I am ecstatic! In spirit, I am heading for a celebration that I could never even imagine happening a few years back when I witnessed a carload of thugs turn their car in a circle in the middle of the street while screaming death threats at my Latino neighbors. Never did my hopes and dreams and prayers reach such high aspirations as to imagine a coming together of the unique cultures on Harlan Street and Churchman Avenue in Indianapolis.

It's been six months since I left Indianapolis, which was about the same time as the combining of the 1100-1200 block of Churchman Ave. and neighboring streets, Harlan and St. Paul, to form WE'CAN, a three-block club with the purpose of building an old-fashioned neighborhood in the inner city. Our greatest difficulty was communication since the long-time residents and the Latino residents spoke different languages. A summer of hard work creating a community garden and cleaning the streets, along with a volunteer angel who interpreted, has apparently very quickly created a community spirit.

Today I received an invitation to a Block Party:

Hello, I Wanted to invite you to stop in and celebrate our Outreach efforts to our Latino community in the WE'CAN area of the 1100-1200 blocks of Harlan Street. This celebration is going to be Awesome! Come meet the residents, Come early! starts with Prayer,Food,Fun led by Elizabeth Hernandez and Carmen DeRusha of Purdue University. Hope you can be there, we could use your power in prayer.

Get fed, have fun and plenty of updates on the WE'CAN area and its Partners in the Southeast Neighborhood Development's 2010 Buildings Blocks effort.

Marti LaMar

Great are my prayers of Thanksgiving that God chose Marti to lead the way. Her energy has been boundless as she has worked with the children of the community throughout the summer to make the neighborhood fresh and clean and new.

WE'CAN has once again shown that all God's children yearn to live in peace and community wherever they may be. It just takes those prayers and someone to gather everyone into a room believing that the answer is in the room and letting the group work through the details.

Jane Mullikin
Spirit - Finding Hope in a World of Uncertainty
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