Settled Outside Normal Comfort Zones

So I arrived in the Miami area on Friday afternoon with my incredible brother, Joe. His presence for the first few days was more than essential to my transition here, and he hopefully knows I appreciated it more than anything.
To focus on the current events, have you ever been somewhere that made you feel like the center of attention, just because you looked differently, dressed differently, or even appeared more uncomfortable than those around you? Yea....welcome to Miami. I was ready for this mentally and have been put into that set of emotions since I got off the Florida turnpike and drove on the streets of the city. For those of you in Rockland County and for those of you reading this on a couch or bed with the TV on and a nice laptop on your legs, I encourage you to think about how unbelievably privileged you are and do something to give back. We have come from an ideal suburban life that has provided a security bubble from many major real world issues that were mostly only discussed primarily in textbooks and classroom settings. I am in a city where many kids do not graduate from high school and never step foot on a college campus. Think of the stability you have had and think of the comforts you have been able to maintain because of that continuous support system of family and friends and that amazing life that you have complained about numerous times. I have been guilty of all of this, and I am not here to say I am perfect. However, this exposure to a lifestyle unlike ours and one that can test what my true necessities are is something I wish everyone could experience to some degree and learn to handle.
  I am a minority and have never been tested in my ability to live with that idea before now. I was told by many that this would be the case, and I discussed it in all of my interviews, but I am currently facing that foreseen reality.
Among these uncomfortable initial feelings, all I can still anticipate is having a year full of change, exposure, and God working in ways I would never expect. I may be getting looks now, but I can only hope as I learn to love this community and grow into it, I will become a part of the roots that this area is based through.
Unfortunately, most do not know that God will provide and protect in situations like this. He will never let go of you, no matter the hardships you face. My job down here is to provide help, inspire hope, and illustrate faith, and this is best done by coming to a level of understanding with love and compassion. I am not here to judge, but to be embedded. I am not here to push, but to emphasize and encourage. I am here for God and I will be His servant in whatever way He intends for me.