“Seeing Lives Transformed”
A note from our founder, Lucas Rouggly
It is always an adventure to bring outside groups into North City. Division has been an achilles heel for our city for over a century and attempting to bring different socioeconomic cultures together is not without its challenges. Over the years we have worked hard to teach our outside teams through racial reconciliation, poverty alleviation, and Gospel motivation.
One powerful story from last month was from a young woman who came to serve LOVEtheLOU with her church. Currently she lives in Hannibal, MO but grew up in Granite City, IL. She arrived early to the gardens and was able to share with me as we were walking around that she used to be addicted to pretty hard drugs and often would buy and use in these neighborhoods on the Northside. She even overdosed at our building on Kingshighway only a decade ago. But, miraculously, she has since given her life to Jesus and has had 4 years of sobriety! On that day she had come back to the same neighborhood that represented her own pain and suffering to serve. What a pinnacle moment of life transformation! She struggled coming back but said she knew that she was no longer the same person and that Jesus is bigger than any struggle. He is victorious over addiction.
We do a lot of work in vacant lots, gardens, and abandoned houses. We mow lawns, paint stairwells, and plant vegetables. We do a lot of physical work, but the stuff I enjoy the most is seeing lives transformed.
A Look Back, A Look Forward
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On the afternoon of Saturday, August 21st the 4100 Block of Enright gathered outside as a neighborhood and celebrated a great summer. There was music, BBQ and fried fish, basketball, art, and a whole lot of laughter! This is the block where it all started and we are thankful to be able to continue to be a part of this amazing community.
Our volunteers amaze us on a daily basis. One of our favorite projects completed by this summer’s volunteer teams was this trellis and fountain space in our community garden. How stunning! We love creating spaces alongside neighbors and volunteers that the community can be proud of! Our hope is that as this area develops, it becomes a haven.
Leaving the summer means we are heading into fall WHICH MEANS we are heading toward our annual END OF YEAR CELEBRATION! We look forward to this time each fall to reflect on the previous year and all the ways our LOVEtheLOU team and supporters have been able to make a difference. You will be hearing more about this as November approaches. Stay tuned!