The faces of hope in Regent Park

A couple of weeks ago I drove around the corner from the office to visit with the volunteer group from Pennsylvania that was working on one of our houses. What I witnessed left me speechless, as I saw not only the volunteers hard at work, but countless residents working on their own properties. In 13 years of this work I had yet to see what I saw that day. Let me elaborate just a bit as its so fresh in my mind. One of our tenants was busy landscaping her property, she takes great pride in her work, and rightfully so as her home looks beautiful enough to receive an award.

City trucks were busy repaving Cushing Street, the THIRD street to be repaved in recent weeks.  Down the street, more city trucks were demolishing houses that we had lobbied for many months to have removed. And, of course, the big buzz in the neighborhood is about the community park and the new Early Childhood Education center opening August 6th

A few houses down Eastburn there was a man sitting on his porch waving at me while beaming with excitement.  I waved back while yelling "lots going on today" over noise. He then pointed to the sky and said “I guess blessings are raining down from above”. He then went to visit with another cheerful neighbor a few houses away. As I looked up and down this block, I realized that the reason the residents were all so joyful was because their common vision was being realized. These people stuck it out through the worst of times in this community, and now were seeing the fruit of their perseverance. These people are my heroes.

Just a few minutes later a man was driving by, he stopped to ask if we had any homes for sale because this was a community he wants to be a part of. The neighborhood is looking so incredible these days it is quite apparent that something is happening here that can’t be explained apart from God.
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Hope in our case looks as simple as a smile, sounds like praise to the Lord for all He is doing, and is manifested in residents beginning to participate in the great work God has started.  
God is revealing Himself in countless ways.  With God all things are possible. Today’s Regent Park is a testimony to God’s love and wonder working power in the face of what seemed like impossible odds.  

”lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”   Psalm 121:1