Chelsea Spyres, missionary serving at the NOAH Project, reflects on an afternoon spent in Flint, Michigan.
CHELSEA SPYRES
Global Mission Fellow, Detroit, MI
Kendrick walked up to the truck with skateboard in hand and asked if he could help. Kendrick is 7 years old and came up to the truck with his two other brothers who are 9 and 11 years old. Kendrick and his brothers live in Flint, MI where it is unsafe to drink the water due to decisions made by people in power who were not thinking about him and his brothers years ago and are only thinking about them now because of the media attention.
A few of my friends and I went up to Flint for the afternoon to help distribute water with the Islamic Relief in partnership with the Red Cross. While this is not the long term solution and relief will be needed for months and years to come, this was a way for us to respond while long term conversations and game plans happen. There were many gathered at the Islamic Relief Center, many young adults, many locals but also some from many other parts of the state. All came together to serve and to respond in tangible ways.
We were broken up into work teams to go and distribute water and filter in Section 8 neighborhoods because these neighborhoods were being passed over by many other groups. As we arrived in the neighborhood many approached the distribution truck and we informed them we would come door to door in order to keep track of the water and filters that we delivered. Around this time Kendrick and his brothers came up to the truck but unlike the many others who gathered these three continued to hang out with us.
If you don’t already know, I love kids, I blame this fact on my mom who did daycare in our house as I was growing up. Thanks to my love of kids, Kendrick and I became friends pretty quickly. And for the next hour and a half he did not leave my side. Every house we delivered to, Kendrick would knock on the door as I held the case of water. Every number we would report back for tracking, Kendrick would remember the house number and I the unit number (and the house number if he forgot). As we went from house to house Kendrick and I shared about our families and our favorite things. I know he loves the Minion Movie, and I told him my favorite minion is Bob. I know he loves being a big brother to his 1 year old sister but doesn’t like how much she cries. I know how much he loves to skateboard and has been working on this one trick for a long time.
But I also know that Kendrick like many other kids do not have enough food. About halfway through our time together Kendrick asked me for some food or money to go get food. I told him unfortunately we only had water with us (and I had left my wallet and everything back at the volunteer center) and he smiled back at me with that huge toothless grim and we continued. A few more times when we were hanging out, Kendrick mentioned how hungry he was and my heart continued to sink.
While we came to distribute water there was a much greater issue at play here. A community in poverty before the water crisis, and community still in poverty while in the midst of a water crisis. More than a days work.
And yet Saturday we made a difference and Kendrick challenged my reality and outlook on Flint. While we were hanging out Kendrick mentioned being tired (after we had walked from one end of the neighborhood all the way to the other distributing water) and so I began to give Kendrick piggyback rides. We would pick up a case of water from the truck, walk it to a house, ask if they needed a filter, and then Kendrick would hop on my back as we trekked back to the truck.
Joy shared in the midst of crisis. Joy shared in the midst of poverty. Joy that can only come from God. Job shared in a toothless smile. In a minion hat. A skateboard. And some piggyback rides. This is just the beginning. The beginning of the conversation and fight for Flint. A fight that now has a piece of my heart thanks to a 7 year old named Kendrick.
Chelsea Spyres is a missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries, serving at the NOAH Project in downtown Detroit. Chelsea has been selected as one of two persons to deliver the Young Peoples Address at General Conference in May, 2016.
Last Updated on February 29, 2016