter-cultural”. NOTHING is more revolutionary or counter-cultural than following Jesus. Nothing. And while the “counter-cultural” stuff we seek out (which is mass produced, by the way…duh!) is pretty much generally accepted, being counter-cultural the Jesus way WILL . PISS . PEOPLE . OFF.
There is no more delicate way to say that. But I believe it’s the truth. THE GOVERNMENT DIDN’T WANT TO KILL JESUS. THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS DID. Weird times. And that’s not just a crazy story…That was Jesus. Our King. Our example. The One we’re supposed to strive to be like.
One of the characters in the “Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe” (Mr. Beaver, I think?) said, “Safe??? Ooooh, make no mistake He is NOT safe. He IS good….but He is N-O-T safe.”
Get your armor ready, friends.
EPHESIANS 6:10-20
FINAL POST FROM BRITNEY'S SOUTH AMERICA TRIP
Britney Villhauer is a senior at Greenville College and is one of the original members of what became the Dirty Roots Revolution. Britney has an amazing heart for God's people and desires not only to make a difference in this world for Christ, but also to get to know all kinds of different people as much as possible. She's spent many summers in Guatemala and spent this past semester in various points throughout South America. She's graciously provides us blog posts during her journeys and here is the final one. Thanks, Britney!!!
-Ryan Mifflin, DRR Director
I am back in the US now. I arrived home April 29th and I have been kind of sulking ever since. I am so sad that this semester is over because it really was the best semester of my life. I learned so much! I feel more on fire now than I ever have before about making a difference in the world.
My 10 day practicum on the Kekoldi Indigenous Reserve was great. It was quite challenging to try to embrace a culture that is so different from mine. They are MUCH more laid back and slow paced. But they are also very hard workers. I got to help out with taking care of the iguanas in their iguana conservation project. I also learned a lot about medicinal plants, how to live in harmony with the forest, and how to make use of the forest without exploiting it. I learned a lot about the Bribri culture and I even learned a little of their language. It was really interesting to learn about this reality that I have never seen before.
Then I joined back up with the rest of the group to head to Cuba for 10 days. I bet I could have stayed there the whole semester and I would have never run out of questions. It is such a complex, interesting, amazing place!
It was really cool to learn about Cuba from a Cuban perspective because when we've learned about it in school it has always been from a US perspective. Cuba has always been “the evil commies”. But this unique opportunity allowed us to interact with the Cuban people and hear their perspective on politics, economics, and social justice issues. It is not all bad!
The fact that everyone has free health care and education all the way through the university just blew my mind! Imagine if I could have gotten all of my treatments for free! And no one would have college loans! And Cuba is the safest place in the western hemisphere. That was something they were very proud of. Multiple people mentioned the fact that they never have school shootings in Cuba. It is illegal for people to have guns. We might see this as taking away their right to bear arms, but it also grants the people freedom in safety. Like I said: very complex. It's all about your perspective. Basically everyone we talked to did say that the mixed economy of Cuba needed to take on a little more capitalism in order to balance it out better. People are frustrated that they can not raise their standard of living above a certain level. We had the opportunity to live with host families in Cuba and see what their day to day life is like. We had a meeting at the Ministry of Education, the National Assembly for the People's Power with a Cuban Parliament member, we went to the International school of medicine where foreigners are able to become doctors for free, we had talks with an economist, participated in community outreach activities... And we went to THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACH IN THE WORLD! Our trip to Cuba was legal because we obtained a license from the US treasury department. What an incredible time I had!
Returning to the US was super hard. I was so sad to say goodbye to people who have impacted me so much. But I am very thankful for everything I have learned and I am excited to be able to share some new perspective with people back at home. Thanks for supporting me this semester. I really appreciate your thoughts and prayers. Next adventure: GRADUATION!
Love, Britney
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
PRAYER MEETING TONIGHT
Revolutionaries:
I’ve had a heavy heart today, for many various reasons. The DRR has been growing. Because of that, we’ve had many “growing pains”. We’ve also had many challenges, unrelated to that growth. More on these matters later.
I’ve been wanting to start a larger-scale “Pray for the DRR” initiative, but wasn’t sure how to do it. More on this later, too.
I’ve been sitting at my desk, trying to focus, and simultaneously struggling through these things. I read two blog posts by one of our board members, Miranda, and they pushed me to the point of tears. With nothing left to do, I closed my office door, laid with my face on the floor, and begged God to do SOMEthing. To take all of this and do what He wants with it.
I’ve been thinking of holding a DRR “prayer meeting” the last few days, but it never felt right.
And this morning, while I was crying out to God, with no lead-up and no apparent reason, I saw a circle of people, holding hands, praying under my carport.
I can’t argue with that.
Tonight at 8:15 p.m., I’d like to invite you to the Dirty Roots Revolution HQ (a.k.a “My Garage”). I’ll fill you in on some of what we’ve been facing and we’ll pray together for the DRR, for those we serve, for our leadership, etc. It’s fitting that the location is the site of an upcoming project, wherein we hope to convert my garage into office/storage space for the DRR to make us more efficient and effective. We can ask for blessings on that, too.
This is a “first” for us, but we ask that if you’re available and interested, to please join us. We will cry out to God to ask His blessing on the efforts of the DRR, His guidance for our leadership, and most of all for His will be done.
This is short-notice. But our board feels that this is of the utmost urgency for us. We don’t have time to plan, we feel we must do this now. More than anything else, we're in need of prayer now.
This is a come-and-go event. If you’re late, just join the group. If you need to leave, just slip away. You can stay the entire time, or for five minutes.
If you can’t make it, please pray from your home or wherever you are. Lift up the DRR as a group, lift up our volunteers, lift up those we serve, lift up our leadership. Pray for clarity, strength, unity, etc. MOST OF ALL, PRAY THAT GOD WOULD SHOW US WHAT HE WANTS AND THAT WE RECEIVE THAT MESSAGE AND PUT WHATEVER HE WANTS INTO ACTION.
We’ll consider this the official start of the “Pray for the DRR” initiative. You’ll hear a lot more about that possibly as early as tonight, but definitely in the next day or so.
Thank you so very much.
Thanks to each of you for your interest in and support of the Dirty Roots Revolution. One person CAN make a difference through small things. One of the “easy” actions we can take is prayer. Thank you for your prayers. Each on of you matters and each one of your prayers matter. Those who pray are just as revolutionary as those who “give” and/or “go”. That is our one true constant need.
We hope to see you tonight, even if only for a while. Again, if you can’t make it, please feel free to pray on your own.
In it with you,
Ryan Mifflin
Director, Dirty Roots Revolution
Thursday, April 29, 2010
A SHIRT FOR YOU...A SHIRT FOR YOUR HOMELESS BROTHER/SISTER
Luke 3.11 says, “John answered, ‘The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same’”.
One of our volunteers, Greenville High School student Sam Filby, came to us with an idea: Sell T-shirts to promote the DRR and for each T-shirt we sell, we also donate one to one of our homeless brothers and sisters on the streets in St. Louis during our weekly Homeless Outreach. So, we’re doing just that!
3.11 Project T-shirts are available in charcoal gray men’s or women’s styles, sizes Small through 3XL. Men’s T-shirts are $20 and women’s are $25. Each T-shirt sold will provide you with a shirt AND will cover the expense of one that will go to a homeless individual. You can also submit a personal note, which will be delivered to your homeless brother/sister along with your shirt.
We’re taking orders through the end of the day May 9th. We’ll turn the order in May 10th and have T-shirts back and ready for you to pick up on Friday, May 14th.
TO PLACE AN ORDER FOR A 3.11 T-SHIRT, PLEASE EMAIL US AT INFO@DIRTYROOTSREVOLUTION.COM OR CALL 618.267.5436. PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED PRIOR TO THE ORDER BEING PLACED ON MAY 10TH.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
New Ways to Support the DRR
Revolutionaries:
We have a few events coming up and we need YOUR help in staffing them!
1) Agape Fest. The annual Agape Fest is Friday, April 30th and Saturday, May 1st at the Bond County Fairgrounds. DRR is one of the featured charities there and we will have a booth. We need smiling faces to greet folks, tell them about the DRR, and sell T-shirts and backpacks. We need folks to work in shifts. If you are going to be at the Agape Fest already, feel free to sign up. If you’re not planning on attending already, we can get you in free – but only for your shift. THIS IS A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SPREAD THE WORD ON THE DRR!!!!
2) Homeless Outreach on May 1st. Most folks involved in our weekly Homeless Outreach will not be available for that trip on Saturday, May 1st (DRR officials will be working at Agape and most of our college-age volunteers will be attending Agape). If you have gone on previous trips, it would be especially beneficial for us to have some experienced volunteers.
3) BBQ Fundraisers. We’d like to start hosting fundraising BBQs at Capri IGA in Greenville. These are fairly easy events and are good fundraisers for groups like us. We have two thoughts on this: One…we could form an actual committee of volunteers who can organize the BBQs as often as once a month. Two…we can just schedule events and solicit volunteers for each one individually. If we do a “committee”, we’ll need to have a leader of that committee.
If any of these opportunities appeal to you, please contact me ASAP! You can email me at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com, call me at 618.267.5436, or reach me through Facebook.
***If you’re interested in AGAPE FEST, please give me specific info of when you’re willing to work, how long, etc.
***If you’re interested in helping with the HOMELESS OUTREACH on May 1st, just let me know and I’ll get you the details you need.
***If you’re interested in helping with the BBQ FUNDRAISERS, let me know your thoughts and if you want to help, to lead the committee, etc.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO FOR THE DRR!!!!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Get Your DRR Backpack - Just $8 Each!!!
The Dirty Roots Revolution is selling draw-string backpacks for just $ 8 each! Show your love for the DRR with this handy item.
We have these on hand, so contact us at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com or 618.267.5436 and we'll arrange the transaction!
The specific info:
These 110-gram non-woven polypropelene bags measure 16.5" X 13" when laid flat and have a spacious interior compartment.
YOU Have Blessed Derrick!
During our weekly Homeless Outreach on April 10th, I asked some of our homeless friends if it would be a benefit to them if we started bringing a nurse with us once a month. I thought a nurse could dress wounds, tend to other issues, and advise our brothers and sisters on the street how to deal with whatever health concerns they may have. The answer was a definite “yes”. So we will work towards that.
About halfway through our outreach trip that day, our dear friend Alexander (remember the glasses story?) told informed me that Derrick was “really falling out” (prison/street slang for “in bad shape”). Derrick is most likely in his sixties and walks with a cane. He also has diabetes, which is an extremely common ailment of the homeless folks we serve. He wasn’t feeling very well, but didn’t exhibit any symptoms that were overly-alarming to anyone. Alexander walked with him to where Derrick’s sister stayed, so he could be with her. (Note: We didn’t say ‘Derrick’s sister’s home’ or ‘where she lived’. The term among the homeless community is ‘where they STAY’).
This past Saturday, Derrick was the first person I visited with on our Homeless Outreach. He came up to me and immediately said, “Did you bring your nurse with you today?” I told him that we hadn’t gotten that lined up yet and it would take some time, but I could see in his eyes that something was wrong and he was scared. His diabetes had gotten much worse and he hadn’t been able to obtain the necessary medicine. Alexander had been keeping an eye on him again and Derrick’s stomach was become very bloated.
Derrick had been able to qualify for unemployment benefits for a time and could rely on that to help him pay for medication. However, those benefits had run out and with it went all of his income. I wonder if he could qualify for disability, but that is an unbelievably arduous and extremely lengthy process for our homeless brothers and sisters to go through. Most are denied.
At any rate, Derrick informed me that he was in pretty bad shape. My wife and I spent a couple of hours with him and Alexander, exploring our options to get him the help he needed.
No doctor or emergency room would see him. His case wasn’t “emergent” and unless it’s an emergency situation, doctors and ERs don’t have to provide care. He couldn’t pay, so they couldn’t (scratch that…wouldn’t) take him.
This is not a statement on healthcare. But the simple fact is that this man needed insulin and until he was in worse shape (foaming at the mouth, perhaps, as some of our diabetic homeless friends have been found doing), he was not going to receive traditional medical care.
I spent some time in the St. Louis Public Library, trying to locate any sort of clinic that might help. Every single one of them was closed on Saturdays. I found programs that might help with payment for medication. Closed on Saturdays. I asked him if we could call the physician he sees and have his prescription sent to a nearby Schnucks, where we could get him generic meds at a lower rate. He sees his physician at a clinic which is closed on Saturdays.
We finally accepted the fact that, barring an unfortunate medical catastrophe, Derrick was not going to get his medication over the weekend. We found out that he takes ten different types of medication for his diabetes. To get all of them would be about $50. To get just the insulin would be approximately $30. It’s $15 to see the doctor, which is a required to get the prescriptions.
Derrick had scraped enough money together to see the doctor late last week, but had no money for the medication. We asked if he could promise to meet us at a specific time Monday, so we could get him to his clinic. He said he could. And Alexander said he’d stick with Derrick until Monday and would go with him and us to the clinic.
After some more investigating, I found two regular DRR volunteers, Jonas and Hannah, who were willing to drive to St. Louis and get Derrick to the clinic. We sent them with the $50 today. As I type this, I just received a text from Hannah saying they had just met Derrick and Alexander and were on their way.
We left the information on financial assistance for prescriptions with Alexander and Derrick. Alexander promised to go through the info with Derrick and see what he might qualify for.
The DRR cannot purchase medicine for all of our homeless friends. And we cannot purchase it regularly for Derrick. We told him this had to be a one-time thing. A stop-gap measure. And we asked him to keep it to himself that it was us who provided the funding for the medicine. He understood.
However, we could not in good consciousness turn our back on this need. It was obvious to my completely untrained eye that Derrick was in pretty bad shape. My grandfather has diabetes and his belly blows up sometimes, too. He has to have the fluid drained from it regularly. Maybe that’s what Derrick needs. Either way, I feel confident in saying that if we didn’t get his insulin soon, he would have died.
The DRR has just come through a very tough financial time. In the 4 days prior to this Homeless Outreach trip, we had received a few donations that helped us regain some more secure footing. I do not believe it to be a coincidence that we had received these gifts just prior to this need arising.
This is what your support allows us to do. We purchase small toiletry items and small snacks and distribute those every Saturday. But those things aren’t the point. They’re items we can use to make connections with folks. And once those connections are made and relationships develop, that’s when our ministry begins.
A few months ago, we were able to bless Alexander with a new pair of glasses, which he was in dire need of (through this, we discovered that he has severe glaucoma, which we’re looking into treatment options for…so please keep Alexander in your prayers).
Now, we have provided Derrick with medication when he desperately needs it. YOU make it possible for us to meet these needs, to minister to these folks, to make a difference in their lives.
We don’t take on expenses such as this very often, but when it’s the right thing to do, we do it.
If you would like to support the Dirty Roots Revolution, or if you’d like to give specifically to this cause, to offset the expenses associated with Derrick’s medicine, you can send your gift to:
Dirty Roots Revolution
C/O: Ryan Mifflin
615 East Oak St.
Greenville, IL 62246
You can also contribute online through our website: www.DirtyRootsRevolution.com.
If you have questions or would like to discuss with me ways to support the DRR, please do not hesitate to email me at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com or call me at 618.267.5436.
If you are a nurse or any other type of medical personnel, and are interested in accompanying the DRR to St. Louis occasionally, please contact me to discuss possibilities.
Thank you for your support. Whether you give finances and/or materials for us to distribute on the Homeless Outreach, whether you go on the outreach trips, or whether you lift our group up in prayer, you are involved in making a difference in the lives of many people!
One final thought. As Derrick and Alexander were preparing to leave our outreach site Saturday morning, I was visiting with a few other folks who had come by. Alexander asked me if he could interrupt me for just a moment. I said, “Sure”. He wanted to be sure him and I and Derrick prayed together before we left each other for the week.
So, with arms around each other, we prayed. We all prayed for the well-being of everyone on the street. Alexander and I prayed for Derrick and that God would sustain him until Monday. I thanked God (and still do) that Alexander was there to help Derrick.
And Derrick thanked God for the DRR and the blessing we promised to provide him.
Thank you for what you do to make that possible.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
We Need YOUR Help!
World-Changers:
It is unusual – or at the very least we try to make sure it is infrequent – that we contact our membership, solely to ask for financial contributions. We always spread the word on our financial need in a general sense, a necessity for a charitable organization. But try not to approach you frequently with specific requests for donations.
However, today, I approach each friend of the Revolution, humbly asking each of you to consider a gift to the DRR. Like all non-profits, our existence is filled with financial challenges and for the first time in a year, our funds are simply depleted. We are exploring every opportunity to raise money, but we must keep some funds in the bank to fulfill our mission.
Our organization is 100% volunteer-driven. Outside of standard operating expenses (which we strive to keep at a minimum), every penny donated to the DRR goes directly toward our mission of empowering individuals with the knowledge that one person CAN make a difference and providing them with opportunities to be involved in making that difference. We prayerfully seek to be good stewards of the resources you bless us with.
Your belief in our cause, your ongoing support, and the generosity you’ve demonstrated to us over the past year are truly and greatly appreciated. Please consider a gift to support the DRR at this time.
For your convenience you can donate online at www.DirtyRootsRevolution.com or contribute your spare change through our CHANGE the World program – an easy way to give without even touching your bank account.
For more information or to discuss additional ways to support the DRR, please contact me directly at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com or 618-267-5436.
Sincerely yours,
C. Ryan Mifflin
Director
Please note the Dirty Roots Revolution is a non-profit organization. However, financial contributions to the Dirty Roots Revolution are NOT tax-deductible at this time.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Changes to the DRR Homeless Outreach (Effective Saturday, April 10th)
Revolutionaries:
We are writing to notify you of some changes in our weekly Homeless Outreach that will go into effect THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 10TH.
Some of the changes will be explained in full detail Saturday morning. For now, the info you need to know is:
1) Volunteers attending the Homeless Outreach will now gather at the Dirty Roots Revolution HQ (otherwise known as the garage adjacent to DRR Director Ryan Mifflin’s house). The HQ is located at 615 East Oak St. in Greenville, two-and-a-half blocks east of Greenville College on Oak St. The meeting spot is marked with a DRR yard sign. This will be the permanent meeting spot – unless otherwise announced.
2) Anyone attending a DRR Homeless Outreach MUST attend an orientation session. These will be held weekly at 9:45 a.m., prior to the departure of the Outreach group at 10 a.m. Orientations will be held at the DRR HQ. You only have to attend once.
3) Anyone under the age of 18 attending a DRR Homeless Outreach must have written consent from their parents. Contact us at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com and we’ll send you the form in advance.
Please forward this information to your friends who may be interested. Again, these changes to into effect THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 10TH. If you’re planning on attending the Homeless Outreach that day, plan to attend the orientation session at 9:45 at DRR HQ.
Thanks so much!
-Ryan
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Semester in Costa Rica - by DRR Member Britney Villhauer
Britney Villhauer is a charter member of the Dirty Roots Revolution. She is a Greenville College student, conducting an internship in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We occasionally share updates she sends us, to highlight global issues and to share ways that DRR revolutionaries are letting their lights shine to make a difference all over the world.
-Ryan Mifflin
For the past two weeks I have been trying to settle all of the issues and resolve all of the problems that have contributed to the political divisions, violence, and extreme poverty that plague Nicaragua today. … I have not come up with an answer yet. It is very frustrating for me when I am trying to save the world but I can’t. My recent trip to Nicaragua was an amazing experience although (or maybe because) it has shaken up my world and turned things upside-down on me. Things are not so black and white anymore and I have to admit I am not entirely comfortable with this new spectrum – reality. I can confidently report a very insightful and eye-opening experience in Nicaragua though it may not have been conformational on what is “good” and “bad.”
Our group spent the first couple of days in Managua (the capital city) having discussions and presentations on history and current issues. We even had a guest speaker Antonio Lacayo, a previous minister of the presidency during Violeta Chamorro’s term directly following the Sananista revolution. It was so amazing to be able to discuss the political future of Nicaragua with such an influential figure and he was very informative. I am so excited that we had that opportunity!!
We also visited a church in Managua that is experiencing a lot of division due to political issues. The church is covered with murals that depict God’s participation in the world today that is being challenged by more conservative religious leaders. But I have to say, that was the most beautiful church I have ever seen in my life. The indigenous murals were so symbolic and moving.
We also visited a protest community of previous banana plantation workers. They are struggling to receive legal compensation for health concerns caused by a harmful chemical that the banana corporations knowingly used, Nemagon. Google it if you have time and are interested. This group suffers from cancer and sterility because the banana plantations wanted a cheaper product, even though this chemical was already banned in the US because of its known side effects.
After our chat with the leaders of the group, we were given some free time to walk around and tour the village of shacks. I had the opportunity to sit in a hut with some men while they were making beans and have a very powerful conversation with them. It was the most amazing experience of my whole trip to Nicaragua. I was able to connect with these men who were suffering under terrible conditions and we spent a good while joking around and getting to know each other. It was such a blessing to me that I can’t describe, but I will never forget it.
Then we were divided up in small groups to live in communities each with our own host families. I was in León , Nicaragua . It was fun to be able to spend time with families and see how they live their lives. They do a lot of sitting around! It was kind of difficult for me to be patient.
I was with a poor family; the pastor, actually, and I don’t have any idea how they are able to support themselves. They get outside help from sponsorships. But a lack of jobs is a problem that many people in Nicaragua are facing. They cannot support themselves because there are no job opportunities available. It’s not that they aren’t willing to work; they don’t have the opportunity to work.
After our home stays we got together again in Granada, which is a beautiful, touristy area of Nicaragua. My favorite part of our stay there was a boat tour that we took of the islands on Lake Nicaragua. We were visited by a wild spider monkey that boarded our boat, looking for food! It was pretty amazing!
Now that I am back in San Jose, I have a couple of days for spring break before our classes begin again. I am using this time to relax and rejuvenate for another hard two weeks of classes before I start my biology classes. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. I really miss everyone a lot and I am especially sad that I am missing my last semester at Greenville. But this is an amazing experience and I am so happy to be here.
MY NIGHT LIVING HOMELESS - by DRR Member Ethan Plumier
Ethan Plumier is a DRR member, a student at Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln, IL, and my cousin. Below is an excerpt from his journal, detailing a 24-hour period he spent living as a homeless person. NOTE: THE DECISION TO VOLUNTARILY LIVE HOMELESS WAS MADE BY ETHAN ALONE – WITH NO ENCOURAGEMENT OR INFLUENCE FROM THE DRR. WE BELIEVE THIS STORY IS WORTH SHARING, BUT AGAIN, THE DRR DOES NOT ENCOURAGE INVIDIAULS TO TAKE THIS ACTION. ANYONE TAKING SUCH ACTION IS DOING SO WITHOUT THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE DIRTY ROOTS REVOLUTION.
-Ryan Mifflin
Things are messed up. They have been, and unless we get up and do something, they will continue to be.
The sheer number that makes up the homeless nation of the U.S. and the treatment of said people makes me sick to my stomach.
I am a student at Lincoln Christian University and recently I heard a message given on teaching with authority and teaching by example. In this message the speaker was talking about his granddaughter and her knack for distributing her mother's authority and following her mother's example. She walked into the guest room one morning when someone was staying over and said in her toughest voice, "My momma says it's time for YOU to get up."
It's funny how we can give authoritative commands for the little things, but when it comes to the bigger things, we freeze up. It's funny how we can lead by example in the little things, but when it comes to the big things, we would prefer to follow rather than lead.
My friend Tevis and I decided that we wanted to do something. We wanted to quit following and lead by example, but we needed perspective. We made plans to "visit" St. Louis over our fall break this past November. We hopped into the truck and took off with nothing but a blanket each and the scraggly clothes on our backs, apprehensive about what we were about to do. We arrived in St. Louis, MO, parked the truck, and set out toward the shelter we planned on staying in.
We attempted to get into the shelter in the time that they allowed people in and we were turned away. No real explanation, just couldn't go in. We began to roam the area looking for potential spots to sleep for the night while also taking in what it is like to have nowhere to go. It is a humbling experience.
As we walked in our ratty, uncomfortable shoes, we had to take breaks every now and then to pass the time and allow our feet to rest. While on one of these breaks, sitting outside of a restaurant (it was just a little after dark) we began to notice people’s eyes. They were either keeping a constant “inconspicuous” eye on us, or trying very hard to ignore us. We stood and looked into the restaurant. It was a pretty fancy place; looked expensive. The people in the dining room were flashing us glances every now and then. Some with pity, others with disgust. It was obvious by this point by looking at the neighborhood that they were not used to the homeless. It never feels good to be stared at and stereotyped...but then again...we weren't exactly there to be treated like kings.
As people began to filter out of restaurants and into hotels, vehicles, and bars we began to notice different dynamics. The most offensive of these was the family. Now let me explain... there were multiple times that a family would be walking toward us and as we passed each other the father would conspicuously keep himself between us and his loved ones. I understand his motives, but that is a horrid stereotype to just assume that we were dangerous to his family. The least offensive of the nightlife dynamic were the bar-goers. We were spoken to on a few occasions by men and women outside of bars...they had maybe had a few drinks, but they were friendly. Kind of a switch from the "norm" eh?
We eventually encountered another problem...nature. Nature was calling and we HAD to answer. So with some money we were given we bought 60 cent donuts at a grocery store so that we could use their restroom. After we spent that, we were out of money yet again. We walked...and walked...and walked some more. We ended up in a lit park, laid down to take a rest, and were shooed away by the police. Again, this is understandable, but the rudeness we were shown was about the way you would treat a rat in your pantry. Needless to say, we moved on.
We eventually decided it was time to turn in. We walked to a church and found that the area surrounding the church and the library was heavily (HEAVILY) inhabited by the homeless. I wanted to do something, anything...but at the moment I was in a similar boat. We found a prime spot that was uninhabited; a four foot gap in between the church and a wheelchair ramp. We were completely hidden from the street and from the view of passers-by. Tevis and I laid back to back under our inadequate blankets with our feet in an unknown liquid that we called water so that we wouldn't dwell on it...it certainly did not smell like water...
We slept off and on...unable to gain warmth or comfort. We awoke at some point to hear someone messing with a homeless man and his things. Wanting to help, but unable to move for fear we laid there...it was one of the worst decisions I have made to sit there and do nothing. If I had the chance to go back and redo, that man wouldn't have gotten away so easily.
I awoke with the sunlight, rigid from the cold and sore from the sidewalk. I left Tevis to sleep and walked to an open store to use the restroom and get a little warmth back into my body. While roaming the aisles however, I became aware that I was being followed/watched by an employee who asked if I planned on buying anything. I admitted that I had no money to buy anything with and he escorted me out of the store. Apparently people aren't allowed to look without buying. I went back to our spot and found Tevis, rather worried at my absence when he woke up. We walked around yet again and ended up in the park across from the library.
There we waited until Ryan and the DRR crew arrived. He was so surprised to see me that he didn’t even recognize his own cousin! It was good to smile at that. After talking with him for a short time we went on our way so as not to divide his attention from his mission. We ended up crossing a bridge that we could look down through the bare rebar to the street below, and went to a McDonald's for a cheap sandwich and a much-needed water.
From there we continued on our way. From there we decided that we had had just about enough. One night we stayed. Just one. Some have to stay. All the time. For the rest of their lives.
It disgusts me that we can allow this to happen. I am just as guilty as anyone else, but I am ready to make a difference.
At the beginning of this post I told a story about a little girl acting on her mother's authority and example. I think it's about time we act on someone's example. Now, I don’t know who will be reading this but bear with me and please listen to what I am about to say, even if my belief system is different from yours. Give me a chance. I am not here to shove my worldview in your face.
The example I am talking about is the example of Christ. You want to ignore the homeless, the broke, and the downtrodden? Jesus was homeless, Jesus was broke, Jesus would have been shunned in our society the same that every other dirty, down on their luck, homeless person in America and in the world is.
The little girl from the story not only followed an example, but acted on authority. We have authority that we can act with. God the Father’s. The little girl said, "My momma says it's time for YOU to get up." She made me think with that statement...because we can say almost the same thing. "My Daddy says it's time for YOU to get up." Change the world. Love people like they have never been loved before.
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