Aaron Adira, a Michigan State student spent 10 weeks in a UCO summer household, together with 15 other men, including four Servant of the Word brothers. This is an interview about his time.
N: So Aaron, how did you end up in Summer Household?
A: I did not know what to expect, even though I knew about Summer Households from being in University Christian Outreach for four years now. But I knew it was not going to be easy, like the regular schedule and sharing different responsibilities which each of one would be given for various aspects of the house.
Even though I expected those things, the Lord worked in unexpected ways, most notably in my relationships with the brothers lived with. Here you are, living with a person, very different from you, whom you had never met before.
N: Tells a bit about how the house functioned, about the schedule and the like.
A: There were sixteen of us, which made it quite tight living in this brotherhood house. We had a somewhat strict schedule: getting up at 6:45 each morning for prayer, dinners most nights, weekly chores, and Lord’s Day celebration every Saturday night. For chores we rotated, so everyone got the experience of vacuuming the living room, cleaning bathrooms, having to cook dinner and so forth: a real training experience.
During the day most of us worked, but we would arrange our schedules so as to be able to be part of all the house activities.
N: What were some of the highlights of the time?
A: One was early on, two or three weeks into the time. Sam, one of the brothers, had a birthday. We hosted a number of friends from UCO and gave him a really good celebration-a great example of hospitality which was going on all summer long. Secondly, I loved the Lord’s Days; I found them a real blessing. Learning to “keep the Sabbath” has been a great experience which will stay with me. In fact, I don’t think I missed a single Saturday night celebration.
Finally I had not expected that at times some of the brothers found the household really difficult and they were struggling. Being able to come alongside them and support them was a challenge, but a great experience.
N: What were some experiences which were, not exactly low points, but which challenged you.
A: I remember a particular week when most of the older brothers were gone because of staff training and I was asked to lead. You realize that it is not as easy as you thought to care for a household- that was a new experience.
Simply living with some many guys can be a challenge at times. And if you live together for twelve weeks, your enthusiasm can wane and you feel worn down at times.
But one challenge turned into a blessing. Because of my work schedule I was not able to pray as long as I have been used to. When I was talking with Noah, one of the brothers, he encouraged me by saying that in the future, chances are I won’t have 90 minutes every day to pray, once I have a full-time job and maybe a family. So, he said, learn to give to God what you can and trust that you are honoring him with that. It made me more intentional of my prayer times and more grateful for them.
N: Now this was a regional UCO household, so members came from different chapters across the region. What was that like?
A: It was really cool! The first week some of the men were hesitant to speak because they did not know anybody. But after a few weeks we became really comfortable around each other. In fact we became so close that it feels like we have lived together for much longer than two months.
We also got the interact with the local Sword of the Spirit community, which was great.
N: Aaron, do you have some closing remarks?
A: The time was really good I am big advocate of household living and community life. I also think honoring the Sabbath is really important. I can’t even enumerate all the things I learned during the time. And I will take them with me into the rest of my life.
