Joanna Helton
“What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” – Matthew 10:27-28a
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…
Joanna Helton's Blog
The Prayer Room / Mar 26, 09:36 AM
My freshman year of college, a few friends of mine invited me to come with them to a Prayer Room at the church across the street from our campus. It was beautiful. It was the first time that I had experienced such freedom in worshiping my Savior. Over the next few years, we visited often; nearly once a week, praying for revival for our campus, encouraging brothers and sisters in Christ, weeping, praising, and even mentoring the younger college students as they came to be a part of our family. During the last week as seniors, we held a special meeting where we said our “goodbyes” by washing the feet of all those younger than ourselves; the passing on of a torch, if you will.
The first time I ever ventured into the prayer room by myself was the morning of a good friend’s funeral, 2 1/2 years ago – the funeral was being held in the very church that the prayer room is in. I pretty much paced over the entire room, simply balling and talking to God more freely than I had in a while. It was a very heart breaking time in my life.
Well, I had one of those again this Spring Break while I was home. I went to the prayer room and I simply balled and paced. Part of the time, I had so many differing emotions that I wasn’t even sure why I was crying; I just knew that I needed to. I feel like my life has changed so drastically these past 2 years. Anyways, it is good to be in a state of brokenness. It truly is when I have learned the most about trusting God. I put in a CD as I paced and prayed and was just constantly reminded of how magnificent, faithful, loving, trustworthy, and AWESOME God is. I love Him so much – and I really believe that through that experience, I received the rejuvenation and re-focus that I had been praying for during the prior weeks.
This morning for devotion, I read these verses that have meant a lot to me…
“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” – Psalm 27:13-14
He is so, so good.
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Home / Jan 11, 12:03 PM
Upon my return to the greatly missed West side of Chicago, I became confused about my happiness both at home with my family in NC and here in Little Village with our community. I felt like I needed to be sad to leave one or the other – or be happy to be back in one or the other – not both…
While leading devotions for the first time in a while on Tuesday morning, my eyes teared up a little as I praised God for the opportunity to be living with 4 other girls who truly care – and having the utmost privilege of praying with them. I realized how much I had missed that.
Over break, I realized how much I admire my mom. She spoke at church Sunday morning and poured her heart out in a way that I have not heard in a while – mainly because I haven’t been listening. She expressed the desire God has placed on both her and my dad to adopt sometime soon. I can’t wait! :)
As I was talking to 2 of my roommates about all of these things, Jessie said something that will probably stick with me forever. She said that the reason why we can be content anywhere is because our true home is not in the beautiful mountains of NC, nor is it in the hospitable Mexican community of Little Village. Our true home is with God. And I’m not solely referencing Heaven. Our home is when we are in communion with God – and since He is all we need, we can be content with Him no matter where our physical location may be.
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November Newsletter / Dec 6, 09:14 AM
My Dear Friends,
Solitude is a beautiful thing (as is community), but if you have not experienced solitude in a long time, I suggest you do so… asap. J One Saturday, in the middle of November, the 3 Mission Year teams in Chicago took a solitude retreat to Sheboygan, Wisconsin! I walked the beach of Lake Michigan and talked with God out loud – praying specifically for my team, my friends back home, and reflecting on this prayer by Mother Teresa that was included in a compilation of prayers distributed by our city director. It’s just beneficial to get away every once in a while to reflect on your life, to re-direct your focus on God (because it is so easy to get off track), and to simply rest in your Father’s presence. Mark 1:35-39
Community Service A great deal of my time during the day is spent at CCIL, Chicago Christian Industrial League (www.cilworks.org). It is an organization that is diligently serving the homeless by offering transitional housing, health care, GED courses, job training, individual and group therapy, and a number of other programs designed to help Chicagoans get back on their feet. As I am blessed to work in a number of areas, I am mostly assisting with the Community Food Pantry that has now been opened for one year and is providing food for over 200 families, distributed each Wednesday morning. Talking with the families in line has become one of my absolute favorite activities during the week – and also one of the most hectic since there are those that line up 3 hours before we open….in the freezing November Chicago weather. This week, we are preparing to serve a Thanksgiving meal that will be free for the community and are expecting more than 800 to attend! Then, I take the amazing bus over to La Villita Community Church for Si Se Puede, an after-school program for some of the children in the neighborhood (www.lvccsisepuede.com). Recently, I have been working a lot with the same group of girls, which is extremely beneficial because I have the opportunity to get to know them better, and therefore, know how to help them better than I would otherwise. Some of my favorite things have been seeing Esmerelda understand that division is sometimes just backwards multiplication tables, watching Iridian share her belongings with others, and learning Spanish words from Naida, who is an amazing teacher!
Church New life has come to our church this month in many ways! Pastor Zach, who did Mission Year in the neighborhood 3 years ago, and his wife, Sarah, just had their first baby! Also, La Villita has missionaries in Mexico who recently had their first baby as well and came up for a visit. Pastor Victor talked one Sunday morning about the prophetic-ness of that new life! Our church is getting newness breathed into it and a rejuvenation to serve God and the community. I am also involved in a women’s Bible study that meets every Sunday morning, studying through 1 Timothy. It is so wonderful to get to know the women in the church on a deeper level and grow with them by studying God’s word – in Spanish and in English! Many of the women have been pouring out their hearts, their concern for family members, their struggles at work, and their love for the well being of the neighborhood.
La Villita Girls!
The girls in my house are such a blessing! J We’ve really been working on living out true community. Even though it is often difficult, we have been talking out differences, unloading garbage, sharing what is important to us, praying with one another, serving, encouraging, and striving to follow Christ’s example. Five times a week, one of us leads a devotional, including Scripture, songs, prayer, or thoughts that challenge and encourage me each time. One Saturday, we discussed the importance of being One in the Spirit – because if our house is not united in Christ, everything we are doing will fall. (This is a picture of the five of us preparing for our soccer game with the other two MY teams in Chicago).
Our Neighborhood
Little Village is pretty stinkin’ amazing as well! I have decided to take a class through a partnership that Mission Year has with Eastern University entitled “Theology of Poverty”. My first paper included the story of my neighborhood where Anna (who also had to write the paper) and I learned and reflected a great deal about our community. Just 35 years ago, Little Village was 4% Hispanic and is now 83%! Also, many of the adults are first generation Mexican immigrants, and their children are growing up in the US, having to learn English. It is a joy to witness the hospitality of the families – as there have been times where we are encouraged to eat a meal at every home we visit, resulting in the consumption of 3 dinners within a few hours.
One Saturday afternoon, Emily and I invited one of our neighbors, Stephanie, over to make cocoa rice krispie treats. I’ve never even considered making some from cocoa krispies and it was a magnificent discovery! After cooking, we played yahtzee, clue, zingo (similar to bingo) and a silly faces game. Stephanie is absolutely adorable and when I took her home, I was able to have a conversation with her dad about his family and his desire for me to speak more Spanish. I told him I was working on it.
Prayer/Support
As we are learning more and being stretched in new ways, it seems that there are more specific things to come to our Lord in prayer about and I would be honored if you would join us in doing so…
v Elizabeth lives across the street from us and comes to our house on occasion to cook with us or play Uno and then we help her 3 children with homework, reading, or play a game with them as well. Recently, she has gotten nerve damage that is affecting the movement of her face and she was unable to close her eye for a little while. She seems to be doing better now but could always use some prayer.
v Tina Montoya is a lady that Jessie and I initially met while handing out a plate of brownies to neighbors and now has become a close friend to many of the girls in our house. This past week, her brother died and it has been very hard for her and her family. It was a tragic accident but it was encouraging to know that she felt close enough to us to invite us to the funeral.
v At the school where Jessie volunteers, one of the students was shot and killed a little over a week ago. There are so many people that are affected by this tragedy including his family, the students and teachers at the school, and the community as a whole.
v The curriculum book we are now reading is called Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Tatum, and it discusses many of the racial issues that we often ignore or are too scared to talk about. Please pray that we will know what God wants us to do concerning this topic and how racial reconciliation can take place.
Thank you so, so much to everyone that has prayed for me and my team, who has mailed letters (they encourage me so much!), and who has been beyond generous with financial support. I feel spoiled by my church at home (Polkville Baptist). They are incredible people whose love for God is so evident and whose presence in my life have helped to make me who I am. Thank you to everyone else who is faithfully striving to become more like Christ each day – it’s a beautiful thing.
I miss you and I love you,
October Newsletter / Dec 6, 09:12 AM
My Dear Friends,
The bus stop.
It has become one of my favorite practices of life here in Chicago to wait at a bus stop. I will admit that there are many frustrations that can surface; such as arriving at a street just in time to see it pass by, realizing after 20 min that you are going east when you needed to go west, or having to be patient for 10 to 15 min while watching 3 buses in a row across the street. But the bus stop is also a resting place for some, a mild block from the cold wind for others, a time to reflect on the day, to observe God’s hand in the world around you, and to strike up conversations that will be remembered forever. That is my favorite aspect! Each individual has such an interesting story and there are quite a few who would love to share if given the opportunity. I was blessed this month to meet Loretta (whom I have seen 4 or 5 times now), James, and Larry. Loretta shared with me about how she was on her way to a shelter on the other side of town and a few days later, James talked about going to the county jail to visit his 18 yr old son. Each had such heartache but such an unbelievable amount of joy at the same time as they shared aspects of their lives with me. Larry encouraged me so much through his passion to talk about Jesus. We shared stories of how we met and came to know Jesus, he shared wisdom on a topic that I had shared at team devotions that morning, and I discovered that he lives at CCIL where I work! Now, I have seen him on 3 separate occasions and his smile and recollection of my name brightens my day each time.
Community Service I have been going to my community service sites for a few weeks now and have had the chance to be involved in a number of different activities! From 8:30 until 2:30, I am at CCIL (Chicago Christian Industrial League), which is a homeless shelter in North Lawndale where Sam (another Mission Year participant) and I help run a food pantry. Every Tuesday, we drive to the food depository and pick up some food to organize and distribute on Wednesdays, where we see approx. 200 families. We have also taken on the project of decorating for Halloween around the building, which has consisted of painting these lovely pumpkins as well as a few of their friends. The security guards especially love them because their desk is where the pumpkins have established their hang out spot. J From 3:00 until 6:00, I take the bus over to the church where we have Si Se Puede, an after-school program for kindergarteners through 8th graders. Here, I have been with the younger children, helping with snack, homework, gym time, reading, and a few other important activities.
Church Pastor Victor is a very passionate individual and I have felt a challenge to grow in my faith each time I have heard him speak. I’ve also been getting to know more and more people during the week, but it is incredibly difficult to not be bilingual. However, I enjoy seeing how much people have in common without having the same culture or dominant language. I also am glad to have the opportunity to experience a fraction of a tiny glimpse of what many of my neighbors go through in not knowing much English. This past weekend, a few of us went to a girls’ sleepover through the church and had a blast! We made pizzas, cookies, chocolate chip pancakes, had a Bible study, and played lots and lots of DDR (Dance Dance Revolution). My goal is to become a professional, but I will settle for making an “A” at least once by the end of the year. It’s always fun to be present when it’s someone’s first sleepover, and that was true for a couple of the girls there.
La Villita
Our house has become very close to the family of our landlord, including one of her sisters
who lives across the street with her husband and 3 children. They have gone to the laundry mat
with us, to an art festival, grocery shopping, into our home to help us cook, and just simply walking
around the neighborhood at various times. She has bought us some notebooks, piggy banks,
magnetic bracelets that I like to throw against the refrigerator, and a cookbook. I just feel so spoiled
by her generosity and God continues to teach me about serving others through her and her family!
My team also continues to teach me about how much we need one another. It is incredible to truly be vulnerable with a group of people from the initial moment of meeting them. There is so much growth as a result when fellow believers are willing to be open about weaknesses because that is when Christ’s strength is most exalted! I also thrive on learning from them, hearing their various viewpoints on life or being a first hand witness of their love that they so freely give to our community. It saddens me when people are too scared of being who they are, because there is so much freedom in being able to learn and experience life without reservation of what men may think. I am blessed beyond measure to be surrounded by a group of people whose focus is on God!
Prayer/Support Please pray for me to never forget where my focus should be. I’m sure that for most followers of Christ, it is difficult to not let the devil fill our heads with unnecessary thoughts that distract us. Also, for the last year and a half, God has been teaching me more about trusting Him. So please pray that we will all trust God and therefore, make Him the focal point of our lives! Also, if you would like to support me financially (and inevitably my team), you may do so through the blog page or by mailing a check or money order to Mission Year, including my fund ID number on the memo line. Mission Year, PO Box 17628, Atlanta, GA 30316 Fund # (2007-18)
Thank you for encouraging me! It is hard to breathe right now as I think about how inadequate my words would be if I tried to express how much I love each of you. But thank you for loving me and for taking part in shaping my life thus far.
I miss you and I love you,
Sabbaths / Nov 5, 12:28 PM
Last Monday, Jessie and I awoke at 6:45 am, put on shoes, walked 2 blocks to church, went up 4 or 5 flights of stairs, and ventured out onto the roof to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely beautiful!!! Cold… :) but beautiful. Roofs are such amazing things – as are sunrises. I believe I like them so much because its harder work to see – one has to be intentional about waking up before the sun and patient to sit and watch the colors of the sky change – waiting for that small dot to appear on the horizon. It’s a heart-moving time to be engulfed in God’s creation.
It was a good sabbath.
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