Sarah is working with CRWRC in Muskegon. CRWRC stands for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and is an NGO that specializes in Christian Community Development. CRWRC has a large number of programs overseas, but it also has some programs that work on developing communities right here in the United States. Sarah is going to be working on one of these programs.

In the United States there is a major problem with our cities. Downtown areas, which used to be the center of activity, are now being abandoned. By abandoned we mean businesses are leaving the core of the city, and governments are not investing money to keep the core area well-maintained. A concequence of this is that people who can, are moving out to more promising areas of town. All of these factors together are leading to core areas of town where houses are not kept up, the quality of the schools is low, there is nowhere to go shopping, and in general there is very little hope.

Muskegon fits this description fairly well. CRWRC is trying to do something about this and their strategy is to work through Community Development Organizations to restore the hope that has been lost for people living in the core area of Muskegon. The specific organization that they are partnering with is called Applewood Ministries, which is a ministries center which shares a building with a neighborhood church called Angel Community Church.