1,800

When I first got to the Turkey Give-Away event at the Dream Center, I was trying to imagine what one to two thousand people would look like. Seeing men, women and children from every demographic was incredible. I spent time just walking along the line catching smiles from old proud Chinese and Mexican women, seeing couples holding each other with their young children in push chairs looking forward to when eleven o’clock would roll around and the turkey give-away would begin. It was a lot to take in; the atmosphere was peaceful but also full of excitement.

That’s when I noticed a small group of young people gathered around a middle-aged Hispanic lady. I went over to them and enquired what was going on, it turned out that they were from the Movement and they excitedly told me, that they were walking through the line and asking people if they needed prayer. They were asking God for healing miracles and the amazing thing was that they were seeing them happen all over the place first-hand. One of the Movement guys invited me to follow them and document what was happening.

In the beginning I was just going to watch and write what was taking place but quickly changed my mind as I felt the holy spirit urge me to participate in the praying, and I’m glad that I was obedient!
Genoveva was the first lady I saw healed when we prayed for her. She told us that she suffered from excruciating back pain and was out of work recently due to the lay-offs at her job. As soon as we prayed for her I saw the look of surprise on her face as she told us, that she felt a warm heat sensation on her back, and then said that God had healed her!

Next in the line we met Eloiza, a forty-eight year old lady originally from Guatemala who suffered from a condition that sent pain up and down her nerves on her right side of her body. She also experienced a similar heat sensation during her healing from God. And Juanita a seventy-five year old Pilipino lady who had lived with arthritis for many years and was telling us how while she was waiting in line, “I was complaining to my friend that I can’t sit down or bend my legs” After being prayed for was jumping around crying thank you Jesus and hugged me several times when she was healed!

God did supernatural things in the line of the Turkey Give-Away and to me it was as important to see signs of God’s amazing love for his people, as it was to see up to eighteen hundred people blessed with their physical needs being met by the food donations. God is able to use us to do the miraculous if we are obedient to his call on our lives.

-Chaka

An Organization, a Refuge, a Community

I’m new at the Dream Center, so when word got around about an “all-campus meeting”, I wasn’t sure at all what was about to take place. I did know the word “meeting” didn’t sound very enjoyable. But my mindset changed not too long after we gathered together in the campus gym.

There was a big, bright, banner on the stage, commemorating the special get-together. The guys with microphones were energetic and ready for us all to have fun as a group. There was a messy pie eating contest, a funny “how well do you know your spouse?” game, a frozen turkey basketball game and free breakfast for the whole campus; it didn’t at all seem like the proverbial meeting I had mentally prepared for.

And more than the events themselves, the sense of community I felt during the hour-long meeting was such a blessing. The Dream Center functions as a major outreach in our area, the multitude of ministries we provide make this campus such a busy, busy place. And even with the sometimes chaotic lifestyle the volunteers and administration have here, they make time to come together and recognize the companionship that a body of Christians ought to have. And more than just knowing it, more than just recognizing it, that love Christ calls us to have is felt within our community here. And because of that, simple monthly meetings are such a beautiful thing to be apart of.

-Courtnay

The Voices Told Him So

I had seen Dale come out to Skid Row and MacArthur Park several times to receive food from the Under the Bridge ministry, but last week was my first time really talking with him. At first, Dale seemed like a man who found himself in Skid Row because of bad decisions that he made, including turning to alcohol to numb his pain. However, talking with him made me realize that it was not just alcoholism and former imprisonment that brought him there. “The voices” brought him to Skid Row, too.

I purposely chose not to include his photo with this blog because he was so paranoid of the mafia finding him and killing him. Whether the mafia is truly looking for him or not, I’d rather not take the chance of putting his life at risk by showing his face on a public website. He has been in Los Angeles for a year and traveled here from across the country. His parole officer sent him to California after his prison sentence had ended, but when his life got off track again, Dale went back to his drinking habits.

Dale went through rehabilitation and AA meetings, but it did not liberate him from his addiction. He grew up in a Christian home, but now in his late forties, he is being dominated by demonic oppression and paranoia. A couple of us from the Dream Center tried to speak to Dale about the truth of God, but he has become so accustomed to his mindset that he barely heard what we were telling him. I think that he desired to believe what we were saying, but just did not know how to accept it. He wants to change his life and quit drinking, but the voices torment him so much that he drinks beer to keep them quiet.

Though he is going through mental torments, Dale still managed to have a calm demeanor and a friendly smile. We showed up in Skid Row that day, not only to give Dale a plate of hot food, which he needed, but also to tell him how much Jesus loves him and can restore his life. It is a blessing to reach out to those in need and we pray that someday the voice he hears in his mind is the voice of God bringing him love and hope.


-Shimmy

Loving Without Judging in Rampart

We got into the Project Prevention truck on that Thursday afternoon, prepared to bring food to several families in the Rampart and North Hollywood areas of Los Angeles. We filled the bins with food, and garbage bags with diapers, baby wipes and toiletries. These families depend on the arrival of this Dream Center ministry to put food in their refrigerators and cabinets- some parents would not even have a refrigerator if it were not for the intervention of Project Prevention.

When we visited one of the homes in Rampart, it was evident that the family was not prepared for our arrival. It looked like they had not cleaned in weeks, and when people are not expecting guests to take the time to come over to their house, they may not bother to tidy up their rooms and downsize the clutter. It is possible that they had become comfortable in the mess. They might have been embarrassed by our company or hoped that we wouldn’t judge them by the condition of their house.

But we were there to help them, not judge them. We were there to feed them, not criticize them. Though the parents did not speak English, the language barriers did not get in the way of friendships being formed in that little apartment. The kids joyfully ran around the living room, oblivious to the financial hardships that their parents face day in and day out. Dad does not make much money on his job, and Project Prevention has helped his family for almost a year now.

When someone sees a need and does something to fill it, many lives are impacted in a positive way. That family and others that we visited are in the process of seeing their lives restored, and Project Prevention can continue to aid them in that effort. Any amount of help that they receive adds up, and so many families have been helped by the faithfulness of this ministry.

-Shimmy

Wake up sleepy head…

There aren’t many things that I would get out of bed on a Saturday morning for. I could drink all the coffee in the world and I would still be annoyed by having to get up from my cozy, warm bed. Adopt-A-Block is one of the few reasons I get up for. I have been going to serve the community of Pueblos, with Alfred and his team of volunteers for a month now. It’s a really great feeling when you start to have a connection with a community that you never even knew existed before! I was pretty surprised when I realized that Pueblos was located in south central L.A., which is infamous worldwide for its gang violence and poverty.

I’m glad that stereotypes that I would have had, didn’t have the chance to consume my thoughts before I got the chance to come out to Pueblos. Otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to meet the people here and seen the impact that Dream Center is having there by meeting the needs of this community. It’s been great to meet people like Christina who every week supplies us with free ice cold water after we have finished giving out food and baby supplies to her and members of her community, who have lined up all morning for us to bring them their provisions.

It’s the first place that I reached out to a woman named Stephanie and was asked to pray with her for her family. I like the fact that now my Saturday mornings are serving a purpose that is far more rewarding than just getting an extra hour in bed.

-Chaka

Living for the Lives of Others

I’m a people watcher. I love observing people and thinking about the life they must have lead, or the life they are now living. During our trips to Skid Row, my heart aches as I watch its’ residents. Some tell of their sad story, others don’t say much, and you can tell by their demeanor that it hasn’t been easy.

As I watched and talked, I came across a girl named Tiffany. She was extremely under weight, and her makeup had been smeared from what looked like a rough night. Her shirt was too small and her pants too big for her malnourished body. Going in and out of consciousness as we talked, I knew she was under the use of some kind of drug. “Heroin…” the lady next to her said, “and she’s five months pregnant.” Her stomach was the biggest thing on her. And I couldn’t help but think of the poor child inside.

Knowing that the baby would be born addicted to heroin, if it was born at all, we knew she needed help. I called several shelters for pregnant women, none of which would take her. We then talked with some people at a nearby clinic, and she was allowed to go there for further help. Though we assisted her with physical needs that day, we made sure she connected our help to the delivering love of Jesus, for we knew He is what will truly turn her life around. I share this story to show what God’s love looks like in action. That woman has most likely made many bad decisions in her life, but is deeply loved by Him regardless. And though we all have the same story of bad decisions, we are children of God and are called to show her the saving grace and love we receive. What would that girl have done that day if we had not been there? Where would she have slept that night? What is that child’s chance of coming into this world healthy? What would that percentage have been without our intervention?

God commands of us to give. Give of our time, our money, our life. We already have the blessing of knowing Him, and sitting under His blessings daily. The least we can do is simply obey what He asks of us. It is crucial in the happiness of our life and in the lives of the people around us. For me, it was crucial in Tiffany’s life and in her unborn baby’s. Who’s life will you affect?

-Courtnay, Ohio

Getting to Know Skid Row

Skid row. It has made national news, it’s been the subject of movies. Prostitution and drugs gone ramped; Skid Row is the real deal. Coming from a small town in southern Ohio, I was not sure exactly what to expect on my visit. I really don’t think I was scared at all, I tend to become oblivious to that sometimes. Though I don’t want to only attribute naivety for the way I felt, I think my excitement to sit and talk with some of the most hopeless people in LA helped; I wanted to show them real Jesus love!

As we got closer to the streets of Skid Row, you could see a visible decline in the neighborhoods. And even before the van stopped at our destination, I knew we had arrived. Clumps of people lined the streets, mostly sitting or pushing all they owned, in carts. The men started unloading the food from the trucks we drove in. My job was now to socialize. It was my second day interning for the Dream Center and I’m not the most outgoing, so it took a bit of mental preparation to go out and talk with these people one-on-one. But after diving in, I wanted to talk with each and everyone there. The stories were heartbreaking, and when words were short, the look on the faces of these people broke my heart even more. I often asked (as did the other interns) if they would like prayer. Some would reply no, but most jumped to the opportunity.

One lady in particular touched my heart while we prayed. Her name was Don. She was a frail, middle-aged woman. She told me of the life she lived, filled with prostitution, drug use, physical and mental abuse. Her eyes were heavy from lack of sleep and nutrition. Her story was sad, she was lonely and looking for happiness in the abusive men around her and I told her only God can fill that void. I took her dirty hand and we prayed. She wanted God, I could feel her desire to turn from the mess she was in. We both cried as I asked God to deliver her from this life. We ended the prayer and I told her I would continue to pray for her well-being. She thanked me again and again. And that, my friend, is exactly what it’s all about. It’s about showing Christ’s love to the people that society says don’t deserve it, “They’ve done it to themselves.” Sure, maybe they have! But it’s only by God’s Grace that we are not in their exact position. ALL good comes from God. That means any good in our life is not only our doing. So why condemn others for not having “good?” It’s not condemning we are called to do, nor unconcern we should feel, it is the loving. And what greater way to show that than talking one-on-one with the most hopeless people of LA? Granted, we all are in desperate need of Him, but their needs are tangibly life threatening. And as members of the body of Christ, we should be the hands that hold theirs in the prayer that changes their life.

-Courtnay