Building a Community of Vision
| Mika Community Development Corporation is an Eleazar Partnership ministry partner in Costa Mesa, California. We partner with local churches to build communities of VISION where neighbors have V-vision, I-interdependent relationships with God and others, S-servant leadership, I-impact, O-organization, N-networks. We accomplish this through our community building and youth development strategies. The following story is one example of how we are seeing God’s kingdom come in the low income neighborhoods of Costa Mesa: |  |
“These are my people. I found them!” This is the declaration that gushed out of Effy Sanchez after a year of volunteering in the Shalimar neighborhood. You can tell by watching Effy interact with the neighbors that she was right at home. Every Wednesday she rolls into the neighborhood with bingo and prizes. She spends a few hours playing bingo on the front lawn with 20 or so neighbor women. But the interaction goes much deeper than bingo games. Effy is a woman with vision. She has experienced the love and grace of Jesus Christ and is passionate to share it. As it began to get dark earlier it seemed that the summer of weekly bingo was wrapping up. But the neighbor women really liked getting together- it was a break in the tasks of the week, an opportunity to enjoy themselves and connect with other women. They realized that Effy was a part of that. They decided to keep meeting on Wednesday nights at a home and invited Effy to read the Bible to them. They made it clear that they didn’t want her to preach, just read the Bible. This was the opportunity that Effy had been waiting for. | |
That was three summers ago and now Effy is planning to launch three home Bible studies when this year’s “summer bingo” is over. The same ladies play bingo each week, having added more to the group. But they also meet weekly to plan neighborhood projects including clean up days and a neighborhood watch. The time they have spent in the scripture has informed how they see their community and the responsibility they feel to love their neighbor as themselves. In addition to coordinating the neighborhood Bible studies, Effy is co-leading the Neighborhood Action Committee- Comunidad Unida. |
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In addition to coordinating the neighborhood Bible studies, Effy is
co-leading the Neighborhood Action Committee- Comunidad Unida. As a
group we have just surveyed our neighborhood to hear the priorities of
the community and are now planning activities to address those
concerns. In some ways it feels that things are happening “all of a
sudden” but I know that it is through the perseverance and faithfulness
of friends like Effy that we see neighbors taking action now. At Mika CDC Effy is the perfect example of how one life can transform a community. By being faithful to show up, to trust, to speak God’s word, to encourage and give opportunities to lead, Effy has developed a group of women grounded in the word of God and ready to work together to build a community of VISION. | |
