Written by Lizzy Nelson and Sarah Sterba
Last July, we arrived to Amate House as strangers, some of us arriving from across the country and others close to home. Today, we can confidently say these strangers have become friends. After countless house dinners, community nights, and tv show marathons, our understanding of community has deepened.
This understanding has influenced how we view not only Amate House, but also the residents of McKinley Park, the people we serve and interact with at worksites, and our friendships prior to Amate. Some of our favorite memories include meeting friends and loved ones of our community members. This year, the house has been filled with guests, people that have been with us at different parts of life and shaped who we are. Friends from childhood, significant others, college roommates, and friends from study abroad have gotten a taste of the Amate experience and allowed us all glimpses into where we come from. Each visitor has brought with them stories, memories, and glimpses into the lives we lived before arriving here.
This year, our community hosted many visitors for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Chicago. We donned green (otherwise pinches would occur), met early in the kitchen for Kenzie’s signature breakfast casserole, and headed downtown with our guests to lay our eyes on the green river. We still find it hard to believe how green it can get!
In addition to St. Patrick’s day festivities, some fellows recently had time to attend the No King’s protest together. We left feeling inspired by the thousands of people locally and far away who are working hard to promote justice across the United States and abroad.
We are shaped by those who surround us. Just as we shape each other in the house, it is a joy to witness how each fellow is shaped by their independent relationships. The call to radical hospitality, hosting visitors from our own communities back home, and engaging in global community activism not only allowed us to share our Amate experience with loved ones, but it has also helped us get deeper glimpses into our community members’ lives.
Living alongside one another at Amate House, we are constantly learning, growing, and becoming. We are influenced in both big and small ways by the community around us. We pick up habits, humor, perspectives, and recipes. As we continue through the last few months of our year, we are grateful for a community that grows both in size and depth, deepening relationships one conversation at a time. By welcoming others, sharing stories, and spending intentional time with one another, we are learning that community is not static nor confined to a single space. It grows and gives us space to grow along the way.