Getting to Know the Neighbors

A few weekends ago we held a get-to-know-your-neighbor cookout on our front porch/balcony.
We have talked for far too long about doing this and finally took the step to make it happen. 
We have knocked over a wall that we have been hitting for a long time. 

Initially, we put little invites on the doors of our four nearest neighbors a few days previous.  When none of them showed up that day, while Steve cooked hot dogs, I knocked on every door in our courtyard - 30 doors.  While a number of people excitedly said they would drop by as they headed to work, no one did.  The successful part of the whole event was that I met about 15 people I have lived next to for almost a year and never spoken to.

While I got some mixed reactions to my spontaneous introduction, most people seemed pleasantly surprised at my approach.  It was a flashback to our days working with Apartment Life ministry.  People open their doors to strangers with a wariness for which I cannot blame them.  I would do the same.  When they discover we come with friendly intentions, their whole demeanor changes and they become disarmed.  While the world has become a more unsafe place, offering a relationship is almost never refused.  People crave relationship - even introverts. 

On another note, it is an eye opener to go to people's homes and discover who and what exists behind those doors.  Our neighborhood, I discovered, consists mostly of ASU students and Somalian families or single Somalian men.  You can discover the demographics of your neighborhood just by meeting your neighbors.  Steve and I discovered we are in the majority.  We have not met any couples with babies and not a single actual married couple.  Such diversity can be inviting.  We want to take advantage of that.

This cookout was not as successful as we would have liked it to be; two people came.  But now we have an idea of what didn't work, we understand the demographics a little more: single working moms, busy ASU students and couples who work all the time, etc.  We are motivated to try again soon with different times in the day and new tactics.
We are excited to see what comes next!