Two of the Dwellers in the Capitol View house have dived into community ministry. Steve Andrews and Kari Pellegrino (newlyweds as of August 2009) have started volunteering at the neighborhood GED program, a joint project of Covenant Ministries and Capitol View United Methodist Church. Steve saw a sign in front of Covenant Ministries this summer that they were looking for volunteers for their clothing bank. He got talking with the Minister and the Apostle about their desire to start a GED program. Steve had the knowledge and skills to organize the GED program and Covenant Ministries and Capitol View United Methodist Church had the ability to provide the space and resources. God had brought them together and the GED program kicked off on August 17th. Most of the folks who come to the program are local neighbors and some are also from the congregations of Covenant Ministries and Capitol View United Methodist Church. Kari shared that being involved in the GED program has created a big leveling field. Even when one is the teacher and one is the student, they both are struggling through fractions together. One day Kari and one of her students were working through a lot of math word problems. These word problems were hard for both of them, but they kept struggling through them. After successfully solving several, the woman who Kari was working with looked at the next problem and said “I’m not afraid of you”. This reminded Kari that this program is not just about skills, but also about empowerment. Something like completing math problems can become a way to increase self confidence and feel empowered not just in math skills but in other parts of life as well.
Kari says that she has never prayed so much as she has while working in this program. She prays for the students and for the “light to come on” as they learn math skills. This faith community has become part of her faith community. The folks in the program celebrated her and Steve’s marriage and have supported them as newlyweds. Kari has never been more grateful for the skills someone taught her while she was growing up. For example, the skill of reading a paragraph and understanding what it says. She doesn’t remember learning these things, but now recognizes in a new way what a gift her education has been and the important role that teachers and parents have played in her education. It has been a real joy for Kari and Steve to see the progress their students are making and to see how both they and the student are changed through the process.
