Have you ventured across the border lately?   You may be tempted to answer yes based on the fact that you crossed into Canada or Mexico during your last vacation.  However, that’s not the border that comes to my mind…

Crossing the border for me means leaving my life in suburbia to enter into a different world; an unfamiliar world located in the inner city.  Yes, that is what I call a border crossing.  Every week I leave the comfort and familiarity of my safe, suburban neighborhood and venture south of 96^th street into the city; not for my job but for my soul.

I spend time in the Reagan Park Neighborhood where abandoned and neglected houses owned by absentee landlords and occupied by drug users are slowly being transformed to house a community of hope and healing.  Transformation is happening through a faith based non-profit ministry known as Rebuilding the Wall.  RTW welcomes and empowers volunteers like me who work alongside the construction crew.  They are restoring and re-purposing houses for low-income families who otherwise would not have a chance at home ownership.  These families have an opportunity to become home-owners, live in a stable housing environment and be part of a community that provides ongoing spiritual support. 

This is me with the construction team, my daughter and her friend.

Houses are not the only thing being restored here.  Lives are being restored as well, as many of the RTW construction team members have gained employment, learned skills and found hope in Christ.  I too am being re-purposed as God pushes me across the border of suburbia.  It is here where I find myself on a new adventure.  An adventure where I am unsure of my surroundings, yet comfortable in the knowledge that there is no place I would rather be. 

It is here that I can feel myself walking with God and participating in his plans in a community full of hope, change and restoration.  Consider a border crossing it might just be the most memorable trip you take this summer.