6.19.2013

Summer Day Camp Flier

HPCO's Summer Day Camp 2013 Flier is hot off the press and about to be spread around the city tomorrow afternoon!!


**Please be praying that we begin to build relationships and good rapport with the parents of these children and that this ministry would not just be for the kids, but that the parents would be touched by how they see God working in the lives of their children! Thank you!**

6.17.2013

HPCO Day Camp T-Shirt Design

CHECK OUT HPCO DAY CAMP 2013'S NEW T-SHIRT DESIGN!!!


(HPCO Day Camp 2013 T-Shirt Design)


If you haven't already guessed, the theme of this summer's Day Camp is... PEACE!!!
 

Throughout this program, we will be exploring the many ways we can find peace with ourselves, others, and the world, through the liberating message of Christ, the peace He freely gives us, and how we can give some of that peace back to Him.


Would anyone like to donate $200 to make these t-shirts happen? Please mail your check (made out to Highland Park Community Outreach, with T-SHIRT in the memo line) to:

Highland Park Community Outreach
P.O. Box 3900
Highland Park, MI 48203


THANK YOU!!!

Highland Park Community Outreach (HPCO) Day Camp 2013

I just started as Highland Park Community Outreach (HPCO)'s Day Camp Director!

Please follow this blog if you would like to stay on top of the HPCO happenings. Thanks!

10.16.2012

YARN BOMBING

Wowee wow wow...

Check out my friend, the Unity Yarn Bomber's blog page!

Great job UYB!! Sorry they took it down so quickly. ]:



http://unityyarnbomber.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-grassroot-campaign-effort-thrown-away.html

8.13.2012

Kiva

Hey y'all!

Have you ever heard of Kiva?

Please check out this website and consider joining it!

[{ http://www.kiva.org/invitedby/nicole7061 }]


10.06.2011

A little love. With cookies in return.

Soaked, chilled, and a bit muddy, I stand on a residential street, clothed in business casual attire, next to a kind man who is just helpin' a sister out - my angel. We stare in bewilderment at the tire, having jacked the car up, then down, and then back again, the thing would not budge from the bolts. The changing of a tire has never before made me so defeated and perplexed. But I couldn't help but laugh at the situation and feel blessed to have such a kind stranger giving up a good 30 minutes (or more) of his day to help me get back on the road on a rainy, early morning in late September. Coincidentally, he lived in the house that we happened to park in front of and was able to grab a bunch of his own tools (since we unfortunately didn't have the proper tools). We ended up calling Road-Side Assistance due to the fact that we were not able to get the tire off. But this guy really helped a lot, got all soaked, and dirty, and was most likely late for work. All to help out some ladies in need - of whom he has never seen before! I decided to do something kind back to the man and this is what I came up with...



p.s. - The man's name is Tom.









Question for the day:

What is it that makes us humans so compassionate for each other? Is there some sort of innate yearning for community, living in shared life and struggle with our fellow human beings?





“A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.”
Desmond Tutu*


“Ubuntu [...] speaks of the very essence of being human. [We] say [...] "Hey, so-and-so has ubuntu." Then you are generous, you are hospitable, you are friendly and caring and compassionate. You share what you have. It is to say, "My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours." We belong in a bundle of life. We say, "A person is a person through other persons."

[...] A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed, or treated as if they were less than who they are.”
Desmond Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness*


*Desmond Tutu Quotes. Goodreads Inc., 2011. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. .

6.29.2011

June Newsletter

Hello Friend,
I pray this blog post finds you thriving, loving life, and experiencing God in radical and new ways. Let me take this chance to give you a little glimpse into the way that I am experiencing God in radical new ways in the inner city of Houston, TX...

Casa de Clara y Arnulfo [6.4.11]
It’s a Saturday, we all just finished devotions and were getting ready to start our chores when the boys decide to go out into the neighborhood and do chores later, while the girls stay. A good while into chores, we get a call from Matt, who says that they just saw Clara and Arnulfo sitting on their porch and stopped to chat and whilst chatting, came to find out that Clara thinks that we had forgotten about her! Truthfully, we hadn’t visited her in a long while, so we finished up our chores and headed straight for Clara and Arnulfo’s front porch, knitting in hand (of course). ...(continued in newsletter)

Justice Project [5.1.11-7.2.11]
All of the Mission Year Houston teams have come up with their own “Justice Project”: where we look at our neighborhood, define a need, brainstorm ways to meet that need, pick one, and put it into action. Our neighbor Flores has many rental properties, and many renters who aren’t on top of their payments, which yielded a pretty large sum of tax dollars owed, with not much help. So, we decided to help organize a yard sale with the abundance of items stored up in an old storefront building. ...(continued in newsletter)

Please click HERE to read the full newsletter in .pdf format.


Love you all,
Nicole Davis


6.14.2011

Fresh Homemade Videos

This year I have been fortunate to get trained and gain a lot of experience in video editing using Final Cut Pro. I recently finished up a couple video projects for Mission Houston's conference called At The Corner Of... ! If you visit the At The Corner Of... (ATCO) website, you will see the background photo and logos of which I have taken/designed.

Please check out these videos:

Memories of "At The Corner Of..." Conference 2010


Memories of "At The Corner Of..." Conference 2010 - 2



Enjoy! And tell me what you think!

6.01.2011

12.17.2010

Artist Coalition




Calling all pack-rats, collectors of junk and those who need to get rid of some scraps!!


I am starting an Arts Coalition in my neck o' the woods – Houston's First Ward. I would like to provide my members with supplies for creating together, but I am broke and need YOUR HELP! I will take anything from cardboard, to wallpaper, to fabric, to yarn, to paint. (Read on for full wish list.) You can contact me at nicole.ecclesia@gmail.com OR 734-664-0278 if you would like to donate anything. Many thanks!


Wish List:


  • any kind of scrap paper

  • beads

  • brushes

  • buttons

  • candy wrappers

  • card stock

  • chains

  • colored pencils

  • coloring books

  • comic books

  • construction paper

  • crochet hooks

  • dremel tool with small drill bit

  • embroidery floss & hoops

  • fabric

  • fabric scraps

  • funky patterned out-of-style clothing

  • game pieces

  • Gesso (canvas primer)

  • gift wrap & bows

  • graph paper

  • hammer

  • Industrial discards, misprints & overruns

  • Jewelry (whole & broken pieces)

  • jewelry fixings

  • keys

  • knitting needles

  • letters

  • magazines

  • markers

  • matte board

  • Mod Podge (decoupage)

  • nails

  • netting

  • newspaper

  • old/vintage maps

  • paint

  • paper for binding into journals

  • pencils

  • photos (new & old)

  • playing cards

  • posters

  • puzzles (incomplete is fine)

  • quilt squares

  • recipe cards

  • ribbon

  • ric rac

  • rope, twine, & cording

  • rubber stamps

  • rulers

  • scissors

  • scrapbook paper

  • scrap lumber

  • sewing needles

  • sharpies

  • small toys

  • snaps

  • stuffing

  • tape

  • tea bag envelopes

  • textiles

  • thread

  • tulle

  • vinyl & leather pieces & scraps

  • waxed linen thread

  • wire

  • wood pieces (trim & veneer)

  • yarn

  • yarn scraps

12.15.2010

My Apologies...


Hey y'all... I'm sorry for not being very up-to-date at all with this here blog! I seem to drop things when I feel like more important things have been dropped. Blog posts and Facebook statuses just seem to no longer be important when there are so many friendships to keep up with here in Houston's First Ward.

So, let me take this short time to update you... Enjoy.



Art on Taft Street Coffee's walls for silent auction.
[ I don't remember who the artist is, sorry artist! ]

10.01.2010

September 2010 Newsletter

Newsletter September, 2010

What's Happenin'?

Three weeks in and already slightly falling for the city of Houston. I technically have only been in Houston for two whole weeks because our first week we took quite the road trip from Houston to Chicago for a week of orientation. Packing almost 25 young adults into one big van and three cars is one of the best ways to get to know people, in my opinion! I enjoyed just about every second of our 48 hour (round trip) expedition, and was awake for the majority of it as well! Oh, how I love a good road trip!

Orientation was such a good experience! Being in a place and knowing that every single person there has been called to the same thing you have been called to is very encouraging and slightly mind-blowing!

I couldn't have asked for anything more with the house we are in and my teammates are all very beautiful people. We like hanging out and having jam sessions on our numerous living room couches and walking the neighborhood unceasingly. We have met many of our precious neighbors and have made many a baked good for them. One of our favorites is Miss Linda. Once, while walking the neighborhood, my housemate, Becky, saw Miss Linda on her porch and asked her if she ever crafts (hoping to eventually start up a neighborhood craft club) and Miss Linda got so excited that she simply handed Becky a purse she had made from scrap couch material and safety pins. Becky promised Miss Linda that we would return the favor, then came back to the house to show off her new style and inform us of the agreement. I jumped at the opportunity and started knitting and sewing up a bag for Miss Linda. A few days later we visited Miss Linda and brought with us our knitted/sewn gift and she absolutely loved it! That was a really fun, tangible way to show Christ's love for her, and our friendship!

Our church and service site – Ecclesia - is like a dream! This place screams all of my passions and it is quite uncanny how close it is to my dreams of having a place that is a coffee house/bookstore/art space/ministry space. God sure gave me some specific dreams and is now showing me that they are quite possible. This past week we have been going through barista training, which will come in handy whenever we have to work in the coffee shop (which I hope is often!). Later on we will be getting quite a bit of training in video editing. We will be coming up with a collaborative event later on down the road that incorporates all of the artistic talent from our team - through music, visual arts, creative writing, etc. I will soon be involved in the Children's Ministry on Sunday mornings, where the children will learn how to listen from the Word and have the chance to creatively respond to what they heard in a way that is not formulaic, which I find to be a beautiful approach to learning. I look forward to seeing how they go about that.

I am just very grateful to be a part of this beautiful call to action and love this year and hope it inspires a radical life change in my own life and the lives of many. Thank you for taking an interest and for reading!

Love,

nicole.

Prayer requests:

That we would have many more opportunities to build deeper relationships with our neighbors, our teammates, our church family, and our God.

Also, that we would be continually energized by our hope and goal and will be slow to becoming weary, tired, and discouraged.

Thank you.

8.16.2010

Video

Nathanael Carmel Davis is a wonderful videographer of whom I am veryyyyy fond.

This is an intro to my year in Houston, Texas. Enjoy.


8.11.2010

The Styrofoam Cup Event

DEFINITELY come!!!!! If you are thinking... "Hey, I think this thing might be cool, but I don't really know if I'm invited. : /" OR "I don't even know this chick! She doesn't want me coming to her event." You could not be more wrong!!! Ha. I would LOVE for you to come to my event! Bring a friend if coming alone is awkward (we all know it is *somebody had to say it - The Ringer*). But, fo' real, y'all!! Do this event up, because I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed. (I hope. :] ) But definitely don't think that you aren't invited because I'm inviting you right now. I really hope to see you there!!! :]

7.26.2010

Newsletter Numero Uno:




Dear Family and Friends,


As of September 3rd, 2010, I will be embarking on a journey of a lifetime in the lovely city of Houston, Texas. I have been accepted by an organization called Mission Year (http://missionyear.org) to love on the people of Houston! They are all about the Acts 2 Church; community, discipleship, and spreading the love of Christ. While I am there my team and I will be focusing on their basics: 1.) Community Service, 2.) Church Partnership, 3.) Relational Impact, 4.) Justice, 5.) Christian Community, and 6.) Personal Discipleship. I will be serving 4 days a week at a community service sight and will be developing meaningful relationships with my neighbors and my teammates, in the name of Jesus Christ.


I heard about Mission Year 4 or 5 years back at Cornerstone Music Festival. About a month ago I was praying and contemplating what to do this year; asking God whether or not He wants me to go back to school and what He has for me during the fall, knowing the Mission Year application deadline was over. A few days later an e-mail from Mission Year was waiting for me, telling me that they have extended the deadline to July 15th. They also went on to say that they are developing a brand new pilot team in Houston that will be focusing on the Arts. Incorporating mission work and the Arts is only what I have been dreaming of and have felt God's calling for me to do for what seems like forever! This passion for inner-city areas was birthed from my involvement with Highland Park Community Outreach in an after-school program. The community I experienced there was contagious. Those kids were outstanding and the need that was so prevalent in their lives truly touched my heart and is a need that I simply cannot ignore. What an awesome opportunity to live my dream, touching peoples lives in the name of Jesus through art, in Houston, Texas. What an incredible God-orchestrated miracle! What are the odds?


The purpose of this letter is not purely to keep you up-to-date with the events going on in my life, I would also like to invite you along in my journey, through your support. During my year in Houston, I will be self-supported through donations, with $12,000 being my total goal for the year. I have included an envelope if you are able to support me financially. An equally appreciated support method is prayer. Prayer is huge when it comes to actively seeking God's will at every moment of every day. Knowing that I have a band of sisters and brothers praying for me will be a great source of strength and encouragement. You can also journey with me through reading my stories and thoughts on my blog at { asalvagedheart.blogspot.com }. Thank you.


Sincerely,

Nicole Davis


p.s. -- I also have a "donate" button on the right menu if you are interested. Also, you can donate through the Mission Year support site { missionyear.org/support/nicoledavis } where you can choose to make a one-time donation or monthly pledges AND in a couple weeks you will receive a receipt for your taxable donation!

7.25.2010

arte y el misionero.



I have an amazing opportunity to pursue all of my passions for Jesus, art, and community through an organization called "Mission Year" [ missionyear.org ] and I will be leaving - possibly for Houston, Texas - very soon - September 3rd and it will be going until the end of next July. I will be having a fundraiser for my trip near the end of August - either the 27th or 28th - and it will be all about the arts. I was wondering if you would like to donate any photography or whatever else you might have that is artistic (prints are totally fine, no need to be originals). It will be a silent auction/benefit concert, with the proceeds going to my fund. My goal for the year being $12,000. I definitely don't expect to get that much from this event, but it's a step. :] The details for the event are really raw and still need to be hashed out. But I was just asking you to see if you would be interested. Let me know, thanks!!

Ecclesia Church

Ecclesia Church - The church that I will be partnering with in my mission year team. Beauty resounds throughout every aspect of this journey God is hurling me into and strikes the chords of my very heart strings. I'm awestruck. Please read my heart scream:


"Ecclesia is a Holistic Missional Community called out to serve Jesus, our Liberating King. We proclaim the good news of his Kingdom with words and actions in the City of Houston and across the globe. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we follow the example of Jesus by loving sacrificially and fearlessly. We are people of the Book. We have confidence in the scriptures, God's self-revelation in the words of people in history. The scriptures tell the story that ignites and sustains us, the story of God's relentless Kingdom. We offer this statement of our convictions with humility, and without any illusions about our ability to capture the fullness of God’s truth in any document. We embrace and celebrate the mystery of faith, even as we look forward to the day when our Savior returns. Then we will know fully as we are fully known. We believe in the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe in God the Father: Who created the Heavens and the Earth, the seen and the unseen, and pronounced it all good; Who graciously calls out a people for his own possession to fight the powers and bless all the peoples on earth; Who keeps his promises to Abraham, David, and his covenant people; Who spoke through the prophets; Who speaks through his word; Who revealed himself definitively in and through Jesus. We believe in Jesus Christ our Lord: alpha and omega, the risen, reigning, and returning King, the object of our faith. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, the eternal Word made flesh; Who was crucified, died, and was buried; Who was resurrected on the third day; Who now sits in glory at the right hand of God the Father;

Who will return to judge the world and consummate the fullness of his kingdom; Who meets us in the bread and wine as we celebrate the victory of the cross and we anticipate his triumphant return. We believe in the Holy Spirit: the giver of life, liberator, and enabler Who was poured out at Pentecost; Who unites us in one body; Who gives us wisdom and discernment; Who gives us gifts for service; Who gives us the power to be loving and faithful; Who fills us for worship; Who guarantees our glorious destiny. We believe in the Church:

We are a "called out people." We are called out from captivity to freedom, death to life, complacency to cruciformity. We are baptized into the community of the Liberating King, the body of Christ. We are the aftertaste of God's loving triumph on the cross and the foretaste of his loving triumph at the consummation of his Kingdom. We are a missional community. We serve our King, one another, and the world according to the gifts that the Spirit has graciously distributed among us. We believe in the Holy Scriptures: as God’s revelation of himself, which were given to men and women through the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. We believe in the forgiveness of sins: through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. We were alienated, dead, enslaved, proud, deceived, and hopeless. God rescued us in and through Jesus, who died for our sins, who actually became sin, on a Roman cross. We do not understand this cosmic transaction, but we know that our sins have been forgiven, our lives have been altered, the curtain has been torn, the walls have been demolished, the shackles have been removed. Jesus died for us to set us free to live for him. We believe in the resurrection of the body:

The unique beauty of Christianity centers on the reality that the Creator God journeyed from the heavens to join us in our humanity as the ultimate means of our salvation. We seek to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus by following His example to love one another as He loved us, even to the point of death. We believe in life everlasting: Jesus came to give us life, abundant, authentic and eternal. It is the life of the Kingdom, the life of the age to come, but we taste it here and now through the Holy Spirit as we eagerly look forward to the fullness of the Kingdom. Because we have this life, our citizenship is in heaven, our ultimate loyalty is to our Liberating King, and we live as sojourners in a fallen and rebellious world. Because we have this life, as Spirit-empowered nonconformists, we seek to be a blessing in this world, to demonstrate the justice, love and shalom of Jesus by service to the poor and the poor in spirit. "


Check out more of their awe-inspiring links and such at

[ http://www.ecclesiahouston.org/ ]

introducción de nadie


hello.
my name is nicole.
i don't belong on earth,
but it works well
for my foreign dwelling -
for now.