On Sunday of last week we went into Detroit to meet with the woman to whom I had spoken at Summit on the day before. My last comment on last week’s entry was “The wind blows where it will,” and it does seem that the Wind has a better idea of what He’s doing than I do. This new mother, whom I’ll call Laurie, lives in some of the worst circumstances I have ever seen. Half of the houses on her street are boarded up. Her own house is not much morethan a plywood shack–handily equipped with utilities. She has three children; the 5 year-old is autistic. The father of her two older girls was murdered about 5 years ago. Laurie herself has a disease called NF1, a disease of the nervous system. She has little tumors all over her arms and legs; these could eventually cover her entire body. But she’s a good mother with her girls. She tries to teach them courtesy and she takes the time to explain what is good behavior and what is not. Right now we’re working on the problem of a whopping DTE bill–almost $3,000. After that, a new place to live.
