An Interesting Intorduction to Bridgeport

Hello all,

It’s been an interesting couple of days in Bridgeport.

Last Thursday our house was broken in to while we were all at work. A couple girls had their lap tops stolen, along with one girl’s camera and a lot of loose change we all had in drawers and wallets. We’re all pretty shaken up by it, and really uncomfortable with the idea that someone we don’t know was in our home and dug through our things. Reclaiming our sense of home as a private, sacred space is an ongoing process and conversation. It’s going to take a while, and I don’t think we’re ever not going to be bothered by the fact that someone was in our house, but I also think it is something we can own and move on from. I think we’ll be a stronger community for it in the long run.

It was most likely what is called a “nuisance crime”, meaning the person/people who did it went from house to house, trying all the windows and doors until they found a house they could get in to. Our kitchen window happened to not be locking quite right, so they were able to force it open (for the record, this window has since been fixed, so it is locking all the way now). The item’s stolen are then usually taken to a pawn shop and almost impossible to track down at that point. Our landlord’s house also got broken in to within the last week or so, along with a house behind him. This is strange, because we live in a relatively safe/quiet neighborhood, but then, this sort of thing can happen anywhere. I definitely don’t want to blame Bridgeport. Bridgeport has its flaws and its problems, I wont sugar coat that, but it’s also so much more than that, so much better than crimes like this. A break in can happen anywhere. It could have happened while I was living in St. Cloud. It just happened to happen here. So don’t judge Bridgeport too harshly is I guess what I’m trying to say. It’s a lot better than the rough edges.

There are a lot of emotions that we’re all feeling in the aftermath. There’s discomfort and unease, as I said, with the idea of someone we don’t know being in our house and digging through our drawers. We feel really violated and that’s going to take some time to get over I think. We’re also uneasy with the idea that someone could have been home when it happened, or come home to the robbery taking place. That’s really scary. There is of course some sadness with the loss of valued items, and a lot of anger. Anger at the person/people who did it, for thinking they had a right to invade another person’s home like that. But also a lot of anger at the structure of oppression and injustice that pits the poor against the poor, that causes desperation, that doesn’t fund programs that get kids of the street and empower them to be more than their situation, that allows for such a massive gap between wealth and poverty and does so little to fix it. It’s something we’ve all talked about in the last few days, and something that I know I personally have been especially frustrated with while reflecting on our break in. I suppose that’s why we’re all here, to confront this oppressive structure.

We also view this as an opportunity to continue to be in solidarity with the community of Bridgeport, for whom crimes like this are unfortunately a reality. Things of this nature are a result of an injust and opressive system that so many people have to deal with every day of their lives. We've just gotten a small taste of what that's like. For a lot of people, this is every day stuff.

We've been really gratefull for all the support we've gotten. We feel very blessed, and we really appreciate it.

So, there’s that.

Other than the obvious, we had a really nice weekend. Friday night was very chill. We had pizza, hung out in the back yard (with hula hoops and a guitar—so much fun to be had!) ate brownies (with spoons, right out of the pan) and watched a movie together. It was really nice to relax and just have fun together. I think we all needed it.

Saturday we were invited to an end of the summer party through the young adults group at my supervisor’s church. It was a lot of fun! There was great food, games, music and dancing, and a generally merry time was had by all. It was the first time since the break in that we all left the house and no one was home, which we found really uncomfortable, but I think it was an important step for us. We can’t very well just always leave someone at home for the rest of the year.

Sunday a few of us went to a service at Joseph’s Coat of Many Color’s Lutheran Church (really I just love the name), which was really nice. The service was lovely, and had a lot of soul and passion, which I loved. I really felt that the church body had a deep investment in the community of Bridgeport, which I think is really important. We want to try different churches throughout the year, out of deference to the different traditions each of us come from as well as out of an interest in seeing what other denominations have to offer and finding a sense of unity in the Church, but I think Joseph’s Coat will be one we return too from time to time. We enjoyed it.

After the service we had brunch as a house, which we have decided should be a weekly tradition, and then in the evening our local support team (John and Sara – our support couple, Lindsey – an FJV living in Bridgeport, and Father Mark – our Jesuit contact in the area) came over and we all had a cookout in the back yard. It was a really nice weekend, even with everything we’re working through and struggling with.

Now it’s back to work for the week. We’re looking forward to getting into our jobs more, and at the end of the week we’re headed to Baltimore for a Labor Day party hosted by the JV house there, so that will be a lot of fun.

I’m still loving Bridgeport, and still SO glad I am participating in this amazing opportunity. I’m already learning and growing, and I am so blessed to have this chance. God is really very good. J

Hope everyone is doing well. Again, write, email or give me a call/text!

God bless,

Aimee