Hello, my name is...

August 25, 2010

Tom Wise:

My name is Tom Wise and I am now part of “The Hub!”  I am from a little town in the Bay Area called Benicia and living in this environment is somewhat new to me.  The area I grew up was a predominantly white, upper-middle class neighborhood.  I did not see much variety in the people around me other than the style of clothes they wore (Hollister or Abercrombie).  As you can imagine it was quite the culture shock moving to Fresno to go to school at Fresno Pacific University.  I saw so many different people groups almost every day when going to the grocery store and especially at Sunnyside high school where I did volunteer work with Young Life.  I loved it!  Having such a melting pot of people all together and getting to know all sorts of different cultures.  I did not even know what who Hmong people were before moving to Fresno.  As it turns out, our Young Life club was predominantly comprised of Hmong students.  This was an incredible experience for me and an eye opening look into some kids who are living in impoverished neighborhoods.

            This is what led me to seek something more.  I have many friends come in and out of the Pink House and I knew that was something I wanted to try.  My long-term goal would be to live in inner city Berlin, Germany because of my experience on a mission trip their a couple years back.  When talking with the pastor of my church however, he instructed me that before I jump into full-time overseas urban ministry, I need to know what it will be like living in an impoverished area in our own culture.

            So with my late entrance into the group at The Hub I have only had a few days of experience but I enjoyed every bit of it so far.  Even walking around with Josiah who has ran the after school program there for a while now I see how responsive the children in the neighborhood are.  It seems like the whole apartment complex knows him by name and each of the kids is excited to see him.  Even when my roommate Erik and I took a bike ride as we were leaving, I discovered people are much more friendly than I have felt my neighbors back home usually are.  With a “buenos dias” to some ladies having a conversation in the parking lot they smiled back and all said in unison, “buenos dias” right back.  Along having a reputation of such high crime rates and drug abuse all throughout these areas, there is an incredible amount of community between the people living together here.

            My biggest struggle so far has been coming in late, I feel like I have not been able to get to know anyone yet.  I have heard the guys being able to call each of the kids they walk by through the complex by name.  Since I had to finish up at my summer camp I could not move in until a week after everyone else.  There is a fear I sense of not being able to relate to people here since I have not grown up in the same environment.  Despite this fear, I feel that no matter what my background may be, I will do my best to be relatable, relational and stand in solidarity with those around me.

Erik Foss:

My name is Erik Foss I grew up in Fresno and spent my childhood on the north side of town going to school and church, just like a normal kid. A year or so out of high school I began to discover the issues concerning poverty in Fresno, along with the serious call in scripture to work for love and justice among society’s ignored and neglected people. I felt God wanted me to spend my life doing something radical for him but I didn’t know where or how, I had no idea about where to start. When I was accepted to be an intern at The Hub I was so excited to immerse myself in a new place and dive into urban ministry.

 Now that I’m here I’m even more excited because I’m learning from great and experienced mentors, growing in community with some awesome roommates and getting a chance to share Christ’s love in a challenging and exciting new context. I’m looking forward to the next ten months as a learning and experiencing adventure that I’m sure will equip me to more effectively share the gospel wherever God leads me.