About usAlayna HydeLos Angeles Dwell participants (L to R): JoshOrem, Alayna Hyde, Robert Morrison, AlexDavis, Brady Vanes, Kyle CliftonLocation: Los Angeles, CaliforniaTerm start date: 9/1/2010Home congregation: Madison Avenue Church of Christ,Pierre, S.D.Ministry: During Dwell, Alayna volunteered at PATHAchieve Glendale, a homeless services provider in Glendale,Calif. Her work included assisting with outreach and casemanagement, forming relationships with the chronicallyhomeless, working at Glendale’s winter shelter, and assistingcase managers with clients who needed extra attention.Blog: alaynahyde.wordpress.comPhoto courtesy of Alayna Hyderesearch, and the next time we found him, we scheduled a time tomeet and drive to the facility.After he failed to show up for the appointment, we finally foundJimmy and set out for the clinic in West LA, 30 minutes away if wewere lucky, over an hour if we weren’t. And we weren’t. The wholeprocess took forever. We got lost. Richard was late for his secondjob. Four families were waiting on us back at the office. I was anhour late to pick up my parents from the airport.Despite all that, we sat there with Jimmy. We watched TV; wechatted. He opened up more about his past and his family than heever had before. I couldn’t just leave him there. I didn’t want to makehim sit by himself, nervous and alone. So we waited. After occupyingseveral different uncomfortable plastic lobby chairs in several differentwaiting areas, Jimmy finally got to where he needed to be. I wasanxious about leaving him, but I tried to be encouraging.“We have to go now. You’re OK, right? You’ll do great. This willall work out. Do you have my number?”He smiled and assured me he was fine. I was nervous to leavehim. What if he walked out right after we left? What if we went“The success of love is inthe loving—it is not in theresult of loving. Of course,it is natural in love to wantthe best for the otherperson, but whether itturns out that way or notdoes not determine thevalue of what we havedone.”—Mother Teresato all this trouble for nothing?I knew I couldn’t hold his handthrough the whole process. Wecould only show him the doorand hope he stepped through.After the madness had alldied down, I was still strugglingwith the possibility that it mayall have been for naught; Jimmymight have decided to leave,and we might have failed. ThenI happened upon this quote byMother Teresa: “The success oflove is in the loving—it is not inthe result of loving. Of course, itis natural in love to want the bestfor the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not doesnot determine the value of what we have done.”I invest my time and energy and passion into the people I meet.But I cannot make Jimmy stay at the rehab facility. I cannot wishhim sober. Whether he stays does not detract from the fact that wecared enough to keep visiting him, find him help when he asked,and will continue to work with him, no matter the outcome ofrehab. A success story would be great, but it’s OK if it doesn’t turnout just the way I hope because, as I’m learning, the success of loveis in the loving.10 n October 2011
Philippi, W.Va.:Simple living challengeCompiled by Andrew ClousePhilippi blogAfew months ago, the Philippi,W.Va., Service Adventure unitfelt they needed some newchallenges.So the unit decided that eachparticipant would write down somechallenging ways to live simply orgenerously on slips of paper, andeach week they would drawout a different challenge thatthe house had to complete.Here is a list of the weeklychallenges they completedduring the year.For more background andstories, visit the unit’s blog atphilippiserviceadventure.blogspot.com.5.2.CHALLENGES1. Do random yard work for someone in need.No meat.(one challenge per week)3.(L to R) Ranita Shenk, Tara Corey, Ella McHugh, Christina Weaver,Mike McHugh, Ian McHugh and Heidi McHugh are all part of the2011 Philippi, W. Va., Service Adventure unit.Use only the food already inthe house for meals, withonly buying staples.4. NO sweets!No electric kitchen appliances.6.8.7.Reduce water usage.Spend only half the grocery budgetand donate the rest.Only eating foodfrom West Virginiaand bordering states,or fairly traded food.10.9. No using the car.No electricityafter 7 p.m.11.No computer use,except for work.Beyond<strong>Our</strong>selves.<strong>Mennonite</strong><strong>Mission</strong>.net ■ 11
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