Baltimore Mission Trips - I was impressed upon the other day to go explore the projects of the city and find the most broken and destitute parts of the low-income housing district and what I found was shocking and heartbreaking. Never in all of my life have I seen so many homes closed up and run down. At first glance, the row homes seemed nothing more than boarded up buildings with no occupation, but what hit me was the fact that these buildings were once homes of men and women, brothers and sisters, families and friends—these buildings held stories. It was clear from the faces of these buildings that there weren’t stories of joy, hope, and peace, but hurt, hopelessness, and desperation. With such a graphic depiction of brokenness in these homes, it begs the question of “Why?” What has forced so many people from their homes and turned once thriving neighborhoods into dilapidated streets of despair?

The vast majority of the homes in the city neighborhoods were once part of government issued housing projects which were built to support low income families. A handful of the original homes are still intact; which date back to the 30’s and earlier. As I talked to the people from these neighborhoods, I learned that many homes would be boarded up and destroyed because of tax evasion, drug activity, domestic disturbance, and murders. Whether from eviction, or domestic problems, the low-income district is marred with broken lives; some even forced into homelessness for having nowhere else to turn.

I guess what I’m finding hard to deal with is the fact I have never lived in a neighborhood like the one I visited that day. I have never had to experience what life of a low-income family was like. Until that day, I never would have been able to comprehend life in the projects. My heart goes out to this community. Having been in the inner city for over a month now, I am beginning to see how hard life really is for this part of Baltimore. 

Even amongst the turmoil in city housing, there has been an increased effort and encouraging support from volunteers and organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, who are working to rebuild hope to the cities most rundown area. As God continues to work through people to bring His love and hope, lives will continue to be changed and a broken city restored.

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