Philadelphia

I am not blogging as much as I want to be. I believe a blog is most entertaining when it is updated frequently. So I apologize if my posts so far sound more like the obligatory journal entries you feel required to write when big things happen in your life.  (Shoot. That reminds me. I STILL haven't written down my thoughts from my wedding day. I should get on that!)

In the meantime . . . 

We moved to Philadelphia at the end of June. It is such a different city than DC! There are streets like ours where lawns are manicured and you see pretty little Victorian homes, and then just a block in the other direction there will be trash flying around and apartment homes that are basically condemned. 

I was researching the city the other day. Someone was trying to make the claim that DC is a much bigger city than Philly. I was pretty sure that Philly's larger. In fact it is larger, both in terms of population and land size. (While DC does have residential areas, I would say that most people live in either VA or MD.) I would agree, however, that DC is more established in terms of opportunity/wealth. Philadelphia is known as one of America's poorest cities.  And I believe it!

I was very concerned about safety when we moved here. (We heard some pretty WILD stories about this city.) Overall, I think I did a pretty good job picking an apartment. (Cameron was studying for the MCAT when I made most of my visits up to Philly.) I got the opportunity to be a strong independent woman, handing the selection of our second home! Speaking of our apartment, we have neighbors now! (A very different experience from the "backwoods" house we lived in during our first year being married.) And while this gives us more opportunities to be social, living in an apartment building comes with lots of new noises to get used to.

Cameron and I both want to be very social here in Philly. Our church congregation is very small and diverse. Sometimes I describe the ward as "inner city." I mean, there are bars over the windows and a huge mechanical/wire fence that protects the parking lot! It kind of looks like a cross between a prison and a chapel. However, more and more students have begun to move in as the school year draws near. (By the way Cameron's classes at Drexel start tomorrow!) 

The bishop in our new congregation moved to California about a month ago. (We still don't have a new one . . . but that's a story for another day.) One of the things he said before he left was that if you haven't made a friend that is a different race than you, or a different age than you, or has a different educational background than you . . . then you are doing something wrong!!!

I have tried to let this sink in. While it is easiest for me to make friendships with the young wives whose husbands are also in school right now, I want to be the kind of person who is able to relate to people who are in very different situations than my own. This will probably take practice and conscious effort. But there is something so Christ-like about that.

When we first visited our ward, I was taken aback by how "inner city" it was. But as I listened to the talks that first Sunday, there was such a sweet spirit there. Almost immediately, I came to love what the ward represented. People were trying to live the gospel. You could tell.

This ward is special. People have many different backgrounds. You may see varying types of Sunday attire. You may even get a few "Hallelujahs!"(In the end, these differences aren't important.) What I notice in the ward, is that these differences in lifestyle give me a visual representation of the efforts people are making to change their lives. Isn't that what the gospel is all about? Changing to become more like the Savior?

Cameron and I spoke about this experience with some family friends. They agreed. In situations like these, you can see the choice people are making to live the gospel.

I have to admit. In most the wards I have attended, the members of the congregation look pretty similar. Even for me, going to church can sometimes feel like a habit. A routine.

I feel blessed to be in a ward where I am reminded that the gospel is about change. Many of the saints here did not grow up in the gospel. They are such examples to me of what it means to change.

As you can tell, my views on this ward have been changing. In General Conference a while back, Elder Stanley Ellis said:

“Another question is “Where are we needed?” For 16 years I served in the presidency of the Houston Texas North Stake. Many moved to our area during those years. We would often receive a phone call announcing someone moving in and asking which was the best ward. Only once in 16 years did I receive a call asking, “Which ward needs a good family? Where can we help?”

 At first, I could relate to this. Before I visited our ward, I had been pushing for an established suburban ward. ("I want people to bring us dinners when we have babies!" I whined.) But as I alluded to above, this mentality began to melt away that very first Sunday we showed up as visitors.

Almost immediately, people were telling us that we would be put to work here. We were ready for the challenge! (Don't get me wrong, I think serving in this ward will provide us fantastic opportunities to grow and serve). But the more I think about this attitude, the more I realize that I may be wrong. This ward will probably be the one to teach me and shape me into the mother I need to be. I may receive more than I give. (That is how it always is, right?) The examples of change here are powerful.