Ann Matsushima
About Mission Year
Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of young people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. Learn more about our first year program…
Ann Matsushima's Blog
words / Nov 2, 10:30 AM
I walk briskly down the street, the morning cold nipping against my face. I pass vacant lots and homes in disrepair, but glory to the faces that say “good morning” with a smile, and glory to that old Weeping Willow tree that grows within that vacant lot.
Yet as time passes by I remember the feelings more than the images.
the history of an hour:
he showed me some drawings and read poetry
talkin about drugs, sex and all the hypocrisy
he spoke openly and never a disrespect
only wished to paint murals with some sort of message
said people travel through a path full of signs & images
yet none of it makes them stop and think of it
his father, a jamacian, his mother, west indie
yet all people see when they see him is black.
he said i was a down-to-earth spirit
so open, so willing to listen, and kind
yet it was his words that pulled me in
it was his aspiration that shined
he grew up in brooklyn, brownsville, new york
his teachers discouraged him from making real art
so he moved out here to gain support and paint
and be a responsible father for his 4 kids
he drew faces in ballpoint pen
sketchy like, marked with wrinkled history and scarred pain
faces with background stories and lives in secret boxes
we met for a reason, if not for conversation for an hour
so we shook hands and parted, never to see each other again.
Comment [2]
quote no.1 / Aug 22, 12:40 PM
we are the change, because of our ability to DO. – inspired by my good friend, Myhanh
Comment [1]
Join me / Aug 22, 12:40 PM
August 2007.
To my dear family and friends,
If life is a journey, a path we travel upon, then one must take hold of every opportunity that arises.
As for my journey, I have decided to dedicate a years-commitment to serving and working with an inner city community in Atlanta, Georgia. People search their whole lives for their true “calling”, their true vocation, yet at times it is to those who are actively listening, who hear that quiet call of a desire so strong that it cannot be ignored. We must strive to love people.
How can “loving people” be a vocation? I will be partnering with local non-profit social services, community programs, public schools, local churches, and other organizations of Atlanta, focusing most of my energies to the poor and under-serviced. By working within the community in which we live, we hope to better serve the needs of the people in these neighborhoods.
It was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”
My goal is to raise $12,000 ($1000 per month) to cover the cost of living, eating, transportation, and training during my one-year stay in the city.
I am asking you to partner with me by pledging monthly. In pledging you are financially supporting not only me, but 60+ ‘servants of the people’ around the States, and together we are making a difference for change. Please visit my blog to be updated on my happenings. (My account number is 07-0064).
If you are not moved to give financially, but would like to stay in touch, please let me know as well.
Pray for people. Pray for your neighbors, the neighborhoods, your brothers and sisters, and the children. For we are not simply fighting social justice issues, we are fighting on behalf of people, of those who are marginalized and suffering.
We must have the courage to know that we can challenge and seek to change the things that need changing in this world.
Peace be with you,
ann matsushima
annmisamats@gmail.com
Credentials didn’t really matter. What mattered was your heart.
What mattered was your will.
-Mumia Abu-Jamal
Comment [4]
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