From Sarah Hilliker
Just over five years ago, God called me to serve Him in Highland Park (a small city inside of Detroit). Our country has its own opinion of Detroit. And while many of the outside opinions are true, I have seen something much more beautiful in a city the rest of the country has all but given up on. In the midst of financial poverty and brokenness, God is working. I have met some of the most amazing people in my community and it is a privilege to serve with and for them. The Gospel is just as powerful here as anywhere else!
Discipleship plays a huge role in reaching the youth in our community. In order to connect to urban youth, programs are needed. But in order to see true life change, we have to be willing to go deeper. It's in discipleship that I begin to walk alongside girls and their families through their struggles, pain and witness firsthand how the culture they live in continues to try to destroy them. Sometimes I think it would be much easier to just pick up a van load of kids, run fun and meaningful programs for them and send them home. I can minister to them while staying detached from the pain they face. Discipleship takes much more personal sacrifice, but the fruit is beautiful as I have seen God take over and work through relationships. When sharing life with someone, you are involved in the joys (graduations, birthday parties etc) as well as the messy and heartbreaking (funerals, teen pregnancy, the struggles of poverty). But I believe that it's in sharing these circumstances with those you love that God brings hope and light to the darkness.
Over the past few years, one of our families has welcomed me into their home as a family member and I have grown to love them deeply. The grandmother and matriarch of the family continues to amaze me with her faith and strength. I have never seen anyone sacrifice so much for their family. She is one of many grandmothers in the city who show strength and perseverance for their families. She is reaping the consequences of poor decisions in the past, but after experiencing God's love and forgiveness she moves on each day for her family.
This fall, I began to intentionally disciple her oldest granddaughter, Anna (not her real name), who is a freshman in high school. A few years ago, Anna and her siblings moved in with their grandmother when their mother was unable to take care of them. When I approached this beautiful fourteen year old about mentoring her, her eyes lit up and she enthusiastically told me, "I want to learn more about the Bible". Seeing her hunger to know God and her simple faith reminds me of what Jesus was talking about when He told us we need to have child like faith. This is the kind of faith I see exemplified in this young life. She has asked me if her sister and a couple of friends could join our study and I'm excited about building a support system of peers around her. Anna and her siblings have experienced a lot of turmoil and unstableness in their young lives. At the same time, I have witnessed the Gospel taken root in the lives of the children in the home. I am thankful God has led me to be a part of what He is doing in this family as well as others in Highland Park.