Cakes, Babies, and Home

"You said Carlo's Bakery is just around the corner?" It surly is. I just looked down the street of my favorite apartment of my search and twenty people are waiting in the cold to get a glimpse inside the location of the TLC's reality show Cake Boss. This could be my home for the next year. If only my finances could bare the luxury cost of living in up-and-coming, yuppie town, Hoboken, NJ. I think it feels right, but can I sacrifice enough to allow me to live in the area? Luckily, I have no loans, but I do have car. Why did I convince myself that I needed to lease a car? I probably could have managed with a used one, but then I would have run the risk of it breaking down in the middle of a six hour trip to up-state NY. I paid the cost to beat uncertainty.

In the past few days, I've looked at a half a dozen apartments. Some with roommates, some in attics, some one bedrooms, some studios, all are costly. Nothing in NJ or NY is cheap. One of the girls I am working with who lives in Missouri, probably will pay half a much as I will. But this job is considered mission work. I signed the contract anticipating and willing to make sacrifices. It's non-profit, no one makes money. The thing is, NYC needs help. In 2009, 41% of pregnancies in the city ended in abortion. Many abortion clinics are located in the low income areas of the city and now there is a bill attacking the life centers in the city directing people away from the help they offer (You can sign the petition here if you want to help :) ).

With all of this, I feel a pull to the city. There are also other benefits to this area. While walking in downtown Hoboken, I found a running shop which offered group runs almost daily. The public transportation is only two blocks away from the apartment. The city is right across the river. While in Chicago this summer, I decided that city life wasn't for me. Well... my opinion may have changed. I can adjust to anything, even to this. If the babies need my help, I'll do it.

The babies do need help, everywhere, but there is hope. At both the SFLA Conference and the March for Life, my soul was touch with the amount of passion in the hearts of the students that attended the conference and the thousands who marched. Speakers spoke of their regret and longing for their lost children, students were awarded for their accomplishments on campuses, some even for getting arrested for a peaceful protest on their campus. Everyone had ideas, little ways to spread the truth. I met two girls from the University of Miami who baked cupcakes representing an aborted baby's one year birthday. They handed them out for free, but in order to get one, they gave their pro-life spiel first. So creative, so simple, spreading the truth. If anyone is even remotely pro-life, attend the March, it will change your heart.

I pray that my dilemma will soon be over and that I am able to live comfortably while also staying within my budget so I can do my job and change minds in the process. For now, the cake shop awaits.