Today my photography journeys led me to downtown Detroit. One photo session was in a church & community outreach center. After walking in, instantly realized that people were lined up, getting their name called for clothes & food. I was escorted around the building and outside because they didn’t dare let me walk alone for my safety.
I noticed that the building smelled so fresh & clean. Which made me drawn to this lady who was mopping the floor and doing an incredible job of it. She started talking to me and she was the nicest lady. I could tell she was a single mom and she talked about how her 7 yr old son was so excited about Halloween. And she made the comment that she was glad he “just” wanted her to paint his face, because costumes were so expensive.
As I left the building I felt like I wanted to change the world, or the lives of those in that building, or at least the nice lady who was mopping the floor. Checking my wallet I realized I didn’t have even $1. So I set off on a journey to find an ATM. Very hard in this area of town. I finally found one in a gas station nearby. Three different men saw me go to the ATM and all of them approached me asking for money and followed me back to my car.
I made is safety back to the center. I found the lady with the mop and handed her some money. I told her to buy her son the best and coolest costume for Halloween, or to use it for something else if he preferred. She started to cry. So you know I did too. In fact, if you know me well enough you probably are assuming I’m tearing up as I write this. Yes, you are right. I have a soft heart. Anyway, the lady thanked me over and over and asked me what my name was. She said she was going to tell her son “all about Kristi”. And then she said that when she was done mopping she was going to go into the church to pray for me & for her.
The funny thing is that the rest of my day I regretted the amount that I gave her and wished I had given her more.
I had 2 hours until my next photo session which was also downtown. Usually I’d go shopping, but being in downtown doesn’t allow for that. So I literally drove around for 2 full hours. I observed all the homes that told so many stories to me. They must have been gorgeous, large homes at one time with affluent families that lived in them. Now, so many are abandoned. On one street I counted 11 abandoned homes in a row.
Yes, there are nice parts of Detroit with growing businesses and nice neighborhoods. But today my journey focused on realizing how difficult so many people have it and how gracious I am for what I have. And it was also a reminder that doing little things for other people can greatly impact not only their life, but also my own.
My camera tells some of the stories I witnessed today.
And all of sudden I turned down a street and saw this beautiful site!
