It was the third Korean market our group tried to learn more about and it was the third time we were turned away, sent back to the trash lined sidewalks of the Logan neighborhood. The lovely weather kept our spirits high as we continued in our search for a local business that could offer us some sort of insight into its history. In midst of our search, we met Anne Nielson, a young pregnant mother who was rushing along with her lively young daughters in tow. We found out they were on their way to church and were told we were more than welcome to come speak to people there if we chose to do so. Such an open welcome left us with little hesitation, so we walked three blocks down Broad Street and ended up between Loudon Street and Wyoming Avenue. As we stood out front of the beautiful brick building, we noticed that the trash we had grown so accustomed to walking along had almost entirely disappeared. We had arrived at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Right there, in the center of the Logan neighborhood, was a Mormon church. We were instantaneously intrigued by its presence, and we ventured through the doors behind which service was to begin. Upon entering, we were greeted with smiling faces and quickly caught several members' interests. We spoke to some young missionaries of the church and asked them about their experiences living in an area like Logan. Elder Decamp, a 19-year-old missionary for the church, spoke openly about his time living in the neighborhood.
"It was a bit shell shocking at first, but now we're happy to call it home," he says.
We talked to quite a few people from the church and they all encouraged us to ask any questions we had. They were incredibly thoughtful, open and kind in their responses, while genuinely listening to us while we asked about the community. They invited us to come back next week for their Sunday service and we gladly accepted the invitation. It will surely help us to get to know a group of residents in Logan that a lot of people may be surprised to find in such an area of the city.
Team 9 Olney/Logan-Casey Snyder, Julio Nunez, Mari Saito
No comments:
Post a Comment