Dear Dearborn

Dear Dearborn,

So nice to see you!

My time at Guardian began at the onset of our nation's recession. We arrived in Dearborn in August of 2008, and sold our West Michigan house seven months later for $25,000 less than what we bought it (not too bad by 2010 standards). In coming back to metro-Detroit, it has been difficult to see so many empty parking lots, to hear of so many empty homes, and to feel the pain of an economy crumbling.

This past Thursday (May 20), on my way to make a visit at Oakwood Hospital, I drove through downtown Dearborn on Michigan Ave. before turning onto Oakwood Blvd... and I have to say that this was my favorite drive in my entire time at Guardian.

It was a beautiful spring early afternoon. The sun was shining. The air was warm. But mostly I smiled at what I witnessed. I saw people. Lots of them. On Michigan Ave., groups of people walking outside shops. Friends eating at outdoor tables. Thick traffic. Dearborn was alive... and I was loving it.

On Oakwood Blvd., rows of school buses filling the Henry Ford Museum, cars lined up to turn into the Automotive Hall of Fame, and masses of working people enjoying the weather, eating their lunches under the sun and shade.

I have long admired the visionary leadership of the Ford family, and have come to know and love many people who have spent their lives "thinking Ford first". Let's face it... Dearborn lives and breathes Ford Motor Company. Without sinking to far into a political blog, may I suffice to say, I am overjoyed that Ford is weathering the storm without government aid.

As a pastor who is beginning to sink his roots into Dearborn, I loved Thursday afternoon because it was vivid reminder to me of not only why I am here... but why Guardian is still here. There is still work to be done, souls still longing to see Jesus, and a place where the heart of Dearborn can gather to worship the Maker of all good things.

Dear Dearborn... it was nice to see you!

Pastor Andrzejewski